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Steve Jobs explains branding

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Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#41

Post by spoiledtechie »

motters wrote: post #11

Steve Jobs is right about branding in this video, and it's for exactly these reasons that I'm not a big fan of Apple. Their core values are about dictating what developers can do with their hardware. Selling software shouldn't be about one person having the power to dictate what goes into a store. That's not a free market. Users shouldn't have to "jail break" their own hardware just to be able to use it as they wish.…

Its pretty sad to see that yes men of Apple vote you down, when you speak the truth and offer an intelligent start to a conversation.

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#42

Post by rryyan »

alsomike wrote: post #30
tc wrote: post #9

Apple's "Think Different / Change the World" ad was a brilliant piece of marketing. But it doesn't seem that really stuck as the core value of their brand. If Nike's message is "we hang around great athletes," Apple's message today is "we hang around the young and hip," [1] which is different than "we hang around people who change the world." You could argue that these are somehow related, that the young and hip woul…

I think reading Apple's marketing as being about hip and cool says more about the anxieties and insecurities of the hacker culture than it does about what Apple is actually doing. In the first place, coolness is way oversaturated in advertising, trying to project a cool image is the fastest way to get lost in the noise. Authenticity is a much more important brand value to project than cool, and Apple succeeds at that…

I agree. For example, many people view the "Mac and PC" ads as being about uncool vs. cool -- I think the actual marketing message is more about technology-that-does-what-I-want vs. technology-that-doesn't-do-what-I-want[1]. The Mac in the ads is portrayed as transcending the petty hassles and inconveniences the PC gets caught up in, and letting the user simply accomplish their task with ease. It makes the Mac appear aloof and cool, but really it's just that he's portrayed as being at the finish line while the PC is still tying its shoes.

[1]: I mean "does what I want" in the "my mom can make a photo slideshow without tech support" sense, not the "I can install Linux on my iPhone if I want to" sense

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#43

Post by andreyf »

brlewis wrote: post #35
ynniv wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The success of the iPod made the Apple brand young and hip, but their core customer has been (and may again become with the iPhone and iPad) people who value their time and are not computer geeks per-se. That's a difficult thing to say in a crowd of computer geeks, but may contextualize the iOS/Android debate around here.

We shall see how well it works out for them to be the brand for people who aren't fond of rules...computer geeks excepted. Computer geeks who want to change the world seek platforms with fewer rules.

We shall see how well it works out for them to be the brand for people who aren't fond of rules...computer geeks excepted.

I think we see it pretty well already, no? People who think they can change the world aren't the kind who care whether or not Apple gave them permission to jailbreak their iPhone.

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#44

Post by mhoofman »

wmeredith wrote: post #8

I'm basically reposting my comments on this video from my company blog... The big takeaway is in the first few lines of this video: "This is a very complicated world. This is a very noisy world and we're not going to get a chance... to get people to remember much about us. No company is. And so we have to be really clear on what we want them to know about us." The whole branding/selling thing goes like this... Lunch…

Wouldn't this just be a company's logo or slogan? (ie Nike: Just Do It).

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#45

Post by danilocampos »

Reminds me another Steve Jobs conversation, about the NeXT logo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb8idEf-Iak

He talks about Paul Rand, who refused to give Steve multiple options on the NeXT logo. He would do just one, it would be right, and Steve could take it or leave it.

I admire the courage involved in saying "taste is more than subjective, it's right vs. wrong, and I choose to be right."

That's a huge part of the power in Apple's branding.

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#46

Post by refulgentis »

erikstarck wrote: post #16
tc wrote: post #9

Apple's "Think Different / Change the World" ad was a brilliant piece of marketing. But it doesn't seem that really stuck as the core value of their brand. If Nike's message is "we hang around great athletes," Apple's message today is "we hang around the young and hip," [1] which is different than "we hang around people who change the world." You could argue that these are somehow related, that the young and hip woul…

Yeah, as soon as Apple removed "Computers" from their name they also stopped being a "tools for the passionate"-manufacturer. They now sell primarily media consumption devices. Nothing wrong with that, it's just not the same core Jobs talks about in this video.

I thought an iPad was for consumption, not creation.

Then I found out it has not one, but two, complete office suites compatible with Microsoft Office. (Documents To Go, Pages, Numbers, Keynote).

Then I found out it could completely replace my guitar amp, with 5 different amps, 11 stomps, 5 cabinets, and 2 mics. (AmpliTube, AmpKit)

Then I found out it could do advanced photo editing. (PhotoGene, PhotoForge)

Then I found out it could create paintings for the cover of the New Yorker (Brushes, Layers)

Then I found out it could more quickly and easily do my homework than pen and paper could. (Penultimate)

Then I found out it could completely replace a DJ’s equipment. (Looptastic HD, AC-7 Pro, Pianist Pro)

These are just what I’ve come across in my relatively limited exposure to the iPad App Store, and even then only in my relative niches.

