BRAND MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:

APPLES BRAND VALUE CHAIN & CUSTOMER-BASED BRAND EQUITY MODEL

Submitted To:
Ms.Nudrat Moni Rehman

Submitted By:
Ashutosh Kr. Singh Sourav Kumar
MBA(Gen.),3rd Sem

APPLE'S BRANDING STRATEGY: Apple Inc. uses the Apple brand to compete across several highly competitive markets, including the personal computer industry with its Macintosh line of computers and related software, the consumer electronics industry with products such as the iPod, digital music distribution through its iTunes Music Store, the smart phone market with the Apple iPhone, and more recently magazine, book, games and applications publishing via the Apples Store for iPhone and the iPod tablet computing device. For marketers, the company is also establishing a very strong presence to rival Google in the advertising market, via its Apps business and iPad network. Steve Jobs, Apple's Founder and Chairman, described Apple as a "mobile devices company" - the largest one in the world (Apple's revenues are bigger than Nokia, Samsung, or Sony's mobility business). For several years Apple's product strategy involved creating innovative products and services aligned with a "digital hub" strategy, whereby Apple Macintosh computer products function as the digital hub for digital devices, including the Apple iPod, personal digital assistants, cellular phones, digital video and still cameras, and other electronic devices. More recently, the full impact of a very well throughout brand strategy has come into focus - and one in which customer experience is central Apple's core competence is delivering exceptional experience through superb user interfaces. The company's product strategy is based around this, with iTunes, the iPhone with its touch screen "gestures" that are re-used on the iPad, and the Apple Apps store all playing key roles. THE APPLE BRAND PERSONALITY: Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. The Apple brand personality is about lifestyle; imagination; liberty regained; innovation; passion; hopes, dreams and aspirations; and power-to-the-people through technology. The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity and the removal of complexity from people's lives; people-driven product design; and

about being a really humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers. APPLE BRAND EQUITY AND APPLE'S CUSTOMER FRANCHISE: The Apple brand is not just intimate with its customers, it's loved, and there is a real sense of community among users of its main product lines. The brand equity and customer franchise which Apple embodies is extremely strong. The preference for Apple products amongst the "Mac community", for instance, not only kept the company alive for much of the 90's (when from a rational economic perspective it looked like a dead duck) but it even enables the company to sustain pricing that is at a premium to its competitors. It is arguable that without the price-premium which the Apple brand sustains in many product areas, the company would have exited the personal computer business several years ago. Small market share PC vendors with weaker brand equity have struggled to compete with the supply chain and manufacturing economics of Dell. However, Apple has made big advances in becoming more efficient with its manufacturing supply chain, logistics and operations, and it can be assumed that as far as like-for-like hardware manufacturing comparisons are concerned, Apple's product costs are very similar to those of Dell. In terms of price to the consumer, Apple's computer products have an additional cost advantage: the company does not have to pay another company for operating system licenses... THE APPLE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: The huge promise of the Apple brand, of course presents Apple with an enormous challenge to live up to. The innovative, beautifully-designed, highly ergonomic, and technology-leading products which Apple delivers are not only designed to match the brand promise, but are fundamental to keeping it. Apple fully understands that all aspects of the customer experience are important and that all brand touch-points must reinforce the Apple brand.

Apple has expanded and improved its distribution capabilities by opening its own retail stores in key cities around the world in up-market, quality shopping venues. Apple provides Apple Mac-expert retail floor staff staff to selected resellers' stores (such as Australian department store David Jones); it has entered into strategic alliances with other companies to co-brand or distribute Apple's products and services (for example, HP who was selling a co-branded form of iPod and pre-loading iTunes onto consumer PCs and laptops though in retrospect this may now just have been a stepping-stone). Apple has also increased the accessibility of iPods through various resellers that do not currently carry Apple Macintosh systems (such as Harvey Norman), and has increased the reach of its online stores. The very successful Apple retail stores give prospective customers direct experience of Apple's brand values. Apple Store visitors experience a stimulating, no-pressure environment where they can discover more about the Apple family, try out the company's products, and get practical help on Apple products at the shops' Guru Bars. Apple retail staffs are helpful, informative, and let their enthusiasm show without being brash or pushy. The overall feeling is one of inclusiveness by a community that really understands what good technology should look and feel like - and how it should fit into people's lives. APPLE BRAND ARCHITECTURE: From a brand architecture viewpoint, the company maintains a "monolithic" brand identity - everything being associated with the Apple name, even when investing strongly in the Apple iPod and Apple iTunes products. Apple's current line-up of product families includes not just the iPod and iTunes, but iMac, iBook, iLife, iWork, iPhone, iPad, and now iCloud. However, even though marketing investments around iPod are substantial, Apple has not established an "i" brand. While the "i" prefix is used only for consumer products, it is not used for a large number of Apple's consumer products (e.g. Mac mini, Mac Book, Apple TV, Airport Extreme, Safari, QuickTime, and Mighty Mouse).

