“Apple has always had a loyal, albeit small, base of dedicated followers. However, the increased brand conscious 18 to 25 market have made Apple the must-have label. The growing iPod craze has spurred this move with technology occupying the same space as clothing used to just ten years ago. The phrase ‘well heeled’ has now been replaced with ‘well connected,'” Robin Olivier writes for Bizcommunity.com.
“The strength of the Apple brand has been achieved by an aggressive international marketing and advertising campaign and the results are clearly being felt in the local market,” Olivier writes. “Take a quick trip round the Net and the number of sites exclusively covering all things Apple is testament to the astonishing loyalty and support of the true Apple aficionado. The incredible desire of the hip young thing to blend in with their international counterparts has led to a growing global brotherhood, united in tech brand heaven. The Apple brand has truly moved from the exclusive domain of the geeks and design and advertising creatives to the mainstream.”
Olivier writes, “Apple was voted the hottest brand by American advertising executives in January this year – proof positive that the company’s branding has cracked the nod at the highest levels. What is astonishing is that just six years ago the industry was predicting the imminent demise of the Apple empire and most local [South Africa] retailers were turning to PC sales to bolster their flailing Mac business. The turnaround from the brink of disaster to global success was achieved by more than just R and D investment: Apple took an holistic view of its target market and aggressively marketed a Mac Culture and an Apple lifestyle. In the second quarter 2005, Apple shipped 1.07 million Macintosh computers and 5.31 million iPod players. That’s up 43% year-on-year in computer shipments and up 558 percent on the iPods.”
Full article here.
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