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Survey among professionals, students puts Apple brand as most impactful on their lives, Microsoft wins most in need of revamp

There has been a resurgence in the influence that brands, particularly those of tech companies, hold over people of late.  First, a major study revealed that Mac use caused what researchers labeled as a "snob effect".  Further research indicated exposure to the Apple logo could subliminally increase creativity and otherwise influence the viewer's thorough process.

Now new research by the online magazine Brandchannel reveals intriguing insight into how the consumer elite worldwide -- professionals and students -- view various companies.  Over 2,000 people were surveyed and among the companies Apple did the best, placing first in all six categories of appeal, including the most inspiring company and the company users can't live without. 

Microsoft was voted as the company people most wanted to argue with.  Furthermore, it was also voted the company most in need of a revamp.  Interestingly the USA national brand came in second in voting of a brand which most needed a revamp.

Brandchannel editor Jim Thompson states, "Apple has clearly captured the hearts and minds by leading across most categories. Others, such as the USA nation brand, which ranks highly as most in need of a rebrand, requires help according to our readers."

The study declined to examine brand value, often labeled a pseudo-science, which revolves around a theoretical determination of how much a brand is worth.  In brand value studies, Coca-Cola's Coke typically comes in first.

Most respondents in the survey did not think there was such a thing as a "green brand".  The survey indicates that many of the large company's efforts to establish an environmentally friendly image have largely resulted in failure. 

Among the praise lavished on Apple, one anonymous participant stated that there was "never a dull moment" from the company and that they keep "reinventing itself all along and providing, over and over again, a new perspective on what we thought was carved in stone."

Another unnamed participant stated that Microsoft had "gone from innovative and bold to stodgy and follower."

Following close behind Apple were Starbucks, Google, Nike, and Coca-Cola.  Most of these same brands, along with Apple at top, were selected as the brand responders would most "like to sit next to at a dinner party", though Starbucks received the boot in this category.

The responders came from over 107 countries and the survey occurred between February 24 and March 9.



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Gotta love statistics...
RE: Gotta love statistics...
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 3/31/2008 8:29:13 PM , Rating: 3
True. Regular end users tend to like the fancy Apple OSX, no doubt there. However when it comes right down to it, the bottom line is that Windows is a far more conductive and productive business platform. We've got about 20 Mac's at work right now for a few graphics design guys in our PR department that were raised on Mac. Even though Windows can do everything Mac can, it's a psychological safety blanket to be on a "Mac" for them. No big deal, but as these people are being fired or retire, their replacements seem to be more receptive to Windows. ;)


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By therealnickdanger on 3/31/2008 10:50:15 PM , Rating: 5
A good friend of mine owned Windows PCs her whole life, then she got a job at Target corporate. She started dressing "urban chic", got an iPod, then later got a MacBook. She can barely use the thing, but she's happy. All her coworkers have MacBooks and iPods too... coincidence?

To me, based upon the people I know that own Macs, it's more about keeping up appearances than functionality.


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By headbox on 4/1/2008 1:03:40 AM , Rating: 1
Sure, wannabe yuppy Mac users can be annoying. But is being a Microsoft fanboi any better?


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By StevoLincolnite on 4/1/2008 1:38:42 AM , Rating: 2
Yes because Windows has more usability than a Mac.
(Gaming is a big plus, Hardware compatibility is another, Emulation of other systems)


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By Pirks on 4/1/08, Rating: -1
RE: Gotta love statistics...
By ImSpartacus on 4/1/2008 6:30:15 AM , Rating: 2
Do you want me to price out a <$900 PC with 4GB of RAM, a Penryn, and an 8800GT? Throw in an OS and you're barely over one grand.

Then you can do so much more with that PC than you ever could with a game console. You can upgrade the PC, and then the infinite amount of other things you can do on there.


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By Pirks on 4/1/08, Rating: -1
RE: Gotta love statistics...
By borismkv on 4/1/2008 11:52:25 AM , Rating: 2
Look ma! A fanboy! For what you're going to pay for your Mac (with it's horribly underpowered/overpriced hardware and shiny factor) plus the XBox 360/PS3/Wii, and a TV/sound system to improve the experience, I can build a PC where I can do *everything* including watching TV. And for the most part, all the Console games on the market are FPSes, which I can't stand to play on a console because the controls are always much much slower than a Mouse and a Keyboard.

And Windows on a Mac. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! Oh that always makes me laugh. Windows on a Mac is about as stable as a table built with legs of Jello. And you have to literally spend 3000 dollars on a Mac to get anywhere close to the hardware I can toss into a $1000 PC. Get over yourself. The only thing your Mac is good for is giving you the illusion of self-superiority because your entire self worth is build around feeling like you're better than everyone else. Funny thing is, you're not.


