AppleBrand Audit

Raphael ChellanMin Guo

Leslie JonesJialiang Lin

Thantavanh MounarathSungdong Song

Brand InventoryBrand History

• Apple Computer was founded in 1976 in Cupertino,

California by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

• Was predominantly a personal computer manufacturer

• Faced low market shares and rocky sales in 1990s

• Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985, but returned in 1996

when Apple bought his company NeXT

• Changed name to from Apple Computer to Apple in 2007

• Current CEO is Tim Cook

• Currently the largest publicly traded corporation in the

world

Brand InventoryBrand Elements• Logo

• Changes over time, but has retained the iconic apple shape since 1977

• Slogans

• Mac Mini – “It’s mini in a massive way.”

• MacBook - “The notebook people love.”

• iTunes – “You’ve never been so easily entertained.”

• iPhone – “Bigger than Better” “Progress is a beautiful thing”

• iPad Air – “Change is in the Air”

• iPad – “What will your verse be?”

• Mac OS X – “Every bit as powerful as it looks.”

• App Store – “There’s an app for that.”

• Apple TV – “All things entertaining”

• Apple Watch – “Our most personal device yet.”

• Apple Pay – “Your wallet. Without the wallet.”

• iTunes Radio – “Hear where your music takes you.”

• iPod Touch – “Engineered for maximum funness.”

• iPod Shuffle – “Small, but big on music.”

• iPod Nano – “Tap play. Then go play.”

Brand InventoryBrand Elements• Packaging

• Simplistic • Features the product• Reflects the simplicity and ease of use of the

products

Brand InventoryAttributes of Apple Products

• Stylish

• Cool

• Innovation

• Intuitive

• Luxury

• Easy-going

Brand InventoryDirect Competition• iPhone – other smartphones, like Samsung, Nokia, LG

• Points of Parity – large touchscreens, application capability, music playing capability

• Points of Difference – Apple has intuitive iOS and iTunes capability

• Apple TV – Smart TVs and Wifi enabled BluRay players and gaming consoles

• Points of Parity – access to online services such as Netflix, Hulu

• Points of Difference – Smart TVs do not require extra hardware

• iPad – Android tablets, specifically Samsung

• Points of Difference – iPad is compatible with other Apple Products

• Apple Pay – Traditional payment methods and PayPal

• Points of Difference – traditional payment methods do not require smartphones with wifi

• iTunes and iTunes Radio – music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify, CDs

• Apple Watch – Wearables and smartwatches

• MacBook, iMac – PC laptops and desktop computers

• Points of difference – Apple computers are resistant to viruses and considered to be superior

Brand InventoryIndirect Competition

• iPod – Smartphones with music capability

• iPad – desktop computers and laptops,

Smart TVs, gaming consoles

• MacBook and iMac – tablets

• Apple TV – traditional cable TV

Brand InventoryMarket Share

• PC

• There are five major players in the PC industry. These players

include : Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer, and Apple. Out of the major 5,

Lenovo has the highest market share with 20%, HP has the second

highest market share with an 18.8%. Dell has the third highest

market share with a 13.3% and Acer has an 8.4% market share. Out

of the five players Apple has the lowest market share in the PC

industry which was a 6.3%.

• Smartphone

• In the smart phone industry there are five major performing brands

and all the other smaller brands are grouped together. The top

smartphone performer is Samsung with a market share of 25.6%.

Apple was ranked second in this category with an 11.9% market

share followed by Huawei with a 6.9%, Lenovo with 5.9% and LG

with a 4.9%. All the smaller brands in the smartphone industry were

grouped together and accounted for 45.7% of the market share.

• Tablet

• In this category Apple was number one in market share with a 22.80%.

Samsung was in second with an 18.30%, Asus in third with a 6.50%,

Lenovo in fourth with a 5.70%, RCA in fifth with a 4.90%, and all the

other smaller players accounted for 41.80% of the market share.