The list of Apple's Trademarks reflects something of a jumbled past. The predominant sub-brand since the introduction of the Apple Macintosh in January 1984 has always been the Apple Mac. Products whose market includes Microsoft computer users (for example MobileMe, QuickTime, Bonjour, and Safari) have been named so they are somewhat neutral, and therefore more acceptable to Windows users. Yet other product have been developed more for a professional market (e.g. Aperture, the Final Cut family, and Serve). THE IPOD HALO EFFECT: Though Apple's iPhone and iTunes music business is profitable in its own right, Apple's venture into these product areas was based on a strategy of using the music business to help boost the appeal of Apple's computing business. Apple is using iPod, iTunes, iPhone, and now iPad to reinforce and reinvigorate the Apple brand personality. At the same time, these product initiatives are growing a highly relevant, appealing brand image in the minds of consumer segments that Apple has not previously reached. In a so-called iPod halo effect, Apple hoped that the popularity of iPod and iTunes among these new groups of customers would cause these segments to be interested in Apple's computer products. This does seem to have happened. Since the take-off of the iPod there has been a dramatic rise in Apple's computer sales and market share. A couple of years ago, Apple's aspirations for the iPod halo effect was highlighted most strongly when it used the slogan "from the creators of iPod" in its promotion of iMac G5 computers. In this instance, the Apple brand came full-circle - having been built into a branding system that originates in the personal computer market, then leveraged into the consumer electronics market, and then back into the consumer personal computer market. This halo effect is extended with the hugely successful Apple iPad tablet computer. Great customer experience with iPhone (and familiarity with Apple's touch screen gesture controls), combined with a great product in its

own right, has made iPod a huge success that in turn is drawing even more people to Apple's Mac computer products. In a move which also brings matters full circle, the Lion version of Mac OSX brings to the Mac the same touch screen gesture controls which iPad and iPod users have learned. This is extension of a common user experience across Apple products have been further strengthened by the introduction of the Apps Store to Mac OSX in mid-2011. Mac users can now buy their OSX applications with the same convenience as iPad or iPhone users can buy ions Apps. EXPECT THE HALO TO SPEAK - SIRE AND BEYOND: Speech will be the next dimension in which Apple will gain synergy across its product lines. Expect the natural language speech processing and interactivity capabilities introduced in October 2011 on the iPhone 4S to be introduced first on the iPad (which uses the same operating system and A5 processor as the iPhone 4S). Apple is giving substance to speech interactivity by giving it a character - a personal assistant called "Siri". Siri can be somewhat customized by using different languages and idioms (for example, there are three versions of English speech available with country-specific accents and pronunciation - US, UK and Australian). Presumably other customization or personalization features will also be introduced (perhaps user choice of name and other "identity" characteristics). Having taught customers to use touch gestures, Apple is now going to teach us how to speak to computers (almost unavoidably, in a specific Apple dialect of speech interaction). APPLE BRAND STRENGTH NOW CREATING FINANCIAL SUCCESS: So far, Apples' branding strategy is bearing fruit. For example, Apple reports that half of all computer sales through its retail channel are to people new to Macintosh, the company's sales and margins have been growing strongly since 2006, and Apple has achieved several "best ever" quarterly financial results in recent years.

