Apple has established itself on a very premium platform — all style, design and brilliant functionality. After the iPod, the brand image has hardly seen even the slightest decline in its brand equity. The launch of the iPhone and the Macbook Air, with all the flair of Steve Jobs as he cleverly launched them during his presentations, has earned Apple the title of The Golden Boy (Brand?) of the Web 2.0 era.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has lost its brand image due to the same elements which had elevated Apple. By pushing flawed, incomplete software and very complicated pricing (Professional vs. Home vs. Enterprise), the element which is at the core of Microsoft’s brand decline is its product. Later releases of bug-fixes and patches only further irritate consumers and last, but most importantly, they haven’t catered to their target market by releasing any new innovation of true value.
In today’s tech-savvy and marketing–savvy world, the image upgrade, which they’ve tried with all the bright and shiny communication, is not going to fool anyone. A bad product, even after shining and polishing it, is still a bad product.
Right now, the Microsoft brand is in a really bad spot and my question is… Does Microsoft have what it takes to bounce back in the game with some real innovation? Or is this the beginning of the end?
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