• Portable Mp3 player

• Due cannibalization by the iPhone and iTouch, iPod sales have

continued to slip. Even though sales are continuing to decline Apple

still holds dominance with a market share of “70%” (Hollister Sean).

Brand InventoryBrand Architecture - Products

Brand InventoryBrand Architecture

Brand InventoryPricing

Brand InventoryProfitabilityApple is one of the most profitable brands in the

world. In 2014, Forbes named it the most valuable

brand in the world and in the first quarter of 2015,

Apple became the most profitable company in

history making an 18 billion dollar profit (Neate).

Profits had been unstable in years previous to

2015, but in Jan 2015 they exploded due to the

success of the new iPhone 6. Apple sold about 74.5

million iPhone 6’s, which represented “70%” of

Apples total revenue (Neeraj, M).

Brand InventoryDistribution Channels• Mac store online• Apple Store

• Most of the general sales are made here

• iTunes Store• Other retailers

• Best Buy• Amazon• Target • Walmart • AT&T• Verizon• Sprint • eBay

Brand InventoryMarketing Communications

• Apple focuses on simplicity as a guiding factor in everything they present to their consumers

• Online Marketing• Apple Website

• Apple makes sure that traffic is driven to their website via search engine marketing

• When the customer gets to the website, they find it is simple and easy to navigate

• The website gives the consumer information on all the apple products, so the customer can make informed decisions before they purchase and Apple product.

• Apple can spread information about their products before they put it on TV.

• Infomercials• When a consumer installs a new app or update,

Apple sometimes slips in an infomercial that shows the consumer how to use the new updates or new product. This promotes the image of simplicity while providing information to their customers

• TV• Commercials

• Apple commercials are often very simple and tend to present the product in an appealing, simple way.

• They often use songs which are trendy, hip and catchy in their commercials.

• Celebrity Endorsement• Apple uses high profile celebrities to help

communicate their brand position• Some of these celebrities include :U2, Samuel L

Jackson, Zooey Deschanel, and Tony Hawk• Product Placement

• Apple also tries to place their products into movies and TV shows

• Some of these include : Transformers 4, and Captain America : The Winter Soldier

• Press conferences• Apple often calls press conferences to announces

their new products and show them off to the world.• Buzz marketing

• Apple uses this technique a lot in marketing their products • They heavily relied on buzz marketing when they promoted

their “siri” product and they used celebrities like Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L Jackson to do it.

Brand InventoryBrand Personality

Sincerity • Family –Orientated• Honest• Real• Original • Friendly

Excitement • Trendy• Exciting• Cool• Imaginative • Unique• Contemporary

Competence• Reliable• Hard-working• Secure• Intelligent• Successful• Leader

Sophistication• Upper-class• Glamorous• Good-looking• Charming• Smooth

Brand ExploratoryCustomer Knowledge• Apple did great in building positive customer associations in the past

years, and it has the best consumer perception of any brand. There are both positive and negative brand associations of Apple in consumers’ minds, including:

• Positive Associations of Apple: High quality, innovative, great design, trendy, reliable, cool…

• Negative Associations of Apple: Over priced, over rated, expensive, pretentious…

Brand ExploratoryMental Map

Innovative

Trustworthy

Great Design

Trendy

Excellent Quality

Reliable

Expensive

Intellectual Development

Technology

Passion

Brand ExploratoryBrand Association

• Apple is the master of brand awareness: The brand

awareness of Apple is at the ‘top of mind’ in brand

awareness pyramid. Because of the unique brand

elements, technical features and positive customer

experience, customers can easily recognize and

recall the brand, and when refer to some types of

products like music players and laptops, Apple would

be the first brand that appear in customers’ minds.

• According to the new report of Interbrand, Apple is

now the most valuable brand in the world. Unaware of Brand

Brand Recognition

Brand Recall

Top of Mind

Brand Awareness Pyramid

Brand ExploratoryBrand Association• Strength

• Apple, as a brand, is openly loved by customers with

strong levels of association to words like ‘cool’ ‘best’

and even ‘love’.

