iPhone: One Billion in Free Publicity?

Back in March, Harvard professor David Yoffie calculated the iPhone had already generated $400 million worth of publicity for Apple. Can you imagine what that figure is today? The iPhone stories have reached a fever pitch almost everywhere you look, and it seems reasonable to assume that Yoffie’s previous publicity estimate has now doubled and could be approaching or exceeding one billion dollars! The huge wave of stories will continue right through the weekend as iPhones go on sale tomorrow.

One billion in publicity certainly helps defray Apple’s R & D costs for iPhone development. Only time will tell how big a success story the iPhone will become, but a USA Today story says the iPhone could help Apple go from its current revenue of $24 billion to $42 billion by 2009. That’s impressive growth. Because Steve Jobs probably knows the value of publicity better than any business leader, he certainly added to the buzz with his talk today to Apple employees: everybody who works for Apple gets a free iPhone!