Apple’s “Think Different” campaign has
been hailed as one of the most successful marketing and branding campaigns in
recent history. Faced with bankruptcy in 1997, Apple needed to take measures to
reintroduce itself to the market. In the words of Steve Jobs: “I want everyone
to know what drives this company and I want to set the stage for the
mind-blowing products we'll start introducing next year” (Segall, 2014). The
campaign was thus unveiled with an aim to challenge consumers to boldly embrace
new products and a new way of thinking. This essay conducts a critical review
of the “Think Different” campaign with a view to emphasise on theories of
effective marketing.
The campaign was based on an
inspirational poem which would often be recited on the background of the
advertisements. The advertisements were characterised by pictures of famous
individuals who have dared to challenge societal norms and rose to prominence
in the society. The theme of thinking differently aimed at introducing a
revolutionary mind-set getting people to be revolutionary, innovate, become
independent, and seek to be authentic (Dawson, 1997). An important component of
this campaign was that the historical persons were arrived at strategically and
their use differed from market to market. Examples of images used in the
campaign are as follows:
Source: Mackinnon, 2011
This image contains achievers who made a
difference in their respective fields. Many of them are people who challenged
known norms and rose to prominence through determination, self-belief and
daring to be different from the rest of the society.
Source: Mackinnon, 2011
The image above is a representation of
the standard logo for the “Think Different” campaign that would be displayed
after every advertisement. Many of the advertisements would be about ideas that
can be considered out of this world. This would be after narratives related to
ideas that were at the time seen as impossible but inspiring.
Source: EveryAppleAd, 2012
In the screenshot image above, civil
rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. is among those described as the
rebels that dared to think different and as a result helped to introduce change
in the society.
After consistent marketing, the market
embraced Apple as an emblem for authenticity among consumers (Segall, 2014). It
became the dominant brand image of the company and is said to be responsible
for the company’s growth to be one of the most valuable brands in the world.
For a marketing message design to be
effective in achieving the desired image and impact, it must conform to the
perceptions of the target market (Kotler, 2009). It must also be consistent
enough to ensure that the branding process is successful. In the “Think
Different” campaign, the company was successful in coming up with a message
that resonates with the target market. By using known personalities, the
company was able to get the market to identify with the message (Limón, 2013).
This ability to identify with the massage was then linked to the brand image of
Apple to link past heroic acts and the desire of consumers to achieve the
extraordinary with the company’s products. This provides an important lesson
for marketers in effective message design.
Effective messages are those that are
compatible with the culture of the people and able to tap into their
aspirations to bring out the desire to consume a company’s products (Ghauri and
Cateora, 2010). The messages need to be directional in terms of endearing the
target audience to the products or brand. At Apple, the strategy was to get the
audience to embrace innovation and be open to new ideas (Handley, 2012). This
was accompanied by Apple’s launched of innovative products that were more advanced
and whose functionality was very different from what the market was already
used to. In the mobile phone market, Apple made a radical innovation of a
mobile phone that was essentially a personal computer with a wide range of
applications as well as access to the internet. Phones with touch screens, a
phenomenon never conceived in the market before; were also introduced to a
market that was quickly heeding the call to dare to be different and seek
authenticity and independence (Handley, 2012). This was a consequence of
effective marketing message design.
Effective marketing messages conform to
the dominant cultures. This informs Apple’s decision to use historical persons
from different parts of the world for each target market. For instance, in
China, pictures of Dalai Lama were used while people like Mohamed Ali and
Martin Luther King Jr. were used to target the US market (Judge, 1998).
Compatibility between the dominant culture and the marketing message is the key
to success. The performance of Apple in the different markets is evidence of
this fact. While the American consumers embraced the message and the Apple
products, performance of the Chinese market was less impressive. A review of
the performance of the campaigns in China indicated that their decision to use
Dalai Lama was ill advised as he was a religious figure whose religion did not
promote conspicuous consumption (Judge, 1998). This means that the presence of
Dalai Lama in the adverts was in itself a deterrent to consumers from consuming
Apple products. This misunderstanding makes it absolutely important for
marketers to study the culture of the target audience and conform to it. Apple
got it right in the USA but failed to do so in the Chinese market.
For consistency, it is important that a common
theme be projected about a global brand in the different markets. There is
however need to accommodate slight changes to accommodate cultural differences.
A good example of a culture-sensitive campaign is the “Axe Call Me” campaign
(Ismeer, 2011). This was a campaign that was design to accommodate differences
in the dating culture between the West and Asian countries. This campaign was
very successful because it managed to maintain the central theme of
attractiveness to the opposite sex while factoring in unique aspects of the
Asian dating culture (Ismeer, 2011). This understanding was lacking in Apples’
“Think Different” campaign in China. This prompted them to replace Dalai Lama
as their Asian icon in a bid to boost success rates.
In effective advertisements, the
marketers need to be creative in creating compelling arguments that would
attract attention and inspire the desired action (Greg, 2007). An analysis of
the “Think Different” narrative reveals that the message has the ingredients to
not only attract attention but also inspire action. The opening statement is
quite catchy in its direct address to the “crazy ones, misfits, rebels, and
troublemakers.” This is an unusual message addressing sections of the society
that are often mentioned in hushed tones. It catches attention and inspires
listeners to listen more. The message is clear on the kind of misfits that are
being addressed: people who have influenced the society in the past by daring
to be different. The advertisement ends with a compelling argument: “because
the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the
ones who do” (Mackinnon, 2011). This sentence creates a compelling argument for
the audience to seek to be different. This is expected to be an intrigue that would
leave them wondering how they can respond to the call to be different. The
advertisement swiftly provides the answer by displaying the logo of Apple
together with the words “Think Different”. This is displayed below.
