Comments on: Apple Vs Microsoft – A Battle of Brand Association

By: Our branding article for The Melbourne Review – Walking with Retail Dinosaurs | Truly Deeply Retail

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:26:03 +0000

[...] their brand clarity, service bar concept, and product range playground, the defining dimension of Apple stores is their [...]

By: david

david — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 22:08:08 +0000

Hi Marcus, you raise a very valid point around brand fatigue. As if it’s not hard enough for brands to engender wonder, admiration and love in their markets in the first place, the other great challenge for brands is to remain fresh and relevant as the market and their consumers change – especially as they grow into multinational businesses. The once amazing Microsoft failed to keep an eye on the level of brand love, something Apple have done consistently well over the years as this snapshot shows. The big question is how long Apple will be able to maintain the level of brand fanaticism. In my book, the length of time they’ve maintained their status to date marks them in the highest category of brand genius. I’m watching with interest post Steve Jobs to see whether they can maintain the level of passion.

By: marcus osborne

marcus osborne — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:05:06 +0000

I think this is a very good analysis.

I have a couple of related questions, was Microsoft once loved or at least admired? Didn’t it too once make us gasp with admiration at its products? Wasn’t it once an innovative company that set the standards others followed? Not perhaps in the same way as Apple but in its own unique way?

And does anyone else feel their love for Apple is declining? I am convinced I have brand fatigue with Apple and Apple products. And I know I’m not alone as more of my friends shun the iPhone for Samsung.

By: Branding Your Way To Success

Branding Your Way To Success — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:30:12 +0000

Branding Your Way To Success…

[...]Apple Vs Microsoft – A Battle of Brand Association | Truly Deeply/Madly[...]…

By: kelly

kelly — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 03:53:28 +0000

kelly…

[...]Apple Vs Microsoft – A Battle of Brand Association | Truly Deeply/Madly[...]…

By: david

david — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:22:58 +0000

Thanks Grace, great to have your perspective added to the brand conversation. The thought I’d add from this analysis of brand association which cuts across all demographics is regardless of popular take-up, there seems to be a strong, negative thread of brand association for Microsoft. Perhaps that’s part of being such a dominant market leader.

By: Grace Surya

Grace Surya — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:22:39 +0000

Quite a thorough analysis!
IMHO, comparing Apple – Microsoft is like comparing local TV – PayTV. Local TV has less quality but wider networks while PayTV has unquestionably higher quality, but less network infrastructure & costly.
Therefore local TV (a.k.a Microsoft) will still conquer the mass market segment for a long period of time, while PayTV (Apple) will probably conquer the middle to upper class market segment.

By: david

david — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:12:21 +0000

Thanks for your comments Jitendra. If it wasn’t clear from the blog – the brand associations published are drawn from a site called brand tags that combines more than 1.7 million opinions on brands. I agree the associations don’t paint a particularly positive picture of Microsoft, but we don’t edit or influence those associations, we literally re-publish the impressions they collect. As I mention – I was particularly surprised by the vein of negativity as I personally hold a neutral view of the brand. I’d love to understand in more detail which of our interpretations you disagree with – not from your personal view-point, but from the associations collected.

By: Jitendra Madhav Ramchandani

Jitendra Madhav Ramchandani — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:11:10 +0000

This article is trurly and deeply biased against microsoft….

By: david

david — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:53:05 +0000

Sad but true Mark – a challenge facing all brands who build these highly loyal relationships as part of their strategy for success – then when they become successful they are at a size of business that provides a tension with much of the brand culture that drove the loyalty in the first place.