December 15th, 1999

[12:20 PM] Mac Retailer Sees 33% Rise In Customers by Bryan Chaffin Computer Haus, a Mac-only retailer in Traverse City, Michigan, began running their own commercials late last year. The company has seen a 33% increase in customers during that time, something that Computer Haus General Manager Jim Neu attributes to the commercials as well as their other marketing efforts. Observer Kurt told us about Computer Haus, and this is description of the company's commercial: In Traverse City, Michigan, the only Mac retailer (The Computer Haus) for at least 100 miles is now running commercials as well. There's is a "Did you know?" campaign that asks several questions. "Did you know Apple Macintosh has always been Y2K compliant? ... Did you know the G4 bested a 600 mhz Pentium 3 by at least 200%" and several others. During this time it shows different models of the iMac, iBook, G4, and Powerbook. "Did you know you can come in and try them out at the Computer Haus on Garfield Road in Traverse City?" the commercial ends with their address. Mr. Neu got the idea for running the commercials when he found himself working with people new to iMacs. "I found myself saying 'did you know...' about a lot of iMac features when answering customers' questions. That made me realize that many people actually didn't know why the Mac was a great choice for them." The result has been many new customers coming to the Mac platform in the Northern Michigan area that Computer Haus serves. "We've seen repeat customers, new computer users, and a number of crossover customers coming to the Mac from the Windows world. All in all, our customer database has gone from 6,000 customers to 8,000 customers during the last year. We've been doing this for 13 years, so that's a big increase during just the last year." The Apple Co-op advertising fund has made the commercials possible. "I wanted to be everywhere," says Mr. Neu. "If I could be in every newspaper, Television station, and radio station, I would. It's the Apple Co-op that has made this possible as they pay for the entire thing." Mr. Neu authored the commercials themselves and has produced different iterations as Apple's product line has changed. You can visit the company's web site, but it is currently under construction. The Mac Observer Spin: Congrats to Computer Haus! This is the type of commercial that many Mac users have long clamored for Apple to run. While Cupertino has gone on the offensive starting with the Pentium Toasting ads begun last year, many of their current ads are much more removed and aloof than the type being run by this Mac retailer. AUG Strasbourg