Brand Barometer - Apple brand ripens with iPhone ads

The long-awaited official launch of the iPhone has finally arrived in Britain (those few extravagant souls who imported foreign handsets to beat the deadline having had them unceremoniously rendered inoperable by Apple).

On 9 November, the iPhone hit British shops, after advertising was first screened six days earlier.

Ads are simple, straightforward and stylish - almost like an instruction video, showcasing the smooth interface of the iPhone. The ads also promote O2 as the only network offering the iPhone (though The Carphone Warehouse, the only independent sales partner, miss out).

All the figures on YouGov's BrandIndex so far suggest it has been well received.

Apple has seen its buzz rise three points since it began and its quality score is up three to +35. On the other hand, Apple's buzz, quality and recommend scores have all been rising since the launch date was announced back in September on the back of just word-of-mouth and media coverage, so the rise may have continued upwards with or without the advertising.

Less good are the scores for exclusive operator O2, which doesn't seem to have received a boost at all from the campaign or the tie-in.

Its buzz is lower than before the tie-up was announced, while its index score is up by just one point. And since the ad broke on 3 November, its quality and recommend scores have both fallen two points.

It looks as though, in this partnership, all of the glory is reflecting upon Apple's brand reputation, with none reaching O2.

METHODOLOGY

YouGov interviews 2,000 people each weekday to form its BrandIndex, a daily measure of public perception of more than 1,100 consumer brands across 32 sectors.

It is measured on a seven-point profile:

1. Buzz

2. General impression

3. Quality

4. Value

5. Satisfaction

6. Recommend

7. Corporate reputation

In addition, we supply an index score.

by Sundip Chahal

www.brandindex.com.

This article was first published on Media Week