Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware
BrandIndex: Microsoft's ads effective
BrandIndex is reporting this week that Microsoft's "Laptop Hunter" and similar ads are changing consumer's perceived value of Windows machines. YouGov conducted a survey of 5,000 consumers to measure the "value score" of both Macs and Windows machines. The value score represents a customer's perception of "bang for the buck." We don't know exactly how that's measured by the survey.What they found was a steady increase in Microsoft's score since the price-conscious ads began. Simultaneously, Apple's score has fallen.
You can argue the validity of the commercials' claims, but what's undeniable is that people shop on price. When John Q. Public decides to buy a computer, 9 times out of 10 his initial thought is, "What's this going to cost me?" Most shoppers aren't like you and me, concerned with statistics and performance. They want cheap. As someone who has bought hundreds of computers for two schools over 8 years, I know what I'm talking about.
While the ads may infuriate Mac nerds like us, they might persuade everyone else.
[Via Electronista]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris M said 1:25PM on 5-20-2009
I think this actually shows a trend in popularity of the cheaper netbooks. If the economy was better, people are smart enough to spend their money on devices of higher quality. Seth Godin did a fantastic job defining Luxury vs. premium products. Let's see where this trend is in a year. But as an aside, as a Mac user I don't care if people leave the Mac platform. It only serves to bolster our security thru obscurity. Let them go back to the PC.
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Craig said 1:36PM on 5-20-2009
When John Q. Public decides to buy a computer, 9 times out of 10 his initial thought is, "What's this going to cost me?"
Apple has traditionally never been interested in this consumer for their Mac business. This may be changing with the success of the iPod and iPhone, but I haven't really seen any concrete indication of this.
Normally I get ticked about these types of reports, as they don't tell the whole side of the story, only one minor fragment. But, I hope it drives down Apple's stock so I can buy some cheaply before they announce another record breaking quarter in harsh economic times.
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Jeff Szuhay said 1:43PM on 5-20-2009
Well, it really doesn't help Apple when they report gross margins of 36%. For a hardware company, that's enormous. It makes me stop and think when I see a $2,700 price tag on an Apple product.
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PSM said 1:39PM on 5-20-2009
One thing I can never fault anybody for is buying cheap because they want or need to save money. That's always a valid priority. It's the ones who think their $500 Dell is a better machine than a Macbook Pro ("because it can still check my email and use the web, and it was $500") who bother me. Not saying it's not the right buy for them if those are their needs, but please accept that those of us buying $2,500 computers have equally valid reasons to believe we got the better deal.
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Brett said 1:45PM on 5-20-2009
I think you mean, "price-conscious", not "price-conscience".
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benjamin said 9:02PM on 5-22-2009
I don't know, sometimes I feel guilty paying Apple's full price...
Rick O'Neil said 1:49PM on 5-20-2009
I gotta wonder why Apple doesn't push the Mac Mini a little more.
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Yuusharo said 2:07PM on 5-20-2009
Whenever I see this survey, I always stop and ask myself, "What exactly do they mean by 'effective?'" Are they persuading potential Mac customers to PCs? Do people who had their hearts set on a Mac suddenly finding themselves gravitating to PCs simply because they're cheaper?
Surveys like this are always suspicious to me. You can influence the outcome to a degree by asking 5,000 random people a question and get what ever answer you want depending on how its worded. They're reporting that "perceived value" of Windows machines has gone up, while the Mac has gone down. Certainly if you're looking at price alone comparing system specs, it would be difficult to justify Apple's prices.... assuming they were both running Windows. I can buy a PC with comparable specs to a Mac, often even faster, for less money, but I don't get the design, the OS, the software, and the decrease of headaches dealing with technical issues. The operating system is not a factor in these ads.
Its bologna anyway. The fact is Apple's market share has continuously outgrown the rest of the industry for years now, and even with the reality of the economic times we're in, they still continue to do exceptionally well. If the PC manufacturer's only argument is they're systems are less expensive, then let them continue to sell cheaper and cheaper machines, cutting costs where ever they can, degrading the overall product, and screw up their profit margines. That's the model they've been following for decades now.