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By Pirks on 4/1/08, Rating: -1
RE: Gotta love statistics...
By StevoLincolnite on 4/1/2008 4:11:10 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Yeah, PC is universal but it's too complex for most people. Macs are simple, less universal devices, but they win users precisely because of this simplicity. Not many average people liking PC mouse/keyboard games, but a lot of them loving to sit on a couch with a gamepad and enjoying some 3D beauty of Uncharted on PS3 or something, which you PC guys will never get. Crysis is being ported to consoles, so console/Mac crowd will play it, but you PC people can forget about Uncharted and The Darkness, this great stuff in not made for you, unfortunately.


Yes the PC is universal, and no it isn't to complex for most people, I got my granny up and running on a Pentium 3 with Windows XP playing Puzzle games (Popcap and Gamehouse)

And Crysis is not being ported to consoles, the "Engine" is being ported to consoles, not the actual game, most people fail to realize this point, and Crytek have said the same thing that Crysis will never been on consoles.
So it seems Crysis isn't made for you, nor is 30 odd years of PC gaming.

quote:
What a dumb fanatic you are :))) You seriously think you can assemble your own $1000 PC that can be as good as $3000 Mac Pro??? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!


The great thing about the PC is user customization of the hardware, If you shop smart enough, or buy the parts second hand from a flea market, you could build a $1000 dollar PC that will out-perform the Mac Pro, thats one of the PC's highlights.

And did I forget PC's have more upgrade options than a Mac?
And they are cheaper as well?

quote:
Tell that fanatical crap to a guy who haven't just spent several hour fighting braindead moronic Vista UAC and Windows Defender. I've got enough of your cheapo PC/Vista experience, thank you, so I'm gonna pass on your stupid zealot lies.


Those features can be disabled, thus if you are having issues with it, it's your own fault, there are other choices in the PC market other than Windows Vista, like:

- Linux.
- Windows XP
- Windows 98 Modded with XP like compatability.
- Windows Vista
- Windows 2000
- The list goes on...

Hows about, you don't like any of the above alternatives, you could always make your own based on the Linux operating system, Try doing that to a Mac OS.


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By Pirks on 4/1/08, Rating: -1
RE: Gotta love statistics...
By borismkv on 4/1/2008 6:26:48 PM , Rating: 3
"
quote:
Since when inferior hardware was more expensive? Of course PCs are cheaper when their hardware is worse.


Prove it. I can prove the opposite. It fact, many of the components used in Apple's computers are from budget manufacturers. The motherboard are Intel. The exact same as you can buy for a PC. The memory is Low-mid quality. The Hard-drives have historically come from budget companies like Maxtor and Quantum. Apple was recently sued for the quality of their displays, which were incapable of actually displaying the number of colors they advertised. I've heard many Apple people admit that the quality of Apple's monitors are equivalent to Dell's high-end monitors. Dell's High-end is basically the middle of the road when it comes to quality.

quote:
Why would anyone want to do that with a consumer oriented OS? Consumer OS like Mac OS was not designed for the end users to tinker with. It's there to just work out of the box with as small maintenance as possible.


And you can only do so much with it right out of the box without having to do a butt load of research. You cannot easily run a business with a Mac, since all major Accounting software is designed for PCs, and the Mac versions of these software suites are horribly crippled to comply with Apple's third party software requirements. The Mac is designed for the *less* than average consumer who uses their computer to surf the web, maybe listen to music, and *maybe* do some word processing. The average consumer uses their computer for much more than that. Home Accounting, Photo management, simple gaming (name one person that has never wasted time with Solitaire on their computer), and many other things. The "average consumer" as you put it cannot possibly switch to an Apple because, quite simply, they won't know how to get it to do what they want. The average consumer does not have the time or interest to learn a new operating system. The average consumer does not have the money to find someone to figure out how to get their highly important files from their current PC to their new Mac. So the *average* consumer will probably never accept the Mac until it becomes even *more* like Windows. As I mentioned earlier, the vast majority of new Mac buyers actually bought it because they liked the way they looked, and then decided to install Windows on them. Every Mac with Windows on it is a HUGE point in my fanatical side of the scoreboard.

Oh...and RO*T*FLMAO?!?!?! Noob.


RE: Gotta love statistics...
By Pirks on 4/1/08, Rating: 0
RE: Gotta love statistics...
By borismkv on 4/1/2008 11:16:31 PM , Rating: 2
Dude...you're getting hysterical. Calm down. You're only proving yourself more stupid. Go get yourself a triple mocha latte or whatever the hell you spend 50 dollars on every morning, take a few prozac, snuggle up in your 500 dollar turtle neck sweater and stop trying to convince actual hardware people that your "My first computer" garbage is worth anything. And Apple's getting market share! OMG! They have a whole 14% of the US market! Wow. That's amazing. And that's just laptops. Desktops they're at...what...7%? 8? Pah. It'll take Apple about 20 years to start making even a remote dent in the PC market. Grow up.