The power of Apple

Apple logo

I will admit that I, and most of us here at bloomfield knoble, are excited about Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) June 2 through June 6 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. But why am I excited? I’m not attending – I’m not a developer – I’m not anxiously awaiting any products they’re going to announce (unless they announce the iWatch – then I am excited). When I really think about it, I realized I’m excited because of my relationship with the brand, which, if you really think about it, is weird.

Think about this for a minute – why do we care about brands? Let’s start with the premise that people are not rational. If we were, then we would assign value to whatever we needed to acquire on a need-by-need basis. If you are starving and have a choice between two types of food, the rational decision is to pick the food that provides the best calories and nutritional needs . . . but that’s not how we think. I was in New York recently and people were telling me I should go 30 minutes out of my way to get a certain kind of pizza. That’s branding – not rational decision-making. At bloomfield knoble, branding (and rebranding) is a core competency of our agency – not just because of our creative skill and RUDE process, but because we understand the psychographics of why consumers want brands.

Brands Add Value

The image of a brand can add value. I have an Apple iPhone, laptop, desktop and iPad, so, yeah, I’m an Apple person. Being an Apple person adds value to me. That may be a good or a bad thing, but it’s important to me – and consumers. Consumers highly value the brands they buy. It makes them feel better and they get more value out of the product because it has the brand on it versus the same product that didn’t have the brand on it. Air Jordans vs. basketball shoes, etc.

Brands Lower Risk

Another reason people look to brands is because of their perception of decreased risk – also identified as trust. People eat at McDonald’s because the know exactly the type of food they are going to get. The truth is that a person could get a bad burger at McDonald’s – same as anyplace else, but it’s because they’ve eaten there previously without getting a bad burger that provides assurance of consistency.

Brands are Relationship Driven

When consumers interact with a brand, they are building a relationship – same as in a social setting. Becoming familiar with a brand is trust, but also helps with the decision-making process, and sometimes that’s a real benefit. For example – if a consumer decides to start a soup diet (it’s a real thing) and heads to the store to buy a bunch of soups, they aren’t shopping only on taste and price – the are shopping based on a relationship. Brands make our lives easier. Rather than have to wade through soups, a consumer can turn to a brand like Campbell’s Soup. A consumer doesn’t have to think “what is this?” it’s already been identified for them by the brand and as long as the brand is associated with quality, then all products will be associated with quality. People can try a new flavor and know that it’s safe and healthy (or whatever) because it’s Campbell’s Soup.

Brands do a lot for consumers and they’re important to consumers. At bloomfield knoble, we understand why consumers want brand and we build our marketing plans around what consumers look for when they’re looking for brands.

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