In marketing luxury real estate, being a
market leader is not always a picnic. Why? As a market leader, you are
often the target of many challengers. Just look at the onslaught of
competition that the icon brand, Apple, is now facing.
Apple is known for consistently
innovating, and introducing entirely new categories of products and
services. The company became the market leader by creating brand new
markets that did not even exist before.
Along comes challenger, Samsung with an
interesting brand strategy. They recently spent over one-half billion
dollars on advertising trying to convince consumers that Apple is now
yesterday’s news with their smart phone slogan, “The next big thing is
already here with The Galaxy S3 and even more recently, the S4.
Essentially, Samsung’s strategy is to
create the perception that Apple is no longer the cool, hip contemporary
brand, “it once was”. Instead, they want consumers to believe that
Apple is now the more conservative heritage brand, not the edgy
contemporary brand. Apple used this very same strategy in their highly
successful advertising campaign comparing Macs to PCs depicting
Microsoft as the stogy heritage brand.
But, one thing is for sure: Apple is
not going to sit on their laurels. Nor, should you if you are the
incumbent market leader in your luxury real estate marketing practice.
Prior to the introduction of the iPhone
in 2007, Blackberry enjoyed its stint as a market leader in smart phones
(especially in corporate America) by combining the Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA) with secure email and some Internet browsing. They were
late to the table in adapting the touch screen and an operating system
to support it, not to mention supporting an eco-system of app
developers.
Blackberry, is finally trying to catch up. Even CEO, Thorsten
Heins, said that Apple’s iPhone is not the state-of-the-art smart
phone it once was. In fact, it’s starting to look a little dusty,
according his Wall Street Journal interview. Is this actually true?
Maybe it is not. But, in our opinion, his remarks reflect a brand
strategy of piggy-backing on Samsung’s attempt to dismiss the reigning
market leader, Apple, as old.
Blackberry
discovered that if you do not keep pace with the speed of innovation,
you could easily be replaced. But, this does not apply only to the world
of high-tech.
On Melrose
Avenue directly across the street from the Pacific Design Center is the
architecturally contemporary home accessories showroom of Robert Kuo,
(pictured above). Originally, Kuo brought the magnificent art of
cloisonné to America, but with a modern twist. He utilized the
influences of Art Nouveau and Art Deco and introduced new shapes and
finishes to this ancient art, which brought him notoriety. His work can
be seen in the National Museum of Taipei and in exclusive international
hotels. Now, his sophisticated designs have taken organic forms.
So, let
this be a lesson to those of you who are market leaders in your luxury
real estate marketing practice. Be complacent at your own risk.
Innovate, Innovate, Innovate!
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