The Communicative Company

Value Promise and Communication

Reflecting on our previous discussions, let us once again consider the essence of a brand:

1. A brand is fundamentally a bond — a connection between a company and its stakeholders.
2. This bond is built upon a mutual promise — the value promise — established through reciprocal communication.
3. Such a strong mutual promise (i.e., the brand) enables a quasi-monopoly in the market and sustains ongoing purchasing behaviour.
4. Consequently, brands are increasingly recognised as vital intangible assets.
5. The value promise must be continuously and holistically aligned across all corporate activities.

Brand building, from a management perspective, involves intentionally, systematically, and strategically orchestrating communication to strengthen and deepen this mutual promise.

Brand as Communicated Value Promise
A brand only truly exists when the value promise is exchanged — communicated and shared — between the company and its stakeholders.
But what exactly is communication in this context?
It extends far beyond advertising or public relations, encompassing a broad spectrum of media — such as products, retail environments, pricing, key influencers, and word-of-mouth — as well as corporate activities like sales approaches and social responsibility initiatives.

Drawing on Claude Shannon’s communication theory, communication can be described as follows:
・The sender (the company) encodes the message (the value promise) into symbols.
・These symbols are transmitted through media and decoded by the receiver’s cognitive structures.
・The receiver then interprets the symbols into meaning, reconstructing the brand image in their mind.
・This process is interactive: the receiver responds with feedback (perceptions or purchasing behaviour) back to the sender.
Communication as a Pillar of Brand Building

The mechanisms of encoding, transmission, decoding, and feedback constitute the core processes of communication.
How an organisation designs and manages these processes becomes the second fundamental pillar of brand building, alongside the value promise itself.

Apple’s Revival: “Think Different” and the iMac

In 1975, Steve Jobs, then just 20 years old and fresh out of high school, sold his beloved Volkswagen to fund a new venture. In his family garage, he and a friend began manufacturing and selling computer kits — marking the birth of Apple Computer.

In 1979, Jobs visited Xerox PARC, located near his home. There, he encountered the Alto — a pioneering personal computer featuring a graphical user interface (GUI) controlled by icons and a mouse. This was revolutionary: until then, computers operated only through complex command-line inputs. The Alto’s user-friendly design delighted Jobs and inspired Apple’s next moves.

Soon after, Apple developed and launched the Macintosh, named after a variety of apple. Leveraging intuitive usability, innovative ideas, and robust investor backing,

Macintosh quickly grew to become the standard in US home computing — later hailed as one of the 20th century’s most important consumer products.

In 1983, to strengthen Apple’s management, Jobs recruited John Sculley, then president of PepsiCo, to become Apple’s CEO. Under Sculley’s leadership, Apple rapidly expanded its product line. However, the company faltered amid economic downturns by 1985. Jobs was held responsible for product delays and, in a dramatic turn, was ousted from the company he had founded — at just 30 years old.

Subsequently, Apple’s fortunes declined steadily. But in 1997, twelve years later,

Steve Jobs returned to a company on the brink of collapse.

That autumn (September 1997, or January 1998 in Japan), Apple launched a bold new message: “Think Different.”
The campaign featured luminaries such as Pablo Picasso and Maria Callas on screen, narrated by actor Richard Dreyfuss:
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world — are the ones who do."

This declaration was Jobs’ rallying cry to reinvigorate Apple’s global community of young, passionate users and to unite its fragmented workforce after years of layoffs and turmoil. The campaign reaffirmed Apple’s core promise, inspiring stakeholders worldwide.

The goal was clear: rekindle the passion and soul of Apple’s founding; celebrate those who think creatively and differently; give employees courage to move forward and unify their fractured spirits.

The “Think Different.” campaign dominated billboards, buses, and public spaces globally — a masterclass in publicity strategy that demanded differentiation in both expression and media.
Apple’s corporate symbol was simplified from a rainbow-coloured logo to a single colour, and the company’s brand logo became inseparable from the “Think Different.” statement — the statement itself becoming a symbol.

Six months later, Apple unveiled the iconic iMac.
The company abandoned its complex, sprawling product line in favour of a single, streamlined home computer model. Priced affordably between ¥120,000 and ¥180,000, the iMac was designed for casual use and made to fit tastefully on living room tables. Apple also pioneered direct online sales through its website.

Simultaneously, Apple introduced the G3 — a brand aimed at professional users.
Within a year, Apple achieved a miraculous turnaround, regaining profitability and restoring its place as an industry innovator.

Elements of Brand Building: The Branding Mix

Within the dramatic story of Apple’s revival, we can observe how the company effectively communicated its value promise and orchestrated brand reconstruction.

Firstly, Apple sharply focused its product strategy on delivering a “fun and accessible home computer” — its core value promise. Pricing and sales methods were aligned under the keyword “easy from home”, incorporating features that enabled users to enjoy video editing and web communication in a domestic setting.

The design embraced contemporary sensibilities with a translucent casing that appealed especially to women and young consumers.

For a consumer electronics manufacturer, the product itself is the greatest medium. Apple’s innovative functionality, distinctive packaging, bold pricing, and design were indispensable. Without transforming its products, Apple’s revival would have been impossible.

Secondly, Apple launched a striking corporate brand campaign that powerfully communicated and reaffirmed the company’s unique intrinsic values — long forgotten — thereby establishing a corporate brand platform upon which its products could firmly stand.
Several key considerations underpinned the success of these campaigns:

A Clear and Compelling Statement

Apple’s “Think different.” became a universally admired articulation of the company’s unique values. This iconic declaration transcended mere advertising to become a social phenomenon.
In an era where identity is sought both by organisations and individuals alike, the campaign emphasised the importance of thinking differently and discovering one’s authentic self.

Emotional Expression

The brand expression deliberately prioritised sensory experiences over verbal messaging, relying heavily on striking visuals to engage the audience’s senses and create a new aesthetic atmosphere.
While computers are fundamentally logical machines — dealing with data and information — Apple sought to foreground emotion and sensory connection.
Fittingly for the broadband age, the campaign experimented with novel forms of expression using video and three-dimensional media, inviting audiences to truly experience the brand’s world.

Masterful Use of Media Mix

Apple employed a judicious mix of media, utilising essential mass media channels alongside highly visible out-of-home advertising in public spaces.

A distinctive element of their strategy was the innovative use of publicity — deliberately deploying campaigns in unexpected and unconventional locations as a core policy.
This approach reflected a long-term commitment.

Even after the success of the iMac, the “Think different.” campaign has continued globally, adapting to new audiences and locations, aiming to inspire and enlighten people. Steve Jobs stated his intention for these campaigns to run for a decade, embedding the message deeply within society.
It is only through sustained, consistent communication over the long term that brand recognition and emotional resonance can be cultivated across multiple generations.

Brand revitalisation is fundamentally about placing the value promise at the core and transforming the company into a communicative enterprise.
The key lies in how these elements are skillfully tailored and blended — the branding mix — in response to changing circumstances, serving as the critical driver of corporate revitalisation through brand leadership.

Management Systems and Strong Will

Subsequently, Steve Jobs served as interim CEO almost without remuneration, dedicating himself to rebuilding Apple’s management through brand revitalisation, effectively bridging a twelve-year gap.
Behind this brand renaissance lay a rationalisation of management systems — encompassing logistics, production, sales, and human resources — all lessons learned from past failures.

Equally crucial to this success was Jobs’ unwavering commitment to Apple’s value promise, a conviction he had maintained since he was twenty. This strong resolve manifested in continuous, reciprocal communication with all stakeholders — employees, customers, retailers, shareholders, society, and educators alike.