Branding is a two-way relationship. Whether we realize it or not, there will always be a ‘how you portray’ and a ‘how your audience perceives’ component to branding. And according to Mourdoukoutas, “branding begins on the demand side of the market.”
For high-tech industries like the one in which Apple operates, consumers are purchasing these products not to fulfill their physiological, security or belonging needs; but their self-esteem and self-actualization needs (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). Thus, it matters less what the functionalities of the product are, but more of what it can bring to the consumer – its value propositions. In Mourdoukoutas’ words, that means said products’ marketing “must “seduce” the consumer’s mind, address genuine consumer anxieties and emotions–and be innovative.”
Apple has clearly succeeded in “seducing” its consumers, as proven by its newest ranking (1st) on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2013. Having said that, Apple is playing in a market of a very high caliber. While brand value and loyalty are valuable intangible assets of a company, they do not account for everything when it comes to sales and revenue. Facing threats from Android and, as Brooke Besley has mentioned, Microsoft, Apple will need to re-evaluate its position on the gap map in consumers’ minds.