Marketing and Consumption - Essay Example

?Marketing and Consumption Introduction Marketing is defined as the management process whereby goods and services are mainly moved from their conceptto the consumer. Marketing includes the effective coordination of the noble four elements that are referred to as the 4 P’s of marketing. Marketing involves the development, selection and identification of a product, price determination, the implementation and development of the promotional strategy as well as the selection of the most appropriate channel of distribution to reach the consumer’s place (Lamb, et al. 2012). This study will extensively expound on the marketing event that took place on September 10th 2013 by Apple Inc where it launched the lower-cost iPhone 5C which is ‘The most colorful iPhone Yet’ and the iPhone 5S which is dubbed as ‘The Most Forward-Thinking Smartphone in the World’ (CBCnews 2013). Apple Inc is one of the most famous information technology companies, and it is a multinational corporation whose headquarters are based in America, California. Apple Inc is a world renowned for its high-quality products, and it is involved in the sale, development and design of personal computers, computer software and consumer electronics. Apple’s popular hardware products include the iPod music player, the iPad tablet computer, the Mac computers and the iPhone Smartphone (Chazin 2013). September 10th 2013 was a very special day for the Apple Inc company since it was launching two phones that have never been seen in the world ever. iPhone 5C is a lower-cost iPhone since Apple has been known to produce very expensive products due to its market niche as well as a good reputation that has lasted many years since the creation of the company in 1976. Thus, its products have been known to be very expensive as compared to similar products that try to rival Apple’s products (Apple 2013). Not only is the iPhone 5C lower in cost but also the most colorful iPhone to be manufactured in the world. The iPhone 5C is available in five different colors, which are white, pink, yellow, blue and green. It also has live photo filters, 8-mega pixel camera and a rear cover, which lights up (iPhone 2013). The iPhone 5s is the most forward-thinking Smartphone that has ever created in the World, and it is also the most advanced iPhone in the World. It is the first Smartphone with 64-bit technology that provides blazing-fast performance, especially when editing photos, launching apps or when playing graphic-intensive games. The iPhone 5s delivers desktop class architecture on the palm of the customer’s hand (iPhone(a) 2013). My selection is relevant to marketing since Apple Inc is a world-renowned company and, therefore, any marketing launch that it organizes has to be covered by all the media in the world due to its attraction of many customers. The chosen marketing event for this study is an excellent example of marketing since there are various lessons that can be learnt from the event. It is paramount to note that Apple had already conducted a marketing awareness program that it will be launching the two phones and there was a humongous response worldwide from many people who wanted to purchase the iPhones firsthand (AppleEvents 2013). The marketing event had attracted very prominent people from all corners of the world since they wanted to know what other new-product Apple had created. It is worth noting that Apple Inc has a long history with its co-founder, the late Steve Jobs and therefore, after his demise, many people thought that the company would not survive in business for long. Therefore, this marketing event was an attraction since people wanted to get a grip of the two new products (TheGuardian 2013). The marketing event was conducted in a very organized and colorful manner that was valuable to any person with a passion for marketing since there were numerous concepts that could be learnt. From the invitation cards to the colorful event, all aspects had what an excellent marketing event should endeavor to practice (Apple 2013). The marketing issues that are at stake on this Apple Inc marketing event include the competitors having a chance to sample the Apple’s marketing strategies and the competitors knowing who are Apple’s customers whereby they can take advantage of this event to get contacts which they can later use to market their own products to these customers. Other marketing issues that are at stake include the various possibilities that could take place and ensure that the marketing event fail to take place. This includes power failure during the climax of the marketing event, the unforeseeable events such as one of the key people in the marketing event falling ill and staff sabotage on the main day (Burrow et al. 2009). There is also the probability of Apple’s competitors stealing the creation secrets about the two phones and then going ahead to manufacture the same phones and launching the same phones some days before Apples’ marketing event. This could lead to a big marketing blow to Apple since it will not be able to market the two products, and it will have to go back to the drawing board to create another product. This could also lead to huge financial losses for the company and a blow to Apple’s long reputation. There is also the possibility of lack of funds to hold