Comparing IBM's "THINK" and Apple's "Think Different

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .............................................................................iv INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1 1. Background to the study......................................................................................... 1 2. Objectives of the study ........................................................................................... 1 3. Methodology.......................................................................................................... 2 4. Scope of the study .................................................................................................. 2 5. Research structure .................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER I: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SLOGAN AND ITS ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPANY ........................................................................... 4 1.1. Definitions of slogan ........................................................................................... 4 1.2. The elements of slogan ........................................................................................ 5 1.3. History of slogan ................................................................................................. 6 1.4. Functions of slogan ............................................................................................. 9 1.5. Slogan and advertising campaign ...................................................................... 11 1.6. Characteristics of slogan ................................................................................... 12 1.6.1. Memorability .............................................................................................. 12 1.6.2. Solidification .............................................................................................. 14 1.6.3. Key benefits including ................................................................................ 14 1.6.4. Brand differentiation ................................................................................... 15 1.6.5. Originality .................................................................................................. 15 1.6.6. Positive feeling imparting ........................................................................... 16 1.6.7. Brands personality reflection ..................................................................... 16 1.6.8. Campaignability ......................................................................................... 17 1.6.9. Competitors incapabilit y to use.................................................................. 17 1.6.10. Simplicity ................................................................................................. 17 1.6.11. Meaningfulness......................................................................................... 18 Summary ................................................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER II: AN ANALYSIS OF THINK AS A WORD AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE TWO SLOGANS AND THE TWO COMPANIES ....................................... 19
2.1. The lexical meaning of Think ........................................................................ 19 2.1.1. The origin of the word .................................................................................... 19 2.1.2. Changes and development of meaning ............................................................ 20 2.2. An overview of the two slogans and the companies they represent .................... 23 2.2.1. IBM and THINK ..................................................................................... 23 2.2.1.1. Overview of IBM ................................................................................. 23 2.2.1.2 The THINK slogan ............................................................................ 26 2.2.2. Apple and Think different ....................................................................... 28 2.2.2.1. Overview of Apple Incorporation ......................................................... 28 2.2.2.2 The Think different campaign ............................................................ 32 Summary ................................................................................................................. 35 CHAPTER III: AN ANALYSIS ON THINK AND THINK DIFFERENT ............ 37 3.1. Messages of THINK and Think different .................................................... 37 3.2. The rivalry of THINK and Think different ................................................. 39 3.3. Comparison and contrast of THINK and Think different ............................ 41 3.3.1. Characteristics of THINK and Think different ..................................... 41 3.3.1.1. Memorability of THINK and Think different ................................. 41 3.3.1.2. Brand solidification in THINK and Think different ....................... 42 3.3.1.3. Key benefits including in THINK and Think different ................... 43 3.3.1.4. Differentiation in THINK and Think different ............................... 43 3.3.1.5. Originality of THINK and Think different ..................................... 43 3.3.1.6. Positive feeling imparting in THINK and Think different .............. 44 3.3.1.7. Brands personality reflection in THINK and Think different ........ 44 3.3.1.8. Campaignability of THINK and Think different ............................ 45 3.3.1.9. Competitors incapability to use of THINK and Think different .... 45 3.3.1.10. Simplicity of THINK and Think different .................................... 46 3.3.1.11. Meaningfulness of THINK and Think different ........................... 46 3.3.2. Nature of THINK and Think different .................................................. 47 3.3.3. Functions of THINK and Think different ............................................. 47 3.3.4. Impact on the respective companies of THINK and Think different ..... 49 3.3.5. Reaction from the public for THINK and Think different ..................... 50 3.4. Reflection of the slogans in IBM and Apples operation .................................... 50 3.4.1. Reflection of THINK in IBM .................................................................. 50
3.4.2. Reflection of Think different in Apple ..................................................... 55 3.5. IBM, Apple and their cultures in the new context .............................................. 57 3.5.1. Any lost in the culture of THINK in IBM ................................................ 57 3.5.2. Any lost in the culture of Think different in Apple .................................. 59 Summary ................................................................................................................. 64 CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IBM AND APPLE ............................. 65 4.1. Recommendations for IBM ............................................................................... 65 4.1.1. For problems of core value over-expression ................................................ 65 4.1.2. For problems of strict-following behavior ................................................... 65 4.1.3. For problems with laying off policy ............................................................ 66 4.2. Recommendations for Apple ............................................................................. 67 4.2.1. For problems with uninnovative products ................................................... 67 4.2.2. For problems with uncreative advertisements .............................................. 68 Summary ................................................................................................................. 69 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 70 REFERENCES............................................................................................................ 72 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................ 79
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to complete this thesis. First of all, I want to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Mai Nhung from Faculty of Business English of Foreign Trade University, for her enthusiasm and supports despite the limited free time she has. The suggestions, monitoring and guidance given by her from time to time are the sole reason that I could complete the thesis. I am obliged to IBM and Apple for the valuable information they provide through their data base, which I greatly rely on in my research. I want to take this opportunity to thank all three interview participants who spent their little time to provide me with their priceless opinions which this research largely relies on. I am deeply indebted to my cousin, who provided me with invaluable suggestions, advice and references from her works. Lastly, I thank my parents, siblings and friends for their constant supports and encouragements.
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ABSTRACT
This study determines to explore the two slogans: THINK of IBM and Think different of Apple; in particular, their similarities and differences, the reasons of their success, of how they could save the respective companies and whether they are losing from the grasp of IBM and Apple. Through secondary data from books, online articles, cases, etc. and information from interview; the study finds that, despite the two slogans are mostly different in terms of characteristics, natures and functions, they do share some similarities, specifically their impacts on and reflection in the two respective companies. The thesis also finds that the reasons for their success in saving IBM and Apple are because they establish the corporate values, lead the company to the right track and build up reputation from the eyes of customers. The final discovery of the study is that, while the slogans represent an aspect of culture in both companies, IBM and Apple are losing it and as a result, lost their fore-runner position. Following the revelation of the problems, the thesis suggests several recommendations for IBM and Apple. Recommendations for IBM include empowering employees, structure reorganizing and closing mass laying off policies. Recommendations for Apple include introducing a boost for next product lines and changing advertising method. There are a few directions for further study of the research: exploring in depth the causes of IBM and Apples loss of culture aspect presented in their slogans, further investigating the innovation in Apples operation and examining to what extent bureaucracy in IBM and strictly-follow IBMers are.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
A.I: Artificial intelligence Ad campaign: Advertising campaign Ad slogan: Advertising slogan Ad/Ads: Advertisement/Advertisements App/Apps: Application/Applications ATAS: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences CEO: Chief Executive Official EPS: Earning-per-Share IT: Information Technology MS: Microsoft Office OS: Operating System PC: Personal computer PR: Public Relation TV: Television U.K: United Kingdom U.S/USA: United States/United States of America
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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1: Graph of Apple, Amazon and Google reputation of innovation from 2nd January, 2010 to 12th April, 2011 ............................................................... 59 Image 1: JUST DO IT and the Swoosh ............................................................ 6 Image 2: THINK sign ........................................................................................ 26 Image 3: "Think different" campaign - Einstein poster ...................................... 33 Table 1: Apples Finance from 1994 to 2000 ..................................................... 34 Table 2: Result of the interviews ....................................................................... 60
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INTRODUCTION
1. Background to the study In the current age of development, marketing is one of the golden keys leading to success of a company. One of the tools that are commonly used in marketing is slogan. Slogan itself is a simple phrase but its effects on the company and/or its brand are huge. It has the ability to advertise products, to show a corporate image, to rally a quality of a company and even to affect its market share, etc. Their power is great but none greater than the ability to resurrect a brand. IBM and Apple are two giant brands which operate in computing and technological sector. They are very distinctive companies from history, cultures to operation; but they share a common thing, that they were saved by their slogans many years ago. Coincidentally, the two slogans are similar to each other: THINK by IBM and Think different by Apple. This thesis aims for answering the following questions: + How could the two slogans two simple phrases achieve the feat of resurrecting an entity as large as a company? + How are the two slogans similar to and different from each other? + Are IBM and Apple losing their own philosophy as suggested by these slogans? If yes, how to solve the problem? 2. Objectives of the study With the above mentioned research questions, the objectives of this thesis are: - To explain the roles and the impacts the two slogans on the respective companies. - To analyze the similarities and differences of the two slogans. - To discover the reasons for the success of the two slogans.
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Introduction
- To explore how the two slogans manifest an aspect of cultures in IBM and Apple. - To examine if the two companies are currently following their philosophy as mentioned in these slogans. 3. Methodology In order to achieve the set objectives, both secondary and primary data will be analyzed. Secondary data is the primary source for conducting the thesis. The primary data from interview is used to answer the second part of the third question as proposed earlier: whether Apple is losing the philosophy as mentioned in their slogan. The interview does not examine the case of IBM because the philosophy of IBM is shown more through their activities, which would involve interviewing IBMers a very difficult task considering the companys headquarter is half way around the world from the place this thesis is conducted. Three samples selected for interviewing are the ones who are working or studying in IT field and own or have used Apple products. Due to the confined nature of the two criteria and the sensitivity of the second criterion, samples are chosen among acquaintances. As a result, only three people satisfy both criteria and are selected as samples. Samples qualifying both criteria will be deemed having knowledge in IT and having experience with Apples products. Consequently, they provide more accurate judgment to answer the question. The interview method is chosen because it is not possible to identify groups of people who share both criteria, which makes survey method impossible to use. Samples will be interviewed with five questions as provided in Appendix A. 4. Scope of the study The thesis focuses on the two slogans of IBM and Apple: THINK and Think different, respectively. The subjects of the study are two huge companies working in the same computing sector: IBM and Apple. The
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Introduction
timeframe for the data of the study for IBM is 1914-1930 and 2012; for Apple is 1994-2000 and 2011. 5. Research structure The study is divided into five main parts: The review of slogan in general and its roles in the company; the overview of THINK and Think different slogans; the analysis of the two slogans; the recommendation and conclusion. The first part, the review of slogans and its role in company, aims to provide general information of definition, functions and characteristics of slogan. The part helps to understand what a slogan is and how it benefits a company. The second part, an overview of THINK and Think different slogans, intends to give information of the two companies, the reasons of the invention of the two slogans, how they were conducted and how they affected the two companies. The third part, the analysis of the two slogans, compares and contrasts the two slogans to find their similarities and differences. It also examines how the slogans manifest the philosophies of IBM and Apple, how they are shown in their operations and how they are currently applied. The fourth part, recommendations, suggests some possible solutions for the problems that are raised in the third part to improve the situation of losing the aspect of culture that the two slogans represent for both IBM and Apple. The final part, as its name suggests, summarizes the thesis and answers the thesis questions that are brought fourth earlier.
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CHAPTER I: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SLOGAN AND ITS ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPANY
In this part of the paper, general information about slogans will be provided. First, to scratch the surface, the paper will examine several definitions of slogan to introduce the basic knowledge of what a slogan is. After that, it will show elements of a slogan, or what composes a slogan. Then it will bring out the history of slogans to show the development of slogans and their tight to advertising. Also, this part will deal with functions of slogans and impacts they have on a companys operation. Afterward, the relationship between slogan and advertising campaign as well as the role that it plays in the campaign will be explored. Finally, the chapter will introduce eleven characteristics that a good slogan should have. Lets now begin with the first part: definitions of a slogan. 1.1. Definitions of slogan A slogan, in its wider definition, means a word or phrase that is easy to remember, used for example by a political party or in advertising to attract people's attention or to suggest an idea quickly. The slogan can be employed for various purposes but the two most prominent uses of slogan are for politics and marketing ("What is slogan", 2013). Consequently, the two common forms of slogan are political slogan and advertising slogan. This paper will mainly deal with the advertising form. Advertising slogan, or slogan in its narrower definition, is the line that is usually used for advertising (especially advertising campaign) ("Advertising Slogans", 2013). They are called by many names: endlines and straplines in United Kingdom; tags, taglines or theme lines in United States; claims in German and signatures in France (Foster, 2001). There are many definitions for advertising campaign slogan. Charles L Whittier defines advertising slogan in his book Creative Advertising (Whittier, 1955, p. 403) as a statement such merit about a product or service that it is worthy of continuous repetition in advertising, is worthwhile for the public to remember, and is phrased in such a way that the public is likely to remember it. Dr. Christine M. Koontz, professor
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Chapter I: An overview of the slogan and its role in the development of a company
of Florida State University, explains slogan as the verbal or written portion of an advertising message that summarizes the main idea in a few memorable words (Koontz, 1995). The website Businessdictionary.com describes it as the simple and catchy phrase accompanying a logo or brand that encapsulates
