Critical Comparison Between Apple And Lenovo Marketing Essay

This article is going to briefly compare the two brands on brand management—Apple and Lenovo. Apple and Lenovo are two big computer producers, which have their own characteristics separately, while, in various aspects, Apple is better and prior compared to the same products brand Lenovo.

A good brand brings much information important to the customers. A trustworthy brand means a lot for the customers. It would act as an identification of the source of products. It represents the promise, bond or pact with the maker. A good brand makes reliable purchase communication between the companies and the customers. From the perspective of the companies, a good brand building is also of great significance. A remarkable managed brand would bring more profit and greater loyalty from the customers to the companies (Baxter, 2006). Besides, an outstanding brand image would make the company it represents more powerful among its competitors. Also, good brand building would make this company a more cohesive group, which has a very progressive spirit to make itself better all the way. Therefore, the great importance lies on the brand management from the companies. This paper will try to briefly compare the brand management of the two brands-Apple and Lenovo—in order to get some useful lessons on brand management.

In a word, this paper aims at comparing the two brands and getting the improvable spaces of Lenovo, and then it will propose some suggestions that may improve and make Lenovo into a better and more perfect computer producer, besides, related discussion and analysis will also be given.

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II Brand Comparison and Critical Evaluation

2.1 Brief presentation about these two brands

Apple, which originally called “Apple Computer”, is an American multinational company which designs and sells electronic products, which including computer software and series of personal computers. The most famous hardware products produced by Apple Company are Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iphone and the iPad. The remarkable software products come from Apple are various and splendid, which include the Mac OX operating system; the iTunes media browser; the iLife series of multimedia and creativity software; the iWork suite of productivity software; Aperture, a professional photography package; Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products; Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools; and iOS, a mobile operating system. Till August 2010, the company has had 301 retail sub stores in ten countries, and one online store through which various related hardware and software products are sold to customers(Bosch, 2005).

Lenovo is mainly a China targeted company. Mainly based on Chinese, Lenovo is a multinational computer technology corporation, which mainly develops, produces and sells computers and notebook personal computers. Besides, workstations, servers, storage drives, IT management software products and related services are also designed and marketed in the company.

Lenovo Company was originally born named as “Legend” in Hong Kong in 1988. Its principle operations are right now made in Beijing of China, Morrisville, North Carolina of the United States, and also in Singapore, beside, it has research centers in these locations, as well as in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen, and Chengdu of China, and Yamato of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Lenovo has got the former IBM PC Company Division in 2005 for about 1.75 billion dollars, through which, it acquired the Thinkpad line of notebook PCs. Of 2009, the Lenovo Company ranked the fourth largest among the personal computers sellers in the world wide. Till the time that reaches more than half of 2010, Lenovo’s market share increased a lot, which changed from 8.6 percent to 10.4 percent. Lenovo plays as the largest personal computers seller inside China. According to the research firm IDC in July, 2009, it has a 28.6% share of the Chinese market. Till March 31, 2009, it is reported that Lenovo had provided 14.9 billion dollars for the Chinese fiscal year every year. Lenovo Company vends its products in many ways. They include businesses that of small size to the ones of medium size. Also, it has a series of online chain retailers, plus main technology vendors.

2.2 brand comparison

In many ways, Apple is much stronger a brand than Lenovo.

Firstly, Apple has better product strategies. The biggest feature, also the most outstanding merit of Apple computers is that they apply the unique Mac OS X operating system, which is invented and innovated by Apple itself(Birdsong and Evans, 2004). This special system is more stable and easier to be used by the customers. On this aspect, it is unique among all the competitors, this innovative spirit and distinct feature make it surpass other computer brands far away, of course including Lenovo, which has long been applied others’ hard wares and soft wares altogether. Also, Apple has beautiful appearance in its operating face(改). On this point, Lenovo is much plainer. What’s more, it has better quality perception and performance. As estimated through online, hard wares problem appear very frequently on Lenovo computers, it is a disgusting and upset encounter that you find your computer fails to work well due to its hard ware problem in a short time of less that three years after it is bought. At this aspect, Apple has overwhelming merit. It often has very excellent allocation hard wares so as to shape the better performance of its computers, especially in some high class computer products, such as those ones used by the pictures makers(D.A, 2004). In a word, Apple represents good quality; good quality stands for Apple.

Secondly, on the aspect of brand elements, Apple’s brand elements have been designed obviously better than Lenovo. In the first place, Apple—this brand name is obviously much easier and bright a notion for the customers to remember. Compared with Apple, this born word, which is so familiar and easy to be recognized and remembered by the customers, Lenovo, this word, which is “man-made” by the designer, is much harder and stranger to be remembered and understood by the customers. The very simple word “apple” is easier to say, spell, and read, remember in the brand “Apple”. Compared to “apple”, the word “lenovo” is so abstract and strange to the customers, especially for people who meet it at the first time, who may even hardly could remember and have impression in their minds towards this difficult word. What’s more, the brand “Apple” ingeniously let its name “apple” be closely and completely equivalent to its brand symbol image—-an apple with a part bitten off. Compared with Apple, on this point, Lenovo has no fresh idea at all—- again it just makes its brand name word “lenovo” appears on the every computer machine’s “face”, which is apparently a weaker and less fresh deed to advertise its brand image.

