Apple Brand Marketing: Selling The Impossible

Apple Brand Marketing: Selling The Impossible by Dorian Cioban

September 15, 2012

It’s that time of year when Apple fan-boys shift their gear into free marketing mode by overawing everybody with their latest iPhone. For them, the new iPhone 5 is still revolutionary and amazing, having the best camera ever when, in fact, it’s just the same model recycled all over again, twice as fast and having a taller screen. It is truly incredible how Apple’s product marketing never seems to fail, a feature not so hard to achieve given the fact that it’s the world’s most valuable company – even my slightly unimpressed attitude towards Apple’s latest creation will result in a good advertising for the product. The reason why I say this is that after the launch of iPhone 5 sites like 9GAG exploded with memes regarding the new form factor and design of the phone:

Images: 9GAG.com

With so many memes and mixed feelings running wild, you’d probably think that this iPhone will do worse than its predecessor in sales, but according to TechCrunch the pre-orders actually sold 20 (yes, twenty) times faster than 4 and 4S – another strong proof of Apple’s unrelenting dominance and incredibly high brand loyalty. While it has been over five years since the unveiling of the original iPhone, Apple still manages to create market spikes even though this launch failed to surprise many due to by the numerous leaks which occurred in the previous few months. But, how does all of this relate to basic consumers? Can they really tell the difference between an old model of iPhone and a new one? The popular television host Jimmy Kimmel probably proved it best by giving users the iPhone 4S, telling them it’s the latest model:

I’m sensing a classic big corporation pattern here: We make a product that’s a revolutionary trend-setter and then we keep updating it each year with simple software features we haven’t thought of adding in the first place, yet even the most basic phones have them. This situation reminds me of the megapixel race a few years ago, when the manufacturers suddenly realized that it would be probably better not to stuff so much megapixels on a smaller sensor, but rather make it overall better so it has more low-light performance. So, when it comes to creating something new and marketing it, Apple as a brand can sell absolutely anything even if the average consumer shows lack of interest towards the product – there’s a lot of psychology involved behind the taglines and advertisements to make you buy their products.

I really wouldn’t like to conclude this article with the usual outcry “Apple isn’t the same after Steve Jobs’ death, because they’ve made so many uncharacteristic mistakes, yadda, yadda…” While this might be true, Apple is still a big company which fiercely fights the competition and it won’t stop at anything to get into your wallet.

BY Dorian Cioban

Author

With years of experience in the fields of photography and graphic design, Dorian is a very creative, skillful and hardworking individual. His motivation comes from a strong desire to do new things that will help express himself in an imaginative and fun way. He is currently a student of Graphic Design & Visual Communications at Faculty of Arts & Design in Timișoara, Romania.

Brad

Sorry, but I disagree with the cynical and bias point of view of this article. Products are made to be improved, making them better and better. Every company does that. It’s taller, thinner, lighter and faster. What could you want more? A radical change of design? What for? that would have been senseless. While I agree it is not revolutionary, I think overall it looks great and performs well, just like a good product should. It’s just a better product. Both design and performace-wise, the iPhone is top of the line.

The above written article is a poor example of jurnalism making use of childish online memes which don’t prove a point and a Jimmy Kimmel video which does not reflect all Apple customers.

It’s just a phone after all, everybody uses what they like and what suits them best.
- http://www.brandingmagazine.com/ Dorian Cioban
  
  Hi Brad, thanks for your comment.
  
  While the article may be a poor example of journalism in your opinion, please keep in mind that childish memes you are refering to are an important part of the internet phenomenon which create discussions between one of the most important target audience iPhone has – students. The Jimmy Kimmel video went wiral with over 5.8 million views in 2 days – does that suggest anything? It suggests the incredible amount of marketing power Apple has, whether it is positive or negative. For the most of the time, it is just free advertising and people will hear about it whether they like it or not.
  - http://www.facebook.com/bellofiore Sebastian Gubser Bellofiore
    
    Well firstly it is not «advertising» but «publicity», and secondly it is not strategic, so by definition: it is not. Regarding the rest I agree and disagree. I agree in relation to the fact that Apple has lost their enthusiasm over innovation which, for those who remember, was their winning tactic back in ’97 when Steve Jobs went back to Apple and which he claimed, at that speech, was their strength and chance to get back to profitability. They seem to have forgotten that and this will hurt the brand a lot to the extent that consumers are expecting it, because its one of the brand’s values that they so much defended over the past 15 years. They have broken a promise, and costumers don’t forget that. We might want to check their ranking on this year’s Interbrand’s «Best Global Brands» and WPP’s «Brandz». And then I disagree when you say they’re just trying to get into your pockets. Sure, the company lacks a goal, which apparently was only in Jobs’ head, and sure once that goal is off road the only thing that is left is profit. But I still believe that what the company most wants is having a quality product and that can be seen on how that device was assembled. It’s not plastic and its not just a product design: it is improved in every detail except that of a new redesigned form. They have lost their Focus, which is innovation, concentrating too much on design, but they still deliver quality products and that is not only a profit-oriented strategy. A profit-oriented strategy is that of samsung, releasing 100 smartphones every year in the hope to kill 1 single rival product: iPhone. Apple’s biggest mistake? Believing that they can deliver a technologically outdated device in 2012 relying the sales projections exclusively on its design: on the long run it won’t work. But after all the buzz, I believe they know it by now.
    - http://www.brandingmagazine.com/ Dorian Cioban
      
      Hi Sebastian and thank you for your comment.
      
      I do agree with you that Apple is currently a little bit off course, the things can get very complicated when you lose the ‘captain’ of the ship – in this case Steve Jobs. Of course Apple can still deliver supreme quality products, they are probably the only company in the world who actually pay an incredible amount of attention to details in the process of making a product. The thing that actually bothers me is the surreal amount of hype that generated and still resonates over a device that is something we have already seen two years ago since the launch of iPhone 4. It also amazes me how we tend to forget that both Apple and Samsung are big corporations where competition drives their revenue. It’s this slow ‘update’ which is guaranteed to put money in their pockets for the next few years. Both companies have a clear road map for the future which they stick to and products like iPhone 5 are just something in-between while we are waiting for the next product which is truly ‘revolutionary’ and not ‘hypeolutionary’.

Join us on Facebook