White headphones
When Apple started to sell the iPod a few years ago, they faced a large uphill battle. Apple’s device held less music than other mp3 players, had fewer features, was large and bulky (cf. current iPods), priced itself too high, and came late to the game. Other companies had already established themselves in the industry. Creative was a leader in mp3 players and Sony still had brand strength from the Walkman.
I think a key feature in the initial branding, growth, and success of the iPod was its distinctive white headphones. Before Apple, most music headphones were black, presumably to blend in. Ask any magician, she will tell you that black is invisible to the human eye. Therein lies the iPod’s brilliance.
Usually, a music enthusiast hides his small music player in his pockets while walking around. The only visible signs that he is listening to an mp3 player or other device are the headphones. By making iPod headphones distinctively white, Apple made sure that everyone around the music enthusiast knew that he had spent big bucks on a premium device from Apple. The white head phones immediately stand out, unlike the black headphones which people overlook. Even if an onlooker were to notice the black headphones, the headphones could have been plugged in to any mp3 player, cd player, or even Sony Walkman tape player.
The white headphones stood as symbols of buying a premium device. They also served to indicate the growing popularity of the device. At first, one would only notice a few headphones and one may ask about the iPod in passing. Later, as one saw that an ever growing number of people peacocked white headphones, one wanted to buy this apparently very popular device even more. Now, Apple owns the color.
We could all learn a lesson from this brilliance, whether Apple did this purposefully or accidentally. Try to make something distinctive. You don’t have to ask your customers to shout your company’s name and product at all of their friends. You don’t have to ask them to put your company’s logo in loud letters on their shirts and pants. You can brand with just a simple, barely perceptible icon and a unique association.
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