What’s Their Secret? How These Two Brands Are Still Looking Great at 50
It’s April 1st 1976.
Concorde had just taken its maiden flight, Studio 54 was the place to be and ‘All the President’s Men’ ruled the box office.
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The world was still analogue; people read newspapers, bought records, and talked (I know!) on phones plugged into the wall.
The story starts fifty years to the day in a dusty, half-empty Santa Clara garage. Two young men in flares, fresh out of college, no money but a head full of ideas, went into business together – and changed our lives forever.
The two young men in question were Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and they founded the biggest tech company of our time: Apple.
A few years ago, I watched the ‘Woz’ in action at a university event on a Florida campus as he unpacked his time at Apple. It was inspiring to hear about the early days, but the real takeaway was his quick humour, his even quicker brain and his authenticity. Though they didn’t always get on, you can see how he and the other Steve were such a great team.
The Art of Storytelling
From the iPod to the iPhone to the iPad, Woz’s engineering brilliance and Jobs’ branding genius are the stuff of legend. The Apple logo, one of the world’s most identifiable symbols, has come to define our era.
Storytelling has always been central to the company’s success. Story is in their DNA. Even today, their Instagram bio simply says: “Everyone has a story to tell.” That’s it. No further explanation needed. The Apple brand in six words.
Jobs, ever the visionary, genuinely believed in the power of storytelling to forge an emotional connection between brands and audiences. He had it down to an art.
It doesn’t just sell phones. It sells connection. We keep going back because we’ve bought into their story. It’s more than a company. It’s an identity. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a story.
From the first days of Apple, you could see the story take shape. Look at this classic 1984 Super Bowl ad. He instinctively knew that the cool, rebellious image and bold messaging would make it stand out from the ‘grey’ IBM, which dominated tech at the time.
Jony Ive, Apple’s genius head of design, took them to the next level. He made products that were simple, user-friendly and easy on the eye. The sleek products were state-of-the-art, yes, but they also resonated with consumers on an emotional level, exactly as Jobs wanted (probably demanded, as he was known for being an incredibly hard boss).
It was a match made in heaven: A powerful brand story paired with brilliant cutting-edge design.
That’s exactly how Apple conquered the world.
And they’re in good company. Look at who else turned 50 recently.
“The Spanish Are Coming”
Zara was born in late 1975 in a small town in Northern Spain.
Also, rocking a cool, sexy look (like Apple), she is one of the most successful stories in High Street fashion.
From humble beginnings in La Coruña, Zara is now the world’s biggest fashion retailer. It’s owned by Inditex, which also runs chains like Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear. Northern Spain is one of the country’s big economic hubs. Banking giant Santander also hails from the region.
Zara is very much a rags-to-riches story. Now a recluse in his nineties, the founder, Amancio Ortega, came from a poor background as a delivery boy from a small village, leaving school at 13 to work as a tailor.
They’ve stayed close to their roots. Zara is still largely a family affair. The company is majority-owned by them, and his daughter, Marta, is now the chairperson. And home is still La Coruña, where their global HQ is based.
Their brand’s core values are perfectly expressed through a sense of family and a strong, ongoing connection to where they came from.
Shopping – But Not as We Know it
Like Apple changed the way we communicate, Zara has changed the way we shop.
They did it by breaking the rules.
Ortega’s philosophy was simple: “The most important thing is to be close to the customer and understand their needs.”
Zara didn’t follow the industry norm. It went against the tide of sourcing clothes from far-flung locations and low-cost factories in the Far East and instead did everything much closer to home.
Just over half of its clothes are made in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Turkey.
This meant it could respond much faster to the latest trends and drop new items into stores every week. Its rivals, stuck in their old ways, couldn’t keep up with the dizzying speed and array of lines. Its designs go from conception to hanging on store racks around the world in as little as three weeks!
Its logistics operation also sets them apart: Every item is packaged and dispatched from its distribution centres in Spain or the Netherlands. That’s how they keep a close eye on product quality control and respond so quickly to changing trends and shifting customer demand.
The Secret Sauce
In many ways, both brands have followed very similar playbooks. Simplicity, innovation, quality control, and boldness. Oh, and of course, great products.
Both threaded an air of mystery into their brand story. Zara doesn’t advertise in the traditional sense and rarely gives interviews. The Zara brand lets the quality and value of its clothes do the talking.
Steve Jobs was obsessed with keeping his new products secret until their big unveiling. And to this day, that secrecy culture is still very much in place. Whether it’s a new iPhone or a new MacBook, Apple builds its whole year around its big launch events and goes to great lengths to keep them under wraps until they go ‘live’.
They’re the absolute GOAT when it comes to putting on a show. Their month of 50th celebrations has seen Alicia Keys at the Grand Central Apple Store, Mumford & Sons at Battersea Power Station, and if the rumours are true, a former Beatle called Paul will take centre stage later for the biggest show of them all!
Future Fitness and Brain Drain
We don’t want to spoil the party. Even for the superagers, ageing comes with some unwanted knock-on effects.
Looking ahead, both companies face significant future challenges as the business landscape changes.
From OPPO to Samsung, Apple has a host of smaller, more nimble rivals eating away at its market dominance.
Like it or not, the next generation of devices is being developed around AI. All the tech bros are betting big and hard on AI’s success.
Yet, surprisingly, Apple, so famous for innovation, is falling behind other tech giants in the AI race, having lost some key talent to competitors. About a dozen of its top researchers left, and in an unprecedented executive exodus, its head of AI and the leader of its foundation models team have also recently departed.
While Meta, Google and Microsoft are innovating rapidly in this space, Apple is playing catch-up in terms of functionality, integration and contextual understanding. Zuckerberg is relentlessly aggressively focused/obsessed on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and Apple’s ability to retain its best minds is being sorely tested.
The competition is also heating up for Zara. The main threat is from China. From online ultra-fast outfits like Shein, Temu, and the Chinese version of Zara: Urban Revivo. The Chinese high street retailer is replicating Zara’s winning business model and massively ramping up its global expansion, opening new stores all over Europe.
Their environmental impact is another big risk. The critical issue of sustainability for fast-fashion brands and the waste they send to landfills can’t be downplayed.
It’s hard to get your head around. The fashion industry as a whole churns out a staggering 100 billion garments a year (2021). Over 85% (2016) of them end up in landfills, polluting our air, rivers, and, ultimately, our bodies. According to 2022 data, only 1 per cent is ever recycled into new clothes. That level of overconsumption just isn’t sustainable. Our planet can’t take it.
Zara tries to mitigate the terrible environmental toll through its ‘zerowaste’ in-store recycling schemes. But we all know that’s nowhere near enough.
Tough battles lie ahead. They’ll both have to adapt to survive.
These two trailblazing brands have defined their era. In an age when the lifespan of S&P 500 companies averages 18-20 years, they are enduring brands with compelling stories – though whether they’re still around in 2076 remains to be seen.
Happy 50th, Apple! ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Zara! Every brand has a story. And we can help you tell it. Contact us for a free consultation.
Check out our new post on the power of logos.