• Apple is a brand that could lay claim to that strongest of

positive associations. The words ‘design’, ‘creative’ and

‘innovation’, which are in the mental map of consumers,

are also strongly associated with the brand.

• Favorability

• The users of Apple have ‘blind loyalty’ to the brand, in

their minds, Apple is the best brand in this world.

• For those who are not the users of Apple, Apple is still a

great brand in their minds, because the brand

associations of Apple are mostly positive and strongly

linked to the brand.

Brand ExploratoryBrand Association• Consistency

• Although the features of each product of Apple

are distinctive, the brand associations in

consumers’ minds however, are quite consistent

because of the consistent quality, design, style,

customer experience, brand elements and

positioning of Apple.

• Uniqueness

• Apple produces different types of products with

distinctive features, which helps Apple to

differentiate itself from competitors

• “Everything at Apple, from its logo to its down-to

earth founders, underscores its uniqueness” ---

Tom Peters

Brand ExploratorySource of Brand Equity• Since Apple has high brand awareness and brand

familiarity, and the brand associations in customers’

memory are strong, favorable and unique, the main source

of brand equity of Apple is customer based brand equity.

• The foundation of the brand equity of Apple is the user

experience that Apple promises to its customers. It is also

because of the experience that customers will have

positive brand associations linked to Apple.

• However, Apple is still facing some threats of their brand

equity. The competitors are trying to build positive brand

associations as well, and Apple needs to try to maintain its

loyal customers in the future.Customer Based Brand Equity

Brand Association in Memory

Brand Familiarity

Brand Awareness

Brand ExploratoryCustomer-Based Brand Equity Pyramid• Salience

• When people hear about Apple, they may all think of a word: innovation. Apple always takes advantage because of its innovative and high technologies products. It is mostly considered as the luxury brand worldwide by customers.

• Performance & imagery• Apple did great job on the brand performance. Apple had set

the highest benchmark for others to follow. The products of apple not only offer customers the high quality but also the simplicity and efficiency. What’s more, apple also features its beautiful design. This is the reason why apple charge a lot for products. Apple has gone many steps ahead and has provided customers revolutionary user experience. There is no other company can compete with Apple in terms of reliability, durability and advancement.

• When talking about Apple brand, people always think of innovative and high technologies. Apple’s product is not only the products but also a kind of way of living. People may rely apple on their usual life. People are looking for something more than functionality and Apple delivers them the attitude of a different life: more smartness, more simplicity and more comfortableness.

Brand ExploratoryCustomer-Based Brand Equity Pyramid• Brand judgment & feeling

• People always judge brand by four metrics: quality, credibility, consideration and superiority. Apple has the products with good quality and apple is one of the most trusted in the world. The products of apple hardly let you be disappointed with them. By releasing innovative products year by year, Apple is very close to customers and has created a high level of consideration for brand with customers. It always lead the trend of the technology products, no matter in function or design. It is no doubt that Apple is a super brand in the world.

• Apple let customers reward the feeling of happiness, excitement, social identity and pride. People never refuse using Apple’s products in public. They may even communicate with other Apple users about their feelings and enthusiasm.

• Resonance• When people own one or more Apple products, they may have high loyalty of Apples. They feel a very strong

attachment towards the as it brings a new and positive attitude of life. The owners of Apple products can obtain a sense of belonging of the brand. Their great experience has created behavioral loyalty of the customers.

Brand ExploratoryProblem Area vs. Market Reality

1. Ideally, Apple needs to get to a position where

there are enough iPhones to cater for demand,

because the longer people have to wait, the

greater the likelihood that they put off making the

purchase, or switch to a device that they can get

quickly. Shortages would be a bad thing indeed.