a product's appeal or the mission of a firm and makes it more memorable. And which (when used consistently over a long period), becomes an important component of its identification or image ("Advertising slogan"). Because of the straightforward and ease to understand of the definition by Businessdictionary.com, from now on, this paper will use it as the terminology of slogan. 1.2. The elements of slogan Elements of a slogan are the particular traits that define whether a line is a slogan or not. By definition, a slogan is a simple and catchy phrase accompanying a logo or brand that encapsulates a product's appeal or the mission of a firm; and, if used for over a long period of time, it would become an important component of its identification and image. As the definition suggests, Simple and catchy and Identification are the two most important elements when slogans are considered. The first element is Simple and catchy. Simple means short line which should consist of ordinary or common words. With the development of TV and Internet, people are bombarded with advertisements every day. As a result, a slogan is usually the only thing that viewers remember when the advertisement is over ("Advertising: The Magic", 2013). A long and complicated slogan will be more difficult for customers to remember and they may not catch it before another ad comes up. This effectively kills one of the purposes of slogan, which would be discussed later in this section: to communicate information. The second part, catchy, means slogan should be attractive, appealing and easily remembered to get attention of people and rings in their head even after exposing to the slogan. This serves yet another purpose: to make people remember of whats available.
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The second element is Identification, a slogan should identify a product or company. By saying that, it means that when the slogan is spelled out, the mind of the customers should link it to a specific brand. To do that, a slogan should stay consistent with the brand name, either through obviously stating it or strongly implying it. One purpose of slogan is to communicate information, if it wont identify the brand, it will fail this basic goal because the line will not be able to point out, which company that the information it provides belong to. As a result, Identification is the second important element of slogan.
Image 1: JUST DO IT and the Swoosh
JUST DO IT of Nike is a good example for examining the elements of slogan. This slogan was created for Nikes campaign in 1988 (Nikes Just Do It Advertising Campaign, 2013). It is simple and catchy, which consists of only three ordinary words which anyone could read, understand and remember. Nikes JUST DO IT campaign long ended but
(Source: topdesignmag.com)
because of its success, the slogan still usually
appears alongside with Nikes logo, the Swoosh in many situations related to the brand. In other words, it has become an important component of Nikes identification and image. In fact, the slogan itself is regarded as one of the most well-known and recognized trademarks in the history of advertising campaign (Nikes Just Do It Advertising Campaign, 2013). 1.3. History of slogan As one of the most important tools in advertising, slogan has a history which is most likely inseparable from the history of advertising. Advertising is dated back to the Christian Era ("History Of Advertising", 2013). By this time, advertisement was expressed in the form of outdoor paintings and signs which were usually eye catching. Examples of this method have been discovered in the city of Rome and Pompeii ("History Of Advertising"). Since slogan involves the use of phrase, it probably did not appear during this period. In the eighteenth
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century, advertising became flourished in some parts of the world, notably Great British and America, but advertisement of that time was repetious and unimaginative, which according to historian Lewis Atherton, "in general the early advertising was dreary, matter of fact reading, served a limited purpose, and was completely devoid of ... customer appeal. . . . one advertisement was like all others." (Atherton, 1938, p. 125). There were advances in advertising during 1820s and 1830s with the introduction of printing technology and new advertising philosophy. The 1840s marked the born of the early advertising agencies with coal and advertising of Volney B. Palmer ("History Of Advertising"). Despite all the advances in technology, philosophy and agency, slogan was still far from existing. By 1880s, companies started to manufacture large quantities of consumer goods and advertising products. Advertisements; initially small, with no picture or type; have their size increased with pictures and variations added and appeared in newspapers and magazines (Baer, 2013). Advertising agencies tried to gain consumers attention with new products and memorable slogans. And that is when the first slogan was born. One of the earliest, if not the first, slogans were introduced 131 years ago in 1882 by Ivory Soap (P&G) following an interdependent chemistry analysis to test the amount of non-soap ingredients (Baer). 99 44/100% Pure became a pledge of quality to customers and eventually, the advertising slogan of Ivory Soap until 1891, when It float was added; Ivory soap floated while others did not (Baer). That simple phrase is one of the most well-known and long-lasting slogan till today for it effectively and totally differentiated Ivory soap from any other products by its competitors. People chose it because it gave them the feeling of being guaranteed in quality (and was more easily grabbed from the bathtub) (Baer). Nevertheless, it opened the new age of advertising when slogans flourished. In 1896, New Yorks Time introduced the phrase All the news thats fit to print and it took a permanent place on the upper left corner of the newspaper. As of 2013, the slogan has remained there for 117 years since it was invented (Baer). The skin you love to touch was used for an ad campaign of
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Woodburys Facial Soap which was successful and lasted for more than a decade (Baer). If there is something to fuel the flame of slogan and makes it spread even further, then it must be the introduction of radio by the early 1920s (Baer, 2013). If one doesnt read it then he might hear it; if not from his own speaking box, then from neighbors or in public. Radio ma de it even harder to not know the jingles, which greatly increases the value of slogan. Indeed, many more taglines were introduced during that time, like Id walk a mile for a Camel by Camel cigarette for an ad campaign in 1921; Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, by Listerine in 1923; It beats it sweeps as it cleans by The Hoover vacuum cleaner in 1926; Breakfast of Champions, by the Wheaties in 1935 and perhaps most notably, Its the real thing by Coca Cola in 1941 (Baer). The opportunity could not be more favorable for advertising in general and slogans in particular. With the end of War World II, the period of prosperity was ahead and people had more room in their mind for advertisement (Baer, 2013). Advances in technology also greatly benefited advertising with the introduction of Television and Internet. Once, people looked at posters, then they heard on radio, now they watched on Television. With the power it wielded to take the attention of people whether they wanted it or not, advertising couldnt be more valuable, and so was slogan. A diamond is forever by DeBeers in 1948 and See the USA in your Chevrolet by General Motor Corp. in 1950 are probably the two most famous that many people of today would be familiar with (Baer). From 1960s till now, slogans still continue to flourish and become more attached to ad campaigns which are designed to associate a brand with specific qualities. Examples are KFCs Fingers licking good or Mc Donalds Enjoy the best food at McDonald's. The advance of Internet also allows quick online slogan to be created though professional slogan creating services are much more favorable.
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1.4. Functions of slogan Slogan plays a very important role in business. One of the most distinctive and widely known roles of slogans is to communicate the information about the company, products or services which helps people to become familiar with the brand and remember what the brand can offer ("What is slogan", 2013). Needless to say, almost all characteristics of slogans are directed toward this function. Lets take a look at United Airlines tagline: Fly the friendly skies. How does this simple slogan serve the company? First is about the messages, the slogan says that the company is presenting themselves as an airline that carries passengers. The airline also is introducing about their services which would provide customers a friendly environment and safety. Second is the appeal, friendly services and safe flight are what the airlines promises through the slogan to attract customers; the slogan itself sounds like an invitation. Third is the recall, the tagline is short and with rhyme which makes it stick longer and faster in the mind of customers, allowing it to be remembered and recalled more effectively. This function of slogan is further supported by its nature: simple and catchy. The very same memorable phrase can be used in almost anywhere, from TV ads, posters, business cards to uniforms, decorations. All in all provides a constant reminder for consumers of companys specialties. One very interesting function of slogans that few other communication tools possess is that they can be used to keep the company fresh, up-to-date and focused ("Importance Of Taglines", 2013). Slogans by their very nature is dynamic. Unlike the logo or brand name which should remain unchanged as it will cause the problem of losing brands identity, slogan can easily be changed and updated to fit companys new goals and products (Mwangi, 2013). In fact, slogans are particularly effective when it comes to communicating the major shift of change. It shows customers the evolution of the companys philosophy and that the company is striving to reach out to the need of consumers ("What is slogan", 2013). For example, Nikes famous JUST DO IT, while its success is out of discussion, is sometimes criticized for the audacity of negative attitude. The company decided to change the slogan to the softer I can when it wanted
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to market more shoes and apparels to women (Nikes Just Do It Advertising Campaign, 2013). Or KFCs Fingers lickin good is being switched to So good due to the company wanting to establish a healthier image ("KFC ditches 'finger", 2011). Slogan can also be changed to represent the societal shift in perception. For example: Fords Quality is job one was replaced by Go further recently because, in the market of today, high quality is what the company must give to consumers and is no longer a marketing variable. Slogans may play as a factor contributing to the increase or decrease of market share (Mwangi, 2013). This is related to one of the characteristics of slogans which will be covered later in this paper: imparting positive feeling of the brand and avoiding negativeness. The slogan is supposed to attract and focus the attention of consumers, making them interest in the product or a brand. Being negative would very likely counter this function and even make customers less like the brand. When they dont like the brand, they may choose substitutes from other competitors and the consequence is a drop in market share. However, slogan may also affect market share not by the message it contains but by the relationship with rivals. The lawsuit of Pizza Hut and Pa Pa Johns Pizza is one of the most obvious examples. In 1997, Pizza Hut launched a new Totally new Pizza campaign in which the company declared war on poor quality pizza. National ads of the campaign boasted the better taste of Pizza Hut and dare anyone to find a better pizza. Sometime later, Pa Pa John launched its first ad campaign directed toward Pizza Huts Totally new Pizza and it was successful. The second ad campaign by this brand focused on proving its superior sauce and dough over Pizza Hut to reinforce its current slogan Better Ingredient. Better Pizza. As a result, Pizza Huts market share dwindled by 8% while Pa Pa Johns rose by 11.7% (Appeals from the United States District Court on the case of Pizza Hut and Pa Pa John's Pizza, 2000). This shows just how much impact a good slogan can put on sales.
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1.5. Slogan and advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a specific course of action designed to advertise a brand or a product that employs an intentional and carefully coordinated series of marketing tools in order to reach the target audience ("What is an Advertising", 2013). The campaign is the groups of advertising messages which are similar in nature, which share the same messages and themes and are placed in different types of media at some fixed times ("Advertising Campaigns", 2013). An advertising campaign usually has three objectives: to inform people about the product, to convince them to buy the product and to make products available for purchase ("Advertising Campaigns"). In an advertising campaign, several tools can be used which vary from one to another, including but not limited to print and electronic media ("What is an Advertising"). A slogan is usually considered a powerful tool in advertising campaign for several reasons. Firstly, an advertising campaign typically has a theme which is the center of the advertising messages that will be communicated in promotion activities. The theme of the campaign is what the company that releases the campaign wants to communicate with their customers. If they can pack the whole theme of the campaign in a short line, they can make customers remember the purpose of the campaign. That line will be slogan. In other word, a slogan will act as a conduit to transfer the theme of the campaign from the company to their consumers. Secondly, an advertising campaign has three objectives: to inform people about the product, to convince them to buy the product and to make products available for purchase. Slogan can help to achieve two out of three goals. If a slogan includes a name of the product and the key benefits of purchasing the brand, combining with its simple and catchy nature, the slogan will become an effective tool to remind customers of the product availability. Finally, advertising campaign usually uses various media to promote. Slogan is a simple phrase and it can be put on along with the advertisement. The ads will be on media anyway, if viewers dont get the ads but get the slogan, then
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it is a success. If they neither get the ads nor the slogan, then the company will not lose extra money for putting on a small line. Thats why slogan is considered an effective tool for advertising campaign. 1.6. Characteristics of slogan This part will cover eleven characteristics that a good slogan should have according to Timothy R.V. Foster (Foster, 2001), an advertising expert who founded Adslogans Unlimited. It is important to note that these are distinguishing from the two elements of slogan that were mentioned earlier. The elements are what compose a slogan while the characteristics are what a slogan should have and are more optional. It is not necessary, and also very difficult to make a slogan that possesses all the characteristics listed below, but a good line would have as many as possible (Foster). 1.6.1. Memorability One of the most important characteristics of slogan is memorability, which refers to the chance that the line could be recalled without external aid. While the brand and the usage of the slogan, if it has already been used for a while, will contribute much to its memorability; any tagline starts out as fresh. So what makes a new slogan memorable? It is suggested that its the story told in the advertisement the big idea (Foster, 2001). The more the line reflects a big idea, the more it will be memorable. One advert of Ireland National Lottery opens with an ordinary day when people go to work, then two parallel and seemingly unimpressive boats appear and spit water at the sky toward each other. Two streams of water under the ray of sunlight create a splendid rainbow. All the people around rush toward the river bank and watch the scene in awe, they then laugh and hug and kiss one another in excitement. The advert ends with the companys slogan: Making magic happen. The line reflects the big idea of the advert, an unintentional rainbow could make an ordinary day a special one and bring happiness and people together. That is magic of life. The slogan become memorable because of the
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impression the advert gives watchers and the resonation of the advert inside the line itself. Reflection of the story is not the only way to make slogan memorable, there are several good ones as well: alliteration, coined words, puns and rhymes (Foster, 2001). These effectively make a line like a jingle, further increasing its capability to stick to ones mind. Alliteration, coined words and puns will be examined below; because its more related to the next part, rhymes will be explored later. First is alliteration, which happens when there is high occurrence of a letter at the beginning of words in slogan. For example, the slogan of Jaguar was Dont dream it. Drive it, the D letter is repeated three times. Another example is Fila with the F letter in Function Fashionable Formidable. Similarly, several notable examples include Land Rover with The best four by four by far, AOL with Welcome to the World Wide Wow and Greyhound with Greyhound going great. Second is utility of coined words, which is the use of made-up words in slogan. The made-up words are usually relating to the brand or product of the brand. For instance, Burton Menswears slogan was Everywear which is the coined word of Everywhere and Wear; Nefficiency of Neff is the combination of Neff and Efficiency; KP Peanuts had Pure Snacking. Pure Snacktivity with Snack and Activity and Guinness had Guinless isnt good for you, which plays with the suffixes -ness and less. Third is puns, which means exploiting the different meaning of a word or words that sound alike but have different meanings in a slogan. The art can be used with or without brand name. However, without brand name, other companies may use the line (Foster, 2001). Illustrations for pun without brand name are Moss Security with Alarmed? You should be, Casio with Precisely what youre looking for and Weight Watchers Frozen Meal with Taste. Not waist. Pun with brand name is divided into two categories: Brand name appears not as a pun and Brand name appears as part of the pun. Samples for the first
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type are Tic Tac Candy with Tic Tac. Surely the best tactic, Ritz Cracker with Nothing fitz like a Ritz and Kenco Really Rich Coffee with Get Rich quick. For the second type, Frosted Chex had Chexellent, or what? and Thomas Cook had Dont just book it, Thomas Cook it. 1.6.2. Solidification Ideally, the name of a brand should be included in the slogan so that once consumers remember the line, they will remember the brand and once they recall the line, they know where to find what they need (Foster, 2001). My goodness, My Guinness! or Dont just book it, Thomas Cook it. are examples for this. However, not having the brand name in the line can also work, but usually only if it is a big, famous and powerful brand. Nikes JUST DO IT may appear with the Swoosh only, the name Nike is unmentioned. Or the famous Think different of Apple was usually shown with the bitten rainbow apple logo of the company. When it works, this technique is extremely effective as it forces the mind of viewers to recall and place the brand name whenever they spell the slogan. The method that is usually used to bring in the brand name is to use rhymes (Foster, 2001). The brand name could be part of the rhyme or not part of the rhyme though the first case is more popular. Examples for rhyme with brand name as part are City Links City Linking, smart thinking, Thomas Cooks Dont just book it, Thomas Cook it and Haig Scotchs Dont be vague. Ask for Haig. For rhyme without brand name as part, A mars a day helps you work, rest and play of Mars and Its the Viakal fizz that does the bizz of Viakal are good instances. The reason why rhyme without brand name as part of it is not often used is because competitor companies may change the name and use the line as their own. This, of course, ruins the first and second functions of slogans. 1.6.3. Key benefits including Slogans are usually considered what viewers get if they miss the entire advertisement (Foster, 2001). Thats the reason why including the key benefits