Source: Mackinnon, 2011
Effective marketing channel design
concentrates on communication media that are most used by the target audience
(Ghauri and Cateora, 2010). The most common medium for advertisement in the
market are mass media channels such as television, newsprint and FM stations.
Emerging platforms include the social media and internet advertising. Other
channels include outdoor platforms such as billboards. Prior to Apple’s “Think
Different” campaign, technology firms had been accustomed to restricting their
advertising to the mass media and channels that are popular with users of such
products (Segall, 2014). These included specialised technology magazines.
Marketing communications theory
indicates that an average audience will be exposed to a message 7 times before
they take notice of it (Paswan, Blankson and Guzman, 2011). This means that the
organisation needs to ensure that marketing messages are exposed continuously
and through channels that are used by the target audience. This makes it
necessary to understand the target market and their communication habits. For
most consumers, consumption of the media tends to be mixed meaning that an
integrated approach combining several channels is necessary. The “Think Different”
campaign embraced a mixed approach using television advertisements, online
advertisements, outdoor advertisements, print media, and the use of magazines
(Handley, 2012). In addition to this integrated approach, Apple broke ranks
with industry norms and ventured into unfamiliar magazines. Apple became the
first technology company to venture into fashion magazines and those that have
little to do with technology.
Apple’s decision to advertise in
channels that are not commonly used by technology companies was a manifestation
of its intention to attract non-traditional markets. Apple’s intention was to
market itself as a lifestyle hence the decision to use lifestyle magazines to
advertise. In consistency with the need to market Apple as a driver of a lifestyle,
the decision to use non-traditional marketing communication channels bore
fruits (Judge, 1998). Apple became an emblem of modernity and a symbol of
radical innovation. The rapid rise in the popularity of smartphones is largely
due to the strong performance of Apple, a performance that was first initiated
using the “Think Different” campaign.
Marketing effectiveness is a function of
strategy. It incorporates strategic management at the highest level of the
organisation (Kotler, 2009). The marketing message design and the marketing
channel design are then aligned to these corporate strategies. The synergy of
the strategies at different levels of the organisation is what leads to
success. For instance, the corporate strategy embraced by Apple was to invest
in research and development and create ground breaking innovations. This was
complemented by the “Think Different” campaign designed to get the market to be
ready to embrace something better but very different from what they are used
to.
The marketing message design complements
the overall strategy by seeking to inspire people to dare to be different
(Mackinnon, 2011). It does this by successfully making reference to historical
figures that were viewed as misfits or rebels in their time only for them to
prove the rest of the society wrong. This is the core of the Think Different
campaign. The marketing channel design was also aligned to these strategies
targeting lifestyle platforms with an aim to project consumption of Apple
products as a lifestyle.
The “Think Different” was launched by
Apple while it was on the verge of bankruptcy and is credited to be among the
drivers of its renewed growth and subsequent rise to be one of the top brands
in the world. A review of this campaign leads to the following conclusions
about effective marketing. Firstly, marketing is part and parcel of the overall
strategy of the organisation. The marketing strategy should be designed in a
manner that emphasises on the overall strategy.
Secondly, the “Think Different” campaign
emphasises the need for creativity and clarity in designing the marketing
message. The aim of this campaign was to challenge the audience to dare to be
different and used historical persons to illustrate their point. This makes the
idea of being different appear good and very useful to society. The logo of
Apple accompanies these campaigns to signify that one intending to dare to be
different can associate their courage and wit by associating with Apple through
consumption of the products.
Lastly, the campaign draws insights for
effective marketing channel design in a manner that reinforces the overall
strategy. In order to give life to the “Think Different” idea, the company went
for communication media that focus on lifestyle.
In conclusion, the “Think Different”
different campaign contains the ingredients of a strategic and effectively
implemented campaign that marketers can draw from.
Dawson, A. (1997). Apple ads set to travel. Adweek, Western edition, 47(43) (Oct 27, 1997),
6
Dernovsek, D. (2012). 2013 Lending Outlook. Credit Union Magazine, 78(11), 28-33
EveryAppleAd, (2012). Apple Think Different ad (1997). Online, Available at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwXdGm89Tk (Accessed 3 June 2014)
Ghauri, P.N., Cateora, P., 2010. International Marketing, 3rd Ed.
Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Greg, B., 2007. Marketing
and sales strategy. New York: the McGraw Hill Companies Inc
Handley, L. (2012). 'CEOs must take marketing cue
from Apple's Steve Jobs', Marketing Week
(May 31, 2012), 4
Ismeer, A. (2011). Axe: Call Me. Warc Prize for Asian Strategy. (Online) Available at:
www.warc.com
Judge, M. (1998). Manager's Journal: Apple Should
`Think Different' About Asia. Wall Street
Journal, Eastern edition [New York, N.Y] 20 Apr 1998, A18
Kotler, P., 2009. A framework for marketing management. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall
Limón, E. (2013). Think Different. Santa Fe Reporter [Santa Fe, N.M], 03
July 2013, 25
Mackinnon, L.A.K. (2011). What Can We Learn About Thinking Differently From Studying Apple’s 1997
‘Think Different’ Advertising Campaign? Online, Available at:
http://www.think-differently.org/2011/04/what-can-we-learn-about-thinking/
(Accessed 3 June 2014)
Paswan, A.K., Blankson, S., Guzman, F., 2011.
Relationalism in marketing channels and marketing strategy. European Journal of Marketing, 45(3),
pp. 311-333
Segall, K. (2014). Apple: Think Different. Online, Available at:
http://kensegall.com/branding2.html (Accessed 3 June 2014)
No comments:
Post a Comment