2. Downloading iOS 8 to iPhones and iPads was a real mess. The downloads are huge, which not only

strains people's web connections, but means that they have to free up gigabytes of space on devices to

install the update .Apple needs to come up with better mechanisms for delivering updates to devices

because many people don't use iTunes any more, and making them delete photos and apps in order to

make space for updates is a huge and unnecessary hassle.

Brand ExploratoryProblem Area vs. Market Reality3. The iPad juggernaut seems to be running out of steam, and people are no longer buying them like the once did. This is a

challenge that Apple will need to face over the coming year.

Part of the problem is that the iPhone 6 Plus is cannibalizing iPad usage. People who have both are using their iPads a lot

less, and while you might say that doesn't matter since Apple is still selling them a device, it's going to get to a position where

they are selling one device instead of two, and that could impact bottom lines.

4. A big part of the problem with the iPad and iPhone is that new iPad and iPhone looks and

feels very much like old one. Also, for iPads, new iPads are thinner and lighter, and they

get features people have already seen on new iPhones. There's a clear need for more

innovation when it comes to the iPad, and perhaps we'll start to see that happen next

year.

Brand ExploratoryImportant Target SegmentsPercentage of total net sales:

Americas - 36%

Europe - 22%

Greater China – 16%

Japan– 8%

Rest of Asia Pacific – 6%

Percentage of total net sales:

IPhone - 56%

IPad - 17%

Mac – 13%

iTunes, Software and Services – 10%

Brand ExploratoryImportant Target SegmentsSmartphone OEM Market Share

184 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (75.8 percent

mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in

January, up 4 percent since October. Apple ranked as the top OEM

with 41.3 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers. Samsung ranked

second with 29.3 percent market share, followed by LG with 8

percent (up 0.6 percentage points from October), Motorola with 5.2

percent and HTC with 3.8 percent.

Based on the data to the right, we know that the most important part for Apple is IPhone. IPhone provides 56% of total net

sales. The second one is iPad which provides 17% of total net sales. And for the iPhone market, the most important is

American market. In the US market, almost 42% smartphone users use iPhone. These data shows that apple is still the leader

of the market. In terms of the total phone market, there is still huge potential for apple to gain the new customers (24.2% are

not smartphone users) and win the customers from other brand.

Brand ExploratoryDepth & Breadth of Brand AwarenessDepth of Brand Awareness

Depth of brand awareness means the likelihood that consumers can

recognize or recall the brand.

Apple has a deeper level of brand awareness than any other competitors.

The apple logo, which is used on all apple products around the world, is

one of the most recognized brand symbols in the world.

According to a study on marketing strategy of Apple(2012),

all respondents (100%) have heard about the brand Apple, which shows

the deepest level of brand awareness.

In almost all of its products, from computers to iPods and iPhones, Apple

has in-depth brand awareness. 

Brand ExploratoryDepth & Breadth of Brand AwarenessBreadth of Brand Awareness

Breadth means the variety of purchase and consumption situations in

which the brand comes to mind. Thus, consumers must think of

Apple as satisfying a certain need whenever the need arises.

Brands tend to be recalled in categorical clusters when consumers

are given a general probe. Apple enjoys a broad range of brand

awareness in all of its product categories. 

According to Harris Poll EquiTrend, Apple won Brand of the Year in

three categories of mobile phone, tablet, and PC in 2014, even

though the rankings in mobile phone and PC came down to the 2nd

place in 2015.

Brand ExploratoryDepth & Breadth of Brand AwarenessApple Brand Halo Effect

One of the reasons that all Apple products have so great depth and

breadth of brand awareness is so called “iPod Halo Effect”.

Since iPod was launched in 2001, there followed a dramatic rise in

Apple's computer sales. The halo effect continued later to iPhones and

iPads.

Halo effect has made it possible to grow the depth and breadth of brand

awareness whenever Apple entered new product categories so far.