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would be a great idea to remind the viewers of what they will get whenever they recall the line. A slogan is memorable, if the benefits are included, then they are memorable as well. Examples for this include Weight Watchers and Taste. Not waist or Holliday Inn with Pleasing the people the world over. As with the second function, not all slogans include the key benefits. Bigger brands are famous and well-known enough to have their key benefits acknowledged and may omit those from their slogan. They may choose to use slogan to show their philosophy: Viettel with Say it your way, to rally: Nike with JUST DO IT, to affirm its value/ catch attention: Exxon with Were Exxon, etc. 1.6.4. Brand differentiation How a slogan differentiates the brand? Lets take a look at one of Heineken adverts. A man comes home and finds that his home has been deserted, furniture is plunged around. Its clearly a break-in. The desperate man picks up his phone, presumably to call police, then he suddenly startles, rushes for the refrigerator and opens it. The refrigerator is emptied. He (strangely) smiles in relief and tells the police: False alarm!. He then reveals a hidden chamber of the refrigerator, which filled with Heineken beers. The man sits on the floor and happily drinks his beer. The advert ends with Heinekens slogan: Its all about beer. It is mostly for fun, of course, but it implies (jokingly) that even when people are facing the most miserable situation, all they think about would be Heineken beer. This is what set Heineken apart from its competitors. 1.6.5. Originality What could be more memorable than something original? For that reason, in advertising industry, originality is a very important factor. A new way of sending the message will differentiate the brand from other copycats and alsorans. There are plenty of beers that are refreshing: Bud Ice (Extreme refreshment), Hamms (Hamms the beer refreshing), Budweiser (Refreshingly different), etc But then Heineken with Heineken refreshes the parts other
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beers cannot reach appeared. Nowadays, Heineken is an international beer brand that is associated with refreshing. 1.6.6. Positive feeling imparting Slogan works as a way to build brand equity, to advertise and to introduce the company. The feeling the slogan imposes on customers will influence their feeling about the company. When the slogan sounds negative, people will raise questions of the companys attitude and performance. More or less, this will affect their choice and in the long run, the outcome of the company might be dwindled. Many slogans in history sound negative. It doesnt look like you can afford it is the slogan for the TR7 sport car of Triumphs lines in 1976. This slogan sounds like a challenge, but worse, a sarcasm challenge which hits the pride of customers and urges them to buy one. As a result, even customers who had the desire for the car might not felt satisfied after purchasing it. Another example is If it doesnt get all over the place, it doesnt belong in your face of Carls Jr. Can anyone actually link this slogan to a meal? Now, lets have a look at the following slogans: Youll love the way we fly (Delta Airlines slogan), Fast food and good for you (Egg Marketing Boards slogan), The key to a nice, relaxed evening (Horlicks slogan). They sound more for a choice than the first two. 1.6.7. Brands personality reflection Some may be confused at how a brand possesses personality. One definition of brands personality is habitual pattern and qualities of behavior of any individual as expressed by physical and mental activities and attitudes; distinctive individual qualities of a person considered collectively (Foster, 2001). In other words; if a brand were a person, slogan should suit that person. To better understand this, lets have a look at this example: Volkswagen Beetle: Think small. This slogan suits this line of car since they are small. However, they are not physically attractive. Using line like As good as it looks (Felixs slogan) will not work.
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1.6.8. Campaignability Slogans are usually used for advertising campaigns. It would not make sense (and very costly) to have a line that would suit only one or several but not all of the series of advertisements from that campaign. In other words, the line should be able to support all the advertisements and commercials from that campaign, even though each is unique and has a different story. For example: Heinekens line How refreshing! How Heineken! was used for a various advertisements involving unbelievable situations. Apples slogan Think different was shown in many advertisements which introduced famous celebrities who did not follow the common way. 1.6.9. Competitors incapability to use A slogans effectiveness will cease if compet itors can change the brand name and use the line. Then the slogans function of memorable would do the opposite, it will become very difficult to place a name when recalling a line, simply because there are many names associating with that line. One of the most overused lines according to the Adslogan Unlimited database is Simply the best and its variation. Simply the Best is used by American Legend, Amiga, Aspen, Bishops Nissan, True Digital, Duet, Edinburgh Woolen Mills, Sunshine Flights and many more. HME Firestruck uses a slightly different version: Simply the Best. 1.6.10. Simplicity If the line is not simple, it will not be memorable. If it is not memorable, then the slogan will become obsolete as it will not serve any more purposes. Some experts call slogan something people get if they do not catch the ad, making a complex line and they will not catch anything at all. Most example lines from the beginning of this paper are simple, but there are some that are not. Illustrations for complicated slogans are Carls Jr and If it doesnt get all over the place, it doesnt belong in your face, Iberia Airlines and The best connections in the world mean nothing if an airline forgets the human
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once and Firemans Fund Insurance with Inventor and Scientist make dreams come true; the insurance man keeps nightmares from happening. 1.6.11. Meaningfulness Again: a slogan is what people get if they did not catch anything in the advertisement. If the line has depth, viewers will try to explore its morals, which in turn makes the line more memorable. A meaningless line could be memorable as well (mostly for its silliness) but since it gives people nothing to think about, they will soon forget about it. There are several slogans about which it is very difficult to get what they want to say, such as Environment Agency and Use bin. It beats getting your bird nicked by a logo, Captain Morgan and Drink responsibly - Captain's orders! and H&R Block with You got people. Since those slogans are not meaningful, viewers dont have to think about it to get its meaning. As a result, they will soon forget about it. A slogan that cannot stick to the mind of customers is a junk line as it serves no slogans purposes.
Summary Chapter 1 provided the basic theory and examples about slogans. There are a number of key points to note. The first thing is the definition of slogan which defines it as a simple and catchy phrase accompanying a logo or brand that encapsulates a product's appeal or the mission of a firm and makes it more memorable. And it, when used consistently over a long period, becomes an important component of its identification or image. Secondly, a slogan has three main functions: to communicate information; to keep the image fresh, focus and up-to-date, and to affect market share. Third, a slogan is an important tool to use in advertising campaigns and finally, there are eleven characteristics that a good slogan should have. Those points are important as they will serve as the base to examine the THINK and Think different slogans in the next chapters.
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CHAPTER II: AN ANALYSIS OF THINK AS A WORD AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE TWO SLOGANS AND THE TWO COMPANIES
This chapter will provide an analysis of the word Think, the common word of the two slogans, its originality, change of meaning and its current definition because it is necessary to understand the lexical meaning of the word Think as it will provide the fundamental to further explore the depth of the lines. After that, the chapter will provide general information about the two companies: IBM and Apple and introduce about the two slogans: their backgrounds, effects and public reception. Lets start with the first part: the lexical meaning of Think. 2.1. The lexical meaning of Think The lexical meaning of a word is the individual meaning each word has in the system of language. This meaning brings together the different forms of one and the same word, whereas the grammatical meanings distinguish between them ("Think", 2013). Based on that knowledge, lets now examine the various different meaning of Think. 2.1.1. The origin of the word The earliest form of the modern Think is Thyncan in the Old English. It is recorded to be used from before 900 A.D ("Think", 2013). Very little is known about the usage of the word at the time. However, the Oxford Dictionaries indicates that the meaning of the word related to think. After 1150 A.D, when the Middle English replaced Old English, Thyncan was replaced by Thinken (Dictionary.reference.com, 2013). When the Middle English ended around 1500 A.D (Durkin, 2013), Early Modern then Modern English followed it. Those are the two periods that witness the huge expansion of English words. Because of the development in science and life, between 1600 and 1700, about 8000 words were added to the language dictionary (Weiner, 2013). Due to the increase of the number of words, many
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Chapter II: An analysis of Think as a word and an overview of the two slogans as well as the two companies they represent
words had their meaning narrowed. Thinken was among them when it became Think. In the case of Think, it also undertook the specialization of meaning process (that is, when the word not only narrows its meaning but passes into specialized vocabulary as a term (Nguyen, 2001)) in the sense that now, it mostly refers to the conscious mind, reasoning, rationality or belief. 2.1.2. Changes and development of meaning This section will examine the change and development of the meaning of the word Think from the Middle English Thinken to the modern Think based on the explanation of Middle English Dictionary Entry
(Quod.lib.umich.edu, 2013) and Oxford Dictionary ("Think", 2013). Due to the lack of document, the Old English Thyncan will be assumed to take on to same layers of meaning to Thinken and omitted from the section. Acording to Middle English Dictionary Entry, Thinken had very broad layers of meaning. The word had nine layers with up to six sub-senses per layer. Most of the layers are shared with Think but to much lesser extent, showing the sense narrowing process. However, Think also has a few additional senses compare to Thinken which serves as the example of sense extending. To illustrate the sense narrowing and extending process, this part will examine each of the nine layers of meaning of Thinken and their counterparts in Think. The first layer regards to the use of the mind. This is the main definition of both Thinken and Think. The layer includes six sub-senses for Thinken and two for Think. The six senses of Thinken are: (1) to exercise the faculty of reason, cognitate or to exercise the reason about something; (2) to understand, comprehend or realize something; (3) to speculate about something (a course of event) or examine in ones mind about possibility; (4) to form or hold a thought in ones mind; (5) to perform a mental instead of verbal or physical action and (6) to pray or communicate spiritually. Think only has two sub-senses in this layer: (1) to use the mind to consider something, to form connected ideas or to try to solve problems and (2) to have ideas, words or images in the mind. The first sub-sense of Think is similar to the first and second sub-sense of
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Thinken, the second sub-sense of Think is similar to the fourth of Thinken. The other sub-senses of Thinken: the third, fifth and sixth are no longer implied by the word Think. The second layer regards to the mental image. Thinken had three subsenses in this layer: (1) to form a mental image or conceive of somebody/something, imagine, picture to oneself in the mind; (2) to dream or have vision of something that happened in the past; and even rarer, (3) to express the sheer inconceivability and ineffability of something (the bliss of love, the joys of heaven). Think only has one sense in this layer: (1) to form an idea of something or to imagine something. This sense is akin to the first sub-sense of Thinken. Think doesnt seem to be used to indicate the second and third sub senses of Thinken anymore. The third layer regards to remembering. Thinken had three sub-senses: (1) to remember or recall something; (2) to turn one's mind or attention; and (3) to bear in mind or remain mindful. The only sense in this layer of Think is similar to the first sub-sense: (1) to remember something or to have something come into your mind. The second and third sub-senses are not seemed to be illustrated by the word. The fourth layer regards to opinion and belief. Thinken had five subsenses: (1) to form an opinion or come to a conclusion; (2) to believe or believe in somebody/something; (3) to deem or consider; (4) to hold an opposing view; and (5) to suppose something. Again, Think only has one sense: (1) to have a particular idea or opinion about somebody/something or to believe something. The sense is identical to the first and second sub-senses of Thinken. The fifth layer regards to attention. Thinken had two sub-senses: (1) to pay attention or concentrate one's mind; focus one's mind on
somebody/something; (2) to have concern, care or have something uppermost in one's mind, be concerned about, care for. Think does not have this layer of meaning, the most obvious proof of the sense narrowing process.
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The sixth layer regards to learning. Thinken had three sub-senses: (1) to meditate, ponder on something, and dwell on in the mind; (2) to study or take example by study or derive a lesson from somebody/something; and (3) to entertain a notion or thought. Like the fifth layer, Think does not have this sense. The seventh layer regards to expectation. Thinken had four sub-senses: (1) to make a plan, plot or scheme; (2) to devise something or contrive; (3) to give due consideration before acting; take account, take something into consideration before acting; and (4) to expect something or anticipate something to happen. The only sense of Think in this layer is simply (1) to expect something. The eighth layer regards to intention. Thinken had three sub-senses: (1) to form a purpose or have an intention, be minded or intend something; (2) to resolve or be inclined to do something; and (3) to intend to specifically go to a place. Think has one sense for the layer: (1) to intend something or to have a plan about something, which is comparable to the first sub-sense. The final layer is miscellaneous layer, which contains all the senses that do not fall into any other layers. Thinken and Think do not appear to share common sense in this category. Thinken had five senses: (1) to be penitent, repent or be sorry; (2) to feel (sorry, shame, awkward, etc.); (3) to wonder about something; (4) to find something agreeable or to think good of something; and (5) to grow weary or impatient with waiting. Think has three: (1) to think in a particular way or on a particular subject; (2) to show anger/surprise; and (3) to sound less definite or more polite. This category shows two trend of change and development of meaning: extend and narrow. Thinken when transformed into Think lost many of its senses but also gained a small number of new senses. In conclusion, Think has undertaken massive changes in meaning when turning from Thinken. It lost many senses and several layers but also gained additional meaning, showing the sense narrowing and extending process. After examining the change and development of meaning, it is also possible to
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simultaneously draw out the lexical meaning of Think. The lexical meaning of the word includes seven layers of meaning: the use of the mind, mental image, remembering, opinion/belief, expectation, intention and miscellaneous with each has its own senses. 2.2. An overview of the two slogans and the companies they represent In this section, general information about the two companies IBM and Apple will be provided, the information will aid in understanding why IBM chose THINK and Apple picked Think different as slogan. This section also introduces the two slogans, how they were conducted and their impacts to the owner companies and the world. Lets begin with the first company IBM and its slogan THINK. 2.2.1. IBM and THINK 2.2.1.1. Overview of IBM a. An introduction of IBM International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), incorporated on June 16th, 1911, is an information technology company. As of 2010, IBM was the worlds biggest technology company and the second most valuable by global brand. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software. In addition, the company offers infrastructure services, hosting services and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology (Guardian, 2010). IBM Research received recognition beyond any commercial technology research organization. The organization claimed 5 Nobel Laureates, 9 United States (U.S) National Medals of Technology, 5 U.S National Medals of Science, 6 Turing Awards, and 10 Inductees in U.S Inventors Hall of Fame. The company was also behind the inventions of the Personal Computer (PC) ("IBM profile", 2013).
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b. History of IBM The beginning On June 16, 1911, three successful companies of 19th century decided to merge, marking the beginnings of IBM history. The Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company, and the Computing Scale Company of America joined together to incorporate and form one company, the Computing Tabulating Recording Company (C-T-R). The company
manufactured and sold products ranging from commercial scales and industrial time recorder to meat and cheese slicers, tabulators and punch cards (IBM Archives, 2013). Thomas J. Watson Senior joined C-T-R as CEO in 1914. His present was a milestone which marked the start of the transformation of the C-TR company. The birth In 1924, Watson was not pleased with the current state of his company so he decided to change the name of the C-T-R company (Collins & Porras, 1994). He renamed it International Business Machines Corporation or IBM. From the beginning, IBM defined itself not by selling products but by its research and development (IBM Archives, 2013). The development IBM began designing and manufacturing calculators in the 1930s, using the technology of their own punch card processing equipment. A few years after that, in 1944, IBM joined with Harvard University to finance the invention of the Mark 1 computer, the first machine to compute long calculations automatically (Bellis, 2013). Following the event, in 1953 IBM was ready to completely produce their own computers, which began with the IBM 701 EDPM, their first commercially successful general-purpose computer. To further advance in this sector, IBM co-operated with Microsoft to create an operating system for IBMs new computer for home customers in 1980 and the computer, the IBM PC, was released in 1980 (Bellis, 2013). The root of Internet began in 1985 when
