Apple has earned the reputation as one of the most admired brands — and envied companies — in the world. For the third year in a row Apple ranked as the world’s most admired company, by the highest margin ever. But this didn’t happen overnight, and it’s not just because Steve Jobs is one of the world’s most admired CEOs. There are several factors that account for Apple’s continuing success as a market innovator.
A key element of Apple’s strategic playbook is
Tagged as:
Apple,
Brand Strategy,
consumer delight,
corporate culture,
corporate purpose,
strategy
25 years ago Apple and a handful of partners ignited the digital publishing revolution. I was there, a senior member of Apple’s pioneering team, along with visionaries and change agents from Adobe, Aldus, Quark and others. Our work laid the foundations for digital content and publishing, key milestones on the road to the Web, social media, blogging, and other 21st century communications.
Tagged as:
Adobe,
Aldus,
Apple,
desktop presentations,
desktop publishing,
digital content,
origins of digital publishing
Just before the holidays I invested in Apple’s new server offering for small firms and workgroups, the Mac Mini Snow Leopard Server. It’s a sweet package.
For $999 you get a whisper-quiet, energy-efficient server not much larger than a paperback book. The device comes with 4GB of RAM and a terabyte of built-in storage, plus an unlimited client license to Apple’s powerful server software (10.6.x Snow Leopard).
Apple claims this combination of hardware and software can handle up to 25 concurrent users. To handle more users would require more powerful hardware. I’ve been using it to serve a handful of concurrent users, and it’s plenty fast. But it’s not perfect, and here’s why…
Tagged as:
Apple,
Comcast,
MacMini,
Snow Leopard server
This must be a painful time to be a marketer at Dell Computer. Dell has just introduced a svelte, feature-packed premium laptop aimed at execs, status seekers and “impression makers.” Thanks to their PR team (or influencer relations), Dell secured a high visibility blog posting at the NY Times discussing the product and its aspirational positioning. Unfortunately, it backfired.
Tagged as:
Apple,
brand positioning,
Dell
These days it seems everyone wants to imitate Apple, but few really know what it takes. This post examines some of the key factors that set Apple apart, from the perspective of a person who has worked with or for Apple since 1983. From design to product strategy to brand and employee values, it’s a hard act to follow.
Tagged as:
Apple,
Brand Strategy,
creativity,
design strategy,
innovation
Earlier I blogged on the purpose of a business and the problems that can arise when organizations lack a clear sense of purpose, or when they define success narrowly in financial (shareholder-centric) terms. Today’s post focuses on business purpose and its links to corporate brand strategy. In the context of brand strategy, purpose energizes the [...]
Tagged as:
Apple,
Brand Strategy,
corporate identity,
corporate purpose