For a company known to masterfully drum up free press and unparalleled buzz, Apple’s recent struggles in the App Store public relations game have been uncharacteristic. But company executive Phil Schiller appears to have set out to change the tide.
A flurry of e-mails sent out by Schiller in recent weeks gathered a great deal of publicity in their own right, and helped to suggest to the public that Apple is listening to criticisms of its App Store. In an exclusive interview with AppleInsider, another developer tells of his own App Store struggles, as well as personal correspondence with the company executive.
Schiller’s statement
One might think it would be normal for Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, to reach out to the community and portray his company in a positive light — after all, he does work in marketing. But Apple is unlike any other corporation: The widely known veil of secrecy that shrouds the company permeates through all of its departments, including marketing and public relations. And why not? It’s this ability to keep secrets that leads to rumors and speculation that excite the tech community and create free publicity.
But as Apple began rejecting applications from the iPhone App Store with little explanation or clarification as to what was required to meet the its litmus test, some developers and pundits began to criticize the company’s tactics. That’s when Schiller stepped in.
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