Leveraging the success of the iPod, Apple launched the iPhone (released in July 07) to extend the brand even further. Apple's buzz marketing efforts in the first half of 2007 were truly superb, culminating in the release of one of the most highly anticipated products for many years - and launching apple into a completely new market: mobile handsets. By July 2008 the buzz about the 3G iPhone resulted in over 1 million units being sold in the first 3 days of its release in over 20 countries around the world. This success was repeated in 2010 with the introduction of the iPad tablet computer, and in March 2011 with the launch of the iPad 2 which sold 1 million units within 24 hours. APPLE RE-ENTERING THE CORPORATE MARKET VIA THE IPHONE AND IPAD HALO EFFECT: Though no-one at Apple would say so today, the next phase of Apple's strategy seems focused on the corporate marketplace. A long time ago, Apple had a fairly strong market share in large companies. A long, long time ago (at the end of the 1970's) the first spreadsheet program (VisiCalc) was launched on the Apple II. The first PC (the IBM PC) to run a Microsoft operating system (PC DOS) did not appear until 1981. When Microsoft launched its Excel spreadsheet in 1984 it appeared first on the justreleased Apple Mac, such was Apple's presence among accounting and finance departments. Even though Apple effectively stopped competing for corporate business during the 1990s, the Apple Mac is still used in corporate environments. Microsoft still has a vigorous applications development team totally dedicated to writing business software for the Apple Mac. New versions of Microsoft Office for Apple Mac still come out approximately 2 years before similar functionality is placed in the next version of Microsoft Office for the Windows operating system. Over the next few years it seems likely that Apple will re-focus on the Corporate marketplace: The company provides regular updates on the proportion of Fortune 500 companies which are either trialing or deploying iPhone (currently over 90%), and the iPad. In 2009, when Apple announced

"Snow Leopard" (the current version of the Apple Mac operating system) it included features allowing Mac computers to fully support Microsoft Exchange. This enables corporate IT departments to support business users who wish to use Apple Macs for their main email clients. Apple latest version, Mac OSX Lion (released in summer 2011) includes all the functionality needed to use a Mac as a business server. Also, Microsoft continues to bring out advanced versions of Microsoft Office for Apple Mac, and - very significantly - in mid-2008 Apple announced a software upgrade for the iPhone which allows iPhones to be fully supported by Microsoft Exchange email servers. Corporate IT departments can now include iPhones as email clients. One aspect of Apple's strategy seems clear: to use the popularity of the iPhone and iPad to break back into large corporations, sell lots of those devices, and have Apple Mac back on the desks of large businesses (or more probably - in the laptop bags of middle and senior managers in most large businesses). The Macbook Air and iPad are clearly designed for business markets as well as for consumers, and Apple continues to display its mastery in smoothly morphing customer experience and brand preference from one product category to another. As we say; no one in Apple will currently admit to such ambitions, but Apple's branding strategy is clearly expanding to include business and corporate markets once again. AFTER HALOS CLOUDS: The next step in Apple's marketing strategy is the Apple iCloud, which delivers a seamless experience for using and sharing content across all your Apple devices (iPhone, iPod, iPad, or Mac). ICloud enables a common "it just works" experience for using content across all of Apple's mainstream products. ICloud positions the company for a future where customers experiences and their digital lives transcend the hardware devices which they use, and enables Apple to extend the brand experience well beyond individual products.

Apple has invested in a 500,000 (soon to be one million) square foot Apple data center in rural North Carolina. This data centre this will be used as the core of a data repository for Apple's iCloud services, which will enable Apple to leverage its customer franchise into an even broader market space. Apple iCloud is one of many ways in which Apple and Google are fast becoming arch rivals. IKNOW SIRI? Once Apple hand-held device users have become accustomed to this style of interactivity, presumably natural language speech interaction will also be extended to the Mac - in whatever form-factor Apple's full-function computers have evolved into by then. Perhaps longer-term, it can also be assumed that a user's Siri personal assistant will be used to embody and create a feeling of continuous experience across different devices, with Siri seemingly moving with us from device to device. This continuity across devices will be possible because Apple is using iCloud to offer customers device-independence and multi-device synchronization - so that whichever Apple device you move to the experience continues because the new one will "know" what you were doing on the last one and can pick up dialogues such as chat messages where you left off. APPLE'S ORIGINAL APPLE MACINTOSH MARKETING STRATEGY: Stanford University has published contemporary records and original documents of the marketing strategy for the Apple Macintosh launch in 1984, including the original Apple marketing strategy and the Apple Macintosh product introduction plan written by Regis McKenna. It is now nearly 3 decades since the launch of the Apple Macintosh (on January 24, 1984). Having proven itself and already gained considerable popularity with the Apple II, Apple chose to announce the Apple Mac in one of the most famous-ever commercials, aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on 22 January 1984

