Page 31 - Strategic Marketing Complete

BUILDING BRANDS

There is an adage that says: ‘if you Back in September 1985, I was business do not have the necessary
can’t measure it, you can’t treasure attending the General Assembly skills to take the company to
it’. Yet few companies know the value and Congress of the International the next level. Apple was no
of their brands, nor measure them Council of Societies of Industrial exception; with the arrival of a top
on a regular basis. Consider a brand Design (ICSID) in Washington professional manager, Jobs was
worth millions, or even billions: the DC, representing South Africa. It acrimoniously removed from the
CEO had better be sure that the was a big international gathering, company in 1985 – only to return
team running it has the competency including an expo showcasing the over a decade later in 1997, as the
and experience to be responsible for best of US products. Many of those company teetered on the edge
managing, protecting and growing companies have long since been of bankruptcy. The company’s
assets of this financial magnitude, taken over or simply disappeared. success has been phenomenal, as
as they are the main drivers of the For me, Apple’s was the most it combined technologies to create
ongoing success of the business. distinctive stand, with a modest the smart phone series – ‘it’s not the
Putting financial value on a brand display (not a booth) giving a customers job to know what they
not only assists in the management 360-degree view of their products. want’ – and change our lifestyles.
of the brand, it assists financial I think it was possibly the first time And to this day, its profit margin is
resource allocation, and helps I was conscious of the brand. The the envy of the competitive set as
bridge the gap that sometimes striking impact it made came from they scramble in Apple’s wake.
still exists – sadly – between the the attention to detail, the visual
marketing and finance departments. alignment and coordination: the Five secrets behind apple’s appeal
Keeping things simple: It should
almost monochromatic colour never be forgotten that brands
The origins of apple spectrum, the branding, typography really operate at two levels. One is
In the case of IT geeks Steve and typestyle, the packaging, functional – does the brand deliver
Wozniak and Steve Jobs, they brochures and then the product consistently on its promise and
started off by playing around in design. So simple, so logical – but remain relevant and up to date? The
the latter’s parents’ garage. The oh so challenging to coordinate and other is emotional: how ‘close’ do we
two students launched their first align all those different departments feel to the brand; do we regard it as
computer in April 1976. Wozniak and egos. ‘my’ brand?

simple can be harder than complex; you

have to work hard to get your thinking clean, to

make it simple.

was the more experienced Later, I came across a quote from Recent research from MBLM and
technically, and happiest in the Jobs that explained everything: Praxis Research Partners lays bare
background, while Jobs was happy ‘That’s been one of my mantras: just five of the tactics Apple uses to
to be the ‘front man’. The company focus and simplicity. Simple can be engage emotionally: Firstly, their
was incorporated on 3 January harder than complex; you have to products are woven into our lives,
1977 in Cupertino, California, work hard to get your thinking clean, making them indispensable. Just
USA, and Apple Computers was to make it simple’. imagine life without your range of
in business. To this day, Apple is Apple offerings!
headquartered in Cupertino, where A few months later in Johannesburg,
all the intellectual property resides, my branding and design Secondly, the brand makes products
although over 90% of production consultancy became the proud that are close to us – think of an
occurs in China. owner of two Apple Computers, as Apple Watch and Airpods, where we
we invested in our future. are in actual physical contact with
All Apple products state: ‘Designed However, Apple was then going the product. ‘Being tethered to an
by Apple in California’; the term through a particularly challenging Apple product or family of products
‘computer’ has been largely retired period. The world was waking during waking hours can foster
as the company morphed into smart up to the new age of computers strong bonds’, say the researchers.
phones and so much more. Consider and technology. Competition Thirdly, the products look cool. They
the disruption caused by the launch was intense, and with it came the are aspirational and worthy of a
of Apple Watches in April 2015, realisation that to produce a one- premium price; or as a client said to
which in short order has become the off was no guarantee of a future. me when I first took out what today
biggest selling luxury watch, now on There was the added complication is my MacBook: ‘My, you look zooty
Series 4. that sometimes the founders of a Jeremy’.

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