iPhone 6: This might be Apple’s smartest marketing trick for selling even more units

Apple will sell an impressive number of handsets during its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Pluslaunch weekend, including the already announced 4 million-plus preorders placed in just one day, but the company may have a secret marketing trick up its sleeve compared to rivals that should help it sell even more iPhone 6 models in following months.

A new report from Reuters reveals that major banking institutions, other payment-related companies, as well as many retailers, including international companies, are anxiously hurrying to support Apple’s payments product, either by making sure their credit cards and financial services are ready for the system, or by deploying payment terminals that can be actually used to process Apple Pay contactless transactions in retail locations.

Even major U.S. carriers, which have their own fruitless (so far) NFC-payment ambitions, want to play ball with Apple Pay next year, according to Reuters’ story.

It’s not enough though for banks and retailers to simply wait for iOS users to switch to an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, (or an Apple Watch-connected iPhone 5 model next year) to start using the service. Thus, all the players involved will promote the service to their customers regardless of smartphone orientation, and in the process they’ll also promote iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the only two devices that will offer full Apple Pay functionality almost immediately – pending the October update.

In other words, not only does Apple get to make money from Apple Pay purchases, or at least save money by enjoying preferential rates, but Apple Pay will also bring enormous residual, and likely free, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus advertising from all these different partners eager to be in bed with Apple.

For example, if you’re a Bank of America customer, you may have already seen the first such Apple Pay-promoting email from the bank, which also advertised Apple’s 2014 iPhones a day before the phone was actually launched in stores (image below). And other Apple partners are doing similar marketing campaigns for Apple Pay and the iPhone 6 well ahead of the actual Apple Pay rollout.

SOURCE:

REUTERS