The Power of Brand

Posted by Pinky on Jan 28, 2010 in Blog | 5 comments

For three weeks, I have been fighting the urge to join the chorus of bloggers pronouncing the dawn of future-tech with the arrival of Apple’s new tablet computer. The swell of rumors hit a fever pitch just 24 hours ago. The details “leaking” from Apple insiders were astounding. Full HD. Multiple cameras. Multi-tasking. Mobile-carrier agnostic. And my favorite: a fundamental shift in the way we learn. Steve Jobs is not only a messiah, but one-upping Darwin himself by accelerating the pace of human evolution. Hallelujah! The future is now.

Now before you go assuming that this is just another anti-Apple rant, I’d like to mention that this post is being written on a brand new MacBook Pro, which has met, and exceeded my expectations.  I own an iPhone.  I bought my girlfriend a 3Gs for Christmas.  I’m a fan.

But here’s the rub.  Tablets are not new.  Bill Gates is on record for announcing their arrival at the Computer Dealers Exhibition  (COMDEX) all the way back in 2000 – a decade ago.  One MILLION tablet devices sold in 2009.  125,000 of those qualified as “slates.”

So what makes the iPad different?  In a word, BRAND.  Apple represents our hopes and dreams.  They define the convergence of form and function.  They have mastered the art of making technology not only hip, but fashionable; an incredible feat when you consider the pocket-protecting roots of our industry.

Apple can do what no other computer company can.  They can make us want their new invention before they even tell us what it is.  Some of the greatest minds have evangelized capabilities and potential for this device that don’t even exist.  So when the final product was unveiled yesterday, two things occurred.

1.) We learned that the “iPad” has been given a horrific name (on this, there is almost no disagreement).  It is not HD.  In fact, it’s not even wide-screen.  It does not support Flash.  It requires adapters for even simple connections like the ubiquitous USB.  It does not run multiple applications at once.  Its shockingly low price-tag of $500 is for a model that includes less memory than a modern camcorder.  Its lauded 10 hour battery time does not account for its built-in wifi or 3G usage (two of its most marketable features), and frankly, it’s not as beautifully designed as many of the supposedly leaked images had us expecting.

2.) But oh, the power of brand.  Do you know what the overwhelming response was from the press on-hand at the event?  To paraphrase them all, “How could Apple have possibly lived up to the imaginary feature-set dreamed up by the bloggosphere before its release?  For what it is, it’s amazing.”  (I’ll interject that we are expected to believe the hype because they pulled it off with the iPhone.  But I digress.)

And with that, Apple is off the hook.  But better yet, they now have a wishlist so enormously valuable, no amount of money could have been spent on focus groups and market research to have delivered a better set of features to include in future versions.

Can you imagine?

Apple as a case study in the power of brand is so common it’s cliché, and I assure you this will be the last I post about them for some time.  But what every company, every brand, every individual should learn from this event is that reputation is absolutely, 100% EVERYTHING when it comes to a new product offering; be it an album, software package or wacky new invention.

When Microsoft spends six billion dollars on the launch of a new operating system, all anyone can think about is how awful Vista was.  We remember their famously anti-competitive business practices throughout the ’90s.  We think about the software that runs our dead-end, cubicle-enclosed day jobs.  And we think of the astounding fortune Bill Gates and his cohorts have amassed by bullying us around.

Those judgments aren’t any more valid than the unreasonable hype surrounding the launch of iPad, they just happen to go the other way.  The truth in all of this lies somewhere in between, but brand itself is the secret sauce that makes us think we need something we’ve never even seen (let alone been given an accurate description of).

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Apple has mastered the art of brand.  For now.