Planned obsolescence | Marketing Tricks

Ever felt like your phone mysteriously slows down right before a new model drops?

Spoiler: It's not your imagination.

In the 1920s, a group of lightbulb manufacturers including (Philips and General Electric) formed what's now known as the Phoebus cartel.

Their goal?

Make bulbs that don’t last too long.

Before that, lightbulbs could shine for 2,500+ hours. But the cartel agreed to cap it at 1,000 hours on purpose.

Why?

To sell more bulbs, more often.

That was one of the first documented cases of Planned Obsolescence designing products to break, slow down, or feel outdated on a schedule.

Fast forward to today:

• Phones with non-replaceable batteries
• Laptops that overheat after two years
• Printers that stop working after a fixed page count. It’s all around us.

Even Apple got caught throttling iPhones to "protect battery health" (and faced massive lawsuits for not being transparent about it).

Moral:

Planned Obsolescence may boost short-term sales, but it erodes trust, brand loyalty, and ultimately customer lifetime value.

Smart strategy?

Build products and reputations that last. Because trust isn’t something you can release a new version of every year.

So, would you ever build something to break?

Have you seen planned obsolescence in action in your industry? Drop your thoughts below

My Explanatory Video in Arabic: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/omarsamy_businessabrshortcuts-marketingabrshortcuts-activity-7187166592013660160-s2hX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABnGbCQB34wpv92t8XCVhYpXvtgigkDB9wA

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