Consumers: A Big Enigma

I've been meaning to write a new post for such a long time. Blame it on my crazy schedule or my Mediterranean soul (that has its own time and pace), I really didn't have time to write one. This one is time sensitive, so I somewhat have to write this or forget about it.

This weekend, I was around Chicago Apple Store on Michigan Street. I wanted to see how the Apple fans were mourning. Consumers embellished store's window with multi-color post-its.There were flowers and half bitten apples on the ground. I was not surprised by Apple fans' creative acts of showing their sadness to these somehow expected yet still sad news. At the end of the day, these are the same fans who waited and camped around Apple stores for multiple nights just to be the first ones getting their Apple goodies. It is evident that, for some consumers,  Apple is a lovemark in Kevin Roberts' words. The relation between the brand and the consumers is so intimate and strong. It was only expected that passing away of this iconic man would make Apple fans sad. Consumers posted personal notes to Steve Jobs in English, Korean, Arabic, Japanese, and in may other languages. (I had to add my Turkish one. REPRESENT! ;-)) Personal notes on these colorful postits were very enlightening interms of Jobs' impact on the lives of  the consumers. I attach the photos of couple of postits I found fun and creative.

Please show grandmom upthere
how to use an iPad

Thanks!

Probably nobody wants to read any more stories, blogs, or statuses about Steve Jobs. And, I hear ya! I do! I will not make this blog about Steve Jobs per se. I was more amazed by the two sets of consumer reactions happening at the same time. At one side, consumers were (and still are) fetishizing Apple's CEO Steve Jobs via many different ways. 10 minutes after Apple announcing his death, majority of my friends' fb statuses were about Steve Jobs. Next day his pictures were uploaded to many fb pages and blogs, many of my friends changed their profile pictures to Apple Logos with Steve Jobs as part of the Apple's bitten side. Twitter also  responded very quickly with many hashtags that were trending worldwide in the blink of an eye. Couple days after, now I see more detailed stories and blogs about Steve Jobs. And, I just read that his black turtleneck is sold out on most retailers.

Thanks you changed our lives

I wish I could bring you back, 
but there isnt any app for that

On the other side, around the same days, US was witnessing a very strong grassroots movement, Occupy Wall Street, that criticizes the unequal distribution of wealth in States and mostly pointing out to the unfair earnings of the CEOs. I was scratching my head while looking at the two different faces of the consumer. What was going on?Was this a manifestation of celebratory postmodernism? A welcoming and celebrating manner and attitude towards the fragmentation and conflicts in the society? Allowing the existence of multiple discourses even when they are conflicting? Celebratory postmodernism might be one explanation for some to describe these two conflicting yet co-existing consumer practices. But, as I thought more about the notes on Apple store windows, I realized that consumers’ reactions would be very different had it been any other CEO passing away. Most of the post its were repeatedly thanking Steve Jobs. Thanks! Thanks! Thanks for changing our lives! Thanks for making computers cool! Many consumers were thanking Steve Jobs for making their lives better, easier, updated.... Some of them were claiming that their lives were never gonna be same again. One of the post was mentioning a blind son who finished college with the help of an Apple technology. Consumers see, acknowledge, and appreciate the value Steve Jobs brought to their lives. And, at that juncture, consumers care less about Steve Jobs's CEO status or how much money he made. Jobs' life story and his creativity legitimized Steve's right to make more money. Consumers' benefit-cost accounting proved Steve as valuable agent for their lives. Question is: Is there a lesson for the marketers here? I believe so. As marketing people, we are responsible for enhancing the consumer welfare, in one way or other. The reputation of our profession is threatened by our inaptitude to create value. As a marketing and consumer behavior scholar, I want to pay tribute to Steve Jobs for re-positioning marketing as a value adding process. His story illustrates the relevant creativity required for trend-changing marketing decisions. And, I thank him for that!

Heaven just went digital

Steve, you were the Apple of our i