BRAND VALUE CHAIN

Value Chain Activity Corresponding Firm Practice, Policy, or Procedure 1. General Administration A greener Apple reduction in energy use in production and transportation to match trend in green business. Strong cash position allows the firm to internally finance expansion and development without cost of capital. 2. Human Resources Management Selective hiring process finds and attract talent Generous employee benefits program retain industry-leading talent. 3. Technological Development Research & Development expenditure increased about 66% from 2007 to 2009 Patent filing protection of important inventions and innovations in the US and worldwide 4. Procurement Positive relationships with suppliers EICC member, working to improve working conditions, created and enforces a Supplier Code of Conduct. 5. Inbound Logistics Automated receiving systems requirements. reduce facility footprint and space

Delegate raw materials acquisition offer supervision to OEM partners who carry out acquisition.

6. Operations Utilizes OEMs economies of scale offshore production to save money on costs of build. Internal design design and conceptualize products internally 7. Outbound Logistics Economical/Stylish Packaging eye-catching packaging takes up less space and weight, reducing shipping costs and costs of disposal. Apple Stores/Authorized Retailers working to maintain standards over presentation of products for sale. Direct shipment ship products from China to consumer to minimize inventory buildups in costly locations. 8. Marketing and Sales Get a Mac Ads Various direct/indirect favorable comparisons 1. General Administration 2. Human Resources Management 3. Technological Development 4. Procurement 5. Inbound Logistics 6. Operations 7. Outbound Logistics 8. Sales and Marketing 9. Service against competing products, selling on quality and image. Retail Locations/Flagship Stores living ads with strong branding and image promotion.

Secretive & Selective Unveilings creation of hype and suspension around product launches. 10. Service Apple Genius Helpful 1-on-1 interaction and service on products with 1st party provider. Included and Extended Warranty protect against defects and issues, build positive image. Free Consultation In- or out-of-warranty consultation to determine issues before billing.

CUSTOMER-BASED BRAND EQUITY MODEL

How did Apple create a niche for itself and remain competitive in spite of its premium priced products? How does Apple strike the fine balance between being trendy and yet appealing to the masses? My interest to study how Apple has managed to achieve success and build its brand over the last 30 years in a very competitive and dynamic industry has led me to choose it for the purpose of evaluation in accordance with my views when it comes to the CBBE pyramid. A general view of the brand according to my perception:

Now lets look at Apple in terms of the CBBE pyramid

SALIENCE: I first heard about the Apple brand when I was about 12 years old when my father bought a Macintosh pc. It was the first PC that my father had bought for me. Although at the time, I used the PC to play games rather than doing anything else. But it was something I treasured. Apple is one of the first things I think about when I look for a laptop. Im always interested in what new theyve come up with every time I visit an electronics store. Even when I think of buying an mp3 player, the Apple IPod Video is the first image that comes to my mind. But when I think of buying a phone, the Apple IPhone ranks below Nokia and Sony Ericcsson. One of my main reasons for the attachment to the Apple IPod is because of their commercials. In their commercials, youll see lots of happy, energetic people dancing in silhouette against a colorful and ever-changing background. Notice the distinctive white headphones flowing in unison to the owners movements. What you dont see is a focus on iPod. No close-ups of how you select a song or adjust the volume level. Why would Apple take all the time to make a great user interface only to not show it on television? The reason is simple: Apple isnt selling you an MP3 player. They are inviting you to experience the Apple lifestyle and to become part of the iPod community. Use any other MP3 player and youll hear good music. Use an iPod and youll feel good. Youll fit in. Product features dont create fans. They focus on what people do and show how they feel using Apples stuff. Those white iPod headphones were not designed by engineers I think they are a pure Apple marketing trick designed to make the visible part of their product a status symbol. Wear white headphones and you are a member of the club. Think back to the first PowerBook - it was a unique dark grey color (it was patterned after a color designed by Whirlpools Refrigerator research to hide or eliminate fingerprints) In both cases, the distinctive grey PowerBook case and the more recent white iPod headphones are status symbols (and uniquely Apple.) Even the glowing Apple logo was fixed to be right-side up for others (its upside down to you when you open your new MacBook because you are selling the brand to others for Apple). These factors have really worked for me in terms of brand recall.

