The fight for consumers between Apple and Microsoft (Windows) appeared in the ’90s when both were rivaling for the dominant position on the technology market. This rivalry has generated original marketing pieces and ads which has solidified each brand’s values and DNA.
This is the online ad made by Microsft to promote its new laptop.
Nowadays, this rivalry continues showing another smart move, this time from Microsoft, called: Meet Mackenzie ‘Mac Book’, a real person whose name starts with the first three letters Macintosh.
This Apple and Windows new brand battle is very simple but hilarious, taking the point of view of Mackenzie Book showing the reasons why he chooses a Microsoft Windows laptop instead of another popular product.
The ad takes a functional screen space to show the two laptops (a MacBook pro right next to the lovely reddish windows laptop used by Mackenzie) showing the difference in size, speed, battery life, touchscreen (MacBook doesn’t have a touch screen) and display
This is the well known fantastic campaign made by Apple in the American market.
Apple and Windows a new brand battle
This campaign has been a sudden move to take some of Apple’s laptop market share in the US, which is predominant but has been suffering some exhaustion from constant changes (mainly because of new ports and extra features not included with the main product); not to mention a considerable rise in prices.
Many of Mac’s consumers have expressed the brand is losing its innovative punch and snow is falling in a repetitive circle with no mayor novelties in the last years.
Add to this; there is an increased content production of ex-MacBook users in social media who sporadically demystified the brand’s product highlighting the factory errors such as low keyword malfunctions and short life battery.
However, Apple is still a strong brand and has been upgrading and improving its products lately as the face ID and enhance sound and system features that unite all Apple products for maximum comfort. The strength of the brand has shown endurance even in a stock market abruptly moved because of the political tension between US and China.
Brand battles
This brand battle reminds us of other rivalries such as Coke Vs Pepsi and MacDonald’s Vs Burger King. However, how these matches start and why, is the question.
Usually, this confrontation starts because one of the brands receives a message from its board of directors that they must grow horizontally. In other words, we need to take the rival’s market share.
In a previous post, we mentioned that every single campaign is created to reach a specific objective, in this case (market-share campaigns) are designed to take some of the rival’s brand customers. This decision can only happen with the portion of customers that are not brand-lovers and whose ‘buying attitude’ includes other variables to acquire a product or service.
Getting Bran-lovers mad
Now, have in mind that this type of campaign will infuriate the brand-lovers of the competition because it will jokingly play with the features that make their brand unique for them, so it is wise to consider some safety measures against this retaliation.
We are talking about preventing our social media team about probable troll attacks. This situation can be managed by having a set of fun and thoughtful responses to counterattack those harmful statements made by die-hard fans of the affected brand.
As we mentioned, one way of making sure the other’s brand legal team doesn’t sue you and forces you to remove your campaign out of the air is by using comedy to elaborate the message. Of course, you need to have a lawyer(s) to review your campaign content (including each one of your ads) to make sure you are not affecting the integrity (image) of the competition (before launching the campaign).
Get Ready for a Counterattack
It is also essential to consider the rival’s marketing team will also respond with a creative piece. Usually, these response campaigns occur little time after the first blown and can take very different routes.
Some choose to respond with another jokingly fun message, while others take another direction like stating the important role the brand is doing against cancer, which will make the other brand look mean.
On the other side, the end of a brand battle happens when a new commercial season starts, like summer, July 4th or Christmas, (following the brands’ sector and market).
However, if the blown from the initial battle is still soaring and talked among consumers (or if this has taken some of the market share from the rival brand) there is a new battle to fight.
In the end, a brand rivalry usually takes many resources for long periods, so don’t get into one unless it is necessary or, you know, you got dragged into one.