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IBM introduced local area networks (LAN), which permitted PC users to exchange information and share printers and files within a building. Since then, IBM established a foundation for network computing and numerous applications of PCs (Bellis, 2013). The Big Blue On September 29, 2011, IBM surpassed Microsoft with closing value of 214 billion USD vs. 213.2 billion of the latter. It was the first time since 1996 that IBM exceeded its software rival based on closing price (Bellis, 2013). As of 2012, IBM remains as the largest computer company and one of the most successful and valuable company in the world (CNNMoney, 2012). c. IBM Business Description According to IBM Archives website (IBM Archives, 2013), the companys major operations comprise a Global Technology Services segment; a Global Business Services segment; a Systems and Technology segment; a Software segment; and a Global Financing segment. Global Technology Services (GTS) segment primarily reflects
Information Technology (IT) infrastructure services and business process services, delivering value through the companys global scale, standardization and automation. Global Business Services (GBS) segment primarily reflects professional services and application outsourcing services, delivering business value and innovation to clients through solutions which leverage industry- and businessprocess expertise. System and Technology segment provides IBMs clients with business solutions requiring advanced computing power and storage capabilities. Approximately 55% of the Systems and Technologys server and storage sales transactions are through the companys business partners; approximately 45% are direct to end-user clients, more than 40% of which are through the Internet at ibm.com (IBM Archives, 2013).
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Software consists primarily of middleware and operating systems software. Middleware software enables clients to integrate systems, processes and applications across a standard software platform. Global Financing invests in financing assets, manages the associated risks, and leverages with debt, all with the objective of generating consistently strong returns on equity. The mission of Global Financing is to generate a strong return on equity and to facilitate clients acquisition of IBM hardware, software and services. 2.2.1.2 The THINK slogan a. History of the slogan The slogan was invented in 1911 at an early morning meeting of National Cash Register Company (NCR) sales managers. On this day, the managers could not come up with good idea to improve the business. Thomas J. Watson Sr., the future chairman of IBM, became frustrated at the situation. He said: The trouble with every one of us is that we don't think enough. Thought has been the father of every advance since time began. 'I didn't think' has cost the world millions of dollars. After that, he wrote "T-H-I-N-K" with a blue crayon on the easel behind Image 2: THINK sign him. He decided that from then on, THINK would be the companys slogan and order his subordinate to post a placard with THINK printed on it in bold letters on the wall of the room the following morning. Almost
immediately, the one-word slogan had been placed on signs in every department at NCR
(Source: ibm.com)
(IBM Archives, 2013).
In 1914, when Thomas joined C-T-R, he brought that concept with him as general manager. After 1924, when C-T-R became IBM, THINK became an ever present reminder of the company of how it was held together (IBM Archives, 2013). At the peak of its popularity, THINK sign appeared in almost
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any desks and walls of IBM offices; the employee magazine of the company is named Think; and many IBMers would carry a notebook with THINK embossed on the cover (IBM, 2013). In the early 1930s, the THINK motto began to take precedence over other slogans of IBM and later became the name of IBMs employee publication (IBM Archives, 2013). b. The campaign While THINK is a slogan, it is no mere slogan like Think different of Apple which would be introduced later. THINK is also the motto of IBM. Because of that reason, there is no actual campaign for it but the very existence of the word for more than 100 years since 1911 could be considered one of the longest advertising campaigns to ever dated. This unofficial ad campaign does not use poster or commercial but it uses its own culture to advertise that culture. With THINK appears in almost anywhere and anything IBM can name and IBMers carry it wherever they go, THINK and IBM will continue to be advertised and the campaign will not end until IBM decides to abandon it. c. Reaction from the public and effects on IBM THINK received positive reception from the public. By 1930s, the slogan was particular popular in IBM offices and factories around the world. IBM was flooded with requests for the famous THINK sign from the pub lic and from customers who wanted to use it for their own business. 9.000 signs were handed out by IBM in 1948 and in 1960, the number jumped up to 20.000 (IBM, 2013). By 1950s, the THINK motto and the sign gained the attention of media, including cartoonists, satirists and other humorists. THIMK was one of the parodies based on THINK by MAD Magazine, which gave rise to other words and short phrases that similarly offered humorous contradictions (IBM).
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2.2.2. Apple and Think different 2.2.2.1. Overview of Apple Incorporation a. An introduction of Apple Apple Inc. which is known formerly as Apple Computer Inc. is a multinational corporation that designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics products, such as personal computers, portable music players, cell phones and related software, services, peripherals ("Apple Company Inc.", 2006). Apples products are sold worldwide while other supports are provided through its website as well as more than 250 retail stores around the world. Apple is largely responsible for the enormous growth of personal computer industry in the 20th century (Apple Company Inc.). Apple has established strong reputation among electronic markets in particular and global market in general. According to surveys by J. D. Power, Apple is the company with highest brand equity and repurchases loyalty from customers (Apple Inc. and the Ebook reader, 2009). Apple is also ranked as the most valuable company in 2012 (Pringle & Wang, 2013). b. History of Apple Pre-foundation The Apple Computer was co-founded by Steven Wozniak and marketed by Steven Jobs. The companys history roots back in 1976 when Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs two college dropouts partnered up to introduce the Apple I Computer, then the Apple II in 1980. Both were successful (Apple Inc. and the Ebook reader, 2009). Apple was incorporated as Apple Computer Inc. soon after the release of Apple I. Because of its products ease to use, expandability and features, by 1984, Apple Computer grew to become a profitable and wellregarded company (Apple Inc. and the Ebook reader). The problematic time
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In the early eighties, facing the competition from the PC market and internal difficulties, the company had to make many critical management changes. By 1983, Apple had encountered obstacles with the entry of IBM into the PC market, and the failure of its Apple III version computer (Apple Inc. and the Ebook reader, 2009). Apple introduced its first mouse driven computer, the Macintosh in 1984 ("Apple Computer, Inc.", 2013). In 1994, the company launched the PowerPC chip based PowerMac. This new chip allowed Macs to compete with the speed of Intels PC processors. Apple still had problems though and in 1995, the company had a $1 billion order backlog which was compounded by the launch of Windows 95 (Apple Inc. and the Ebook reader, 2009). The risk of downfall Between 1984 and 1985, Apple's net income dropped dramatically at 17% due to the poor follow-up sales of the Macintosh computer (Apple Inc. and the Ebook reader, 2009). Jobs was fired and John Sculley took over his position. Later risky ventures such as the Newton PDA and lawsuit with Microsoft caused market share and stock price of the company to drop at an alarming rate. The Companys performance nosedived in 1995-96 when it lost $68 million ("Apple Company Inc.", 2006). By 1997, the company faced the risk of bankruptcy when Apple lost hundreds of millions of dollars ("Apple Company Inc."). The resurrection In 1997, Steven Jobs, the original co-founder returned as interim Chief Executive Officer ("Apple Company Inc.", 2006). Under his leadership, Apple reorganized to concentrate on its more profitable competencies. Apple divested its unsuccessful spin offs, including Newton. Soon after Steven Jobs returned, an agreement was made with Microsoft, and was subsequently followed with the appearance of MS Office on Mac PCs. During 2001, the company acquired PowerSchool, one of the leading providers of web-based student information systems for K-12 schools and school districts.
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Also in 2001, the company acquired Spruce Technologies, a privately held company involved in developing and marketing DVD authoring products ("Apple Computer, Inc.", 2013). In the following year, Apple, Ericsson and Sun Microsystems formed an alliance to create a standard format for delivering multimedia content to wireless devices, such as smart phones and PDAs. The alliance combined Apples QuickTime video creation software, Suns content distribution software and hardware, and Ericssons mobile infrastructure and services expertise ("Apple Company Inc.", 2006). Apple pursued a number of acquisitions during 2002. The company acquired Prismo Graphics, Silicon Grail and certain assets of Zayante, and also acquired the German based specialist music software manufacturer, Emagic, which became a wholly owned division of Apple ("Apple Company Inc.", 2006). Additionally, in the second quarter of 2002, the company acquired certain assets of Nothing Real, a privately held company engaged in the development of high performance tools designed for the digital image creation market. The fore-runner Apple launched its iTunes music store, an online store for downloading music tracks and albums in 2003. In the following year, the company signed licensing agreements with three of the largest European independent music labels, Beggars Group, Sanctuary Records Group and V2, adding tens of thousands of additional independent tracks from leading artists to the iTunes music store in the UK, France and Germany. In the same year, Apple introduced its fourth generation iPod portable digital music player ("Apple Company Inc.", 2006). In June 2005, the company made agreement to use Intel microprocessors in its Macintosh computers. Later in the year, the company collaborated with Acura, Audi, Honda and Volkswagen to deliver iPod with their car stereos for 2006 model lines and also introduced mobile phone with iTunes in collaboration with Motorola and Cingular Wireless ("Apple Computer, Inc.", 2013).
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In 2009, Tim Cook took over CEO position of Steve Jobs due to Jobs absence for treatment. Apples performance was outstanding with stock prices increased by almost 70% ("Apple Computer, Inc.", 2013). In May 2010, Apple for the first time surpassed Microsoft and, from then on, holds the position of the worlds most valuable company (Firstpost, 2012). c. Apple Business Description According to Datamonitor (2006) and a case by Stanford University (Apple Inc. and the Ebook reader, 2009), Apple Computer operates in computing sector. The company also designs, develops, and markets a line of portable digital music players along with related accessories and services including the online distribution of third-party music, audio books, music videos, short films, and television shows. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, its own retail stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers and resellers. The company manages its business primarily on a geographic basis. The company operates through five operating segments: the Americas, Europe, Japan, retail and others. The Americas, Europe, and Japan reportable segments do not include activities related to the retail segment. The Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Europe segment includes European countries as well as the Middle East and Africa ("Apple Company Inc.", 2006). Each reportable geographic operating segment provides similar hardware and software products and similar services. The retail segment currently operates Appleowned retail stores in the U.S, Canada, Japan, and the UK. The company has 116 retail stores in the U.S and eight international stores in Canada, Japan, and the UK ("Apple Company Inc."). The other operating segment focuses on AsiaPacific, which includes Australia and Asia except Japan; and the companys subsidiary, FileMaker ("Apple Company Inc."). FileMaker develops, publishes, and distributes desktop-based database management application software for Mac OS and Windows-based systems.
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2.2.2.2 The Think different campaign a. History of the campaign 1985-1997 was the trouble time of Apple with inaccurate marketing strategies. The Lemming ads of Apple in 1985 was considered worse than mediocre (where people would simply fail to notice); it was bad (Hormby, 2007). The event followed by the leave of Steve Jobs. CEO Scully fired Chiat/Day, which had handled Apple's PR for its entire history, and refocused Apple's marketing strategy on more conventional ads, which centered on features and price rather than brand images (Hormby). That strategy was proved to be a disaster. Because of the less inspiring image, Apples fortunes dropped significantly in the mid-90s. The company spent more than a billion dollar on the Newton project, which was unpopular and unprofitable. The result was that Apple lost millions of dollars in 1995-1997 periods (Hormby, 2007). Initially, Steve Jobs didnt like the current stage of Apple but he thought his company needed him. Jobs returned and slowly regained the control of Apple. One of his priorities was to renew the brand image. Jobs invited three advertising agency representatives to present new ideas. On August 3, 1997, he presented a new slogan and aesthetic for Apple's ads: Think Different. The campaign ads would feature celebrities and thinkers and no product was to be in the ads, a somewhat unique move (Siltanen, 2011). Jobs gave the group of Chiat/Day 17 days to complete the entire campaign which included television commercial and billboards for major markets. On 28th September 1997, the television commercial was first aired, followed by the print ads, billboards, posters which were reserved space on popular or fashion magazines instead of sticking to traditional computer ones (Hormby, 2007). Think different officially ended on June 10, 2002 when it was replaced by the new Switch campaign (Cassavoy, 2002).
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b. The campaign The campaign consists of two main parts: the television commercials and the print ads. The television commercial features black and white video footage of significant historical people of the past, including (in order) Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr. Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), R. Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the Frog), Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso (Hormby, 2007). The script used for the television commercial is called The Crazy Ones and was featured along with the Image 3: "Think different" campaign Einstein poster historical figures: Heres to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. Theyre not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you cant do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
(Source: ebay.com) (The Crazy Ones - Apple Think different campaign)
Print advertisements from the campaign were published in many mainstream magazines. Those ads featured historic figures with the slogan printed on the upper corner. Some of the featured celebrities are Jim Henson, Richard Feynman, Maria Callas, Miles Davis, Martha Graham, Ansel Adams, Cesar Chavez, Joan Baez, etc (Hormby, 2007).
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c. Reaction from the public and effects on Apple As stated in the section above, the advertising campaign was a tremendous success and greatly benefited the company. The table below shows the figures of Apple finance for a 7-year period, from 1994 to 2000. Table 1: Apples Finance from 1994 to 2000
Net sales (million USD) 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 9189 11062 9833 7081 5941 6134 7983 Net profit (million USD) 310 424 -816 -1045 309 601 786 Revenue growth (%) 15 20 -11 -28 -16 3 30
(Source: investor.apple.com)
As seen in the table, the period 1996-1997 was the problematic time for Apple. While in 1994-1995, net sales, net profit and revenue growth of the company swelled up sharply. In particular, in 1995, the net sales and revenue growth reached their peak at 11062 million USD and 20% respectively. However, in 1996, all three values experienced dramatic falls. Net profit and revenue growth suffered the most as they both dropped from 484 million and 20% to negative numbers -816 and -11, respectively (Apple lost billions of dollars during that time). The problem was worse in 1997 when all three continued to sink though to lesser extent. With such figures, Apple might have been a lost cause (Hormby, 2007), but Think different campaign obviously saved the company. The campaign was enacted in 1997 and in 1998, though the net sales kept dwindling, net profit rose to a positive number 309 million USD, the rise was almost equal to the loss
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in 1996-1997. The revenue growth also increased to -16%. All three values continued to soar in 1999 and 2000. The revenue growth in 2000 reached 30%, the highest of the decade. Not just saving the company, the campaign gave Apple a big boost despite introducing no significant new product. Within 12 months of the campaign, the stock price of Apple was tripled (Siltanen, 2011). When Apple introduced the new product iMacs after that, it became one of the best-selling computers in history, which, according to Rob Siltanen an officer of Chiat/Day, would not have been possible without the Think Different campaign preceding and supporting (Siltanen). Of course, it would be subjective to contribute all the success that Apple achieved at the time to Think different. But it is not exaggerating to say that the campaign was the major factor (Siltanen, 2011). The campaign was what kept Apple on its feet and lifted Apple from the shadow of the previous floppy ads and restored the companys reputation, allowing it to reestablish its brand. In 1998 the television commercials won the second annual primetime Emmy Award for best commercial from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). The ad also won a Belding, a Silver Lion at Cannes. The long term campaign won an Effie award for marketing effectiveness (Hormby, 2007).
Summary This chapter provides an exploration of the word Think, the common word of the two slogans. The word dated back to the Old English in the form of Thyncan, Thinken in Middle English and finally Think in Modern English. The evolution of Thinken to Think greatly narrowed but simultaneously slightly extended its meaning. The lexical meaning of Think currently consists of six layers of meaning: the use of the mind, mental image, remembering, opinion/belief, expectation, and intention. The word also has three extra senses categorized as miscellaneous.
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The second part of the chapter provides overviews of the two companies IBM and Apple, their history and business; and introduces the two slogans, their background, the campaign and reaction. THINK was invented at the beginning of IBM and has served as the companys motto ever since. Think different is an advertising campaign which was launched to rescue the reputation of Apple and proved to be a success. Both slogans receive positive reception from the public.
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CHAPTER III: AN ANALYSIS ON THINK AND THINK DIFFERENT