When I hear the word Innovation, Apple is the first brand that comes in picture. However, when it comes to buying other computer accessories like mouse, keyboard, or headphones, I think more of other brands like Sony, HP or Logitech instead of Apple. This is mainly because of the price factor associated with Apple products. I would buy Apple products mainly just for say gifting my family or treat myself once in a while. Its not something that I would go and buy every time I need an item in the same product line. Consumer encounters trigger purchase at the Apple store. Apple is a great brand and I adore it but then the price always comes into picture. The price is there to differentiate it from others but that also prevents it from being more accessible. I think Apples launch of the IPod Shuffle was brilliant in this regard as it made the brand more accessible especially in terms of price. I think they should work more on the price factor to resolve this issue of accessibility to the segments they target as other brands like HP and Dell also have great products in similar price ranges.

BRAND PERFORMANCE: In terms of brand performance, I think Apple has set the highest benchmark for others to follow. Their products are of very high quality offering very good options, ease of use and beautiful designs. This is the reason that they charge a premium for their products. In regards to the basic functions, I think that Apple products are in line with its competitors. But when it comes to supplementary features, I think Apple has gone many steps ahead and has provided users with something revolutionary every time. Apple does one thing very well: making complex things easy and elegant. The iPod is successful because it makes getting your music into your pocket dead simple. Apple took existing MP3 player designs and applied their experience and technology to improve it. Plug your iPod in its cradle and it takes care of moving your music to your iPod, organized the same way it is on your computer. Youre done (and your iPod is charged at the same time - bonus!) Other MP3 players are still trying to catch up with this elegant brilliance. On the other hand, Apples Newton tried to carve out a whole new category Portable Digital Assistants - and failed miserably. This shows that it doesnt

always work for Apple. In terms of reliability, durability and serviceability, I think there isnt any company even close to the level of Apple. Not only are Apple products technologically superior in my view, theyre also very reliable. Ive heard and experienced almost no issues when it came to Apple products. The performance of Apple products, have been very consistent over long periods. Even in terms of durability, the first PC which my father bought for me still works the way it did 13 years ago, is a standing testament to Apples promise of long lasting happiness. Apples service is a hallmark of excellence. The service is fantastic from the time the problem is reported to the time it is solved and delivered to your doorstep. The servicing takes very less time as compared to other players in the market. If Apple cant fix their product, they give you a new one for free without thinking twice. This shows how much they care about the customer. Apple styling and design is something that sets it completely apart from its rivals. Thats why its said that the artsy type always own an Apple. The design is not only eye catching, its also very practical. This can be seen in the finish, the way the logo is presented on their product especially on their laptops (The beautiful Blue pulsating logo). The symbol with a bite taken out of it is simple and memorable. The bite makes a suggestion to the apple in the Garden of Eden implying that Apple products are irresistible and tempting. The logo incorporates multi-color (rainbow) that signifies diversity showing that Apple celebrates diverse experiences and backgrounds. The implication here is that Apple is inclusive, not exclusive. Their products are light weight, sleek and strong which are very desirable features of consumer products. Its said that buying an Apple is worth every penny. But I think that they can still do more when it comes to pricing. The segment theyre targeting will look for sophistication and something new, but it might not always be accessible to them price wise. Apple products keep changing and hence this keeps the price range over the years on the same levels. This does get frustrating for me especially when the product is just a little beyond my price range at some points of time. I think Apple should also continue producing and selling their older products at cheaper prices. This will help it become more accessible to a wider segment and fan base. Apples products being premium priced will

