Advertising Campaign for Apples iPhone in the UK - Essay Example

? Advertising campaign for Apple’s iPhone in U.K. College: Introduction Apple has been in the electronics and computer industry and has in the recent few decades ventured in the music industry. The company has launched several products including iPhone, iPod, iPad and iTune among other products that have greatly increased the company’s market share in United States. The company is headquartered in United States and has its market operations in different overseas market include various countries in America, Europe and Asia, and parts of Africa. In the past few decades, Apple has had various advertisements and has been famous in running excellent advertising campaigns like that of ‘super bowl’, which was a TV commercial in 1984, the ‘Think Different’ of 1990s and the recent ‘iPod People’ among other adverts. This report seeks to develop an advertising campaign for Apple, which will focus on promoting iPhone in U.K. the study will explore Apple (in United Kingdom) and how the company’s brand has performed with the aim of positioning the brand and developing a creative advertising campaign strategy that will target the selected audience and remain effective in realizing the desired objectives (Fill, 2009, p. 41). Brand positioning In creating an effective brand advertising campaign, it is vital that the campaign embodies the brand strategy (Hackley 2005, p. 71). This is enhanced by ensuring that one if clear on the brand strategy and can explicitly decide and identify whether the brand is promising, whether it is well positioned and also its personality (Fill 2009, p. 98). Combining the various elements of the brand strategy helps in driving the advertising campaign for the brand (Hackley 2005, p. 720). Apple is well known for Superior brands like iPhone, iMac and iPod that are associated with great technological innovations. iPhone is an innovative brand with highly innovative features such as the touch screen, which are unmatched by other mobile products and patented. The brand also has several other mobile products’ functions. The other aspect of the brand personality is that it is highly compatible with iMac and iTunes, among other Apple products including Apple TV. iPhone allows the users to have wireless connection to big screen and is compatible with most of the Mac OS software applications. This means that the brand has limitless potential for upgrading (Percy & Elliott 2009, p. 213). The touch screen interface makes operations intuitive while the embedded Mac OSX application enables users to easily recognize the various things that they can do with the gadget. With the iPhone going for $350, this is a reasonable price given the products’ value and the market prices of other smart phones or PDAs in the market. The price is also reasonable given the gadget’s multiple features and makes the gadget competitive in the market. iPhone also provides the most scratch resistant and brightest screens among the current smart phones and its fine metallic finish is light and durable. The included software suit also makes it easy for the users to use the device and increases resistance to virus in PCs. The iPhone brand has a great appeal to customers and has a strongly competitive edge in the market given the various features that define its differential appeal. Apple (U.K) uses product differentiation to position its iPhone brand as convenient, versatile, professional and value-added device. It is therefore possible to create an advertising campaign for iPhone in U.K that will surpass all other competitors including the Microsoft Windows (Hackley 2005, p. 76). Creativity in advertising iPhone The advertising campaign should achieve both sales objective and the communication objectives (Belch & Belch 2008, p. 66). The strategy selected must engage customers and thus enable them to go beyond the advert by encouraging and persuading them to buy the product (Chitty et al 2011, p. 165). Mobile phone market in U.K has different customer segments. Android and iPhone 4 have stretched the smart phone market and driven the mobile advertising being the ideal canvas that allow for interactive experiences. The two products have stretched limits in the smart phone sector of the mobile phone industry and increasingly driven the mobile advertising. Android is currently iPhone’s competitor in both U.S. and U.K. market. Reach innovative and media units have continued to garner consumers’ attention making it possible for consumers to enjoy a click-through access. Consumer behavior in mobile phone sector is a key driver of the sector’s advertising. For instance, about 83% use their mobile phones while at work in their offices, in hospitals, and in stores while others use their phones while in a movie theatre, others while flying on planes or in church services. Most people check their mobile services as the first thing before starting of the day. Advertising to consumers with these characteristics requires the marketers to remain creative and have definite advertising campaign goals in order to execute the campaigns strategically. In developing this campaign strategy, the marketer considers how the consumer will see the ad. This implies that use of videos or static banners that may not be closely related or placed near something that has mobile content will be hectic to achieve the desired objectives. Creative media planning will be essential in attracting the user to the ad experience. Mobile web browsing is