Technological advances like the internet have significantly contributed to market successes in most major industries since the ‘90s. As a result, many companies, including Apple and Google, started as small-scale- groups. Now they are some of the biggest tech companies in the world. From the beginning, they understood there is no such thing as a genuinely brandless brand. These now major companies understood that they had to drive businesses with a specific goal or strategy to succeed.
Here are some ways in which big tech took its seemingly brandless ideas and made them into supergiants:
Branding is Everything
Every strategy and decision a company makes with its products contribute to its branding.
Amazon started as an online bookseller before expanding to become a significant online shopping outlet. Jeff Bezos’s goal for his branding was, over everything else, to leave customers delighted with their purchases.
Apple’s approach to developing its products was based on looking at what other companies were doing. For example, Steve Jobs looked at the MP3 player and simplified it to create the IPod. Then, he took the concept of the iPod and integrated it into the iPhone.
From the very beginning, Google’s idea of developing its brand was to give consumers the answers to questions they were looking for. This model has helped them make incredible developments with boot times for Chromebook OS and implementing a search function in Gmail. To this day, Google strives to improve by looking at what customers want to improve from their current devices and working to improve on them.
As these companies were able to establish solid branding, they were able to further invest in their marketing strategies. Apple had significant successes in the advertising space with the dancing silhouettes for the iPod and their “I’m a Mac” ads establishing them as computers for everyday people. Amazon and Google recently began investing further into marketing with commercials making emotional connections with viewers by showcasing work in fulfillment centers and connecting with small businesses.
Consistency
Consistency is critical for companies to keep customer loyalties. By delivering consistent experiences through their products, customers could develop a relationship of trust with the brands they use. For example, Amazon focuses on satisfying the consumer. Apple is compatible in focusing on design and functionality through customer experiences. Google’s consistency relies on answering questions and developing solutions.
One company tried to develop its brand by ironically trying to skip the brand-marketing expenses. Brandless was a direct-to-consumer company that offered essential household products for a flat rate of three dollars per product. Their branding was strong on paper, but it didn’t perform as well as expected. Many factors led to Brandless’s downfall, including steep competition and inconsistent product quality for the price, but it mainly fell because of weak marketing strategies. The idea would have been more successful if Brandless had properly marketed itself and informed consumers about its focus and why they should buy from it.
Mini Brands within Big Brands
Within the large corporate spaces in large companies, some products stand above others in terms of sales or identity. These products that have a relevant influence on the company are known as mini brands.
Apple has had a lot of success developing its mini brands, the iPod being a prominent example. Apple uniquely advertised the iPod through the dancing silhouettes, showing off the portability and energy of the iPod. When the company began shifting focus from the iPod to the iPhone, Apple kept the name of the iPod relevant in the early versions of the operating system before changing the name of the app to Music.
Amazon’s and Google’s attempts at developing mini brands are more recent but just as impactful. Amazon Prime has distinguished itself as a significant identity within Amazon. This allows consumers to access other features like entertainment streaming, faster delivery, and discounts.