Consumer perception of Apple improves after Steve Jobs resignation
Suggesting the Apple brand is bigger than the company's iconic founder, a daily tracking survey has found that consumer perception of Apple actually improved following the resignation of Steve Jobs.
The latest poll from YouGov BrandIndex shows how consumers' opinion of the Apple brand fluctuated following the announcement last week that Jobs would resign as chief executive of Apple. While attention surrounding Apple unsurprisingly increased, so too did the company's reputation.
Sitting around 35 points on the poll's scale just days before the announcement on Aug. 22, the number shot to near 60 points by Aug. 26, two days after Jobs stepped down and Tim Cook took over as CEO.
The survey asks adults if they had heard something about a company -- in this case, Apple -- in the last two weeks. That number grew 17 percent over the past two weeks, propelled by Jobs' announcement that he would step down as CEO, but remain chairman of the board at Apple.
The study's scale ranges from -100 to 100, and points are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive.
Each weekday, 5,000 people ages 18 and up from a representative U.S. population sample are interviewed for the YouGov BrandIndex, which carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent. Respondents are drawn from an online panel of more than 1.5 million individuals, and more than 1.2 million interviews are conducted per year.
As one of the most recognizable CEOs in the world, Jobs gained considerable mainstream attention last week when his resignation was announced. Though he was actually on medical leave since January, Jobs had retained his title as CEO and remained a major force throughout 2011, introducing key products like the iPad 2 and iCloud at widely publicized media events.
The latest poll from YouGov BrandIndex shows how consumers' opinion of the Apple brand fluctuated following the announcement last week that Jobs would resign as chief executive of Apple. While attention surrounding Apple unsurprisingly increased, so too did the company's reputation.
Sitting around 35 points on the poll's scale just days before the announcement on Aug. 22, the number shot to near 60 points by Aug. 26, two days after Jobs stepped down and Tim Cook took over as CEO.
The survey asks adults if they had heard something about a company -- in this case, Apple -- in the last two weeks. That number grew 17 percent over the past two weeks, propelled by Jobs' announcement that he would step down as CEO, but remain chairman of the board at Apple.
The study's scale ranges from -100 to 100, and points are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive.
Each weekday, 5,000 people ages 18 and up from a representative U.S. population sample are interviewed for the YouGov BrandIndex, which carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent. Respondents are drawn from an online panel of more than 1.5 million individuals, and more than 1.2 million interviews are conducted per year.
As one of the most recognizable CEOs in the world, Jobs gained considerable mainstream attention last week when his resignation was announced. Though he was actually on medical leave since January, Jobs had retained his title as CEO and remained a major force throughout 2011, introducing key products like the iPad 2 and iCloud at widely publicized media events.
Comments
The latest poll from YouGov BrandIndex
Have I never heard of this because it's completely unknown and has no real weight or am I just out of the loop?
How do you measure "opinion" on a 201 point scale?
So people's perception of Apple must have improved over those few days.
How does one measure "Buzz" ?
It may be that Steve Jobs was vilified by Windows and Android users or rumors and decent [sic] in those communities and they believe APple is better now he has left. It would be a foolish perception, but likely a real one out there.
I agree. A lot of opinions are based upon nothing but bullshit. Logic, reason and proof usually take a back seat.
After all... we must remember that Steve is the curator of the walled garden and that he doesn't believe in freedom, choice and the American way...
Had Apple been forced to get a new CEO and not been prepared for it, the numbers would be vastly different.
It may be that Steve Jobs was vilified by Windows and Android users or rumors and decent in those communities and they believe APple is better now he has left. It would be a foolish perception, but likely a real one out there.
If anything the biggest contention most android users had with Steve Jobs boils down to the lawsuits/his rants during earnings calls. They might feel that now that someone else is in charge, the lawsuits will abate a bit. Maybe not against touchwiz, or the Galaxy S phones, but against other phones (Transform) that people just scratch their heads about.
In reality though, assuming this "survey" is accurate (I haven't heard of the group either) it's most likely because of all the "My memory of steve jobs" articles going around, and how most sites that run one of those run 5 talking about how this isn't bad for Apple.
But, considering this is a "hot button" topic right now, and we've never heard of this group, I'm guessing it's mainly just a fluff piece cooked up by the groups PR to try and get their name out there.