also common in today’s busy world. Designing effective web content for the brand will therefore be an effective approach to advertising campaign (Chitty et al 2011, p. 167). The designed media adverts must therefore demonstrate the web experience provided by iPhone. Our advertising campaign will integrate communication messages and visual/audio experience in all the media advertisements the adverts will be designed in a way that they shall demonstrate prominent features like touch screen which differentiate functionality of iPhone from other competitors like Android. The adverts will also emphasize on the brand by associating iPhone with other Apple groundbreaking products such as iPod and iPad. The main approaches selected for product include videos, media adverts and web contents. The media will be used to run a massive TV campaign while videos will be made for sale throughout U.K. market. Different websites will be launched and search engines will also be used in advertising the product. Target audience Knowing the adverts’ target audience is critically important for marketer to develop an effective and successful advertising campaign (Pride & Ferrel 2010, p. 397). Identifying the potential customers prior to the planning of the campaign helps the marketer to identify they approach and the types of adverts that would greatly appeal more to each of the customer segments. This advertising campaign will target consumers who desire to store their information and communicate at any time and at any place or those who wish to receive entertainment at every point or destination. The Apple’s iPhone will target customer segments comprising of students, professionals, entrepreneurs, and corporate users. Currently, the U.K. market for high-end phones such as Android and iPhone is particularly small. The device offers internet, PDA features and video in one device. Smart phone market in U.K is relatively small compared to the general phone market in U.K. or other smart phone markets like U.S. The advertising campaign targets the professional consumer whose need is to stay in touch with the ongoing entertainment while at work (Parente 2000, p. 140). The other consumer need for professional consumers is to record information collected from the entertainment industry while on their duties. The corresponding features that these consumers would benefit from in iPhone include the applications for record keeping and taking notes as well as the e-mail and the instant messaging. The other customer segment targeted by this advertising campaign is the students whose needs include performing various functions within one gadget and the need for individuality and style. iPhone meets such fashion needs. Corporate users needs include access and input of critical data while on the normal duties. Entrepreneurs needs include the need to access contracts, organize them and schedule their details, which requires wireless access of address book and calendar for easy checking of contacts and appointments (Pride & Ferrel 2010, p. 397). Media strategy Media strategy in advertising plays a critically important role, it finds out the appropriate path to deliver the advert message to targeted customers and if well designed, it can have great and long-lasting effects on the particular brand (Yeshin 2010, p. 333). There are various issues that should be considered when designing a media strategy in advertising, the marketer must know how many people that the particular advert targets to reach through reading or hearing the promotional or advertisement offers, which is reflected buy the eventual increase in sales of the advertised service or product. The main intention of adopting a media approach in advertising is to procure customers for the advertised product and place the right message at the right time to the right people. Such a message must be persuasive and must also be relevant. Three key things are crucial in a media strategy; these include where the advert will be run, when it should be launched and run and the media type to be used (Yeshin 2010, p. 333). Where to advertise refers to the geographical area to be advertised to. The place here can refer to radio, TV, blogs, sponsorships, news papers, ads run in movie breaks in theatres and hoarding on roads among others. The timing of the ad must be perfect so that it gives a good reflection in terms of sales generated. A product like iPhone is not affected by seasonal variations. It would not for instance be advisable to show a raincoat advert during winter season but such an ad should be telecast towards the end of summer season. However, it would be advisable to consider timing and how it may relate with people disposable income. For instance, launching the iPhone in January may not realize the desired sales or may take longer to realize the sales given that during this month, parents, students and generally many people are concerned about paying school fees, joining colleges or universities, joining secondary schools and many other things that increase people’s expenditure at the beginning of the year. Timing of iPhone’s advertising campaign will therefore consider timing as an important element in the media strategy. In addition, given that iPhone is not a basic essential but it is considered less essential need, it is advisable in this media strategy that we consider running the ad for a longer period covering about 3 to 4 months. This will ensure that the advert reaches a large number of people who are likely to respond