By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-05-15 02:40:54 | Word Count: 664
I have to tell you that I definitely feel some type of way about this. It seems I had such a short lived victory with Google and then Apple strikes again. It all started last week when I decided to purchase a new smartphone. Not only was I faced with the daunting dilemma of deciding Android or iPhoneâ€"my decision was also heavily weighted in brandâ€"Apple or Google. Call me vain but I wanted to know that I was siding with the powerhouseâ€"the leader of all things technology. I ended up with Android/Google and I felt I had done with right thingâ€"even to the point of bragging about it; you may have noticed. Low and behold, before I can even get use to the features on my Google Android, news hits that Apple has surpassed Google to be deemed the World’s Most Valuable brand. Shucks!
Don’t get me wrongâ€"I’m semi happy for Apple. After all, I am a Mac user. I’m just dreading the backlash by these iPhone using friends of mine who I had so obnoxiously convinced that “if you aren’t Google, you’re nothing at all.” I’m hoping my friends never get a whiff of this story.
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A study was recently conducted by global research agency, Millward Brown, which concluded that Apple has surpassed Google to become the most valuable consumer-facing brand in the world. How did this happen? The iPad and the iPhone 4, that’s how. These devices alone caused for an 84% jump in brand value to a whopping $153.3 billion. Google: a measly $111.5 billion; having experienced a 2% brand decline.
According to Peter Walshe, global brands director of Millward Brown, “Apple’s meticulous attention to detail, along with an increasing presence of its gadgets in corporate environments, have allowed it to behave differently from other consumer-electronics makers. Apple is breaking the rules in terms of its pricing model. It’s doing what luxury brands do, where the higher price the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire.”
You hear that Google? Time to hike up some prices, release a device or three a year (many of which do the same exact thing in different casing), make the people feel like they have to have it and the rest is “most valuable brand” history.
I really do commend Apple on this accomplishment. I am, however, currently side-eyeing Google. You tricked me. I even googled to find out which brand was best before I committed. I should’ve known what you’d tell me. How naïve of me to think that you would say “yes, side with Apple, they are more valuable than us.”
I will not give up on you yet, Google but I will offer you a little tough love. You have approximately one year from today to prove that you are worthy. At the end of the day, I will always side with the best. Can you blame me?
