The iPhone is a perfect opportunity for brands to capitalize on the PR onslaught and open their doors to this affluent audience.
In the waning, frenzied moments leading up to the launch of the iPhone, AT&T CEO Randall Stevenson told USA Today something that made me read twice: "[The iPhone launch] helps us complete our change from Cingular to AT&T and has created a halo effect for the re-branding."
You’d think that more than a billion dollars spent on re-branding by AT&T alone should buy some halo, but Stevenson would apparently disagree. The PR that Apple has been able to generate around this launch is so formidable, even the bluest of blue-chip brands is happy to take a back seat and enjoy brand equity by association.
But AT&T isn’t the only company that can benefit from the massive iPhone awareness machine. The device itself opens many opportunities for any brand to design for the iPhone and tap into not only the brand halo, but also the hottest-selling, largest audience for a single mobile device since the ubiquitous RAZR.
