Are We Nearing the End of the iPhone Brand?
iPhone. At first glance, a funny-looking word. But now, a word that is synonymous with a technological revolution lead by Apple to transform the concept of a phone into something different – a helper, a messenger, a navigator, a photographer and more – with each evolution.
From a brand perspective, the Apple iPhone has to be one of the most recognizable consumer product brands in history, a household name like Tide or Coca-Cola, but at 300 times the investment.
The recognition for the brand is what poses our question. - Will the iPhone brand live forever? Or will it be replaced by an updated brand by Apple – an “ApplePhone” or something of the like?
The first question has to be “why?” Why would anyone ever remove the iPhone brand from the portfolio?
Well, for one, we are seeing a strategy shift from Apple to be more master-branded; that is, leveraging the “Apple” brand at the product level. We’ve now been introduced to the Apple TV, Apple Watch and Apple Pay, all backed by Apple Support. So simply from a brand portfolio strategy perspective, Apple Phone could be on the horizon.
A more likely reason for the change is that at some point the word “phone” in iPhone does not best represent the primary use of the device. Already, I would bet that a much greater percentage of time using an iPhone is spent browsing the internet, reading or listening to music, versus talking on the phone or even communicating through text message. At what point should iPhone be called something other than a phone?
This is true for the entire category – but could be a turning point for the product brand to make a stance and become AppleWhateverIsNext.
As it relates to whatever is next idea – how long can the number/letter extension garner the excitement Apple needs when launching a new device? iPhone 1,2,3,4,5,6, s, c and so on, sooner or later the name loses its luster. Is the change from iPhone 14 to iPhone 15 equally as exciting as the move from 4 to 5? Apple has used other extensions in the past (like nano, air, pro, etc.) but no naming strategy has been used as consistently as the number/letter system has been in the iPhone portfolio.
Still, there will always be arguments that iPhone is here for good. The “i” platform was surely revolutionary at its launch. With what used to be the iPod, iPad, iMac and iTunes, the portfolio was set. Even as I use “iTunes” as an example, the future for that brand is unclear, with Apple launching Apple Music, a streaming music provider that may eventually replace iTunes, which may be a telling sign for the iPhone.
Apple must know what is at stake if the iPhone is transitioned – years of equity and the risk associated with changing the name of one of the top selling technology products in history. That being said, Apple has never been afraid to support product launches and changes with huge amounts of money to educate the populous.
One thing is fairly certain, whatever the product is called in the future – personal technology by Apple will continue to be innovative and excite the industry and loyal brand advocates.
What do you think? iPhone forever? Or ApplePhone by 2017?
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Behind the Brand: How Morveau Watches Built its Brand
All brands, big or small, all have a starting point.
When Luke Francis decided to build a company based on an innovative watch idea, he knew brand needed to be a strong asset in order to compete. He was entering a category flooded with mega-brands like Rolex, Fossil, Timex and thousands of others at the luxury, mid-market and economy levels, so he had his work cut out for him.
Luke’s idea was to create a watch from reclaimed aircraft-grade aluminum. The business strategy was focused on entering into a more premium watch category where, because of higher gross margin and market opportunity, he needed to elevate consumer perception of his product. Brand was key to making this leap: taking a product made with a durable, basic material, creating a minimalist design and infusing the brand with a cool, luxurious lifestyle. The consumer lifestyle had to be at the center of the brand and drive brand communication, design and media choices.
This strategy stemmed from a goal to find a higher class consumer who didn’t want to break the bank or didn’t fall into the mindset that a watch is merely another piece of jewelry. He wanted to connect to the man who has good taste and appreciates good functionality.
With this direction, the Morveau (pronounced “more-vo”) brand was established. The Morveau name, aside from sounding sophisticated and established, harkens back to the innovative material used in the watch design. Named after Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, the chemist credited with producing the first systematic method of chemical nomenclature, which included the naming of Aluminum, the brand name establishes a clever connection with the product material, a key differentiator.
The brand connects to a male target audience obsessed with his lifestyle. The watch’s design adds to his overall style aesthetic, is flexible for casual and corporate settings, and fits into multiple facets of his daily life. The watch’s quality and design come together seamlessly with the brand personality to authentically communicate with its target audience. The connection of these aspects ties back to how well Morveau understands the audience and their wants and needs. Whatever their personal style may be, whether they are going to a boardroom or a beach, the Morveau’s brand message speaks to and inspires this lifestyle.
The connection of these aspects ties back how well Morveau understands its target audience and how it built a brand around their wants and needs. Whatever their personal style may be, and whether they are going from the boardroom to the beach, Morveau’s brand message speaks to and inspires that lifestyle.
In order to stand out, Morveau has unique signatures that make the product and brand distinct. The simple, sleek design, a strong cobalt blue accent color on the watch hands and fabric stitching, excellent lifestyle photography and an engaging and inspiring tone of voice create the feeling of a strong, established brand from day one.
In the same way that the material of this watch has a backstory, Morveau inspires its wearers to live a history worth retelling.
Where to find Morveau:
Website: http://www.morveau.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morveauwatches
Indigogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/first-ever-aircraft-grade-aluminum-watch#/story
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.
Brand Sale: Procter and Gamble Shakes up Brand Portfolio
Proctor and Gamble has been a case study for branding strength for the past 50 years. Its market insight, audience-centricity and ability to invest in brands have grown its brand portfolio to 180 total brands, including 23 different billion-dollar brands.
Brands have come into the P&G fold through internal innovation (think Swiffer) as well as through acquisition like Gillette, Duracell and Braun. Through a multi-brand approach, P&G has been one of the few companies to win entire categories– like laundry detergent with brands such as Tide, Gain, Era and many more.
In the past when marketing dollars flourished, route to consumer communication was simple through major network TV and the battle for shelf space was won through a handful of macro-retailers, the P&G model excelled. Other consumer brand holding companies like Unilever and Newell Rubbermaid tried to emulate the P&G model through consumer insights and go-to-market excellence.
But as we know, the market today is different than it was even 5-10 years ago. The consumer is savvy, their ability to gain information from a wide array sources has increased, their ability to communicate with one another is broader and easier and the customer landscape in an omni-channel world is ever expanding.
In order to meet greater global market complexities, P&G has decided to alter their approach towards the market with one of most publicized brand portfolio shakeups we’ve seen in recent years. A.G. Lafley, the company's chairman, president and CEO has cast a vision of a future P&G that is "a much simpler, much less complex company of leading brands that's easier to manage and operate."
What does this mean for the marketplace?
Surely, there are active groups of companies doing internal market analysis for which of the P&G brands they could get their hands on, which brands if purchased could best complement their brand portfolios, and how could they fund these house-hold-named brands in order to win greater market success. This strategy can be seen with Coty, a global beauty products manufacturer, buying up 43 P&G beauty brands to align to its global brand portfolio.
The brands that P&G decides to keep will surely continue to be strong, well-known, well- funded and most likely have more innovations and partnerships between brands to bolster brand strength in place of creation of new product brands– think Tide, Tide Pods, Tide HE Turbo, Tide with Febreze, etc.
I will miss the idea of a P&G giant portfolio, mostly because it reminds me of simpler times. I was hoping that fewer, bigger, better was only in the minds of the scrappy – but it seems that even this marketing giant has to face the reality of scarce resources, improved profitability and streamlined go-to-market strategy. I have no doubt that P&G will execute with excellence, and I’m excited to see what the purchasers of these global brands have in mind for the P&G brands entering their portfolios. It’s one of the things I love most about marketing and brand strategy; time will only tell who does it best.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.