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An article in industry journal ‘Professional Marketing’ caught my attention recently, and – as a somewhat skeptical convert to fully-fledged, devout Mac advocate – I thought I’d share it.

Laura

My favourite brand

Allyson Lowbridge, Professional Marketing, Issue no. 1 2009 April – June

Walking my dog recently in the park, I spotted a lost iPod lying in the grass and immediately felt sorry for the owner, knowing how I’d feel in the same situation. There aren’t many brands that would elicit that kind of feeling, but my discovery in the park (and subsequent attempts to track down the owner) explains why Apple is my favourite brand.

Apple personifies that brand-building nirvana – when a brand triggers real emotional responses in consumers.

From my first epiphany with Apple in the mid 1990′s at Bankers Trust – when I visited our marketing design studio and compared the sleek, white Macs with my primordially ugly PC – to the recent and total dependence on my iPhone more than a decade later, Apple has always triggered great feelings for me.

Usually it’s delight, often amazement and sometimes, I have to say, personal satisfaction, especially when I convert someone to my favourite brand.

My partner was anti-Apple, but after months of quiet prodding about the innovations, quality and downright sexiness of the products, the real clincher was when iTunes changed its rules to allow people to share its music files. Now he’s a fan. Talk about brands building relationships.

There’s a gratifying element to the brand which is not just based on the synergy of fabulous form and function of the products.

There’s also a tribal vibe that underlies Apple. You either love or hate the concept of Apple and everything it stands for, and that says something about you.

Take the Apple store in Sydney’s George Street. You experience a real sensation of being in a hi-tech Disneyland when you walk in, and dealing with staff (who call themselves “Genius” on their business cards) is a refreshing brand touchpoint. There’s no question what their favourite brand is.

When a colleague took his faulty iPhone to be checked, it was cheerfully and without hesitation replaced with a new one. Now there’s viral marketing at its best.

Great service, great products and great emotional responses – a brand that conveys everything it represents in everything it does will always get my vote.