This part of the paper attempts to solve the various questions about THINK and Think different. First, it will try to decode the messages of the two slogans. Next, the chapter will answer and explain the rivalry of the two lines. The third part will analyze, compare and contrast THINK and Think different in depth through the knowledge of slogans characteristics, nature, functions, impact and reaction to find the similarities and differences of the two lines. The next part will show how the two slogans are shown through various activities of the two companies and the final part will attempt to deal with the question of the two companies consistency in maintaining their slogans belief. Lets begin with the first part which strives to explain the messages of THINK and Think different. 3.1. Messages of THINK and Think different THINK and Think different are two slogans which represent an aspect of IBM and Apples corporate cultures: Culture of think (IBM Archives, 2013) and Culture of innovation ("Culture of Innovation", 2013), respectively. First, to understand the cultures of the two companies, it is necessary to understand the definition of corporate culture. Corporate culture is a set of characteristics that define a business, which involves employee attitudes, standards (policies and procedures), and rites and rituals ("What Is Corporate", 2013). THINK and Think different are the aspect of the corporate cultures which deal with the standards of the business and employees. THINK as one aspect of the culture, sets out the standard for the employees. To be an IBMer is to be a thinker, the standard is fortified by the remark of an IBM employee J.M. Coetzee in his book Youth (Coetzee, 2003). He said THINK was the motto of IBM and the special thing about IBM was that it was unrelentingly committed to thinking and that employees who did not think would not belong in IBM. The motto not only urges but also pushes IBMers to constantly think, invent, continual rethink and encourages radical thinking; as
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Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different
explained by Thomas J. Watson Jr. to a Columbia University audience in 1962: who set out to do what others say cannot be done are the ones who make the discoveries, produce the inventions, and move the world ahead. (IBM Archives, 2013). In brief, the slogan expressed the first and second layer of meaning of the word Think: Use of mind (the line urges to think, rethink and radically think) and Mental image (the slogan pushes to invent). The urge to think by the slogan is repeatedly expressed through the words of IBM founder and inventor of the slogan Thomas J. Watson: Thought has been the father of every advance since time began. I didnt think has cost the world millions of dollars.
(National Cash Register Co. sales meeting, 1911 (IBM Archives, 2013))
The trouble with every one of us is that we dont THINK enough. We dont get paid for working with our feetwe get paid for working with our heads. Feet can never compete with brains.
(Think magazine 1935 (IBM Archives, 2013))
In short, the first duty of every man or woman in any executive position is to follow the motto of this business: THINK.
(Memo from Thomas Watson Sr. to his management team 1920 (IBM Archives, 2013))
All the three quotes of Watson show his enthusiasm through very powerful words of the importance of thinking and its impact on the company, indicating his desire for and requirement that everyone in his company to do their best to think. This is further accumulated by. This is a solid proof of the peerless position of thinking within the company. While THINK was invented to reshape the C-T-R and it was meant to knit it back together, the slogan of IBM has boundaries beyond the company itself. It is aimed at purposes as high as building a better world, evidently shown in the quote of Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler president of Columbiana IBM-founded University All the problems of the world could be settled easily, if men were only willing to think. (IBM Archives, 2013) and the various activities that IBM takes part in on their path of knowledge (introduced later). In this context, the slogan uses the seventh layer of
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the word Think: Expectation The hope to build a better world. As a result, it is concluded that the message of THINK inherits the first layer of meaning (Use of mind), the second (Mental image) and the seventh (Expectation) of the word Think. Think different as an advertising slogan, on contrary, aimed at the customers to promote Apples Culture of innovation and rallied the creativity among Apples staff. The slogan sets out the innovation quality, which is one of the values of Apple ("Apple Values", 2013). The echo of the slogan is visible apparently in the script of the campaign The Crazy Ones (see 2.2.2.2 of Chapter 2), where Apple sent their words to the ones who see the world differently the one to be called crazy by the world but genius by Apple. In this regard, the slogan can be considered an invitation for all those who think different, that Apple would be the home for their talent. The script is the evidence of Apples high opinion of innovation and creativity. While IBM urges their staff to think, Apple presses them to open their mind. Speaking about this culture of the company, Apples CEO Tim Cook said: Innovation is so deeply embedded in Apples culture. Boldness, ambition and making the very best products in the world - its in the DNA of the company (Koetsier, 2013) Like IBM, where those who do not think do not belong in there, those who do not think different do not belong in Apple. 3.2. The rivalry of THINK and Think different THINK and Think different are widely considered to be rivals in the regard; Apple invented Think different as an answer to IBM THINK. This claim is not without evidence. First, it is started by the rivalry between IBM and Apple - the competition of the two companies working in the same industry. It sets the two companies in a relationship that some even call it arch-nemesis ("Top-10 Telecom", 2013). Indeed, the rivalry of IBM and Apple became more strain in 1981 when IBM released its first PC, the IBM PC and in 1983, when IBM and Apple emerged as the two most powerful competitors in computing
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industry, with many others being kick-out and went bankrupt (Paczkowski, 2008). Apple in general and Steve Job in particular constantly showed sign of rivalry against IBM when they greeted the arrival of the company to PC industry with its full-paged ad in The Wall Street Journal: Welcome IBM, Seriously ("Apple: Welcome, IBM", 2011) and in Apples 1984 commercial (which featured IBM computers and brainwashed workers). Additionally, Job also showed his antipathy through his word: If, for some reason, we make some big mistake and IBM wins, my personal feeling is that we are going to enter a computer Dark Ages for about 20 years. (Wasserman, 2012). Considering the nemesis relationship, it becomes more understandable that Think different was invented to rival THINK. Second, the message of THINK and Think different showed sign of antagonization. THINK represents IBMs culture of think and it is used to urge IBMers to think. In opposition, Think different stands for Apples culture of innovation and praises innovation and creativity. Apple evidently considered THINK of IBM as thinking-inside-a-box when they connected IBM products with brainwashed workers in their commercial in 1984. With the two slogans having opposite meaning, symbolizing two opposite culture and Apples non sympathy toward IBMs culture; the assumed antagonism between THINK and Think different is more fortified. While they are widely considered to be opposed, the rivalry of THINK and Think different was not officially admitted until 2011 when Rob Siltanen, an officer of Apples PR department, told the real story behind the Think different campaign. In the story, when he asked his colleague Craig Tanimoto, the creator of Think different slogan, what the line meant, he said IBM has a campaign out that says Think, IBM (a reference of IBM to their motto THINK), and I feel Apple is very different from IBM, so I felt Think Different was interesting. I then thought it would be cool to attach those words
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to some of the worlds most different-thinking people (Siltanen, 2011). Consequently, the rivalry of THINK and Think different is affirmed. 3.3. Comparison and contrast of THINK and Think different This part of the paper will examine the differences and similarities of THINK and Think difference based on five critters: Slogans characteristics, nature, functions, impacts on respective company and public reaction. 3.3.1. Characteristics of THINK and Think different THINK and Think different share many similarities as slogans due to the fact that they are derived from the same word. In this part of the paper, characteristics of the two slogans will be discussed based on the ten common characteristics of a good slogan as shown in Chapter 1. 3.3.1.1. Memorability of THINK and Think different The first similarity THINK and Think different share is memorability. THINK is a one word slogan which comprises of 5 characters, which is also a common and popular word. That is to say, the slogan is very simple and simplicity makes it more memorable. One more thing that makes THINK even more memorable is its life time. THINK was first coined by Watson in 1911 and ever since, served as the slogan/motto of C-T-R Company, then IBM. A simple calculation showed that, as of 2013, the slogan has existed for 102 years and it will probably continue to serve the company in the foreseeable future. THINK also appears in almost everything IBM owns: signs on desks, Centre, Exhibit, forum, apps, etc. And if thats not enough to make the slogan memorable, Thinkpad a product of IBM would surely do. Think different is a traditional ad slogan and the slogan is also memorable. The line is composed of only two words, one of which is common, which makes it simple and easy to remember. However, unlike THINK, the approach of Think different to the mind of viewers is different. It is related to the term big idea as stated in the item 1.6.1 of Chapter 1. The big idea in the ads of Apple is the series of image of such famous people, The ones who see
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things differently such as Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, etc. The more the line reflects the big idea, the more it will be memorable. And it works exactly in the same way in the case of Think different, Think different is made more memorable by the vision of great people who think different. Apart from those, one more thing, though unseemly, contributes to the lines memorability: the THINK itself. As explained above, Apple and IBM are two rival companies in many aspects, THINK by that time was already a famous slogan, to put Think different like an answer, a challenge, was a brilliant way to place the line in the mind of viewers who already knew of IBMs line. In brief, the first similarity also seems to be the first difference. While the two slogans are memorable, they follow two separate paths to approach viewers. 3.3.1.2. Brand solidification in THINK and Think different In theory, a good slogan would contain the name of the brand to aid the viewers in remembering and recalling the brand when they spell the line. However, both THINK and Think different do not follow this rule. This is the second technique as mentioned in item 1.6.2 of Chapter 1, which forces the mind of consumers to place the brand name along with the slogan when they think of the line. This technique of IBM and Apple is comparable to Nike and JUST DO IT. However, it is important to note that the case is not entirely identical to Nike. Nike was already a famous brand when they made JUST DO IT, IBM and Apple were not. THINK was invented for C-T-R, a small and non-famous company, even when it was carried to IBM, IBM back then was young and boasted no more reputation than C-T-R. This is, actually understandable considering THINK as a motto - was more directed toward the staff of the company than to advertise, and thus found no necessity to include the name. In contrast, Think different of Apple was part of an ad campaign and was used to introduce the culture of Apple, thus, not having the brand name was a bold move. This was a bolder and riskier move than Nike an d JUST DO IT for one reason, when they used it, Nike was a famous brand with sustainable
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development; Apple on the other hand was just an average company, threatened by bankruptcy and was losing its thin reputation. One way or another, both THINK and Think different succeeded in sticking the brand names to the mind of viewers, even without mentioning it. For THINK, that is the lifespan and the culture of the company; for Think different, that is the success of the campaign. 3.3.1.3. Key benefits including in THINK and Think different Both THINK and Think different do not include any key benefit. They are to show the philosophy of the companies: the culture of think for IBM and the culture of innovation for Apple. One note, however, bigger brands may omit the key benefits since they are already acknowledged. IBM and Apple, when they used their slogans, were not big brands. Not telling the customers what they would get for choosing the brand was, again, a bold and risky move. 3.3.1.4. Differentiation in THINK and Think different THINK and Think different were not used to advertise any particular product. Thus, they do not bring out the character of IBM or Apple product. However, that is not to say the two slogans do not differentiate the two brands. This is, again, one common thing that THINK and Think different share. The two lines set their company apart from competitors by advertising the culture of each company: culture of think and culture of innovation. 3.3.1.5. Originality of THINK and Think different In part 1.6.5. of the first Chapter which discusses the originality characteristic of slogan theres an example of how Heineken became refreshing beer by making an original slogan Heineken refreshes the parts other beer s cannot reach, which served as an answer to other beer companies slogan that also featured refreshing. A similar instance occurred with THINK and Think different, the slogan of Apple became original when it sounds like an answer, a challenge to the motto of IBM. This was further reinforced by the rivalry between the two companies. Another thing that makes Think different even
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more original is its ad campaign. Normally, an advertisement would either introduce a product or a brand. However, the line and the campaign did neither: no product was introduced and the name Apple was not spelled (except for the logo of Apple which only appeared at the end). This set the ads and the line apart from many other advertisements for doing thing that those ads don t. As for THINK, due to the line being a motto and not associated with advertisements, it is difficult to judge its originality. 3.3.1.6. Positive feeling imparting in THINK and Think different THINK imparts positive feeling about IBM. This one wo rd slogan, when spelled, generates the impression of solidity, confidence and seriousness. This feeling about the line is further support by its 5 capitalized characters which gives the effect of importance. If one is to manifest the line to a person, he would be a successful and dignified well-suited businessman. The line seems to be a commitment of IBM that every product and service of the company will be the result of thought. Furthermore, THINK also advertises to the viewers the culture of think of IBM. Similar to THINK, Think different also imparts positive feeling about Apple to customers. However, while THINK evokes the positive feeling of seriousness and reliability; Think different generates the feeling of fresh, rebelling and somewhat joking (especially when placed close to THINK). If THINK were a business man, Think different would be a hippy that is smart and popular but refuses to follow the rules. Like THINK, Think different introduces the culture of innovation of Apple. 3.3.1.7. Brands personality reflection in THINK and Think different THINK is the founding slogan/motto of IBM. For that reason, the line does not actually reflect the brand personality. In fact, it is the personality of the brand that was built around from the basis of the slogan. This is different in the case of Think different. The line was not invented to be the basis of the companys culture. It was created based on that
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culture and used to send the message to customers about it. The slogan reflects the creativity aspect of Apple. 3.3.1.8. Campaignability of THINK and Think different THINK is a motto more than a slogan. Because of that, there was no official campaign for the line. Following that logic, the slogan is not campaignable. Thats not entirely true, however. As mentioned in Chapter 2, while there was no campaign for the line, the rate of appearance of the motto is extremely high; being on almost everything IBM owns or sells. If one is to consider that an unofficial campaign, then the line is campaignable and it remains valid for the campaign for foreseeable future. Think different as a traditional ad slogan, needless to say, was campaignable. The line was used for various advertisements and posters featuring famous people who are well-known for creativity and innovation. 3.3.1.9. Competitors incapability to use of THINK and Think different A good slogan should restrain competitors capability to imitate the line. Both THINK and Think different follow the path of not including the brand name in the slogan. That increases the capability of competitors to use the line. Even when competitors do not use the line, chance of coincidence is also high. According to Trademarks411 (Trademarks411, 2013), there are many slogans that are similar to THINK and Think different, especially THINK. For THINK, there are Think and ThinkThinkThink by Think Inc.; Thinks by Logical Design Consulting, Inc.; Think! by Essence Communications Partners, Think + by Bates Michelle, etc. For Think different, there are Think different. Be different by Conway, Len; Think differently by General Motors Corp. and The Jason Foundation, Inc.; Thinkly different by Delta T Corp.; etc. When the competitors are able to copy the line, the effectiveness of the slogan decreases since it will be more difficult to correctly place the name of the brand when hearing the slogan because there are many brand names associating with the line.
