Assignment - 1

By: Group 4
B010 Mihir Awale
B017 Arindam Bose
B023 Shivangi Goel
D003 Nishkarsh Agrawal
F043 Sanjana Pandit
J004 Siddhant Aggarwal
J035 Abhishek Mishra

Submitted to:

Prof. Vivek Subramanian

[Brand Management – Div. A]

Apple is one of the global juggernaut brands that has deeply established itself at the edge of top-notch quality
and innovation. In this exercise, we aim to break down the aspects of the Apple brand andDate: see what25/09/2020
the
various aspects are of its brand identity planning model, drawing insights about the brand Apple from it.

Brand Identity Elements:

1. Brand as product
 a. Product scope
The product scope of Apple has undergone a change over the years. Till about the mid 2000’s it was mainly
focused on the iMac and Macintosh computers, but post the launch of the iPhone in June 2007, the scope has
mainly been around this. The iPhone contributes 40-60% to Apple’s revenue (depending on the Quarter) and
has also become the main face of the brand.

b. Product attributes
The attributes linked with Apple products are sleek, lightweight, performance, and aesthetic. These are
attributes they have had from the get-go. The main thing that drives consumers to it is the ease of functionality
it offers.

c. Quality/Value
The core element that is in all Apple products is top notch quality. The products they offer are made to exhibit
innovation. All of the key product launches have this as their core theme.

d. Associations with use occasion

Apple is dedicated to the empowerment of man—to making personal computing accessible to each and every
individual so as to help change the way we think, work, learn, and communicate. In terms of functionality,
Apple knows how to create a product that’s really easy to use.

e. Associations with users

Apple’s customer segment tends to include people who:

 Value style and aesthetics as much as function; often these are “creatives” professionally
 See a computer as a tool to get something else done
 Think deeply beyond up-front price and consider things like “cost of ownership” and cash
flow value
 Were told this was the phone or computer to buy (which overlaps with plenty of Windows
customers as well)

f. Country of Origin
Apple Computers, Inc. was founded on April 1, 1976, by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in
Cupertino, California, United States

2. Brand as an Organization
a. Organization Attributes
Apple, the organization attributes for resources who are the leading engineers in the country because of their
need for rapid innovation and developing cutting edge technology. The organization has a traditional structure.
The company through its core values and mission defines the company as an organization where they are
willing to take risks and make the society a better place by delivering high end products as well as focus on
profitability. The company accounts for low customer concern despite the high prices for its products as it is
positioned as a premium product, thereby achieving a high degree of trustworthiness from their customers.

b. Local vs Global
It is of no debate that Apple, the brand is a globally identifiable entity. The company although having its roots
in the US, its offerings and services are available globally, not limiting themselves to one geography.

3. Brand as a person
a. Personality
Apple, the brand as a person has been revolving around lifestyle, innovation and exudes a very aspirational
persona. The idea that one has when they talk about Apple is that the company through its offerings gives
power to the people through technology.

b. Brand customer relationship

Apple as a brand has always managed to develop a loyal customer base for itself. It has one of the highest
levels of customer loyalty base and has catapulted them into the dominant position they enjoy today. As most
Apple users say “once you use an iPhone/mac you won’t ever like anything else” it has managed to create a
community for itself. The use of Apple expresses a personal identity of being non corporate & creative.
Customers have assurance and confidence that a brand will meet their expectations and satisfy their
consumption needs.

4. Brand as a symbol
a. Visual Imagery and Metaphors
The eaten apple logo of Apple is simple, memorable, and powerful. It just takes a glance to be reminded of the
brand immediately. Normally you would not associate an apple with computers, and therefore the logo is
easily remembered. Bite of apple represents the forbidden fruit from the “Tree of Knowledge” in the Biblical
creation story of Adam and Eve.

b. Brand Heritage
Apple’s infamous tagline “Think Different” was formed in a way where the initial ads and commercials featured
people like Einstein, Gandhi, Lennon and such. People who bucked conventional thinking. The entire concept
of continuously innovating and focus on people thinking in a different way. Then they have lived up to the
claim of ‘thinking differently’ by actually ‘acting differently’ by going against the norm – always asking the
question; “what’s different about this?”.

The strategy for Apple broadly aims at two major targets: continuous innovation in the products and broad
differentiation and variety in the product portfolio so as to cater to maximum possible segments in the
electronics market.

Their communications, product portfolio and acquisitions through the years show that the master brand has
been moving perfectly in that very direction and are maintaing the strong brand image which is heavily seen as
the most innovative and premium brand - especially among the smartphone category.

Value Proposition

1. Functional Benefit-
 Product design: From colorful iMac’s to iPods, iPhones, and iPads, no other company has changed
the way products look, feel, work more than Apple
 Interface design: Unlike other companies, Apple can radically change the user interface but keep
the product’s physical design unchanged, the iPhone 4s – introducing Siri, being an example. A
friendly user interface increases the ease of use
 Innovation: They believe in innovating and coming up with new and improved features as and
when required. Hence their Tag line is ‘Think Different’
2. Emotional Benefit-
 It gives customers the ‘Feel good factor’ and makes then feel special and empowered
 Established a heartfelt connection with the customers
 Apple weaves its products into lives, making itself indispensable. Most of the Apple
product ads, they talk about features or technical features, they make ads to convince
people that it is an ultimate tool for life. They sell their product by assigning feelings to the
idea of owning it
3. Self-Expressive Benefits
This includes the elegance and the feeling of being cool that is projected by Apple

4. Credibility
Apple has the reputation of being the most innovative company. The kind of customer loyal base they have
built over time due to their innovation and quality of products shows their strong credibility in the market.

Brand Customer Relationship:

Apple focuses a lot on developing and maintaining customer relationships in order to retain customer loyalty.
Apple succeeds in building a good relationship with its customers through customer experience. Apple Stores
helps to provide magical and memorable experiences to its customers. Apple doesn’t believe in pushing its
products to customers unless they understand and love the product. Apple employees are trained to advise
customers and make them understand how the products will benefit and enrich their lives, customers are also
encouraged to touch and feel the product. Apple wants to make technology enjoyable for its customers.

Other thing Apple do to build trust and maintain relationship with its customers (by leveraging social media
platforms and its existing channels) are:

1. Constantly answering customer queries and problems

2. Apple support embrace and value every kind of feedback (good or bad) from the customers
3. Communicate its messages to customers in a positive manner
4. Post the tips daily to help customers in discovering new features and to use their device to its full
potential

Brand communication:

Apples communication since the very beginning has is strongly dependent on the functional aspects of the
product. They always focus on them subtly by trying to provide and experience. For eg: Actual snap shots
taken on the iPhone as hoardings and on social media handles. They infact were not the first movers in using
social media and still are not highly focused on it. The reason being they always try to bring an experiential
value to their customers which is done via their flagship stores and their state of of the art infrastructure and
services.

The Mental Network: