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Apple Inc. Brand Development
Creating a personal brand is one of the best things that a company can do to help identify their businesses from competitors. For this assignment, I chose Apple Inc. as a business that has established its brand. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company that has its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The company design, develops and sells consumer electronics, computer software as well as online services. Apple Inc., as a brand, stood for change; it was a technological revolution. In 1997, most of the business world referred to Apple computers as toys that were incapable of real computing. However, this was not the case. Apple Inc. has been the most successful brand in the United States and across the world. Its innovative techniques have continued to overdo competitive firms, which makes Apple a leading company.
Apple’s brand is based on its logo, which has been used for marketing the company. Semiotics refers to the study of how meaning can be derived from symbols and signs, and this is one of the strategies that provide a more in-depth insight into the understanding of brand management and brand loyalty. The symbolic representation that the brand depicts tends to affect how a consumer recalls, internalizes, and relates to the company’s performance based on their experiences with the company’s products. Apple Inc. has developed two logos since its formation and which have been drastically different from one another. Despite the differences, the two brands share the sign of an apple. The original design was designed by Ronald Wayne, which involved a portrait of Sir Isaac Newton sitting under a tree waiting for a tree to fall from above, and this was how he discovered gravity. In this case, the Apple Inc. logo was designed to signify discovery, innovation, and the notion of thought. Apple Inc. is based on the foundation of discovery. Therefore, the logo was a perfect representation of what the company stood for in terms of service and product delivery to its customers.
The initial logo was deemed complicated, and this meant that there was a need to make it more comprehensible. Apple Inc.’s mission is rooted on the basis of simplification of technology for everyday life, and this made the company to come up with a new design. Based on this, the company came up with a fun and creative logo that would appeal to the customers providing them with a clue of what the company is all about. In 1977, Rob Janoff developed the rainbow apple symbol, which up to date, is still recognized. The apple in the bible is a depiction of the forbidden fruit from the garden of Eden. A bite from the apple represents a bite from the tree of knowledge. Therefore, it symbolizes Apple Inc. as a young company that is ready for change and to challenge the world and the promise of knowledge that all Apple users may gain from purchasing and using the product. Therefore, Apple Inc.’s brand is rooted in the Apple fruit, and this has been used in selling the company’s products.
Other than the company’s logo, another right thing about Apple Inc. is that it deals with technology that directly relates to everyone in society. Apple deals with some of the products that include smartphones, TVs, computers, tablets, and laptops. All of these products are used daily by many clients, which means that consumers relate to the company’s products from different walks of life. At this era of technological advancement, most people have become computer literate, and this means that they are capable of not only using a smartphone, but computers are also a basic need for all, including students. Despite the large markets across the globe, Apple Inc. still has continued to keep its promise of providing the best user experience on quality products, and this explains why it has been a top priority for a large number of customers.
Although Apple Inc. has many positive attributes, the company also has some negatives that keep pushing the customers away. One of the negative attributes associated with Apple Inc. is that its products are extremely expensive. The company has been raising its prices unbelievably and release a carbon copy of their previous model. Based on this, a slight modification of the previous model implies that the level of innovation has been low, and there is absolutely no innovation or the drive in Apple Inc. anymore. Based on similar products from rival companies, the prices have been hiking up, but not as ridiculous as Apple’s. Most of the company’s products cost more than 1000 dollars; this price, especially for smartphones.
It is ridiculous that the company has to sell basic products such as smartphones at such a higher price. Through this, most customers have pushed away from purchasing the company’s products, providing a chance for rival companies to attract more customers while leaving a lesser proportion of customers at Apple’s disposal. Despite the high cost of the products, there is also a problem with their longevity. The sustainability and longevity of Apple’s products, especially smartphones, have been terrible. Many customers have complained of device failures, making it hard for them to complete an entire year the same device. Customers of other products such as Samsung Galaxy S5 have been happy clients enjoying affordable pricing and the longevity of the product, which gives more credit to rival companies.
Another negative attribute about Apple’s brand regards the updates, especially on the iPhones. According to most consumers, the updates on iPhones tend to do more harm than good. Many people are complaining of how bad the updates have been and how they result in so many bugs to smartphones. People do buy products with higher expectations that the products will be of service and value to their lives, but when such issues of failed updates result, the opposite does happen. Regarding this issue, most people have complained that Apple Inc. has been slow to respond to consumer claims regarding the updates that have ruined many smartphones.
Apple Inc. is a terrible company that is only focused on social status but is extremely expensive, and its products do not last long. Besides, the updates ruin the highly valued devices, which should be a major concern to HR. There should be measures to reduce the negativity that is associated with the products. One of the solutions is that Apple Inc. should lower the prices of its devices as the high the prices, the lower the demand. An affordable price accompanied by a high quality of the devices provides value for money, making it possible to retain more customers while attracting new ones. Another solution that the HR should focus on is to work on the longevity of the devices. Customers can be very happy when the devices bought can offer quality services for an extended duration, making it easy to recommend new customers. Also, HR should work on the updates; they should improve on ensuring they do not ruin the devices. It is unfortunate for a person to buy a product only to be ruined with an update termed as legit from the company.
Works Cited
Forbes. The Real Story Behind Apple’s ‘Think Different’ Campaign. Dec 14, 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-real-story-behind-apples-think-different-campaign/#b66a60362abcGordon Kelly. Apple iOS 13.3 Release: Should You Upgrade? [Updated]. Forbes, 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2020/01/14/apple-ios-133-release-should-you-upgrade-iphone-update/#3dc0d3d9550dHolden Frith. Unraveling the tale behind the Apple logo. Special to CNN. Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/06/opinion/apple-logo/index.htmlLisa Eadicicco. The iPhone 11 proves Apple learned an important lesson after last year’s iPhone launch — most people don’t want to pay $1,000 for a new smartphone. Forbes, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-11-launch-price-proves-phones-too-expensive-2019-9?IR=T
