Apple iBooks 2: who owns the customer?

Over the last few days I have followed with interest the blogosphere discussions and arguments around Apple’s latest education announcement (New York, 19th January 2012), and it has got me thinking…

…But before I begin, what was announced?

In a nutshell Apple launched 3 things that they believe will revolutionalise education:

iBooks 2 (featuring iBooks textbooks). This is the free app that enables iPad users to view stunning text books in full multi media interactivity.

iBooks Author – This is also a free app that enable Mac users to create beautiful iBooks textbooks.

iTunes U – This is another free app that I will leave someone else to write about.

Anyone can create ibook textbooks, and anyone can distribute them for free (via iBookstore). However if you want to start charging for the books through the iBookstore you can do so, and Apple will take 30% of the profits as their cut. You can’t distribute the iBooks via any other means.

…Now, back to my thinking. Much of the press/blog discussions are around the cost of production and ownership of the book. There seems to be some that believe that the licensing means that Apple wants to own the book itself (ie the content). I don’t believe that this is the case. Then there is the normal stuff about the amount that Apple make from each sales transaction (30%). I do not sit in the camp of the whingers. Apple is a business, and as the inventors they are the rule setters. So we either ignore them or work with them. Our choice.

But I DO think that there is a whole line of argument that seems to be missing, and so I will lob it into the melting pot of thinking. As a marketer, I am very interested in who owns the customer. And although this is an education announcement – it is also a business announcement. And whilst children will be educated along the way, many business opportunities will arise from this announcement. There will not just be pupils – there will be customers. Creative ideas will emerge that will create many new market opportunities. I believe that these emerging ideas will go far beyond the boundaries of traditional education.

As a marketer I work on marketing systems that build a relationship with clients/customers.Just like iTunes, iBooks challenge this marketing model, as they operate a classic indirect sales model. It will be very difficult to build relationships with these customers, because we can’t talk to them, so we have to resort to indirect marketing methodologies. Again, this is not a point for whinging, but a point for understanding. We must understand what we are dealing with.

Apple may not own the book, but they definitley own the customer.

Ps/ If Apple are as successful as they want to be in the education sector, then the iPad will become to textbooks what iPod has become to MP3 players. The iPad will be as ubiquitous as the common old text book. Genius. Scary, but genius.

Pss/ I wonder if one day Apple will re-package our data and sell it back to us. I expect so. I am sure it is in their grand plan even as I write this.