Thirdly, for the performance on the aspects of evolution and brand products innovation, Apple has an evident superiority to Lenovo. Apple has an older and longer evolutionary history than Lenovo. Born in 1977, Apple Company is a famous and familiar computer production company in America, which was the earliest initiator and the distinguished producer of personal computers (D’alessandro, 2001). Many hard wares come out from Apple producing line “Powerbook” have long been the main stream products welcomed by the customers in the personal computer markets(D.Ryder, 2002). Besides, it has proposed creative new ideas for many times, which has headed the electronic fashion for a time. The special association with Mactonish OS makes Apple computers the best choice for the picture workers, which has a privilege merit on the field of pictures and images management, and has a large market share for long time(Kapferer, 2008). Compared with Apple on these aspects, Lenovo is relatively a new and young brand, and the most important point is that Lenovo has no unique core techniques of its own which let itself distinguished from other competitors. To some extent, Lenovo computers are a series of more or less combined machines. Therefore, on the aspects of being creative and making innovation, Lenovo is a relatively too weak brand compared with the bright Apple.

Besides the above, strong brand as Apple is, it performs much better on the aspect of globalization as well. On this point, Lenovo is again weaker relatively. With special and leading products characteristics, Apple has built its branch companies or representative organizations in tens of countries in the world wide, along with which, its products are sold popularly all around the whole world. While, Lenovo is basically a China-based brand. It mainly targets at Chinese customers and develops inside China wide. In this way, Apple is unquestionably a globalized strong brand, while, Lenovo is weaker on this point.

2.3 Critical Evaluation and Recommendations

Based on the above comparison, it is obvious that Lenovo is relatively a weak brand in many ways on computer production, in other words, it could be improved in various aspects.

2.3.1 Critical evaluation

Firstly, it is so obviously shown that Apple has a better product strategy on the aspects of products feature, quality perceptions and performance. Apple has its own unique software and technology coaching with its products, besides, it could perform satisfactorily on its products’ quality. While, Lenovo has long being relied on others’ technology and relevant software products, and always its products’ quality performance is not so satisfactory and smooth as good example as Apple. According to the customer based brand equity model, power or effect of the brand lies in what the customers have learned, felt, seen and heard about a brand as a result of their experiences(Kotler, 2006). In other words, what consumers response to the brand matter a lot. The power of a brand lies in the minds of customers. Therefore, uniqueness and excellent quality performance of the products can be the core importance of a brand’s management. Once a brand let the customers show their satisfaction towards its products, the brand is a splendid brand.

Secondly, Apple has better designed brand elements compared with Lenovo. The brand name “Apple” is better designed than the name “Lenovo”.

Good brand elements should enhance brand awareness; form strong, favorable, and unique brand associations. According to the criteria for choosing brand elements, the core elements for brand building are memorability, which includes being easily recognized, and being easily recalled. So according to these criteria, Apple’s brand name features are simple, familiar, and distinctive. While, Lenovo’s brand name is difficult and strange relatively. Besides, good brand names should be easy: they should be easy to say, to spell, to read, and to remember(W, 2003). On this point, Apple is a very well example, while Lenovo is not. The name word “apple” fits the principles almost perfect and completely. The born word “apple” is very easy and simple for customers to recognize and remember. However, Lenovo is completely a strange and new word, which would definitely bring some difficulty to customers to remember it. What’s more, the logo picture of Apple is beautiful and directly perceived through the senses. On this point, Lenovo is comparatively plainer.

Thirdly, on the aspects of evolution and brand products innovation, it is evidently that Lenovo did less well than Apple. A good brand should have a kind of innovative spirit that let its brand and its products create new constantly. Innovation is core spirit of company spirit, once a group could manage to let itself keep making progress and innovation constantly, the group could be an advanced team(Kilbum, 2006). Undoubtedly, Apple is an outstanding example. Founded earlier, it has a very long history of having made progress and innovation. The best example is that it has its own unique featured software and hardware technology which distinguished itself from all of other competitors. On this point, Lenovo is relatively weaker and poorer. Although not unchanged through all the years since it was born, Lenovo just have kept “combined” others’ all kinds of technology products and put them into a piece of outer clothes which named “Lenovo”. It is an undeniable weak point.

2.3.2 Recommendations

Through the above brief comparison and analysis, we could draw that Lenovo might improve itself from some aspects.

Firstly, may be Lenovo could try to improve its product quality performance or make its after service better to remedy the poor product quality problem. It could try to learn some technology and study out a series of its own reliable qualified products strategy. To be specific, in the first place, it may make practical surveys among the users of their products in order to learn clearly what their products’ weakness are right now, and then it could try to solve this problem one step by another. On other side, it could improve its after service condition, which is also an important part of earning the customers’ hearts. Along this process, the brand could make itself more perfect. From the way of improving after service, it also could learn its own products better, it will get to know how they perform and work in practice and know where and how to make its products better.

Secondly, on the aspect of brand elements, may be Lenovo could make a little change on its brand name in order to make it more easily accepted by the customers and more easily be remembered by the customers. According to the information online, Lenovo has had it named as “legend” in the beginning time. However, “legend” could be a better choice. The word itself has a kind of profound meaning which indicates a sense of mystery, and of great antiquity. What’s more, it is a born word, which is simpler and easier for people to remember. Anyway, on every side, naming the brand as “lenovo” is a less good idea than a name as “legend” or something else similar. Although there may be some practical problem in changing a brand’s name, I really think this is a considerable idea to improve the brand condition.

III Conclusion

To sum up, through the above comparison and the relevant brief analysis, a clear conclusion could be achieved that Lenovo is a weak brand comparatively to Apple on many aspects. Apple has better product strategies, product performances, better brand elements designed, and more distinguished brand innovation to be outstanding among all the competitors. However, Lenovo is a relatively limited and weak brand, especially which has no self unique technology.

Lenovo could improve itself through ways such as make its products performance better or improve its after service condition, and may considering changing its brand name into a more symbolic and profound name as “legend” or something else, which is easier and more bright a notion for customers to remember.

All in all, good brand strategy is a core part in a brand’s building; a wise management should select a well and clear way to make its brand better.