Yesterday… or was it the day before yesterday? Anyway: While I was half-asleep on my daily pilgrimage to school, the newsflash on the BerlinerFenster caught my attention:
Apple’s white iPhone4 was finally appearing on the German market!
Wow. Just wow.
I couldn’t help but giggle thinking of a certain friend of mine, who’d definitely run off to get the very same phone, he already possessed, in a new super stylish color. And I knew that there certainly are lots of other people, who will do exactly the same thing, provided that they’ve not already done so…
Whatever one might think about Apple itself, one sure could not help but (at least secretly) admire Steve Jobs and his marketing department: There seems to be demand for everything with an apple on – be it a pc, player or phone. Apple Inc. has become so amazingly big, so unbelievably influential and gathered soooo many followers – that scholars started to think of Apple as some modern day religion, with charismatic Steve taking the profit prophet part.
The comparison of the company and Christianity is indeed quite hilarious:
1. Jesus was born in a manger; Apple was created in a modern version of that – a garage.
2. Jesus died on the crucifix and rose from the dead three days after that; Jobs got kicked out of Apple, but returned to save the company.
3. The antagonists: Both Christianity and Apple have enemies. What the Devil is to Christianity, Microsoft or Google are to Apple.
Given these and thinking about the deliberate, rhetoric use of the brand’s symbol in the past, especially by Jean-Louis Gassee (the former President of Apple Products) in 1987, who explained that: “In the Old Testament there was the first apple, the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, which with one taste sent Adam, Eve, and all mankind into the great current of History. The second Apple was Isaac Newton’s, the symbol of our entry into the age of modern science. The Apple Computer symbol was not chosen purely at random, it represents the third Apple, the one that widens the paths of knowledge leading toward the future. “, the company’s story of success appears to be some sophisticated marketing strategy.
Religion never fails.
Just a little research on that one revealed, that a guy named Martin Lindstrom published a book titled “Buyology – Truth and Lies about Why We Buy”. (At this point you might want to check out his site. Or don’t, I’m cool either way.) One of the most interesting thesises presented in there is about the correlation of branding and religion. He claims that there are similarities in the way the human brain responds to religious symbols and profane brands. Furthermore he identifies 10 common pillars all major religions share and claimes that all successful branding is kind of based on these: Sense of Belonging, Clear Vision, Power from Enemies, Sensory Appeal, Storytelling, Grandeur, Evangelism, Symbols, Mystery and Rituals.
As far as I can tell, Apple seems to be pretty good with branding. But how long will they be able to keep it up, regarding the rise of major competitors? Will Apple be able to keep its market share, or will it go down? After all, the religious approach on marketing is a pretty good idea…
Well all we can do for now is wait and watch. BTW “watch”… watch this!
FUTURIMA 