It’s still more than enough to tell me the invented dichotomy of “consumption vs. creation” for the iPad is completely false, yet somehow, it’s gained enough hold to generate just short of 4 million hits on Google.

So, next time some writer says you’ll need a non-existent PalmPad with a rumored stylus in order to do “real content creation”, or someone tries to equate a dedicated e-book reader to an iPad, or a competitor’s COO pretends their 9 year old “Tablet PC” initiative is somehow going to be better at content creation, using an operating system designed for a mice and keyboard, ignore it. They are relying on assumptions that aren’t born out from actually using the device and exploring the available software, or they are unaware of how young the platform is (it’s only been 7 months since developers were able to start programming for it, trust me, we’re only just starting to see real innovative apps released), or they are a competitor who is knocking on the iPad because they have to.

My iPad has replaced my notebooks, pens, paper, laptop, guitar amp, PS3, board games, and books. It will only be able to do more in the future.

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#47

Post by andreyf »

tc wrote: post #9

Apple's "Think Different / Change the World" ad was a brilliant piece of marketing. But it doesn't seem that really stuck as the core value of their brand. If Nike's message is "we hang around great athletes," Apple's message today is "we hang around the young and hip," [1] which is different than "we hang around people who change the world." You could argue that these are somehow related, that the young and hip woul…

The strategy behind both Nike's and Apple's branding is much further expounded on in a great film called Art & Copy. I highly recommend it.

Nike's message is "just do it". It isn't about hanging out with athletes, it's appreciating aspiration and athleticism of all stripes [1]. Nike is a dominant enough clothing brand that they benefit from encouraging general athleticism. Their products are barely present in their branding, if at all.

Apple's message is (and has been) to "think different" and "we're here to help you change the world for the better". Sure, it appeals to the rebellious youth in people, but it also appeals to scientists, artists, and philosophers in search of new paradigms to overturn the status quo. The "think different" commercial isn't about their computers. It's a public service announcement sponsored by Apple.

1. Even when Nike puts Michael Jordan in a commercial, it isn't about "hanging out with him", but about overcoming fear of failure, and "just doing it": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc

PS: Just searched for "nike michael jordan commercial" for more, and found another brilliant piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBxcunGc_nA (again, I'd argue this is about appreciating the beauty of athleticism more so than "hanging out with Jordan").

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#48

Post by refulgentis »

erikstarck wrote: post #39
loire280 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The DJs at night clubs, the knob-twiddler guys in indie rock bands, and the film students at the local university are all using Macs to make their art. In fact, I'd say Apple's devices and the tools they create to publish to those devices have done a lot to make these creators' lives easier. Think about how much more music people listen to thanks to the ubiquity of iPods. Would the indie rock movement have had as muc…

Apple just released new versions of the iMacs. This used to be a major event and they made a lot of fuzz about each new update. Now go to apple.com. What's taking up 90% of the front page? Apple is a consumer device company. Sure, they still make great computers, but that's more and more just a side business.

This begs the question: why isn't an iPad a computer?

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#49

Post by brianpan »

erikstarck wrote: post #39
loire280 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The DJs at night clubs, the knob-twiddler guys in indie rock bands, and the film students at the local university are all using Macs to make their art. In fact, I'd say Apple's devices and the tools they create to publish to those devices have done a lot to make these creators' lives easier. Think about how much more music people listen to thanks to the ubiquity of iPods. Would the indie rock movement have had as muc…

Apple just released new versions of the iMacs. This used to be a major event and they made a lot of fuzz about each new update. Now go to apple.com. What's taking up 90% of the front page? Apple is a consumer device company. Sure, they still make great computers, but that's more and more just a side business.

iOS devices are still honoring the core value of "giving people a way to change the world" if you consider how Apple is bringing customers to developers through the App store. Apple changed what is possible for a developer by giving them access to millions of customers, distribution, and a simple payment method.

Re: Steve Jobs explains branding

#50

Post by brlewis »

andreyf wrote: post #43
brlewis wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We shall see how well it works out for them to be the brand for people who aren't fond of rules...computer geeks excepted. Computer geeks who want to change the world seek platforms with fewer rules.

We shall see how well it works out for them to be the brand for people who aren't fond of rules...computer geeks excepted. I think we see it pretty well already, no? People who think they can change the world aren't the kind who care whether or not Apple gave them permission to jailbreak their iPhone.

I think I can change the way the world tells its story with photos, and it bothers me that Camera+ and other 3rd-party iPhone apps can't write EXIF data; only the native app can. Yes, it sounds like a geeky objection, but it makes a difference to people's stories whether the photos can say when and where they were taken.
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