My admiration for Apple is huge!  Recently I spoke to Cody (www.codywillard.com) and Rebecca over at Fox Business about Microsoft (will that company ever get it!) and mentioned how the packaged goods model was key to the future of their marketing if they want a future!   (See my appearance here.)

Well, then, this bit of branding history should be no surprise.  Did you know that from the start Apple didn’t mess around when it came to branding?  John Sculley, its legendary marketing force, learned the game grabbing market share from Coca-Cola for Pepsi before he moved to Silicon Valley (here’s his bio)!  Can anyone say “packaged goods”!

At Apple he started with the product and exploited the product’s advantages over competitors (reliability, cutting-edge user-friendly technology and sleek design) and then linked these advantages to a long-term branding strategy that has carried the company through to this very day: Apple as synonymous with innovation and imagination that knows what the consumer needs and delivers!   And, as if I need to underscore how aware of the power of brand they are … they even run on-line seminars to teach customers how to use Apple’s products to brand their own companies (here).