• by Jonathan Blum , March 29, 2007

Hello, Apple, Inc. Even the corporate name has changed. With Apple now in the communications business with iPhone, the media business with the iTunes Store content — and, oh, yeah, still in its core computer business — can this small consumer electronics company become a media powerhouse Madison Avenue can do business with?

Maybe.

Certainly the company is the dominant brand for portable players and digital content, but problems lurk. First is time. The iPhone will not be out until later this year. And the unit is the subject of much debate already.

“The risk is waiting until June for the [iPhone] to be released and [the] limited functionality in the first version,” says Carl Fremont, executive vice president at Digitas, the New York-based media buying and advertising company. Fremont said that neither Apple nor its iPhone partner, AT&T, can risk poor performance.

Then there’s Apple’s own-it-all business model. “Knowing the culture at Apple, I’m not sure they would actively engage in a significant co-marketing deal,” says Doug Powell, chief integrator of Maiden Lane.

And finally there’s the brand risk: Can the company extend its image with consumers beyond computers and the iPod?

“With the ubiquity of screens and applications, Apple will need to stay ahead and not be just the cool-looking device,” Fremont says.

It’s all risky new territory for Apple.