I love my Mac, and I understand when a PC is simply more appropriate. Certainly Macs aren't for everyone, but to say that this ad campaign will somehow hurt Apple is preposterous.
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Michael said 2:05PM on 5-20-2009
Can't just look at one part of the graph and draw conclusions, need to look at the longer trends. While Microsoft's scores have increased and Apple's has decreased, I think it's wrong to say that it's the ads alone that are doing it. The trend seems to have started earlier in that graph. I'd be more interested in what happened near the peak in the Apple score as it may have had a larger impact and the Microsoft ads may just be adding to it.
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Ray said 3:07PM on 5-20-2009
That's a tough spot Apple is sitting in, because you know what- it's true, PCs are powerful yet dirt cheap. For example, I'm upgrading my mom's desktop and it costs me $150 for a new board, dual core and 2gb ram. I'll put the rest in the bank for harsher times, thank you!
You can't upgrade an Apple, in fact they don't even have a classic "desktop" in their line! Hopefully this will change soon.
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liquidmark said 3:46PM on 5-20-2009
"You can't upgrade an Apple,"
Mac Pro= Upgradable ram, hd's, processors, pcie expansion slots ect.
iMac= You can upgrade the ram. You can also upgrade the cpu and hard drive, but it would void your warranty.
Macbook and MBP= Upgrade ram and hd
Mac Mini= Upgrade ram, hd and CPU tho this voids warranty.
Of course, on all of these machines, by the time you NEED to upgrade a component, your warranty will no longer be in effect anyway. Don't tell me a Apple computer can't be upgraded.
Erik Weimer said 5:44PM on 5-20-2009
I feel this also speaks to the fact that we (as a society) so used to piracy and getting software for free, that no one thinks when they buy a computer "how much is the software going to cost?" "How much is it going to cost me to do what I want to do in the end?" In the end, that is why we are buying the computer in the first place, to use a software program to get the job done, right? Be it a great new piece of software that we've always wanted to use (like Final Cut Pro for video editing) or to continue to use (like the latest and greatest MS office).
Sure you've just bought a new computer, now what are you going to install and use? Windows XP? Vista? Did you buy them? Did you compare their price to Apple's OS X? How about other apps? Are you going to buy them?
This is where Apple has a huge leg up on MS, with the inclusion of their gorgeous and easy to use iLife suite of apps, along with the fact that OS X is a far better operating system than Windows. Life is generally made easier, and IMO way more fun, on a Mac.
Are we that blind to the fact that software and the OS are the real reasons people are getting a new computer?
The question is interestingly enough never answered in any of the MS ads, or arguements. I wonder why?
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Christian said 4:39PM on 5-20-2009
Let's not even begin to comment on the false advertising that Cupertino puts out.
I commend Apple for what it is, a marketing machine. In all honesty can you tell me that my $2400 Precision is an inferior product to a macbook pro?
Let's see here:
Adobe color corrected display
8gb RAM
512mb video
500gb Hard drive
Intel 3.06 core 2 duo
4 USB ports
Blu-Ray
Bluetooth
WWAN Card...
oh and if I want I can, and have, run: linux, OS X, Vista on this one machine.
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Mo said 7:16PM on 5-20-2009
Weight? Thickness? Multi-touch trackpad? Expresscard slot? DDR3 RAM? Backlit keyboard? A complete lack of installed crapware? The ability to wake from deep sleep in about a second?
I'm impressed at your 8GB of RAM and half a gig of video RAM, mind. That said, I can't think of a situation where I'd ever need half a gig of video RAM on a laptop. Your Precision's specs raise more questions than they answer, though: "WWAN card" could be 802.11b for all anybody knows (though I'd assume not); what graphics chipset and CPU model is it using? what's the battery life like? what's the shell made of - plastic, or aluminium? is the backlight a mercury-vapour lamp or an LED?
