Apple’s (AAPL) staggering success over the past few years can be attributed to the combination of several key factors. Great leadership is one, great products is another. Apple’s deep pockets and monstrous marketing budget have played an equal role in the company’s success but according to a new report, Apple may be losing its grip on an important demographic.
Among teens, Apple is no longer cool. The news comes from the Buzz Marketing Group, an agency that specializes in youth marketing.
Popularity is always a double-edged sword with teenagers and according to the sentiment observed by Buzz, Apple is now too popular to be popular. Replacing iPhones and iPads as the object of teens’ desire is Microsoft’s (MSFT) Surface tablet and Galaxy smartphones from Samsung (005930).
“Teens are telling us Apple is done,” Buzz Marketing Group’s Tina Wells told Forbes. “Apple has done a great job of embracing Gen X and older [Millennials], but I don’t think they are connecting with Millennial kids. [They’re] all about Surface tablets/laptops and Galaxy.”
If the firm is indeed onto something, a negative trend in sentiment among teens could have a negative impact on Apple’s business in the short-term, but even more so in the long-term as today’s teens age and enter key buying demographics.[bgr-post-bug]
