400 customers, who lined up overnight. Fast for-
ward five years to September 2014, and the same
store saw an estimated 1,880 customers lined up
overnight for the launch of iPhone 6, according to
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster (https://www
With the giant crowds came media atten-
tion. TV crews would return day after day to film
the lines of tents and camp chairs, and these
temporary villages quickly grew into a media
spectacle. As a result, every event would attract
publicity seekers, trying to drum up interest
in their cause or their startup. Folks like Greg
Packer (see next section) became famous for
being, of all things, a “professional” line sitter.
Rob Shoesmith, a London garbage collec-
tor, was the first in line outside an Apple Store
for the iPhone 4s in 2011, and he earned the
distinction of having the greatest “line longevity,”
waiting outside the store for 240 hours (10 days).
The hordes were not purely a symptom of
demand, however. In fact, the store lines were
part of Apple’s marketing strategy, according to
Ira Kalb, CEO of Kalb & Associates and assistant
professor of clinical marketing at the University of
Southern California Marshall School of Business.
By not allowing preorders, Apple ensured long
lines, and the sight of people braving the elements
and clamoring for new Apple products was free
advertising, according to Kalb. Nothing suggests
“I gotta have it” to other people like seeing a long
Even criticism of those who choose to camp
outside a store was good for Apple’s business,
Kalb said. Some competitors, such as Samsung,
have mocked Apple Store lines in their own adver-
tising, only to find that the message backfired.
WAITING
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Line outside for the opening of the Hong Kong
Apple Store in 2011. PHOTO: Mike Lau/Flickr CC
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