According to Harvard Business School professor David Yoffie, Apple generated $400 million in free publicity for its iPhone. The secrecy leading up to the MacWorld expo and years of rumors fueled a PR machine that needed no backing. Yoffie explained that "no other company has ever received that kind of attention for a product launch...it's unprecedented." It's quite a chore to find a newspaper article in the consumer press today that centers on mobile phones and does not mention the iPhone--looks like that secrecy is the gift that keeps on giving.
For more on iPhone's $400 million in free publicity:
- see this write-up over at Gizmodo