Modifying Language for a Higher Goal: Investigating Quantitative Features of Apple's Launch Event Speech from 2016 to 2022.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple Inc. switched its product launch from onsite events to pre-recorded online broadcasts. Yet this form has been carried on even though the pandemic has faded. It is unclear if this shift was accompanied by a move in language complexity and how the communication effect was influenced. This study analysed Apple's product launch events from 2016 to 2022 using quantitative linguistics metrics such as lexical complexity, word token length, entropy, readability, and sentence length distribution. The analysis adopted the reach-effect-durability framework for interpreting the effects of strategic communication. The results showed that Apple's online product launch events featured richer and longer words, increased text difficulty, and a decrease in the proportion of short sentences. Such changes happened in a balanced manner that can be interpreted in view of the driving and restraining forces resulting from the mode shift of the launch event. This study demonstrates the feasibility of assessing efforts and strategies used in a communication campaign through quantitative text analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]