Call it the Steve Jobs Factor.
Public perception of the Apple brand is currently at a 2-year high in the US.
Apple is riding a surge that began in early June when iCloud was unveiled at their Worldwide Developers Conference, plateaued for a month when Steve Jobs resigned as CEO, and has been on the upswing since his death.
Going back as far as January 2010, YouGov BrandIndex’s Tech Product Sector Average has not come close to Apple’s scores and as a matter of fact, has slowly been declining over that time period. It’s conceivable to think other tech brands are losing perception ground at the expense of Apple’s expanding relationship with consumers. The Tech Product Sector Average is made up of 15 major brands that compete with Apple on all product fronts, ranking from Sony, Microsoft, Samsung and LG to BlackBerry, Toshiba and HTC.
Apple and the brands that make up the Tech Product Sector Average were measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Impression Score. The Impression score is determined from asking respondents: "Do you have a general positive or negative feeling about the brand?"
YouGov BrandIndex measurement scores range from 100 to -100 and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback.
Apple’s impression score is currently 47 versus the Tech Product Sector Average score of 27.2. The highest the Tech Product Sector Average’s impression score has been since January 1, 2010 was in early March of that year with 31.8.
Apple’s recent upwelling began this past June 1st, when it started at a 35.4 impression score, making its way up to 43.6 on August 16th. When Steve Jobs passed away, Apple’s impression score was 42.6 and it is now 47.