definitely get affected by negative market conditions and therefore Apple needs to be adaptable in such situations. Apple needs to re-think its long term strategy and business model in line of a changing computer industry, the gradual decline of the MP3 player market and the increase in competition from smart phone competitors like Nokia. Apple will have to quickly and rapidly exploit its dynamic capabilities and change its objectives, strategy and business models while still operating in a position of strength. Apple can no longer depend on the PC market and will need to strengthen its iTunes and iPhone product offering.

BRAND IMAGERY: The Apple brand is associated with sophistication and technology. Apple products are generally bought by computer and fashion savvy customers rather than the usual computer user. This is because they are looking for something more than functionality and Apple delivers that little extra in a very settle but distinctive fashion. I love to use an Apple not just because of its performance and the way it looks, but also because it shows others who see me working on it that, Im different from the rest. Apple products give users a unique identity that other products fail to convey. This is because Apple has concentrated on selling the brand rather than the product and this approach has worked very positively for them. Take podcasting for example. Podcasting started to become popular at the end of 2004. The term first appeared in February 2004, and is a combination of the words iPod and broadcasting. Podcasting involves users downloading audio files from the web and then transferring them to an MP3 player, to be listened to at any convenient moment. Not only has this given broadcast radio programmers a new distribution method but has provided ordinary people around the globe with the opportunity to make their own podcasts. The BBC began a trial of podcasts in October 2004. In June 2005, Apple added 3,000 podcasts to its iTunes service. Within two days customers had downloaded over one million podcasts! According to one management consultant, iTunes has managed to move podcasting into the mainstream.

Media giants such as CBS and ABC now offer a number of radio programmes in podcast form. Podcasts are appearing on all sorts of subjects: business and management topics, education, sport, religion, computers and culture. August 2005 saw the first ever podcast from space, by US astronaut Steve Robinson from the space shuttle, Discovery. Now, podvertising could become popular, with companies such as MasterCard and Orange already paying for advertising slots at the start of podcasts by Virgin radio in the UK. Apples iPod is one of the most popular MP3 players, helping to make the company one of the leaders in the digital revolution. Although the term podcast does not only refer to the iPod, the increasing popularity of podcasting is certainly benefiting profits at Apple! Just as Sony became synonymous with Walkman, it seems that the new term podcasting is enhancing the Apple brand. According to my view, Apple products are used for applications which require high performance. Hence the high levels of quality that lead to high reliability and durability. Apple macbooks are used by artists, designers and engineers. The IPods are used by athletes and fitness freak and the IPhone for people who take their business seriously but also like to have fun. It sets about portraying a fun, new and hip personality which not only moves with the times but is also a trendsetter. Apple identifies itself as a company that started from scratch and grew to something amazing and it portrays this in all its products. It shows how, through innovation, great things are possible in the shortest time scale. It builds its brand image based on the experience it provides to its customers from the time the customer enters the showroom to the time the product is purchased and after that. This is the reason why the brand recall is so high. For example, Apple encourages owners of its computers to form local Apple user groups. By 2009 there were over 3000 groups, ranging in size from fewer than 25 members to over 1000 members. The user groups provide Apple owners with opportunities to learn more about their computer, share ideas, and get product discounts, as well as sponsor special activities and events and perform community service. A visit to Apples web site helps customers find nearby user groups. The Apple brand also identifies itself with particular

segments of the market like specific age groups and Income groups. The multicolored logo itself depicts that Apple is for all races and creeds. The meaning of the name also gave the company a friendly and shine and warm based personality.

