Is Apple the best brand right now?

There’s lists for everything: Best sports team. Best actor. Best agency. Why not one for brands? The ones that are doing it right, doing it better, doing it longer.

For me, that’s Apple. No, they’re not paying me to say that. I’ve paid them over the years. A lot actually. Having used them from their start, I can’t think of another brand that has melded both its core product and marketing efforts the way Apple has, nor one that has been as influential.

Some might argue that great advertising is all you need to make a brand the best. Not for me. If I keep having a bad experience with your product or service, great ads aren’t going to convince me otherwise. They just won’t. (It may help new customers think it’s good, but that’s another topic.)

Everything about Apple’s brand experience has worked throughout the years, from purchase to use to the eventual servicing issues all products encounter. That’s when a brand shows you how good they are, when things aren’t, well, so good.

Like the other day. Went into an Apple store near me to get my refurb shuffle from last year fixed. (All things considered, my Mac stuff has always held up over the years and this seemed to be nothing complicated.) Signed up to see a tech. Crowded store, but ok, wait your turn after signing up. My name shows up on the plasma behind the desk, then they call you.

Tech: “Sup. What’s wrong with it.”

Me: “Loose jack.”

Tech takes the shuffle, looks up the serial number. My name’s already on file.

Tech: “Under warranty, no problem.”

Five minutes later, new shuffle for free and I’m gone. Cool. Done.

Even their phone tech support works, and is understandable. Apple Store people also know their stuff. If they don’t, they found someone who does.

And it’s not just in providing a tool for us creatives either. It’s other things like iTunes where I came across new radio streams and music I wouldn’t have otherwise. Can’t remember Taco Bell ever doing that for me.

Not trying to be all trippy, but this flows from the Mac itself. Simple. Intuitive. Just like the brand experience. Which starts with a great product. Of course, others may have had a nightmare experience with Apple. I could be way off and maybe people might think Coke is the best brand out there.

So what’s yours?

Tags: advertising, Coke, iTunes, Apple, brands, viral