Apple, the world’s most admired company according to Fortune magazine, toppled Google this week as the most valuable brand in the world. A brand is not the logo that identifies a company, but rather the mental associations people have when thinking of the company. So what makes a brand “great”? The formula to measure brand equity is Reach x Appeal, where Reach is how many people are aware of the brand and Appeal is the common view people have of the brand.
Apple exhibits three of the most important elements of brand building: 1) consistency, 2) simplicity and 3) identity.
Consistency
A brand is built with consistency and repetition in the products, services and messaging. Apple’s products –iPad, Macbook, iLife Software, etc- all have a minimalist design, are made of aluminum and glass and are lightweight. The website apple.com shares similarities with the products: it has lots of white space contrasted with blacks and greys; the rounded corners of information boxes are similar to the rounded corners of the iPhone and MacBook. One of the principal typefaces used on the Apple web site – Myriad Pro Semi Bold – is seen in everything from CEO Steve Job’s slide decks to the t-shirts worn by the employees at the Apple Retail Store. There is very clearly a well-defined cultural and stylistic mandate that can be seen in everything from the look and feel of an iPod Touch to the set design of the “Get a Mac” television ad campaign. The latter memorably featured actors John Hodgman and Justin Long, playing the same roles, communicating the same messages – and typically, all against a stark white background.
Lessons to Learn: Stay on message, and consistently deliver that message throughout all parts of your business (your products, your service, your promotional materials). If one of your unique selling points is deep industry knowledge, make sure everyone right down to the receptionist reinforces that message. If your forte is customer service, instill in everyone the importance of a smile and a kind word – even among your employees who don’t take calls from customers. And be visually consistent as well. Use a small but consistent “library” of visual motifs, words and themes and use them over and over, whenever and wherever you can. Remember, what you are saying is often less important than how (and how often) you are saying it.
Simplicity
Apple is innovative but not pioneering. They didn’t create the first computer, laptop, smartphone, portable music player or business software suite. But they built devices and products that were easy to use. We as consumers have a wide variety of taste preferences. Some of us like luxury, while others prefer affordability. Some of us prefer “feature depth,” and some of us value convenience. There is, however, one thing that unites all consumers: we prefer products and solutions that are not complicated. Instead of introducing the very first iPod as a portable digital music player capable of supporting MP3, MP3 VBR, AIFF and WAV formats with upgradable firmware, a high-output 60-mw amplifier and a 160-by-128-pixel high-resolution display with white LED backlight, Apple’s marketing message was this:
1,000 songs. In Your Pocket.
Apple has a long history of demonstrating how their products simply improve your life, and they make it simple where it counts most: when you are ready to buy stuff from them.
Lessons to Learn: You’ll be hard-pressed to find a segment in your target market that prefers complicated, murky, and hard-to-use products and services over simple and elegant solutions. Don’t be lured into the common trap of thinking that the more complicated you make things, the smarter you will sound. In fact, the reverse is true. Don’t make it difficult for people to buy your products and services!
Identity
Apple creates and capitalizes on brand identification. Many people who buy Apple products often associate themselves with…other people who buy Apple products. People gravitate toward ideas of individualism and a unique identity. As kids, we loved being the “first kid on the block” to have something to show our friends. As teenagers, we hoped to be the first to buy the new CD from our favorite band. It is why adult men dream of one day owning a Harley, and why two women are mortified when they go to a social function and have on the same dress.
In recent years, America has embraced a “nerd counter-culture.” It has now become OK – and sometimes, even cool – to show a love for technology, gadgetry and all things “wired.” When Apple launched the first iPod in 2001, they not only revitalized Apple the company (and reimagined Apple the brand), they also helped launch this cultural zeitgeist. It became OK for CEOs to type their own letters or for people to “take notes” on an iPad during a meeting, or to replace cable television (and its monthly costs) with content streamed from an AppleTV or a Mac Mini. Apple helped usher in this new era of utilitarianism and comfort with technology. Think about it: how many people put stickers of a corporate logo (the Apple logo) on their cars? And perhaps more interesting, what assumptions do we make about the people driving a car adorned by an Apple sticker?
Lessons to Learn: Create products and services for a “special” kind of customer. No one can be all things to all people. Figure out who your target is, and do business exclusively with that market, especially at the outset of a brand new enterprise. Whenever possible, make it personal. Remember that it is better to have a smaller group of loyal, core customers who will evangelize on your behalf versus having a massive customer base with no real emotional attachment to your brand (because they will be the first to leave when a competitor offers a cheaper or better solution).
Pick just one of these to adopt for your business today, and you will be the better for it. Deftly combine all three, and you could be the next Apple!
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