Last week Apple became the first U.S. company to achieve $1 trillion in value. This is a huge milestone for one of the world’s most beloved brands.
I clearly remember when Apple was introduced. Our agency team was working on an ad campaign for another start-up computer company. Our client was made up of ex-IBMers who were heavily focused on building the fastest computer you could buy. IBM had defined the product-buying agenda as computing speed or power. If you got behind in this “features and benefits” game, retailers would drop you for the newest, fastest machine. Our client fell behind and was out of business before the campaign was launched.
Instead of computing power, Apple offered something much different: personal empowerment. The brand experience was so user-friendly, essentially anyone could use a Mac. For instance, my first Mac helped me tabulate data faster, write more creative reports and even allowed me to play games from time to time. Instead of offering more computing power, Apple made computing power accessible.
Steve Jobs and his partners clearly designed their brand for the masses, creating a brand experience to be shared and talked about. They priced the brand to be relatively expensive, and people like me were willing to pay extra for the empowerment the brand promised and delivered. Instead of investing in a computer, buying an Apple was more of an investment in yourself. The brand inspired you, enabled you to be innovative and helped expand your imagination. Apple offered the emotional benefit of self-expression and personal identity enhancement.
Today the Apple brand’s emotionally engaging platform lets the company price its technology up to twice that of competitors. And now Apple enjoys an enthusiastic customer base eager to adopt its next product! Visit the Services section of our site to see how we can help you leverage your brand strategy.