The $ 20 Billion Dollar Man

by John Gerzema on January 4, 2009

News that Steve Jobs is reportedly not attending MacWorld this week, has raised some concern among investors about Apple’s reliance on one individual to sustain its operating performance and company vision. Breaking Views demonstrated how valuable one person can be:

They estimated the worth of each of the core businesses that comprise Apple’s $80 billion in market value:

  • Macintosh - $19 billion
  • iPhone - $17 billion
  • iPod - $14 billion
  • Hardware/Software - $11 billion
  • iTunes - $1 billion

That leaves almost $20 billion dollars unaccounted for, which Jeff Segal argues could be rationalized as ‘The Jobs Premium‘:

Apple is worth more than its parts because it has successfully harnessed the convergence of computers, cell phones and entertainment.

Consumers want brands that are more than a sum of their parts. In The Brand Bubble we detail energized differentiation, the consumer perception of motion and direction.  Brands that have it generate greater loyalty, pricing power and financial return.

There are three dimensions in this new metric:  Vision is thought leadership, corporate culture and values. Invention is tangible product and service experiences. And Dynamism is marketplace conversations and the ability to build and sustain brand communities.

When a brand masters the alignment of its energy, it becomes irresistible to consumers. The logic is that consumers, in acting like investors interrogate a brand from all vantage points for evidence of innovation and whether it is ‘truly aligned’. Irresistible brands outperform the S&P 500 by almost 30% in our modeled fund study.

In the Steve Jobs premium, we see the marketplace reward for unity. Apple has achieved dramatic growth and transformation by organizing its company around its brand. Regardless of function, everyone must think like a marketer, and act in the best interests of the brand.

And it could be said that integrated marketing, when done flawlessly at the enterprise level –  is worth around, say $20 billion dollars. That’s something for every CEO to  mull over.

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Viewing 3 Comments

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    Nice!

    This is about the energy they need to bridge the brands gap Communicational that separates them from their public (communities).

    "Tell me a story, tell me about you, and then i will tell you something about me". Your energy born from people.

    Finally, the communication leaves the awareness to engagement marketing.

    Regards from Chile.
    • ^
    • v
    John,

    Apple has applied, many times, the most important truth about branding: "Always start by getting consumer insights". Indeed, great brands remove the illusion of separation between them and its consumers (incorporating Marketing as an idelogy instead of a tool box).

    Sometimes i think Jobs gets a little carried away though. Just wondering if it can affect Apple's brand equity...

    Excellent article.

    Gabriel Rossi- Brazil
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    John,

    This is absolutely wonderful, you hit the nail square on the head here. To think that a mere ten years ago Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy and utter collapse, and today they are the dominant brand in there sector as well as achieve cult like status. When consumers are quite literally ready to go to blows over a perceived slander of their beloved Mac, iPhone, iPod, etc. you know your brand has reached iconic stature.

    Jobs has set a very high bar for his successor there is no doubt, but I believe that the culture has been so indoctrinated now that should he leave the brand will flourish. Great post, I look forward to reading more.
 

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