BRAND JUDGEMENTS: Lets look at this from the following points of view: Brand quality: According to me, an Apple customer will mostly conclude that Apple products exude quality which is actually what you would normally identify a German product with. Apples perceived quality can actually be higher than it really is. This adds a lotto its brand equity. This is because the customers rate the quality on the basis of the experience rather than the product only. Brand credibility: Apple is one of the most trusted brands in the world. Being innovative is its core competency and it has definitely caught the attention of the customer. Apple develops products based on customer inputs and keeps customers interest in the top of the list while designing its products. The entire Apple experience makes customers come back again and again. This shows that Apple enjoys high levels of likeability among its customers. This is mainly due to the experience Apple provides its customers rather than the product only. Brand Consideration: Apple as a brand is very close to its customers and has been able to give them what they want with very close accuracy. This has created a high level of consideration for the brand with the customers. I consider the brand first while contemplating to buy something from the product range because of the brand image that it has created over the years. The customers of Apple products dont only go to look at them but also have strong considerations of actually buying the products. Brand Superiority: Apple as a brand and a total experience is much superior to its rivals. The products are superior technologically as well as aesthetically. The brand does have the image of being a premium product. The

fact that it is user-friendly shows how advanced Apple is. Apple has taken their products to new heights every time. This shows the brand superiority of Apple especially in terms of technology. The price band also creates a perception among customers that the brand is superior.

BRAND FEELINGS: The Apple brand radiates feelings of fun, excitement and pride. People who own Apple products always look forward to using them with a lot of enthusiasm. The brand through its advertising has created an image of being diverse and colorful. This has been deeply etched in the minds of the customer. The Apple brand is synonymous with creativity and creativity is directly linked to fun and excitement. The Apple experience brings about feelings of fun and excitement to its customers. Lets take one of their advertisements for example. When the iPod was launched, it was a hit with celebrities and technical writers. But many consumers were under the impression that it was a sophisticated device for tech fans rather than the average music lover. The ad agency Apple hired and Apple itself set a goal to create a campaign that extended iPods relevance to more music lovers and told the world this wasnt just a tech-gadget available to few, but was also the icon that stood for a new experience with music. The marketing effort was designed to appeal to Mac fans as well as people who had not used Apple products in the past. The Silhouettes campaign ran all over the world, so the message had to be simple enough to work across culture. The ads also had to portray the iPod as cool, but not so cool as to be beyond the reach of anyone who enjoyed music. The idea behind the campaign was that the IPod was a passport to enjoying music whenever and wherever a consumer wanted. Text with ads, such as iPod. Welcome to the digital music revolution. 10,000 songs in your pocket. Mac or OC told the story of the iPods capabilities in a simple, appealing way. And the concept of 10,000 songs was designed to appeal to consumer markets like Japan, where other min-disk players with less capacity crowded the market.

The top markets for digital music were picked based on their role as influencers for youth culture in their regions. Apples campaign strategically targeted a handful of big cities such as San Francisco and Shanghai and used them as the focus for all media spending in that market. Those cities were flooded with iPod billboards, bus posters, print ads and TV commercials that were intended to spread the message iPod is everywhere. Silhouettes television commercials featured people in silhouettes listening to iPods and dancing in front of neon backgrounds. Songs in the ads included U2s Vertigo and Eminems Lose Yourself. Similar images of people dancing were used for the print ads, billboards and posters. This showcased the fun side of Apple. Other products like the Macbook and iPhone portray sophistication and pride. These are bought at a premium and hence the owner has a sense of pride.

BRAND RESONANCE: Apple customers relate to the brand very intimately. Repeat purchases are very common. They feel a very strong attachment towards the brand because it portrays a very different image. It helps make them feel that they are flowing with the changing trends because they own an Apple product. Many Apple consumers sometimes consider their Apple product their favorite possession or say that they love the brand because they get very attached to it. Apple has portrayed itself to be a brand that the customer can have a happy and lifelong relation with. The Apple experience has created deeper attitudinal attachment in the minds of the customer. Apple has also conveyed a sense of community through the Apple experience. Take for example the Apple local users groups as explained in the previous session. It has created a feeling of oneness among different customers and hence brought they close making the experience even better. Apple through some measures like these have engaged their customers and have actually made the process of investing time, energy , money or other resources enjoyable.

CONCLUSION: Apple has been rated as one of the best brands in the world. This has not happened overnight but has taken a shorter time than normal only because Apple branded themselves, not as an organization as such, but as a journey that has to be experienced at least once and once youve experienced it, youll want to keep coming back for the sequels.