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3.3.1.10. Simplicity of THINK and Think different Both THINK and Think different are simple. THINK represents a common trend of using one word slogan (Foster, 2001). However, the line is the true example of simplicity because the word comprising the slogan is also simple, a one-syllable word. The advantage of the slogan is that it is extremely easy to remember the line. Despite that, the slogan also faces a risk of not being able to deliver complex message. For example, Air Frances slogan is New. Fast. Efficient which represents another common trend: three-word slogan. The line advertises three qualities of the airways. On the contrary, THINK could only introduce one. Another disadvantage is that it is possible for competitors to take advantage of the line to make their own originality. Think different is the most obvious instance. Think different is simple but not as over-simple as in the case of THINK. The line consists of two words but one of which is a three -syllable word which makes it sound longer while preserves the simplicity. The slogan has the advantages of being easy to remember, original (when placed next to THINK) and difficult to exploit (by competitors). However, it still gains the disadvantage of not being able to deliver complex message since, even though it has two words, the second word (different) only serves as support of the first word (think) and as such, it brings out only one aspect of Apple. 3.3.1.11. Meaningfulness of THINK and Think different Both THINK and Think different are meaningful. THINK, when standing alone and relates to business, sparks some layers of the word Think, including but not limited to the use of the mind, mental image and intention. That is, the line evokes the present of a figure who uses his mind to form ideas, invent and plan ahead. Think different is similar to THINK in that it also creates a vision of innovation and creativity. However, the two slogans become even more meaningful when they are associated with the respective company and how they are attached to their operation (which will be examined later). That is because the
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lines no longer have the meaning of their own but become the reflection of the culture of each company. 3.3.2. Nature of THINK and Think different By nature, THINK and Think different are different from each other. THINK is a motto a guiding principle and spirit of IBM while Think different is an ordinary advertising slogan - a phrase to be used in advertising campaign. That sets one particular difference between the two slogans: lifespan. THINK as a motto is static and survives with the company until they choose to change it to another core value. This is very unlikely as the motto is the ancestor of IBMs business culture. Think different as an advertising slogan has limited life time. It was used for a specific advertising campaign only and was discontinued after the campaign ended in 2002. Another difference is the capability to change. THINK cannot be easily changed because the slogan is created by one of the founders of IBM and, as stated above, it sets out the culture of IBM a culture that generations of IBMers have followed. Think different, in contrast, can be changed because its just the representation of the corporate image, not what created that image. Even they are distinctive in nature, they do share similarities. First, THINK and Think different were both used to advertise corporate image, which classifies them as a corporate slogan. Second, even though Think different has life time, due to its tremendous success, it becomes a trademark of Apple. Even today, when suggesting the slogan, people would still think of Apple and Apple still filed the slogan with Trademarks411 to protect it (Trademarks411, 2013). This indicates that while the slogans time for campaign is over, it will continue to serve Apple for another extended period of time, which makes it more identical to THINK. 3.3.3. Functions of THINK and Think different Slogan has three main functions as stated in the first Chapter. They are: communicating the information about the company and helps people to become familiar with the brand and remember what the brand can offer; keeping the
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company fresh, up-to-date and focused; and contributing to the increase or decrease of market share. This part of the paper will discuss the THINK and Think different based on those three functions. First is the function of communicating the information about the company and helping people to become familiar with the brand and remember what the brand can offer. THINK and Think different both only partially have this function. A slogan with full first function would provide the viewers with the basic information about a company, what products or services that company can offer and help recall the brand name. The example of The United Airlines slogan as examined in the introduction of this first function in Chapter 1 fully has it. Back to the cases of THINK and Think different, these two slogans communicate next to nothing about the companys information. They provide neither the name of the company, nor the name of product or services, nor the benefit to be offered. The only thing that both slogans share with the customers is that This is my culture. For that reason, THINK and Think different do not aid customers to get familiar to the brand. These two lines do aid in memorizing them, however, by their simple and catchy form. This is why the two slogans are considered to have partial-only first function. They only introduce an aspect of the brand and help remember them but provide almost no information. Second is the function of keeping the company fresh, up-to-date and focused. This function refers to the dynamic nature of slogans, that is, they are changeable to suit the companys new goals and environment. This is where THINK and Think different become distinctive. First, about THINK, this slogan does not have this function. THINK was invented 102 years ago and has served IBM ever since. As a motto rather than an advertising slogan, THINK is the core value of the companys operation and should remain constant. The duty to keep the company fresh, up-to-date and focused falls onto the companys other slogans (such as We Make IT Happen and Solutions for a small planet) which are specifically designed for the purpose. Think different, on the contrary, is an advertising slogan and thus obtains this function. In 1990, the slogan of Apple was The Power To Be Your Best (Chaffin, 2001).
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However, after sequences of errors in operation and advertisements which lead the company to the verge of bankruptcy, Apple changed its slogan to Think different to renew its reputation and redirect the company to its original innovative way. Finally, with the function of contributing to the increase or decrease of market share, Think different is notable for this function. Apple back in 1990s was not a popular company. It is said that, if one owned a Macintosh computer before 1998, one was a creative-type with expensive specialist software, a school or a member of the devoted but small Cult of Mac (Quilty-Harper, 2011). In 1997, market share of Apple slipped from 7% a year earlier to 4% (Ackerman, 2012). After the campaign was released, a significant increase in market share was presented in 1998, when it rose to 6.7% (Quilty-Harper) - almost as high as that from before the company was in trouble. Similar to Apple, in 1911 IBM was known as C-T-R and was a forgettable company. The company was almost bankrupt in 1914 when Watson came and brought with him the slogan THINK. Though C-T-R would face bankruptcy again in 1921, it is safe to say that ever since; the company had sustainable development and rose to be one of the most powerful brands of its time. Though they both have the function, THINK and Think different accomplish it differently. Think different increased market share by restoring the reputation for Apple while THINK did that by changing the working culture of IBM, indirectly causing the increase performance and in turn, generating reputation for IBM. 3.3.4. Impact on the respective companies of THINK and Think different Both THINK and Think different had huge impacts on respective companies. Without Watson and his THINK, C-T-R would have been bankrupted and erased from the history. A similar scenario occurred with Apple and Think different, looking at the operation of the company at that time, it is reasonable to think that the company would fall into oblivion. However, Think different succeeded in saving Apple from that fate by restoring the brand
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reputation. Both IBM and Apple would not be what they are today without these two slogans. 3.3.5. Reaction from the public for THINK and Think different THINK and Think different receive generally positive reactions from customers. By the time of its peak popularity, iconic THINK signs were requested by customers for their own business and became a center of media attention, including cartoonists, satirists and even other humorists. Think different is no less well-known. The campaign received numerous awards from ATAS, Cannes and Effie. The slogan itself is still very popular even today. To conclude, THINK and Think different share many similarities and differences despite their similar physical form. The similarities include most the slogans characteristics that the two slogans possess, two out of three slogans functions, the impact on Mother Company and positive public reaction. The differences contain the slogans nature, one less function of THINK and several characteristics which the two slogans have accomplished in different ways. 3.4. Reflection of the slogans in IBM and Apples operation Being the origin (THINK) and representation (Think different) of the cultures of IBM and Apple, The two slogans are reflected in many aspects of the companies operation. 3.4.1. Reflection of THINK in IBM IBM is famous for its THINK sign and culture of think. Therefore, in almost every aspect that the company takes part in, there is the illusion of the slogan - a suggestion of deep thought, invention, vision and innovation. Firstly, the deep thought is expressed in the name of the company: International Business Machines. Back in 1924, IBM was still known as Computing Tabulating Recording Company C-T-R. As mentioned, C-T-R of that time was just among hundreds of medium companies, striving to earn a piece of market share and almost bankrupted three years earlier. Thomas J. Watson the
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founder of THINK - did not satisfy with the current mediocre state of the company and decided to change the name of the company. He changed it to IBM. Nowadays, no one would doubt a second about the suitability of the name as IBM of today is an international company which operates in many sectors and is counted among the most powerful brands in the United States. However, at the time that the company received the new name, it was selling clocks and scales with mere 52 staff. The name International Business Machines given to a company like that was like a joke. Indeed, Thomas J. Watson Jr. the son of the creator of THINK when recalled the event showed his disbelief that the name would suit a company which sold coffee blender and weight to butchers (Collins & Porras, 1994). Changing the name is no big deal, but to announce to be an international company that selling business machine, that showed a great deal of ambition and boldness. Secondly, the deep thought is expressed in the products that IBM develops. Distinctive from Apple which creates products that are unlike anything (as in Think different), IBM invents technology (as in THINK) and is credited for the development of computing history. The first contribution of IBM to the computing technology of the world was IBM 701 in 1953, which, according to IBM, was the first commercially successful general-purpose computer (Bellis, 2013). Nineteen of IBM 701 were produced, they all went to IBM's world headquarters, atomic research laboratories, aircraft companies, research facilities, government agencies, navy and the United States Weather Bureau. The introductions of IBM 701 also lead to the development of FORTRAN - the first high level programming language, which also invented by IBM. Even as of today, FORTRAN remains the top language in scientific and industrial programming (Bellis). Another milestone IBM provided to the history of computing is IBM 704 in 1956, which was considered an early super-computer and the first machine to incorporate floating-point hardware (Bellis, 2013). The IBM 704 is famous for its program which enabled it to play checkers using a method in which the machine can "learn" from its own experience (IBM Archives, 2013). It is considered to be
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the first self-learning program a concept known as artificial intelligence (A.I) the technology that people of today are greatly relied on. Thats the evidence that shows the amount of thought that IBM put on its product. Nowadays, personal computers (PC) are everywhere: in offices, schools, and at home. However, there was a time when PC only meant the computer in ones office. IBM was the one to change it and it also changed a whole computing industry. In 1981, the company created the first true PC: IBM PC (Bellis, 2013). Due to the introduction of IBM PC, Personal computers were no longer a hobbyist phenomenon, and the heavy cloud of mystery and complexity that had hung over computing evaporated (IBM Archives, 2013). After its release, IBM PC became the standard for PC, which is called IBM Compatible ("IBM Compatible"). The invention was so popular that Time Magazine, for its famous Man of the Year edition for 1982, put the personal computer on its January 3, 1983, cover as Machine of the Year (IBM Archives, 2013). The publication of the specifications for the IBM Personal Computer allowed other manufacturers to produce and sell peripheral components and compatible software, the software industry was born and IBM was its father (IBM Archives). Thirdly, the deep thought is expressed in the IBMs faith in science and pursuit of knowledge. IBM is known to be a great computing company but that is just a small aspect of IBMs operation. In fact, the name IBM seems to be not enough to cover all the activities that the company takes part in. Few people know how the company aids to enrich the library of the world. There are four most notable activities of IBM in the path of humanity knowledge: exploration of under water, culture preservation and space exploration and the building of IBM Archive database. The first activity to be mentioned is IBMs help in exploring Undersea Frontiers. In 1965, an IBM communications system was among the only links connecting oceanauts in the worlds first ocean floor colony to a support team on the surface. The project, which was led by the famous French Sea Explorer
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Jacques Cousteau, was a highlight of IBMs involvement in undersea research. The project included projects in underwater crime scene investigation and the microscopic analysis of compounds from 35,000 feet under the ocean surface (IBM Archives, 2013). Another activity is IBMs attempt to preserve culture through technology, which started in 1940s. IBM has undertaken cultural preservation projects with institutions in Russia, Spain, Indonesia, the United States, Italy, China and Egypt by preserving, recording and re-creating ancient languages and cultures (IBM Archives, 2013). IBM also has involvement in space exploration. In the 1930s decades before NASA was even founded, Thomas J. Watson established an Astronomical Computing Bureau at Columbia University. Ever since, IBM has taken part in every U.S manned space effort in history, working on systems for Mercury, Gemini-Titan and Apollo-Saturn missions, and for the historic 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the Moon a big step for mankind. IBM has also helped develop Mission Control for the Gemini, Skylab and U.S-Soviet Apollo-Soyuz projects, as well as for the Space Shuttle program (IBM Archives). The final activity to be praised is the introduction of IBM Archive database. The website is essentially an official free-to-access library which records most the information about history, products, activities and documents about IBM, which provides invaluable resources for research. A data base similar to this is difficult to find, even for a big company like Apple. All these activities cost IBM lots of money and do not actually bring them any profit. Consequently, it indicates the strength of IBMs faith of science and knowledge, which is a sign of how THINK has affected the operation of the company. Fourthly, the deep thought is expressed in the IBMs attempts to build a better world to live. IBM and the Marine Institute in Ireland completed the SmartBay pilot information system in 2009. The system monitors and analyzes wave conditions, marine life and pollution levels in and around Galway Bay. By studying the surf, IBM aims to learn to harness the energy of the wave to
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generate green energy (IBM Archives, 2013). IBM also actively joins with hospitals to participate in building a smarter health care management system which would improve the life for many people, especially in China (IBM Archives). The Smarter Planet agenda of IBM is also worth mentioning. It is designed to be a way to help forward-thinking leaders in business; government and civil society around the world capture the potential of smarter systems to achieve economic growth, near-term efficiency, sustainable development and societal progress. The agenda is considered to be IBMs latest big bet on the future, with wide-ranging possibilities for improving the transportation, education, energy, food and water systems that run our everyday work and personal lives (IBM Archives). Finally and most obviously, the deep thought is expressed in the Think Exhibit of IBM. The Exhibit is a public exhibit at New Yorks Lincoln Center and is called THINK identical to the THINK slogan. The Exhibit is an innovative exhibition, a home to art, science and technology. Unlike the other exhibits provided by other companies, the Think Exhibit does not show off the products of IBM. It challenges people to do one thing: Think (Duncan, 2012) and it does so by providing three unique experiences to engage visitors in the conversation of how to improve the way people live and work. The three experiences include data wall, immersive film and interactive experience. The data wall allows visitors to see live data from around the exhibit from traffic to solar energy. The film shows them the pattern of progress told through stories of the past and present and inspires them to think about humankind's quest for progress, and about making the world work better. The interactive enable visitors to see model to understand the complex behaviors of our world, and read about some of the most inspiring examples of systemic progress around the world. They allow visitors the opportunity to provide their point of view and learn what others were thinking (IBM Archives, 2013). The Exhibit is one of the most obvious examples to show how THINK has seeped into the spirit of IBM.
