Apple owes Crave money

It's always been clear that Apple Inc.'s real genius lies not so much in its products but in the way it markets them. And what's genius about it is how Apple gets every tech media outlet (CNET included) to do the work for them. A Harvard Business School professor has theorized that Apple benefited from $400 million in free publicity from the media coverage of the iPhone launch. In a recent USA Today story by Jefferson Graham, professor David Yoffie said the media hype surrounding the iPhone launch was like nothing seen before. "No other company has ever received that kind of attention for a product launch. It's unprecedented." While it's true Apple managed to steal the spotlight from the annual CES tech blowout in Las Vegas, I'm not so sure it was the biggest and most-talked-about product launch in history. Yet I do believe Apple got quite a few dollars in free publicity. Perhaps Crave will send a bill.