Apple, Google and Microsoft ranked at the top of the list of the world’s most valuable brands for years. In 2018, Amazon’s growth was spectacular, its brand’s value increased and overtook Microsoft and it is currently holding the third position in the ranking.
The reason these four brands are special is not the particularity of their positioning, but its significance joined with the unique product they are offering and most importantly their incredible execution.
Microsoft’s branding strategy has improved noticeably since 2014. The brand announced a new mission statement: “Empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”
Moreover, Microsoft positioned a stronger importance on communicating the brand to people associating Microsoft with some of its most known products, such as Xbox and Skype. Previously, Microsoft had been recognized for its product-centered communication. Currently, it emphases on customer benefits instead. Microsoft has also changed its tone of voice from corporate to more human and emotional style.
Amazon positions itself as “a company of pioneers”, “inventing on behalf of customers”.
It constantly enters new categories from fashion to consumer electronics and other services. Jeff Bezos, the company’s CEO said: “Our passion for pioneering will drive us to explore narrow passages, and, unavoidably, many will turn out to be blind alleys. But – with a bit of good fortune – there will also be a few that open up into broad avenues.”
Amazon as a brand is representing a customer-centered approach. Its strategy is based on three main benefits: the largest selection of products, the most reasonable prices and the most convenient delivery.
Entering in new sectors and competing with different brands made the company realize that the emotional component plays a bigger role in any brands’ success.
As a result, Amazon kept moving towards a more sensitive approach and made its communication more human and warm.
Google assists people to learn more about the world and allows them to find any information they are looking for. Google is not the inventor or the publisher of these information, but because of its capability to understand the searcher’s need and to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources of data.
The brand has been positioned as a trusted source of information. Google sees its mission as people’s lives easier by organizing all the information necessary and making it easily reachable.
In the past Google was hesitant to advertise itself and rarely promoted the brand.
This improved in the past few years when the brand understood that people wouldn’t find out about its products without advertising and creating an effective marketing communication.
Apple was a brand on a mission to transform the personal computer market which was a big challenge.
While Apple’s main belief is “people with passion can change the world for the better “and this belief never changed but, its communication strategy and messaging have changed with time.
Apple expanded its product portfolio significantly which made it one of the market leaders.
The brand had to change its approach and communication from symbolism to a more literal messaging and from visual communication to product centered campaigns showcasing the profits of its products.
It’s also obvious that Apple’s ads have recently build a warmer image of the brand and have a more human and emotional approach than before, when their voice was more inspiring and materialistic.
As a conclusion, each of these most valuable brands in the world has gone through important changes in their positioning and approach to branding and communication.