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3.4.2. Reflection of Think different in Apple While IBM is famous for their culture of think, Apple is known for culture of innovation, meaning constantly Think different to leverage their products and services. Innovation can be divided into four sub-areas: product, business process, business model and service innovation. However, in the scope of this paper, only two of four will be examined: the product and business model innovation as they are the two most visible. The next part will examine the first sub-area in the case of Apple, which aims to show how Think different Apples strategy is. The first sub-area is product innovation. Product innovation means enhancing features of current products and services. This is the most apparent aspect in the creativity of Apple. Unlike IBM, Apple does not indulge themselves in a variety of activities. As a result, their innovation is shown to customers mainly through their products. And unlike IBM whose culture of think urges them to invent technology, Apples creativity i.e. Think different makes unique different things which are not identical to any competitors. To better understand this statement, consider how IBM set out the first of the technology: IBM 701 the first general-purpose computer, IBM 704 the first A.I technology computer, IBM PC the first true PC, etc. Apple does not invent new products, substitutes for their products are available but they cannot compete with the immersion of Apples simply because they are unique: they are cool, intuitive, simple to use and provide the most amazing experience (Apple's innovation; a case study, 2013). The next part will examine some of the most notable innovative products of Apple. The first product to be mentioned is iPod, a line of portable media player designed and released in 2001 (Lloyd, 2004) and which is considered Apples most innovation (Dalal, 2006). iPod is not the first portable media player. There are countless others that were already in the market, from portable audio players like CD Walkman to equivalent media players like Diamond Rio or Archos Jukebox. What made iPod stand aside from all competitors? That is, the devices
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capacity of 5 GB and light weight which boasted with Apples slogan 1,000 songs in your pocket (Adner, 2012), the value of the device was cemented by its seamlessness with the iTunes music management software. Despite being available only for Mac users, the iPod was the fastest selling mp3 player to ever hit the market (Adner). The experience provided by the iPod was so unique that iPod soon became associated with personal status and symbol that speaks of cool, hip, polished, and different (Dalal). Commenting on the development of iPod, PC Magazine said In the years since (2001), the iPod's market share has grown tremendously, iPods have shrunk in size, Apple's iTunes Music Store has taken the lion's share of legal digital music downloads, and the iPod accessory market has exploded and taken on a life of its own (Dalal, 2006, p. 89). The second product to be mentioned is iPhone, a line of smartphone which was released in 2007 (Apple, 2013). Again, iPhone is not the first smartphone. Nokia, Blackberry and Android are the three foremost manufacturers of smartphone but they all lost the position of the most popular for iPhone (Skinner, 2012). Similar to iPod, iPhone accomplished such a feat by innovation. iPhone is not just a cell phone; it was the worlds first hand-held computer (Tim, 2013). Compared to its rivals, the iPhones user interface was simple, intuitive and uncomplicated, which allows users to easily access to e-mail, text messaging, video, photography, maps, books, music, games and mobile shopping. Along with the development of Internet, the demand to surf was increasing, but the others smartphone web browser was clumsy, iPhones ability to smoothly use Internet was one of its most innovative steps that allowed it to win (Tim). The second sub-area is business model innovation. The business model is the description of the means and methods a firm employs to earn revenue projected in its plans ("Advertising slogan", 2013). Apple created many stylish products which allow it to propel itself onto the top of technology industry like the iPod, iPhone, Mac, AppleTV, etc. However, the innovation is not accounted for by product innovation only. It also lies in Apple business model innovation, which is the new way to create, capture and deliver value ("Apples Innovative Business", 2013). The business model innovation is illustrated through the
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introduction of iTunes along with iPod. By creating IPod and associated music download business iTunes, Apple was the first electronics company to include music distribution as an activity (Amit & Zott, 2010) and thus, made iTunes an integral part with the development of iPod. As a result, Apple reduced the act of illegal music download, avoided additional cost and offered additional services at the same time. The same scenario happened with the case of iPhone and Appstore. iPhone is already an innovative smartphone and Appstore makes it even more. Appstore is the worlds largest collection of mobile applications which allows users to customize their iPhone and later, other Apple products with ease ("Apples Innovative Business"). By doing that, Apple literally transformed its business model to include the relationship with its hardware customers. In conclusion, by briefly examining the operation of IBM and Apple, its apparent that how the two slogans are reflected in the two companies activities. THINK represents IBMs culture of think and it forces them to strive for inventing new technology, pursuing knowledge and preserving history. Think different represents Apples culture of innovation and it is shown through their various innovative products and business model which, not only gives their customer new experience but also bring benefits to the company. This can be considered one point that further fortifies the rivalry between the two slogans. 3.5. IBM, Apple and their cultures in the new context The development of the world forces all companies to alter themselves to suit the new context. IBM and Apple are no exception. While they are committed to their philosophy, they are bound to be driven by the tide of change. This part of the paper will deal with the question of whether or not the two giants are losing their respective culture when facing new challenges. 3.5.1. Any lost in the culture of THINK in IBM THINK is the motto of IBM and culture of think is the culture that IBM has always been proud of. It seems unlikely to say that IBM could lose the culture of think, especially when showed it everywhere: Thinkpad, Think
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Exhibit, ThinkApp, ThinkCentre, etc. Contrary to that belief, some experts showed their concern that IBM actually lost the core value of THINK. In Jim Collinss point of view which is shown in his book Built to last (Collins & Porras, 1994), IBM started to lose their leading position in 1990s because they misinterpreted the core values of the company. The core values of IBM were not uniforms, policies or computers, etc., which could and should be changed to suit the new context. He criticized that IBM had been stuck with the execution methods and the surface expression of those core values for too long. He concluded, a company should always keep its core value but ready to change the physical embodiment of them when needed. IBM seemed to be not thinking deep enough to understand that. Another criticism of the culture of IBM is about the management culture. Robert X. Cringely, an expert working in PC business for 30 years, said that IBM has built a management culture in which employees only do what they are told to do when they are told to do; they will spend 100% time to fix the active problem and not a second for the problems that are not declared (Cringely, 2012). One of his stories that he shared was about his childhood experience with IBM. When he was eight, he sent a letter to IBM asking for a lab for experiment voicing technology. He was sent an invitation letter by Thomas J. Watson Jr. to a local IBM facility. When he came, he was greeted by six engineers and the meeting was taken very seriously due to it being called by Watson himself. No one questioned about him being eight years old only! Of course, this experts idea seems to be subjective and his story sounds very unlikely, but that is not the only thing which describes the situation. IBM is said to have high bureaucracy level which causes it to crush management innovation (Denning, 2012) and possibly is one of the reason leading to the claim that employees only do what they are told when they are told. If that is true, then it doesnt seem that IBM is applying their all slogan at all. This brings an echo of Apples 1984 commercial when they associated brainwashed workers with IBM computers. In 2012, on their road to increase shareholder earning-per-share which they call Road map 2015, IBM laid off at least 1,790 jobs in U.S and Canada
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according Lee Conrad, national coordinator for the IBM employee watchdog group (Bort, 2012). The more alarm problem, he said, was that IBM was targeting higher paid, long term and older workers and even did that in a way that they would avoid to report them to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) (Bort). This was a very bad policy of IBM as those workers were the one to think and contribute more in the company, evidently shown in their salary, age and experience. By cutting them off, the company would save the budget but would operate more poorly. There are many ways to increase shareholder EPS, yet they chose a cruel, unfair and ineffective way. This is a solid evident of IBM losing their culture of think. 3.5.2. Any lost in the culture of Think different in Apple Apple is still considered an innovative and one of the most successful companies in the world. However, many experts, including but not limited to Thorsten Heins CEO of Blackberry (Allsopp, 2013), former CEO of Apple John Scully (Haslam, 2013) and even one of Think different campaign creators Ken Segall (Lovejoy, 2013) said that Apple is losing its innovation. Unfortunately, there are a number of proofs that support their opinion. Figure 1: Graph of Apple, Amazon and Google reputation of innovation from 2nd January, 2010 to 12th April, 2011
(Source: http://www.forbes.com/)
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As the graph suggests, Apples reputation for innovation as their slogan boasted fluctuated in the period of time from 2nd January, 2010 to 12th April, 2011 but overall was showing signs of slipping. Apples reputation line reached its peak three times, the first time was in 1st February, 2010; the second was in 30th August, 2010 and the third time in 12th January and 28th March of 2011. However, the trend of the latter peaks was to be lower than the former. The first peak was highest at about 0.145, the second was at 0.129 and the third was the lowest, at 0.12. Apples reputation reached its bottom in 12th April, 2011; lower than it was at any moment in the previous period. Apples reputation line drowned so deep that at some point (in particular, from January to February of 2011), Google was considered more innovative than Apple. Like Google, Amazon made a leap in 27th of January, 2011 which placed them on pair with Apple. From February onward, Apple remained the most innovative of the three but they were not showing the sign of mending. The Interviews with three participants who are working or studying in IT field and owned or used Apples products as provided in Appendix B also suggests a similar outcome. The table below provides the result of the interviews: Table 2: Result of the interviews Questions 1. Owned /Used Apples products 2. Desire (if used but not owned) or Satisfaction (if owned) for the products 3. Selection between Apple and Android 4. Knowledge of Think different Android Android Unknown Yes Yes Yes Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3
Used
Used
Owned
No
No
No
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5. Agree or not regarding if Apple is thinking different
Not agree
Not agree
Not agree
As seen in the table, two out of three (the first and second) participants did not own but used products of Apple expressed their desire to purchase them in the future. The other participant who owns Apples products said she was satisfied with them to a certain extent. The reasons for their desire/satisfaction are attractive design, easiness to use, famous brand (all three participants), and security (the second and third). However, when asked about the choice between Apples products and Android products, which is one of the most powerful competitors of Apple, the first and the second participants decided to choose Android. The third could not present a clear answer because she was given an iPhone while considering whether to purchase iPhone or Android. While her choice is unclear, it is shown that she was pondering on choosing Apple or its competitor. This proves that while Apple is still coveted, it is no longer the first choice for IT users. When asked if they thought Apple was thinking different, all three participants did not agree. Explaining their objection, the first and second participants expressed their dissatisfaction about the lack of immersion that new Apples products offered. The third participant criticized the quality of new products and poor customer services. In brief, the result of the interview indicates that Apple is becoming less innovative in the eyes of not only experts but also customers and as a result, losing their position to competitors such as Android. Based on the information gathered and the knowledge from the interviews, it is possible to conclude that Apple is losing the innovation in their operation. The real question to be solved now is why they are judged as losing it. Consequently, the next part of the paper will be dedicated to explore the causes. Two problems are identified by the study: problems with products and problems with advertising. First of all, the innovation of Apple is imbued in their products and their product innovation is the most visible aspect of Apples thinking different. The
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iPod, iPhone, iTunes and Appstore were obvious examples for that. However, it seems that Apple is not keeping up with the innovation of their own products. Recently, at least two aspects of Apples products: the design and the experience have not been living up to the expectation of customers. First, lets examine the problems with the design. The first problem with the design is the interface of Apples product, which provided very different experience when it was first introduced, has very little change in the newer generations. Answering the interview question about the matter, the first participant said When I first saw it, I found the interface very attractive, but now I feel it is extremely boring (Appendix B, Participant 1 Data), Mr. Thorsten also shared his view The user interface of the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about, is now five years old (Allsopp, 2013). The second problem with the design is the appearance of the products which is not receiving appropriate attention either. When iPhone 3 was replaced by iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S in 2010, it was replaced by a more elegant and luxurious version. When iPhone 4 was replaced by iPhone 5 in 2012, it was replaced by an iPhone 4Ss identical but thinner and longer cousin, which some experts consider an upgrade rather than a new generation (Low, 2012). Not satisfying with the improvement, customers created a mock about the shape of iPhone 5: an image of future iPhone, the iPhone 20 which would be so long and thin that it can be used as a sword ("Apple iPhone 20", 2012). Commenting about the introduction of iPhone 5, the first participant of the research interview called it a disaster (Appendix B, Participant 1 Data) while the second participant expressed his disappointment for Apples lack of breakthrough (Appendix B, Participant 2 Data). History repeated itself in the case of iPad Mini, the second generation of iPad line. The iPad Mini provides no new experience when compared to iPad 2 and even iPad 1, they are just smaller in size. The iPhone 5 and iPad Mini cases raised some experts worry about Apples tendency of following the crowd. They
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said Apples decision to make iPad Mini was almost forced by customers interest in smaller tablet like those of Amazon, Samsung or Google (Deak, 2013). So instead of inventing new devices, Apple played catch-up with competitors. Not just having problems with designing, Apple showed issues with customer experience the area that Apple usually stands on top (Veglia, 2012). With the launch of iPhone 5 and iOS 6, Apple replaced the traditional Google Map with their own Map App. However, the App was not completed and it showed a number of flaws, such as no public transit directions, wrong labels and wrong directions (Allen, 2012). To make it worse for users, iPhone would not allow them to switch back to Google Map (perhaps this is the result of the competition with Google). Even though Apple sent an apologizing letter and fixed the issues, it still left an unpleasant feeling for customers. Another problem is the quality of product. A large number of customers complaint about their newly bought iPhone5 were nick and scratch (Campbell, 2012). Apple was shown to be awared of the problem but proceeded anyway when a worker at the Foxconn factory who published the photos of the new iOS smartphone before it went official, said that most of the iPhone 5 units he and his team were producing were faulty with good ones being just 10% (Chip, 2012). Furthermore, when answered the interview question about her satisfaction with Apples product, the third participant of the interview agreed with the claim of bad quality of iPhone 5 and showed her displeasure about the brand when she took her broken handset to warranty agent for fixing and was given a new iPhone 5 which malfunctioned in a couple of days later (Appendix B, Participant 3 Data). The second problem is Apples advertising. Think different is the most successful campaign of Apple and it showed the creativity of the company, not only through the slogan but also through the way they organized the campaign. However, Apple never launched another creative campaign after that. All the later campaigns of Apple, such as the Switch and Get a Mac are traditional product-centered advertisements which constantly lashing at Microsoft by
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comparing the Mac and Windows based PC. According to one of Think different campaign creators, Mr. Ken Segall, Apples newest and short-lived advertising campaign the Genius even made customers look dumb (Golson, 2012). He also criticized the product-based advertisements of Apple and praised the people-based advertisements of Samsung, about which he said has been scoring points (Segall, 2013). In conclusion, both IBM and Apple are showing signs of inability to maintain their respective culture. This is dangerous as the cultures are their core value which defines and establishes the root of the two companies, allowing them to achieve the position of today. If they fail to stay true to the culture, they will one day become unfit to the slogan. Consequently, they will lose one invaluable aspect of identification.
Summary This Chapter deals with the various issues relating to the two slogans THINK and Think different. Things to remember in this Chapter include the messages of the two slogans, which encourage thinking and creative thinking respectively. The two slogans are rivals but share many similarities as well as differences which are caused by their similar physical appearance but distinctive in natures. IBM and Apple show the illusion of THINK and Think different very apparently in their operation, however, they are also threatened with losing the cultures when facing the challenges.
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CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IBM AND APPLE