the marketing event as the last minute due to unforeseeable circumstances as well as media houses could decide to sabotage the event. Another marketing issue at stake is concerned with the actual customers who can decide to respond negatively towards the two products as well as the channels of distribution that have been chosen may fail to reach the two products to the customers (Russell 2008). The above-mentioned marketing issues, which can be at stake, are possible since any marketing event is vulnerable to unforeseeable incidences and hiccups. Recent research by authoritative authors has shown that nearly 95% of all marketing events that are held experience a number of marketing issues that are stake despite various buffers being put in place to ensure that they do not happen. Thus, it is worth noting that no matter how prepared a marketing event is, incidences of marketing issues will always surface and there is need to have a plan B during the preparation of any event (Spalton 2010). In accordance to Preston (2012), marketing issues that are stake in a marketing event mainly affects various people since a marketing event is a coordination of various bodies such as the stakeholders, regulators, individuals and firms. The firm performing the marketing event is directly involved in case such marketing issues were to take place since it represents the main face of the marketing event. This has a huge repercussion on the firm since it can dent the overall image of the firm. In addition, any marketing issues that may arise although the damage is not as much as compared to the damage on the hosting firm also directly affect the firm that is mainly organizing the marketing event. Any marketing issues that may arise during the event also affect the key individuals involved in organizing the marketing event. In case of any breaches of stipulated regulations and legislation, then the regulators involved in such marketing events are directly involved since they could have laid down stringent regulations to ensure that such incidences would not have occurred. Stakeholders in this particular study involve the people who wholly depend on the marketing event for their survival, and they involve employees of various firms, the key organizers as well as the public relations personnel involved. Thus, these stakeholders risk losing their jobs, face demotions or even risk being sued in a court of law (Jackson 2013). Conclusion In conclusion, there are numerous lessons that can be learned from the selected marketing selection. Among these lessons, include the valuable lessons on how to handle marketing issues that are at stake in any marketing event. From Apple’s marketing event, the company had elaborately put various measures to ensure that such incidences were handled effectively without the public ever getting to know that they had occurred. A special team had been set up to monitor the event prior to holding the event, and on the actual day so that any unforeseeable aspects were dealt with amicably. Marketing professions have a lot to learn from this particular event since it attracts worldwide attention whereby the marketing event is also done in an excellent and the standards used for these marketing events, especially by Apple are of world class. It is no doubt that no marketing profession would want to miss such marketing events by Apple since they act as a revelation to them. Reference List Apple, 2013. Hot News. [online] Available from < http://www.apple.com/hotnews/ >. [22 October 2013]. AppleEvents, 2013. Apple Special Event. September 10, 2013. [online] Available from < http://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2013/ >. [22 October 2013]. Burrow, J., & Bosiljevac, J., 2009. Marketing. Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage Learning. CBCnews, 2013. Apple unveils 2 new iPhones including cheaper model.[online] Available from < http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/apple-unveils-2-new-iphones-including-cheaper-model-1.1700973 >. [22 October 2013]. Chazin, S 2013. Marketing Apple.[online] Available from < http://www.marketingapple.com/ >. [22 October 2013]. iPhone(a), 2013. iPhone 5S. [online]Available from < http://www.apple.com/iphone-5s/ >. [22 October 2013]. iPhone, 2013. iPhone 5C. [online] Available from < http://www.apple.com/iphone-5c/ >. [22 October 2013]. Jackson, N. A., 2013. Promoting and marketing events: theory and practice. New York, Routledge. Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & Mcdaniel, C. D., 2009. Marketing. Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage Learning. Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & Mcdaniel, C. D., 2012. Essentials of marketing. Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage Learning. Preston, C., 2012. Event marketing: how to successfully promote events, festivals, conventions, and expositions. Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons. Russell, E., 2008. The fundamentals of marketing communication. Lausanne, AVA Academia. Spalton, P., 2010. Marketing secrets. London, Collins. TheGuardian, 2013. Apple sets September 10 as the day that iPhones get cheap and cheerful. Available from < http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/03/apple-iphone-marketing-campaign-invitation >. [22 October 2013]. Read More