Top PC brands 'out of date', as tablets dominate

The global PC market continues to face an identity crisis, as tablets increasingly dominate market share and shake-up traditional notions of brand perception. The latest research has found that astute socio-cultural understanding of each market can make the difference between life or death for a technology brand in geographic regions.

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Approach to perception

"For global high-end technology brands, taking a broad approach to brand perception and positioning can no longer cut it in an increasingly fragmented media market," said consumer behaviour specialist, John Davis.

Vendors are under intense pressure as competition in the tablet sector heats up, not only from rival brands but also from keeping up with the diverse tastes and adoption rates across global markets.

"Marketers' primary tools for shaping public opinion continue to be advertising forms with differentiation pivoting on media choice, timing, targeted distribution and most effectively the content of ads. Brands need to start asking the right questions on brand perception and take deeper dives into the cultural terrain that stimulates brand adoption and sentiment."

The report also reveals that major technology brands are perceived very differently across countries, demonstrating that brand positioning does not always benefit from an understanding of consumers' decision criteria in isolation.

Key findings

• Brand loyalty is tenuous in the PC category across all brands, in all countries and ownership of more than one brand per user is common
• Mobile advertising is the least noticed among all advertising platforms for PC brands. However, the UAE and South Africa are exceptions, giving greater attention to mobile ads
• Quality, modernity and relevance are the significant predictors of brand usage and typically drive brand positioning in this category
• Brands depending on a single message to serve across different countries are failing to optimise their brand and communicate its offerings

"Media planners would like to think that the global consumer market is becoming homogenous but smart brand execution demands that marketers see their global markets as distinct. The company is helping marketers and brands shape their messaging in accordance with global audience demands with custom brand/ad positioning research."

Methodology

The global report was derived from a survey sample of over 7000 demographically balanced respondents from across five chosen countries Australia, Malaysia, India, UAE and South Africa.

The research explored consumer perceptions of five major brands of personal computers Acer, Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Lenovo. The story told by responders helps personal computer advertisers approach these markets with clearer understanding of consumer thinking about the category.

Download a copy of the 'Computer Brand Perceptions: A global perspective' study.