Apple knows a thing or two about branding. There’s no better evidence of that than the fact consumer perception of Apple has improved since Steve Jobs resigned last month. Who would have thought? While unquestionably a visionary and one of the most influential people of our time, Steve Jobs no longer equals Apple. And while the stock will fluctuate for all sorts of different reasons, it’s clear at this time, Apple isn’t in danger of losing customers. In addition to building beautiful products people want to use, one of the biggest reasons is they stick to their core values.
Providing an entire history of the brand would be exhausting (there’s Wikipedia for that), but one of the most critical points in the company’s history was in 1997, shortly after Steve Jobs’ return to Apple. The company desperately needed a more clear vision to put in front of consumers. As it turns out, Steve Jobs and TBWA\Chiat\Day (the ad agency) delivered the marketing goods: Think different.
Of course, the campaign consisted of much more than simply the commercial above*. Steve Jobs goes into depth about the idea in the presentation below. While possibly best known using the same line that finds its way into the commercial – “Those people who are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who actually do.” - his presentation is also a go-to resource of what branding is all about. He states many excellent points on branding and values throughout, one of which reads:
“What we’re about isn’t making boxes for people to get their jobs done, though we do that well. Apple at the core, its core value, is that we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better.”
And later, after listing off many previous aspects of Apple from years prior…
“But values and core values – those things shouldn’t change. The things that Apple believed in at its core are the same things that Apple really stands for today.”
His theme is clear, and the them is one that translates to all businesses and institutions of higher education.
If You Work at An Instituion of Higher Ed, I Ask…
Through all of the major and minor changes over the past years at your institution, be it the increased importance of technology and social media, infrastructure changes on your campus, or the effect budget cuts have had on your institution, have your core values remained in tact? Or… have they changed?
So many universities and colleges are incredibly rich in history and tradition, and it’s actually an advantage most other industries don’t have on the same scope. However, when University A with a rich and long tradition is in competition with University B, who also has a rich and long tradition, it’s more of a wash. But that’s where the values themselves come in – and how you’re marketing them. How do your core values come across in your marketing materials? Do they at all?
Apple revived themselves by identifying with the counter-culture, because that’s what makes them special, it is their brand. What makes your university or college special?
*To finish off this blog, I have a bit of Apple trivia: did you know a 30-second version of the “Think different.” ad was run during the season finale of Seinfeld? It only aired one time. Now you know!
