Travel and Talk Travel Apple and the 7Ps of Marketing

Share the Knowledge

Apple and the 7Ps of Marketing

Image 1 – Product

First Iphone 2007. Available at https://www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/apple-iphone-8gb-review/ (Accessed 3 March 2018).

Image 2 – Promotion

Collier, S (2005) Apple 1984 First Macintosh Commercial. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8 . (Accessed 4 March 2018).

Image 3 – Price

Tinsley, M (2010) Available at https://www.engadget.com/2010/09/24/what-10-years-of-apple-did-to-its-main-product/. (Accessed 4 March 2018).

Image 4 – Place

First Apple Stores 2001. Available at https://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2011/11/apple_retail_storefront_gallery.jpg. (Accessed 4 March 2018).

Image 5

Apple Customers with iphones, George Street, Sydney. Photo by Apple (2017). Available at: http://iworld.com/2017/11/03/71628/apple-celebrates-iphone-x-launch-day-as-sales-and-deliveries-begin-around-the-world/. (Accessed 4 March 2018).

Image 6 – Process

Apple Support Twitter page (2018) Available at: https://twitter.com/AppleSupport?lang=en . (Accessed 11 March 2018).

Image 7 – Physical Evidence

Apple Website (2016) Available at: http://geekwebdesigns.com/register-apple-developer/apple-website-2/ (Accessed 11 March 2018).

Task 2

Promotion

One of the focuses of Apple’s promotional strategy is the idea that consumers judge a brand or product on an emotive level (1). Apple uses this idea to try to make customers form an emotional attachment not only to a specific product, but to their entire brand. The themes of innovation, community, fun, and cool are central to their promotional plan. Similarly as Apple markets itself as a premium brand it does not try to compete on price with its competitors which forges the idea that it offers luxury products (2). Moreover the way these products are marketed as a superior brand links into the consumer’s perception of quality and indulgence, and that ownership of their products provides a certain status.

The execution of this strategy has evolved over time in line with consumer needs and practises, advertising culture, and the technological market itself. However the key themes of emphasising Apple’s uniqueness and benefits of its products through simplistic methods, without focussing on specifications or overloading the consumer with jargon are prevalent throughout its adverts. These concepts have arguably not changed since the early print adverts of the early 1980s, through to the more glossy cinematic adverts of today.

Apple’s use of emotion (3) in its promotion, aligned to the innovativeness of its products, has clearly been very effective over time in terms of recognition as one of the world’s most stylish brands and global sales. Apple has managed to establish an emotional connection between its customers and their brand by using both poignancy in its adverts and the use of celebrities we admire. For example in the Romeo and Juliet advert for the iPhone 7 the benefit of dual cameras is sold purely through the feelings aroused by the advert, without explaining a single feature of the product in any details (4).

The way that certain Apple products could be construed as incomplete without another one breeds familiarity in its customers. For example the iPod or iPhone could be deemed obsolete without access to the iStore or to iTunes (5). By using the same functional and design principles this means that the customer knows what to expect, and that each product will be of the same high standard. The concept of an Apple ID that can be used across all different devices under the apple brand also assists build a relationship with the customer that does not end at the purchase of a single product.

From the Ridley Scott directed “Super bowl” advert from 1984 to the slicker, cinematic offerings of today, Apple’s adverts tend not to focus on specifications but how your life will be better as a result of purchasing it (6). The promotion of the product has evolved in line with the technology and the market. For example the early print adverts were instructional to the point of even telling people how to go about buying a pc. Once the product was established Apple needed to show how it was different to its competitors, with the 1984 advert using a sledgehammer to metaphorically obliterate the opposition. The “Think Different” campaign tried to buy into the way people may view themselves perhaps as mavericks or as “the Crazy Ones” by suggesting they could empathise with the misfits and troublemakers depicted in the advert (7).

Similarly in more recent times, Apple’s use of web influencers via social media, rather than traditional television and print advertising, to create hype when a new product is about to launch has frequently led to deluges of excited fans waiting in line for hours to be among the first to purchase the new product (8). Apple’s customers are clearly loyal and receptive to this method of promotion.

The more recent adverts are glossier and more cinematic in scope, with the current iPad advert showing people just looking happy and comfortable using the product. While the visual display may have changed the concept of tapping into people’s emotions remains. Finally, Apple uses humour in its Appocalypse advert which could be taken as a satire on the 1984 Superbowl advert and seems a tongue in cheek jibe at the world that it has in part created. Nonetheless it still taps into the idea of a fun, cool, Apple community.

References

Holland, P (2017). Apple’s Eye Popping History of Visual Story Telling. cnet.com.
16 June 2017. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/news/apples-eye-popping-history-of-visual-storytelling/. (Accessed 11 March 2018).

Yeung, N (2016). The Marketing Strategy of Apple: A concise analysis. versiondaily.com
16 January 2017. Available at: http://www.versiondaily.com/the-marketing-strategy-of-apple-a-concise-analysis/ . (Accessed 11 March 2018).

Patel, N (2018). 7 Key Strategies that you must learn from Apple’s marketing. neilpatel.com. (Publication date not available). Available at: https://neilpatel.com/blog/7-key-strategies-that-you-must-learn-from-apples-marketing/ Accessed 11 March 2018.

Sources

Apple Marketing Analysis Report Marketing Essay. com (Author not available). 23 March 2015. Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/apple-marketing-analysis-report-marketing-essay.php (Accessed 11 March 2018).

Yeung, N (2016). The Marketing Strategy of Apple: A concise analysis. versiondaily.com 16 January 2017. Available at: http://www.versiondaily.com/the-marketing-strategy-of-apple-a-concise-analysis/ . (Accessed 11 March 2018).

WDD Staff (2009). The Evolution of Apple Ads. webdesignerdepot.com. 15 September 2009. Available at: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/09/the-evolution-of-apple-ads/. (Accessed 11 March 2018).

Holland, P (2017). Apple’s Eye Popping History of Visual Story Telling. cnet.com. 16 June 2017. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/news/apples-eye-popping-history-of-visual-storytelling/. (Accessed 11 March 2018).