Is The Apple Brand Damaged? iDon’tThinkSo
One lingering question for iPhone 4 owners being asked to hold their expensive device a certain way and to ignore yellow screen discoloration — is the brand still the Apple of your eye?
Apple has owned brand loyalty for much of the last decade through revolutionary introductions of the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
For three years running, Apple has been named the World’s Most Admired Company in voting conducted by Fortune. According to the magazine, Apple won the 2010 vote by the highest margin ever for a No. 1.
But that was before Thursday when hands-on experience with the iPhone 4 produced anguish for many. Apple’s answer? Get over it.
And we certainly will despite the failures at the brand’s Moments of Trust.
Seventy-seven percent of iPhone customers in line at Apple Stores on Thursday were repeat iPhone users, according to Piper Jaffray. This fact will aid Apple with its PR problems.
"Apple has in three years built brand loyalty in the phone market that compels users to upgrade to the latest version and wait in line for one to six hours to pick up their iPhone," writes Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
The purchasing behavior this week mirrored that seen at the spring introduction of the iPad.
According to estimates, 75 percent of first-weekend iPad buyers own Macs and 66 percent own iPhones.
“What makes Apple so admired?” Fortune wrote in its Most Admired Companies issue. “Product, product, product. This is the company that changed the way we do everything from buy music to design products to engage with the world around us. Its track record for innovation and fierce consumer loyalty translates into tremendous respect across business' highest ranks.”
So could anything get in the way of that?
Perhaps Apple’s Steve Jobs who made dismissive comments after iPhone 4 owners complained of loss of signal when they gripped their new phones.
“Just avoid holding it that way,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Follow Technorati