Team E (Mike Carey, Scott Rich, Tim Garrison) is responsible for the first posting and we have found the attached article interesting. This speaks to Brand Value and discusses Apple's brand as well as the top ten Brands with regards to overall value. Apple becoming the most valuable brand should not be too much of a surprise. They deliver products that are unique and come with a fantastic experience. Article also discusses a luxury pricing model that Apple follows. Higher the price of the product, the more coveted the product is.
Did you notice that 20% of the top 100 brands are from emerging markets ?
Brand Value.....?? What do you think.....
Link to article is :
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42954640/ns/business-consumer news/
I recently read that a brand is "a set of hooks the mind uses to organize its experience of a commerical offering". The difference between a set of hooks vs a single hook is where Apple excels. While Google is huge and used all the time it is only a hook when on the computer (or phone). Apple has hooks everywhere and does a great job of resetting hooks with newer and updated versions within its brand portfolio.
ReplyDeleteI recently read in an article that a brand is "a set of hooks the mind uses to organize its experience of a commercial offering". The difference between a hook and set of hooks is what Apple has done recently that has allowed it to be the number one brand. While Google is used by the majority of the population every day its brand is mainly a singlular hook associated with a computer or phone internet search. Apple has multiple hooks that users experience on a variety of platforms and with every new product version those hooks are reset.
ReplyDeleteGoogle isn’t taking this sitting down, only 2 days after Apple beat them to Number 1 they announced their new Chromebook, available next month. The Chromebook is a web only laptop priced at $500, works with Chrome apps, and is said compete with netbooks and the iPad. Apple’s dominant user experience is evident even before this product hits the market as tech bloggers are predicting one of the greatest barriers to its success will be the user complaint “it doesn’t work with my iPod, iPhone, or iPad.” It will be interesting to see how Google readjusts their marketing strategy, either convincing people they need to switch from Apple or start making Chromebooks Apple product friendly. If Google can’t do one or the other they’ll further cut themselves off from Apple consumers, myself included.
ReplyDeletePerception is reality and Apple definitely is the market's perception of the best. Even with comparable substitutes in the MP3, Phone, or computer market most people want an Apple. It could be Apple's advertising or their new must have gadgets which keep them at the top of consumer's birthday wish lists. It could also be Apple's reputation over the years for good quality and security. Bottom line Apple has done an amazing job building their image, products, and customer loyalty. iPod, iPad, and iPhone have become ingrained in the general public’s vocabulary. Companies that work their product into the vocabulary of consumers definitely create brand value for themselves. I honestly don’t think I could go a whole day without reading, hearing, seeing, or touching an Apple product. The theory applies for Google as well. To me Google is a verb. Example, I Googled the restaurant or I Googled the directions or please go and Google this for me. Creating a name or product that is spoken every day by the consumer market is actually the best form of advertising a company could ask for and adds to their brand value exponentially.
ReplyDeleteIt's no surprise Apple is now the #1 most valuable brand. As I type on my MacBook Pro and check a text I just received on my iPhone, I'm a prime example of the hysterical consumerism Apple has created. The brand values associated with all of Apple's products fulfills many different consumer experiences. Some examples might be:
ReplyDeleteBeauty: their products have a stylish design
Community: I'm a Mac, NOT a PC
Status: I have the best / newest / most beautiful / expensive product
As we read the Dell case from our 626 class, I can't help but remember all of the problems I had with my Dell computer, or how many times our IT department has to fix my Dell desktop at work that has crashed for the 5th time. Yet, I've never had a problem with my MacBook or iMac. So, in addition to fulfilling those consumer experiences in my subconscious, Apple products actually function exceptionally well too! Therefore, the hysterical consumer that I am will continue to wait in long lines and put my name on a list to get the newest, greatest, most amazing Apple product to come out next.
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ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting to look at “most valuable brand” in comparison to the “most recognized brand” and the ability to monetize that brand value. Havening traveled quite a bit in the third world the most ubiquitous thing you see is Coca-Cola. Will Apple become the next Coke? Can a technology product where the manufacturing cost that exceeds the price of sugar water have a chance? Is that something Apple wants or do they prefer to have a unique cache of customers as opposed to the streets of Calcutta teaming with youths wearing ear buds?
ReplyDeleteHere is an old link but a very cool picture:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/07/top_brands/source/1.htm
I admit that I am very branded. Everyone in my family drives Toyotas; our phones are all iPhones; we all work on either Sony Vaios or Macbooks. Personally, I purchase brand name products for the perceived quality (if I am unfamiliar with the brand) or status (especially if I AM familiar with the brand). I trust that the companies behind the brand name items have more at stake, which benefits me because they will stand by the quality of their product with good warranty policies.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the thought has crossed my mind that I may like the product more because I might just be slowing down to enjoy this more expensive selection as a way to savor it and make it last longer. For example, have you ever thought of why a box of Moonstruck chocolate tend to last longer than a bag of M&Ms? Or why do my Diesel denims last longer than my generic ones? Is the quality really better, or do I baby the brand name ones more so therefore they last longer than the beat up generic ones?
My rule of thumb though is if I am purchasing the product/service as a gift rather than for personal consumption, I always prefer to choose the name brand. I do this because I would not want to offend the giftee's taste by buying something that is subpar.
It appears Apple's marketing is highly successful, when people take myths as facts.On the other hand I see a colossal failure of the marketing teams of Dell, HP and the likes in defending their brand image.