I'd take a higher-priced Mac over a cheaper Dell that lacks the extras and requires me to spend copious time that I don't have to spare in order to get to a point where it's ready for comfortable day to day use 99% of the time. If you don't care about that, more power to you, but honestly, I have better things to be doing with my time than fighting with Windows or persuading OSx86 to install on the particular combination of hardware I've ended up with.
Christian said 11:36AM on 5-21-2009
@ Mo
Weight-5.9lb
Thickness approx 1.3"
Multi-touch trackpad-no, but does have FIPS compliant security
Expresscard slot-PCMCIA
DDR3 RAM- absolutely installed is 1033 (PC8500)
Backlit keyboard-umm yes again
A complete lack of installed crapware- absolutely, this is not a subsidized consumer system
The ability to wake from deep sleep in about a second-opens to vista password in about 3-5 seconds
LED screen @ 1080p (Native)
We run CS4 on this machine for everything from Video editing, flash creation to web production.
WWan being ATT or Verizon, or Sprint's internal data card in addition to "N" Wi-Fi, and Wireless USB.
Until Apple can do all of that and more, I'll pay 1000+ less for my system and have greater functionality.
If I want to run OSx I can, with just a little tweaking, and run Vista, and run linux.
Oh, one final point I can upgrade without voiding my warranty (which at that price was included for 3 years with onsite service, not mailing it or taking to an apple store.)
Ryan said 5:14PM on 5-20-2009
The strange thing about these ads is that they are being made by Microsoft, yet nothing about the commercials is related to what physically is shipped from Microsoft: Windows. The ads make don't mention any feature of Windows, they focus entirely entirely on hardware made by 3rd party companies (mostly HP, I believe the one with the mom and son is a Sony).
Personally I think the ad with the little girl uploading and sharing a photo of her fish was more effective. It demonstrated a feature of the OS (The part of the experience that people are going to remember), and it showed how it was easy and accessible.
Take the new "I make movies" ad. The woman may have a computer than can do some basic video editing (this may be up for debate in itself) but the ad doesn't really say anything other than - this cheaper machine is, in a technical sense, capable of editing video. It doesn't show anything about that actual experience. If you are selling it as a "computer that can edit video", show it edit video! Show people how buying this product is going to provide a positive experience and produce a nice product.
I think Microsoft can do better than these ad tactics, focusing entirely on price and 3rd party hardware. I want Microsoft to provide something compelling, that results in Apple responding with something more compelling, resulting in better products for all.
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alansky said 6:58PM on 5-20-2009
So Microsoft paid BrandIndex *how much* to publish this "study"??? Pure hokum, if you ask me!
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Mo said 7:20PM on 5-20-2009
BrandIndex surveys ask very very very general questions and are designed to be a snapshot of mood and impulse rather than anything else.
A participant is generally presented with a list of between twenty and forty brands, and then asked a series of questions where the 'answer' is to tick those brands which they feel are aligned with the question. For example, 'Select all the brands which you feel represent good value for money (note that "value for money" does not necessarily mean "cheap")'
(Yes, they do remind people of that)
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WS said 1:28AM on 5-21-2009
There is a ton of research that shows people make irrational, snap decision when they buy things. You may research a product and be convinced it is not the one for you because your friend says "it sucks" the day before you intend to buy it...
Psychologists have long thought people use cognitive processing when they buy things, but recent research tells us that people rely more on emotional queues...
"Pseudo-studies" like these tell us nothing about shopping habits or when to pull your stock out of a company.
WS said 1:24AM on 5-21-2009
"We don't know exactly how that's measured by the survey."
Then what's the point of writing an article about the "study." If I told you I was ten feet tall, you may ask how I measured myself. If I told you I used oranges, and was told at the grocery store that all oranges were 1 foot in diameter, you may not believe me.
If you don't know the validity and reliability of the measure, the conclusion is meaningless. Unless you are a lay and like to throw out statistics.
People need to start getting smarter when they hear talk of "statistics."
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