Tue, 26 Feb 2013 Survey says Apple is no. 1 brand in UK, but Apple needs to 'recalibrate' says ex Apple ad man

Apple' might appear to be struggling in the popularity stakes (see Why does everyone hate Apple right now?) but it appears that, at least in the UK, Apple is still a popular brand.

However, while the survey that found this to be the case is based on the opinions of marketing executives and business professionals, Apple's ex ad man, Ken Segall has written that he thinks Apple needs to "recalibrate" its marketing campaigns. 

Apple is the number one business brand in Britain, and the second most popular consumer brand in Britain, according to Superbrands.

The survey ranked 500 companies based on the strength of their brands in the UK. Thousands of marketing experts and business professionals were polled.  

In second position in the Business Superbrands list was British Airways. Google was in third place followed by Visa and Virgin Atlantic. Other notable tech companies included IBM (6th), Microsoft (8th), BT (12th), and Samsung (14th).

Amongst consumers the number one brand was Rolex followed by Apple, Microsoft, British Airways and Coca-Cola. Other tech brands included Google (6th) and Facebook (14th).

Is Apple a marketing expert?

Why is Apple such a hit with marketing experts and business professionals? In his latest post, ex Apple ad man Ken Segall examines whether Apple's success is down to its marketing, and concludes that while that used to be the case, recently it's been anything but.  

"Apple has always been amazingly good at marketing. It’s been the gold standard in marketing as long as most of us can remember," he writes.

"No matter what brand I’m working with, technology or otherwise, it’s astounding how many times I hear marketing people cite the Apple example to make a point. Apple’s advertising history is as famous as its products," he adds.

However, he thinks that this is changing. "You can’t argue that Apple is still untouchable when it comes to advertising," he writes, noting that it's being "touched - often and effectively - by none other than Samsung."

There's a reason for this: "Samsung spends more than Apple, more than HP and Dell, and even more than Coca-Cola to get its message out," notes Segall.

Segall compares Samsung's advertisement shown during the Oscars (a specially created story tapping Tim Burton) with Apple's variation of its traditional product-centric campaign. He also notes that where Samsung invested in a Super Bowl ad; Apple remained silent.

Segall suggests that Apple needs to "recalibrate".

Segall was an advertising guy for Apple and Steve Jobs' other company, NeXT. He was instrumental in the Think Different commercial and is said to have come up with the name iMac when he worked at Apple’s ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day.

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