Apple, Hubris And Keith Richards

Hubris is one of my favourite words. It doesn't get used enough in everyday language in my non-hubris humble opinion. It's a wonderful way of saying someone is arrogant and has lost touch with reality while at the same time sounding a touch arrogant yourself. Ah, the irony of language.

Like everyone else associated with marketing, I've been gazing at Apple and wondering if there is any flaw in their brand. My gut tells me that once something gets that big and successful, hubris sets in and eventually people turn against you. So, I felt rather vindicated when Report On Business Magazine recently ran an article by Derek DeCloet suggesting that Apple could make mistakes. He even said that hubris was at the root of the issue. He used the H word! The article, worth reading, focuses on technical and business issues, but I also see hubris as a possible Achilles Heel of the brand.

Apple has always been at its best when it is a challenger/underdog brand. Need I say more than “1984”. If I do, go find the ad on YouTube. I'm not going to explain it here. They were the master of driving towards the spotlight while at the same time pretending they didn't want it. But to go from 1984 to the latest iPhone spots with the end line “If you don't have an iPhone, well you don't have an iPhone.”...wow, so much for being the challenger. Do I detect hubris seeping into Apple ads?

Apple brilliantly harnessing the power of the underdog with the MAC vs. PC spots. They were great. Well the first dozen were fun, but then something happened. They went from challenging the status quo to picking on a poor loser. It was like when the high school cool guy picked on someone. Funny the first time, but lame after a while. And, eventually you started keeping a wary eye on the “cool guy”. I think somewhere during the MAC vs. PC spots is when I started feeling that Apple was no longer a brand I wanted to wear on my chest. It signalled a hubris tipping point.

OK,...I know what you are thinking...where does Keith Richards come into all this? Well, Keith is the master of being the underdog we all love. The anti rock star rock star. Always in the spotlight, but acting like he doesn't want it. There is something to learn from the master.

The biggest problem with being an underdog/challenger brand is...success. What happens to your brand strategy when you are no longer the underdog. The reality is underdogs need “the man” to challenge. Underdog's need a foil.  Back to Keith...Keith's foil is Mick. If it wasn't for Mick's extravagant spotlight antics, Keith would never get away with being the anti rock star. Keith may poke and prod at Mick, but he never destroys Mick because he knows he needs Mick.

An underdog brand strategy requires a foil that will always be there to challenge. If that foil is the competition, then the underdog strategy's biggest threat is its own success. Therefore, it is better to have a foil that is deeply rooted in the human condition rather than rooted in a competitor.

Does any of this really matter if you are successful? Well, branding is about long term loyalty. One of the pay offs comes when you slip up on product quality and your customers like or love you so much they are willing to cut you some slack. Apple has that now. Considering the way society likes to pull down its arrogant heroes, will Apple have that loyalty in the future?   What's Wrong With This Picture

Grateful Brands

I've always believed that brands are like people and the other way around.  People and brands have personalities, behavioral traits and like us humans, brands are judged by what they say and do.  I know this is hardly rocket science, but then again nothing about marketing is rocket science...it's much more muddy and messy.  It's about human stuff.

Since leaving my old job, I am quite aware that the process of networking, speaking and even writing this blog is really the process of building a new brand for me in a new life.  It's the biggest brand relaunch I've ever done.  Exciting, scary and frankly sometimes it is down right exhausting.

Today it occurred to me that one of the key attributes of the new "brand called me" is that I am a grateful brand....I find myself saying "thank you" a lot.  I've learned to be this way because I've noticed that the people who have stuck with me through these changes are the people I was smart enough to be kind and empathetic towards in the past.  And now, as I need them, and even more friends, I do what I can - which is mainly say "thank you"...multiple times a day.  It's a little thing, but it really seems to make a big difference.  It fosters loyalty and it make me feel better about myself...and when I feel better about myself I behave better.  Gratitude is a great brand building tool.

So I sit and wonder, how many brands say "thank you"?  How many operate out of a place of empathy and genuine gratitude towards their customers?  I don't mean an opportunistic "thank you" attached to a store opening. You know....free balloons, hot dogs and three dollars off some junk you'd never normally buy.  I'm talking about ensuring that a sense of gratitude is built right into the core attributes of the brand.  I know brands that are confident, entertaining, approachable (whatever that means) and even innovative.  Apple use to be the underdog brand...but I don't think it was ever grateful.

Are there grateful, empathetic brands that have found inventive ways to be thankful for their success?  Are there brands that have turned gratitude into a strategy that builds customer loyalty with actionable programs and measurements?  Maybe this is where the metaphor of brands being like people breaks down.  Maybe being grateful doesn't pay the bills...or maybe it does!

I sure hope so.