Categories: Articles

Apple's Brand Is Powerful

The true power of a Super Brand is now upon us. When the nerd at the Apple store is getting a shot at more leg than the jock, you know Jobs and the Apple people truly are making a “dent” in the world.
Thanks to the always poignant music/generation editorial ranting of Bob Lefsetz, I read the article, Geek Gods, from today’s New York Post and was blown away by where branding is taking us in a world where many feel more inclined to follow the No Logo mantra.
Here’s the intro of the New York Post article, Geek Gods, written by Laura J. Vogel and Sara Stewart:
“His name is Carlos. He’s cute, in that rumpled Williamsburg-geeky way. And he’s smart, really smart – you can tell the instant you meet him. Sitting across from you at the blond-wood bar, looking deeply into your eyes, he gently confides: ‘I think you’re going to need a new battery.’… Single women are having their rescue fantasies fueled by the surprisingly chatty, sociable Mac daddies, some of whom look more like members of the Strokes than the cast of ‘Revenge of the Nerds.'”
Lefsetz’ email also includes this gem from “a thirtysomething female friend”:
“The demise of the jock getting the Homecoming Queen is upon us. Ah, the times they ‘have a changed’ indeed. If my generation was only so forward-thinking, those former cheerleaders would be rolling in IPO money now instead of the dirty laundry of their weekend warrior pot-bellied former jocks husbands.”
Apple is getting past making a dent… sounds more like deep probing to me. Regardless of iPod sales being down or not.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.