Dell vs. Apple

The myth of the silver bullet lives on.  It’s that magic bullet which kills Vampires and other undead.

Today’s silver bullet comes from Dell with their introduction of the Adamo.  It is a high end laptop targeting the consumer.  In other words, this is Dell’s answer to the Apple’s MacBook Air.  Only I don’t think it will work because of the branding.  

Consumers will willingly pay a premium for a MacBook because of the cool factor associated with all things Apple.  (Since I’m using a MacBook Pro, I suppose that means me, too.)

But pay a premium for a Dell?  

Among consumers, the Dell brand has been tarnished for several years.  In 2005 Dell began a series of cost-cutting measures including reducing the quality of customer service. This led directly to a decrease in customer satisfaction and a decline in sales.  Even recent investments in customer service have failed to turn around the brand. 

Simply launching a very cool product is not a silver bullet — it will not revive the Dell brand.  They need to do some heavy work on the narrative of their brand.  That means developing a core metaphor, a compelling story and making the customer experience into a Dell branded experience.  

In this case, the Dell brand is getting in the way of a very cool product.

Oh, and by the way, Adamo is a little too close to Alamo both as a word and as an association.