A lesson on prestige pricing and integrated communications.

On September 9, Apple just launched the new iPhone Duo — its first foldable phone — and the critics didn’t wait. On one side, foldable phones have existed since 2019, when Samsung released the original Galaxy Fold, the device that first popularized the category. And the price of the new iPhone Duo is $1,999 for the base 256GB model, while its direct competitors — the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold — are cheaper than Apple’s alternative, starting around $1,899.99 and $1,579 respectively. What’s more, both competitors arguably offer stronger specs on paper. Google’s foldable includes a dedicated 5x optical zoom telephoto lens that Apple’s doesn’t have, while Samsung’s is noticeably lighter and thinner. It’s a pattern we’ve seen before — the same way an iPhone often trails a Samsung Galaxy Ultra on camera specs, year after year.

Image source: Apple.com

Apple keeps selling and remaining a reference point in the market, they’re the ones who effectively set market prices. And the reason is simple: strong brand image works. Apple has reached the point in customers’ minds where people are loyal enough to keep buying because they trust the quality and status the brand guarantees — they don’t care about the price anymore, and that’s something its competitors have never quite achieved.

When a brand reaches that level of reputation, it can apply what in marketing we refer to as prestige pricing. Prestige pricing is when brands get to charge prices for items that probably don’t cost what they’re charging you — but they can do it because you’re not just purchasing an item, you’re purchasing the values behind that item. And that’s exactly where the line is: you can only charge that premium if you’ve done the work to earn it. People aren’t going to pay it if they don’t believe that what you’re delivering is more than just a product.

And Apple is the perfect example of this. They’re the reference point in every market they compete in, and their competitors envy the kind of top-of-mind thinking Apple generates in customers.

But you can’t charge customers a premium just because you have a good marketing strategy — just by saying you’re premium, or that you offer status. You can only charge that premium if you have integrated communications, where the concept of how you want your brand to be perceived is extended consistently through every channel that comes in contact with customers.

And let me tell you something: I’m 90% sure the new iPhone Duo is going to be a hit, and people are going to buy it — even though it’s the most expensive alternative, and probably not the one with the best performance compared to its competitors.

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