Apple Paid $1 Million for a Lame Mystery Box to Impress the Press
Apple built considerable anticipation for their September media event. They erected a mysterious white building at site where Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh computer in 1984, leading fanboys to feverishly speculate something mind-blowing was inside. It was just a stage to unveil Watch and a bigger iPhone.
Those dashed expectations were still expensive. According to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Apple ponied up more than a million bucks to high-five with Bono in front of the media.
According to the records, the cost included a "disruption fee" to the college of $500,000, rental fees for campus buildings and around-the-clock security involving more than 35 officers from three departments. [...]
To keep busybodies at bay, Apple paid for police to patrol the area. It paid the Foothill De Anza police to provide overnight security for 6 ½ hours a night for 26 days. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's office provided more than 140 hours of "crowd control" over 25 days involving 22 deputies, two sergeants and one lieutenant. The Mountain View police department provided 72 hours of police staffing.
A million seems extravagant when you consider the volume of obedient press their PR machine generates. But as the Journal notes, their $42,000 police bill is only about nine seconds worth of revenue for the company.
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