Current great brand awareness and excellent customer experience with

Apple products is likely to continue to Apple’s upcoming products such

as the Apple Watch.

Brand ExploratoryPerceptual MapThe perceptual map here is to review consumers’ perception on iPhone that

consists of the greatest part of Apple’s revenue.

* Share of iPhone in Apple’s revenue of 2014: 55.9%

Main competitors to be compared with Apple are Samsung, LG, Motorola and

HTC that were high-ranked in the US smartphone market share in 2014.

Brand attributes to be used in the perceptual map are,

• X axis (Functionality): easy to use, operating system, big screen, battery

life, advanced features, etc.

• Y axis (Price value): affordability, good value for money.

According to Nielsen’s 2013 Mobile Consumer Report, the US consumers are

concerned about value for money(30%), easy to use(10%), operating system(8%),

design(7%), and special features(2%) when choosing mobile phones.

Brand ExploratoryPerceptual MapAnalysis on the perceptual map

Based on the perceptual map, Apple iPhone is

perceived to have both high functionality and high price

value. It is located near the ideal perception points of

customer segment A.

Both Apple and Samsung target segment A that are

concerned with high functionality and high price value.

They are neck and neck with each other in customer

perception, but Apple is perceived to have a little higher

functionality but lower price value than Samsung.

The other competitors such as LG, Motorola and HTC

target segment B that is distant much from Apple’s

target segment, and are not likely to threat Apple much.

High Price Value

Low Price Value

Low

Fun

ction

ality

High Functionality

AB

(A, B: Customer segments ideal points)

ConclusionSWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

• Great Brand Image

• Strong Brand Loyalty

• Highly Innovative Products

• Most Valuable Brand

• Memorable Advertising

• Some products restricted to only Apple platform

• Constant Updates and Changing OS

Opportunities Threats

• Continue Innovating Products

• Build Stronger Global Presence

• Create Beneficial Partnerships with Other

Companies

• Competition developing similar products (Samsung,

HTC, Windows, etc.)

• Pricing comparatively higher than competition products

• Android OS

ConclusionPositioning“…it's safe to say that Apple is not only "back," but also boldly paving the way to the Age of You.” (Interbrand)

Apple has maintained its position in the market by its conintued

innovation with the recent release of the iPhone 6 and the Apple

Watch. With that, they have stayed trued to their brand mantra

that has carried with them throughout the years, “Think Different”.

Apple’s ambitions has made “our world into one "huge ubiquitous

computer...all around us, all the time.“ (Interbrand)

ConclusionRecommendations

• Continued Innovation

• Apple’s original promise to their customers is creating products

that keep one “youthful, daring, adventurous, fun, and hip.” (Nicki

Lisa Cole, about.com)

• Keep products simple and intuitive for their customers, what has

made them well-known

• Develop New Marketing Strategies

• Although Apple’s advertisements help consumers remember the

brand, many competitors tend to use their own ads against them.

With this, it is necessary to develop different strategies to keep

their brand name relevant

• Maintain Customer Loyalty

• Apple store experience is one of the many key factors that helps

to build the brand. By pleasing the consumers, it will help the

brand resonate and be memorable

References• Pc

:http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/1YUlGGbmW1ea2MkVddxNXg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYxNg--/https://marketrealist.imgix.net/uploads/2014/10/PC-market-share_Q3-worldwide.png?w=616&h=440&fit=max&auto=formata

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• Tablets: http://dazeinfo.com/2014/11/13/apple-inc-aapl-samsung-global-tablet-shipments-q3-2014/

• MP3: Hollister, Sean. "The age of the iPod is over." The Verge. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.

• Graphs : http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/27/apple-earnings-1q15/

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• Harris Poll EquiTrend: www.harrisinteractive.com/insights/EquiTrend rankings

• The US smartphone market share: www.comscore.com/Insights/Market-Rankings/comScore-Reports-December-2014-US-Smartphone-Subscriber-Market-Share

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