As examined in the previous Chapter, both IBM and Apple are facing the risk of losing their cultures which they show through their slogans: the culture of think of IBM and culture of innovation of Apple. This section will provide some possible suggestions to IBM and Apple so that they may protect their own characters. 4.1. Recommendations for IBM 4.1.1. For problems of core value over-expression The first problem that IBM faces as suggested by Jim Collins is that IBM is too obsessed with showing the physical expression of their core value. While it is right to be proud of ones legacy, the method, if overused, will become hollow and create the false illusion of the real strength of the company. IBM leaders should distinguish which are the core values and which are the expressions of the values. The core values of the company (like THINK motto) are what must not be changed, the physical expressions of the values (like THINK icon) are what could be changed to suit the new environment. Placing THINK sign or the word THINK everywhere does not make the company operate more efficiently, pushing the IBMers to think is what does the feat. IBM leaders can do that by empowering employees, motivating them and engaging them. 4.1.2. For problems of strict-following behavior The second problem that IBM faces as suggested by Robert X. Cringely (and possibly Apple) is IBMers are doing only what they are told when they are told. This is a serious problem and it would greatly affect the performance of IBM. To improve it, first it has to come from the leaders. The leaders should try to empower the employees by making them understand fully what they are trying to achieve. This is not done by ordering them to do this task and that task, which is exactly what Robert has described the IBM force. The leaders need to help them understanding what they are doing and what it would benefit the company. The leaders also need to have an open mind. They need to allow their
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Chapter IV: Recommendations for IBM and Apple
subordinates to be able to make their decisions about the business, not just telling them to do what needs to be done. According to Glassdoor.com ("IBM Review", 2013), IBM employees hard work is not generally fully recognized by the leaders. To empower the employees also means to make them feel their works realized. Consequently, the leaders should be more active in praising the individuals who are excellent at their job, either by giving them more break time, increasing their salary or giving them the chance to advance. Second, the bureaucracy of the company needs to be banished. IBMs bureaucracy is caused by the complicated layers of management (Denning, 2012). To improve it, IBM leaders need to identify which layers are not effective or redundant and proceed to reduce it. They can do that by reorganizing the structure and relocating more force to the sectors that are in need. One thing to avoid is to mass firing employees because that would make all the workforce of the company to be restless and thus, reducing their productivity. Finally, the problem could be solved by the employees as well. When the leaders try to empower them, IBM employees should take proactive role in identifying problems and try to solve it instead of reporting and waiting for the decision to be made. They should also question and give feedbacks of what they will be doing, not just do it because its boss order as Robert described. All of this would make IBMers thinkers as their motto says. 4.1.3. For problems with laying off policy The third problem that IBM faces is that they are mass laying off workers and targeting higher paid, long term and older workers to increase share holders EPS. This is another very serious problem because it will affect the companys overall performance and badly affect its reputation. First, IBM should stop this policy immediately. If it is necessary to reduce the number of workforce, the leaders should make evaluation of the performance of the employees to find out the ones who are not investing and contributing enough for the company, this would help them to have more proper treatments. As for the ones that have already been fired, IBM leaders should reassess their performance and
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contribution for the company and, if necessary, try inviting the good workers back to work for IBM. This has been done before, back in 1997, Apple had to request Steve Jobs return after firing him several years ago. By doing these, IBM would maintain its performance by losing and keeping the right people and preserve its reputation. To increase share holders EPS, IBM should try to increase its profit instead. IBM can do that by doing what they are very good at doing: inventing new technology and benefit from them. It is more difficult than the current method but it is a better one because the path is what IBM has been walking on for century and what their motto is all about. 4.2. Recommendations for Apple 4.2.1. For problems with uninnovative products Similar to IBM, Apple has not recently shown their innovation through anything but words. The first and most visible aspect of Apples innovation is their product innovation and it hasnt satisfied the customers. Firstly, the interface of Apple products which impressed people many years ago now, like Thorsten Heins said, is becoming old. About this, Apple should learn from Microsoft. The interface of Windows Operation System (OS) did not change much from Windows 95 to Windows 7. However, with the newest OS: Windows 8, Microsoft introduced a new interface experience while allowing users to switch back to the old one if they find it more ease to use. That is one thing that Microsoft does better than Apple: to be new but familiar. Perhaps Apple should try to do something similar; inventing a brand new interface is not something out of the hand of an innovative company like Apple. Secondly, the design of the devices is not creative. As mentioned above, iPhone 5 and iPad Mini are not too different from iPhone 4 and iPad 2 cousins which disappoint users. For the next generations, Apple should try to give users not a thinner, longer or smaller version of what they already have but an improvement. For example, the device may have new shape and edge which make it easier for users to hold, stronger battery life and new interface with new and reorganizable icons. Apple should also stops making something just because
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customers wanting something similar to competitors as in the case of iPad Mini. While it is necessary to fulfill the demand of consumers, Apple is an innovative company and should never stick to the status quo. They should have said No or made improvement that differentiates the new device from other products of Apple and competitors. The final aspect of the first problem is relating to various problems of the products that Apple allows the customers to experience. First is the problem with Apple Map. While it is acceptable for the devices to not be very innovative, it is totally unacceptable that the company gives the users flawed devices or applications. Learning from the lesson of Apple Map, Apple could ensure that they would never allow it to repeat by various methods. They can form testing department where customers or technicians could test the new devices and applications before they are released to the public. Another method is that Apple might release the beta of the application for the users to try out by accessing the Appstore so that they can give feedback about it and Apple will know of the problem to fix before the application become official. That way, even if the application may still have bugs, Apple will retain their reputation for making sufficient effort to prevent it. Second is the problem with nick and scratch. To solve the problem, Apple has to make sure that they want to as it is evident that Apple chose to ignore it the last time. The iPhone 5 was designed to be lighter but the perfection of the device is more important. Apple should choose better, more durable material for the next generation. They should also have a team to inspect the quality of the devices before they are released. Though the phone can be more expensive, consumers will be happier to pay an extra amount of money rather than to bring their newly brought device to the warrant office. 4.2.2. For problems with uncreative advertisements The second problem is Apples advertising. While the reputation for innovation of Apple is decreasing, it is not necessary to launch another campaign like Think different but Apple should find another way to advertise their
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products. Instead of comparing Apple devices with other competitors products to show why their products are better, Apple should advertise of how the new device would impress the customers and what new experience it could give them. That is product-centered advertisement, but it would be better at persuading viewers to buy Apple products because it speaks of how the product will benefit the buyer, not how it is superior to another device. In other words, the ad will be focusing on customers interest rather than boasting brand name. Apple could also try people-based advertisements, which would feature the staff of Apple along with the products. This would raise the positive feeling for the brand and make viewers more incline to buy the product.
Summary This section provides some possible recommendation to solve the problem of losing philosophy as mentioned in their slogans of IBM and Apple. For the issue of over-expression of core values and passive workers of IBM, empowering is suggested. Restructuring the company might also needed to get rid of IBMs bureaucracy to increase performance and avoid unnecessary overlap. IBM also may want to stop mass laying off policies and invite good employees back and try other ways to increase EPS. Not only can it boost the development of IBM but also restore the reputation the company lost during the policies execution. For Apple, they are losing the reputation of innovation for not satisfying customers with current products. Therefore, they need to strongly impress them in the next generations by bringing out improvements in design and experience. The company also needs to be more stringent in quality of their products and should never provide flawed staff again to live up to their high quality brand name. For advertising, Apple needs to be more creative and try new kinds of advertisements instead of sticking to the traditional comparing ads as they currently use.
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CONCLUSION
To conclude, the study has described the description of slogan and provided a comparison and contrast of the two slogans THINK and Think different as well as how they have been applied to the operations of IBM and Apple. After the analysis, the thesis makes the following conclusion for the three proposed questions: For the first question of how THINK and Think different could achieve the feat of resurrecting the respective companies, it can be derived that the two slogans are simple phrases but they serve as the golden compasses to lead IBM and Apple to the right track. THINK sets out the basic principles and core values for IBM. The motto chose the destination of the company to be a seeker of invention and knowledge, which changed the face of IBM and the world. Think different acted as a torch lid when Apple was lost in the dark and shined the company back to the original way that it was founded: a creator of innovative products. Both slogans managed to gather positive attention from the public, which greatly increased reputation of both companies, contributing to their current success. As a result, THINK and Think different however small they are were able to save IBM and Apple. For the second question of how the two slogans are similar to and different from each other, it can be deduced that THINK and Think different are quite distinctive. While the two slogans share resemblance in most characteristics due to their correspondent physical forms, the goals to be achieved from those characteristics are different. The functions of THINK and Think different also set them apart with the former only having two while the later having all three though the two functions that they share are achieved similarly. All those are caused by the nature of the two slogans: a motto (THINK) and an ad slogan (Think different). Despite that, the two slogans are totally alike in many aspects including the success, the culture embedded and the reflection in IBM and Apples operation.
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Conclusion
For the final question of whether IBM and Apple are losing the philosophy as mentioned in their slogans, through various information gathered and data from interviews, the answer is yes. IBM is losing the culture of think and Apple is showing signs of lack of innovation. For IBM, it is evident in their obsess with showing off the physical forms of core values, passive employees and erroneous laying off policies. For Apple, it is shown through their uninnovative, flawed products and uncreative traditional advertisings. However, it should be acknowledged some limitations of the study. First, the number of samples that the study bases on is small. Second, the data that are used for the study are not up-to-dated. Therefore, the result should not be used to generalize the case in a different timeframe. In spite of the limitations, there is much left for the future study. One direction is to study in depth to find the causes of losing the aspect of culture mentioned in the slogans of both IBM and Apple, which due to the lack of resource and access, this thesis only describes. Another direction is to further explore the innovation in Apple operation which this paper describes sparsely. Another possible direction is to find out how bureaucracy IBM is and how strictly-follow IBMers really are.
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Quod.lib.umich.edu, 2013. Retrieved April 25 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/m/mec/med-idx?type=id&id=MED45310 Segall, K., 2013. Apple battling where it used to crush. Retrieved May 8 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://kensegall.com/2013/02/apple-battling-where-it-used-to-crush/ Siltanen, R., 2011. The Real Story Behind Apple's 'Think Different' Campaign. Retrieved March 18 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/12/true-history-apples-think-differentcampaign/46222/ Skinner, C.-A., 2012. Apple iPhone is world's most-popular smartphone. Retrieved May 4 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobilephone/3338284/apples-iphone-is-worlds-most-popular-smartphone/ Tim, 2013. What Apple Can Teach Us About New Product Development. Retrieved May 4 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://businesstheory.com/apple-teach-productdevelopment/ Trademarks411, 2013. Trademarks411. Retrieved May 2 2013 from Trademarks411 database on the World Wide Web: http://www.Trademarks411.com Veglia, M. D., 2012. Apple: Probably the most leading Branded Customer Experience Company. Retrieved May 7 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://www.gcem.org/eng/content_details.jsp?contentid=2472&subjectid=1001 Wasserman, T., 2012. The 10 Best Tech Rivalries of All Time. Retrieved May 6 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://mashable.com/2012/09/23/tech-rivalries/ Weiner, E., 2013. Early modern English an overview. Retrieved May 16 2013 from the World Wide Web: http://public.oed.com/aspects-of-english/english-in-time/earlymodern-english-an-overview/
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APPENDICES
Appendix A Interview Questions 1. Have you ever owned or used any product of Apple? And if yes, which products did you use? 2. (If he/she owns) Are you satisfied with them? In terms of utility, ease to use, design, quality, etc. (If he/she doesnt own) Do you want to own them someday? And why do/dont you want to? 3. There are currently many kinds of similar product available on the market. One of the most powerful competitors is Android. If you have a choice between Android and Apple, which one would you choose? And why is that? 4. Do you know that one of Apples slogans is Think different? 5. Based on your judgment for recent Apples product in terms of creativity and innovation, do you think Apple is thinking different?
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Appendix B This appendix contains sample data of all the participants interviewed. Participant 1 Data Name: Dang Thi Ngoc Occupation: Student of APTECH University * Have you ever owned or used any product of Apple? And if yes, which products did you use? I dont own any but I have used them. I used iPod and iPad. * Do you want to own them someday? Yes. * Can you give me the reason why? Because they are handy, suitable for my working and entertaining needs. Their design is friendly and attractive. Furthermore, many people sought out the products because of its brand. Because the brand is famous, their products will be of high quality. * There are currently many kinds of similar product available on the market. One of the most powerful competitors is Android. If you have a choice between Android and Apple, which one would you choose? I choose Android. * Can you explain? Firstly, it is because Android is a popular OS. It is not reserved for any particular product line. Users can easily make their own applications for their purposes using supporting programs from the devices. As a result, its applications store is copious. Secondly, because it is a popular OS, the price of the devices is much lower than Apples.
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Thirdly, Androids features are not inferior to Apple. The Android devices are growing strongly. In the future, my prediction is that it will be equal or stronger than Apple. On contrary, because Apple aims at individual, their products are only compatible with their own. Consequently, it is very inconvenient if I want to use different products simultaneously. Many people I know complained about not being able to use other common products applications for Apple. As a result, Android is more convenient and affordable than Apple. * Do you know that one of Apples slogans is Think different? No, I dont * Based on your judgment for recent Apples product in terms of creativity and innovation, do you think Apple is thinking different? I am not satisfied with them. Their products are not seemed to be prominent and impressive recently. Especially iPhone 5, it was a disaster. It is not any different than iPhone 4, just longer. The interface of the devices is not developed either. When I first saw it, I found the interface very attractive, but now I feel it is extremely boring. The features of the devices are also difficult for inexperienced users. In other words, the devices are becoming picky. So, as for the slogan, personally, I think they should change to the more accurate Think the same as always. * Thank you for your invaluable opinion.
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Participant 2 data Name: Nguyen Thai Vu Occupation: IT trainer * Have you ever owned or used any product of Apple? And if yes, which products did you use? I dont own but have used Apples products. In particular, I used Ipad, iPhone and iPod. * So by your experience with them, do you want to own them someday? Yes, Id love to have an iMac and iBook. * Can you explain why? First is the design, it is simple but elegant and attractive. Second is the OS: secured, beautiful interface and smooth-running. They are very suitable for working. Unfortunately, they are not for entertaining. * There are currently many kinds of similar product available on the market. One of the most powerful competitors is Android. If you have a choice between Android and Apple, which one would you choose? Android and Apple are currently the two most powerful mobile manufacturers. To be fair, Apple is only stronger than Android at one thing: security. No, two things: security and stability. Android is an open-source OS, it is definitely not as stable as iOS. However, because it is an open-source, it can improve the experiences of users without extra cost. Furthermore, there are dozens of modder for each Android device so if you want brand new experience or simply like to tangle with the OS, you just need to find a new rom version. Secondly, Android is compatible with Windows. Because it is compatible with Windows and Windows is the most popular OS, Android is friendlier with most users than iOS.
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Thirdly, the price. Because Apple aims to make high quality products, their price is high. I think it is a waste of money to but an Apples product when the only things it provides is elegance and security. * Do you know that one of Apples slogans is Think different? No. * Based on your judgment for recent Apples product in terms of creativity and innovation, do you think Apple is thinking different? Recently, they are not very creative or innovative. In particular, the new products for iPhone and iPad line do not provide users with breakthrough of design and experience. Since the new products were launched too quickly, I dont think they received adequate investment. As a result, I dont think Apple is thinking different. * Thank you for your invaluable information.
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Participant 3 Data Name: Nguyen Thi Truc Ngoc Occupation: Engineer of Viettel Telecom * Have you ever owned or used any product of Apple? And if yes, which products did you use? Yes, I owned iPhone and iMac. * Are you satisfied with them? I mean in terms of utility, ease to use, design, quality, etc. To a certain extent, yes. On the one hand, the design of the devices is beautiful and elegant. The interface is friendly and beautiful. The devices are highly secured plus it is easy to backup and recovery so I am not worried much about losing data. The touch and gesture features are genius, I have never seen any other device which provides the ease to use similar to that. On the other hand, the products are difficult to use, I always have trouble with transferring data from my iPhone to my iMac despite the fact that they are from the same manufacturer. * There are currently many kinds of similar products available on the market. One of the most powerful competitors is Android. If you have a choice between Android and Apple, which one would you choose? Well, I had to ask myself the exactly same question several months ago. I wanted to buy either Samsung Galaxy S4 (a smartphone using Android OS) or iPhone 5. Since I already used iPhone 4, I would not have trouble with iPhone 5. But I would also love to try a new thing, and Samsung Galaxy was highly praised for its compatibility and ease to use. By features, Galaxy is not any inferior to iPhone 5. It is also much cheaper. * So in the end, which one did you choose? I did not have to, I received iPhone 5 as a gift. * Do you know that one of Apples slogans is Think different?
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I dont. * Based on your judgment for recent Apples product in terms of creativity and innovation, do you think Apple is thinking different? iPhone 5 has certain level of improvement compared to iPhone 4. It screen is more realistic and the phone is lighter despite its length. However, those are just trivial and I dont find it to be any more creative or innovative than its predecessor. Apples products are regarded to be of high quality device s yet I feel that they are no longer true. You know of nick and scratch problem with iPhone 5? That was one of the reasons that I considered purchasing Samsung Galaxy several months ago. Luckily, my iPhone was not scratched but weeks ago, it stopped working properly. When I brought it to Apple warranty center, they gave me a new one. Sounds good, right? No, the new one malfunctioned in a couple of days. And I had to get it fixed again. I mean this should not have happened with company like Apple. So, I dont agree that Apple is thinking different. * Thank you for your invaluable information.
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Comparing IBM's "THINK" and Apple's "Think Different

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Comparing IBM's "THINK" and Apple's "Think Different

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because of its success, the slogan still usually

(IBM Archives, 2013).

CHAPTER III: AN ANALYSIS ON THINK AND THINK DIFFERENT

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

5. Agree or not regarding if Apple is thinking different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

Chapter III: An analysis on THINK and Think different

CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IBM AND APPLE

Chapter IV: Recommendations for IBM and Apple

Chapter IV: Recommendations for IBM and Apple

Chapter IV: Recommendations for IBM and Apple

Chapter IV: Recommendations for IBM and Apple

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