ReplyDeleteLet me give few examples why I think the Apple narrative is a complete myth. When people say I have a Dell computer and it failed so many times, vs. my Apple computer never crashed -- have they accounted for the price points for the two products. Dell sells computer starting from $399 to $4000. If you are comparing quality of a $400 Dell computer with the quality of $1,200 Apple, obviously you are going to notice differences. I have a $1,000 Dell laptop, and I run large compute and memory intensive jobs, and I don't have any issues. To make a fair comparison of products (which includes jeans) you need to compare products of equal quality. Just as you would expect a $10 jeans to wear out faster, you would expect to have lots of failures with a $400 computer. If you are using a $400 computer for a $1000 computer job, you have made the wrong selection.
The next thing to consider is the production volume. Last year, Dell sold 10.2 million units compared to mere 1.5 million units for Apple in the US market. (The difference in unit sales figures are even bigger if we consider global sales) It would be very interesting to see how successful Apple will be in managing and maintaining its quality, when it has to produce 10 million units per year.
Lets consider another important factor. All major computer manufacturers, including Apple uses the exact same contract manufacturer in China to manufacture their products, using the same processor from Intel (or AMD). So as far as the hardware quality is concerned, they are about equal at similar price point. The only difference could be the software, where Apple has an advantage that it strictly regulates the software that can run on its computers (specially true for iPhone and iPad), whereas for Windows it is a completely open market.
Coming back to marketing issue, my contention is that when you build a house of cards based on myths, when you have blind following based on perceived status symbol and fads, you are not doing the company any good. Fads do change overnight, truth does come out eventually. Recent stumbles of Apple with its new iPhone 4 antenna, or clock issue related to daylight saving time twice, problem with premature hard disk failures in Apple mac books from 2006 thru 2007, or video card failure in Mac Book Pro is surely a sign of impending problem.
BTW, if Moonstruck chocolate last longer, it could be an indication people don't like the taste of it. Maybe M&M is better tasting after all. :)
It was really interesting in reading the article and everyone's comments following to reflect on what my real opinion of apple products is. I have to say that I am someone who gets a bit stubborn when it comes to buying name brand products. Admittedly it is mainly a financial issue...I don't feel that I should have to pay more for something just because it has an apple on it. Although the marketing campaign that apple has created is brilliant, I tend to agree that the quality of the products is really not that different.
ReplyDeleteThere was mention about the fact that apple has done a good job of getting their products functioning in businesses. I think this is one of the keys to how they have taken the #1 spot. My sister in law is a special ed teacher at a lower income school in the area. She actually has ipod touches for her classroom and is expected to have ipads for her kids by next fall. Having these types of products in elementary school is spreading the Apple image to kids at an early age. It is easy for someone who grows up with a specific technology to develop a loyalty to it. I'm not sure that this is something that Apple planned, but it would definitely help in maintaining their dominance.
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ReplyDeleteTo Alison's point about Apple penetrating the business market, if you go into any creative based company you'll see their designers working on all Apple machines. I'm not a graphic designer, but I've heard that the graphics capabilities of Apple computers exceed any other in the market. Beyond the design and studio departments, more and more people in our agency are now on Apple computers, simply for the ease of use and connectivity to the other devices for presentations. We are now producing client presentation material on stacks (literally stacks) of iPads rather than tradtitional presentation techniques using a projector. Presentations are loaded onto iPads, packed up in custom made cases, and taken to our client's headquarters to pitch new ideas. Creative based companies also tend to care about aesthetics more as well, which might influence their tastes towards Apple products.
ReplyDeleteiPads for a recent client presentation:
http://instagr.am/p/ET8Z1
Another thing that Apple does really well is create hype about their products. I don’t know how many times I was (falsely) informed that the iPhone was coming to Verizon and I would then hold out on getting a new phone, only to have the iPhone hit Verizon shelves about a year later. They (and loyal customers) create this hype with all of their new product launches. Even the new white iPhone had bloggers speculating what the real reason was for the delay in product release. This all just generates buzz around the brand and creates awareness. For the most recent hype read: http://mashable.com/2011/05/17/apple-store-anniversary-rumors/.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what it takes exactly to build a brand and keep it going for so many years. It appears very expensive to build a brand - especially one listed on this top 100 list. In the Dell case we read for finance, it said Intel had spent 3 billion dollars on branding and that was back in 1999. Is it worth it when you can be so easily be replaced by the latest popular brand? It'd be interesting to get data on the ROI for these companies. I also think it's very interesting that many of the companies are from emerging markets and I haven't heard of several of them. The competition for brand loyalty seems even more intense and more difficult with the advent of globalization. I wonder how much this list will shift to emerging markets especially when there are so many more consumers in these markets than in the US.
ReplyDeleteHere is a very interesting article about super brand (namely Apple) that every one should read. The summary of the scientific study shows: "As part of the study, a team of neuroscientists viewed a brain scan of the editor of World of Apple Alex Brooks while he underwent an MRI. When viewing the scan, the scientists found that Brooks’ brain was stimulated while looking at Apple products in the same way a religious person’s brain is stimulated when looking at religious imagery."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/19/fanboi_brain_study/
While I think this is a great opportunity for companies to market its products using social media. I agree with Desiree concerning issues with privacy and the rights the company would then have on your photo. I understand that you sign your rights to the photo to facebook when you use its interface, but knowing that any product I have in my picture may be automatically tagged by facebook and then that photo may get used by the company in promoting its product would make me very uncomfortable. Similarly to others comments, I opened a facebook account to share my family pictures with close friends and family, if those pictures are subject for use of companies outside of facebook, I would probably stop posting photos. - Gretchen
ReplyDeleteI agree with alot of you about the hype of Apple. Like Dane mentioned, our entire design team is using Apple products. While we believe that Apple is well versed in design alot of it does have to do with the design of the product along with the hype. The software that our design teams used are no more compatible on a MAC than a PC but we've been trained to fall for it. Even I believe the hype! I love all there products even though I can accomplish the same tasks on a different machine.
ReplyDelete