These are probably the result of increased media coverage and those "Top 10 Accomplishments of Steve Jobs" articles that seem to cover nearly every website, magazine, or newspaper. People are merely saying, "Oh yea! So smartphones DID suck before the iPhone!"
I would say it was one of the smoothest CEO transitions of all time. The timing and execution has been just about perfect. The fact that they made the transition now, to put a new CEO officially in power, while Steve can remain part of the company means no sudden changes are expected.
Had Apple been forced to get a new CEO and not been prepared for it, the numbers would be vastly different.
Nailed it.
If anything the biggest contention most android users had with Steve Jobs boils down to the lawsuits/his rants during earnings calls. They might feel that now that someone else is in charge, the lawsuits will abate a bit. Maybe not against touchwiz, or the Galaxy S phones, but against other phones (Transform) that people just scratch their heads about.
In reality though, assuming this "survey" is accurate (I haven't heard of the group either) it's most likely because of all the "My memory of steve jobs" articles going around, and how most sites that run one of those run 5 talking about how this isn't bad for Apple.
But, considering this is a "hot button" topic right now, and we've never heard of this group, I'm guessing it's mainly just a fluff piece cooked up by the groups PR to try and get their name out there.
Angst with Steve Jobs is only from the anti Apple geek squad who like to have geeky conversations about geek stuff that isn't from Apple. For 99% of the rest of the world Steve Jobs is someone they notice when he is in the MASS media. 99% of people (making an over generalisation here) do not care about the machinations of the tech world. So no I do not agree that 'most android users' had contention with Steve Jobs - they just used an Android phone. And most of them successfully make phone calls on them - that's all they care about, not like 'us' who appreciate functionality and elegance and quality and....
I think the reality is that there is a 'halo' effect and when coupled with the 'my memory of Steve Jobs' articles this generates a positive attribution towards Apple.
Apple is now TOO BIG to fail! Thanks Steve!
When the financial sector collapsed and the government (the one that talks about small government) propped up the banks. They said of some of them ... " they are TOO BIG to fail"
the key words here are 'TOO BIG'
In this case it is not that Apple is TOO BIG to fail, rather Apple has a cultural paradigm that will more likely see it succeed. Also Apple never talks about itself in the negative, only the positive - M$ does the opposite.
...a daily tracking survey has found that consumer perception of Apple actually improved following the resignation of Steve Jobs.
The survey asks adults if they had heard something about a company -- in this case, Apple -- in the last two weeks. That number grew 17 percent over the past two weeks, propelled by Jobs' announcement that he would step down as CEO, but remain chairman of the board at Apple.
That's not 'perception.' Perception is 'what' or 'how' you think of something.....not whether you've simply heard of it.
Brand perception is what you think of a particular brand or company -- good reputation, bad reputation....
My perception of Apple went up with Jobs' resignation. He's a brilliant guy, but also a prick. Let's hope future Apple leadership is more gracious.
Steve retired, uncertainty was reduced.
But it was a partial retirement, so he's still kind of there - so there is no vacuum.
Further, the uncertainty about Apple's eventual succession plan was reduced.
Big deal! As an advertiser for many years, I can tell you that there is a direct correlation between exposure and appreciation. Unless the reason for the exposure is very very negative, the exposure and appreciation needles always move together on the dashboard.
A very good observation.
Not a dig at Steve, just a recognition of how solid Apple really is with or without him.
My perception of Apple went up with Jobs' resignation. He's a brilliant guy, but also a prick. Let's hope future Apple leadership is more gracious.
Never met the man myself. I always wondered about those stories that said he was a prick. It's good to hear from someone who knew Steve personally so that the rest of us now know that they are true.
If anything the biggest contention most android users had with Steve Jobs boils down to the lawsuits/his rants during earnings calls. They might feel that now that someone else is in charge, the lawsuits will abate a bit. .
Dream on. Its typical of an immature community such as android fanatics to simplistically believe that one person can be the source and target of their anger.
The lawsuits are not a product of Steve's ravings, but of a logical corporate decision to do the due diligence of defending their intellectual property from a group of companies who couldn't come up with an original idea until it literally bit them on the ass.