by buying the product. In terms of the media type to be used, two approaches can be adopted. These are media dispersion approach and media concentration approach (Yeshin 2010, p. 333). Media dispersion approach involves using various media categories to advertise. This approach is applied where the marketer is sure that two or one media category will not be sufficient. The marketer can therefore apply categories like radio, TV, mobile messages and internet. In the context of media concentration approach, few media categories are used. The marketer concentrates on the given categories say three or two. This approach is used where the product is highly competitive and the brand is well position. In the context of iPhone’s advertising campaign in U.K., the marketer will focus on media dispersion where different media categories will be used including mobile messages, TV, internet and radio. In selecting the media category used for iPhone, media dispersion is considered more effective given that the product seeks to reach large number of customers from different segments. Mass media selection like radio, newspapers and TV are highly considered. Internet will also be used in running iPhone videos as a way of promoting the product across professional segments and the students. Internet Facebook and Twitter Social networks particularly Twitter and Facebook have become common media categories in running advertising campaigns. Advertisers can make use of Twitter and Facebook to create brand awareness and drive engagement from customers (Torun 2011, p. 5). Twitter and Facebook have played a significant role in driving business growth through getting new customers. Internet will be used in running iPhone adverts across U.K. and also globally. Apple (U.K) will make use of social network sites mainly Twitter and Facebook. A Facebook page will be created for the brand. Facebook is one of the social network sites that have cut across young people and especially professionals who find it a way of relaxing after work duties. Creating a Facebook page will therefore be a good way of advertising iPhone brand to the professional segment (Kelsey 2010, p. 177). There are various Facebook pages for iPhone that have been created particularly by Apple in United States. To be specific, the iPhone Facebook page created will be named ‘iPhone 4 U.K., which is a modification of iPhone. The profile of the ad must be designed in a way that it captures the eyes of the customer. To do this, the profile of this page will have a profile picture of the various features and applications of an iPhone. Such a profile picture will capture the minds of customers who will click on it to identify the various features that the device offers. The Facebook page will give Facebook users the option to like. This Facebook page will also be used to promote the various modifications for iPhone including iPhone 5, which is the latest version of iPhone in the U.K. and U.S. markets. The pictures of iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 will consistently be posted on the wall of the Facebook page and this will give Facebook users the option to identify the various applications and features offered by the device as well as the place where they can get the device and its price (Torun 2011, p. 4). To ensure that this ad reaches the students segment, the administrator of the page will invite various universities and colleges across U.K. that have created their Facebook page and this way the advert will reach students. In addition, the brand will create a brand profile in Twitter and name it iPhone 5, which is also a modification of iPhone brand. According to (Torun 2011, p. 5), Twitter has three tools that are important; these are text messages, instant messaging and software. From these tools customers can get instantaneous information. Users of Twitter can read and send micro entries or the tweets from Twitter website. The profile will have a profile picture showing the various applications and features offered by iPhone 5. This page will appeal to the students as well as the students segments since the two segments are fan of Twitter. The Facebook account and the Twitter account will be linked so that any idea about the product that is shared in Twitter will be displayed on the Facebook page (Blakeman 2011, p. 202). Online videos Various companies especially those that are in the video games and music industry make use of online videos to promote their brands (O’Guinn 2011, p. 515). iPhone applications ad will be run through videos. These videos will display iPhone and its features on the screen and will give internet users the option to click play and replay the video. The video content will present a human finger directing the user on the use of the various applications found in iPhone. The videos will be made available through search engines like Google and Yahoo! and they will be available in the U.K. internet market. The videos will be for free. This strategy will reach all internet users in U.K. including students, professionals and the elderly as well as children who are conversant with internet use. Television and newspaper adverts Television adverts will be developed with persuasive messages that will be effective in reaching the customers and persuading them to buy. Messages like ‘Change your mobile phone experience’, ‘Get iPhone 4’ or ‘Face Time with iPhone 5’ will be used. Such messages will incorporate display of iPhone and its features and they will be personified (Pickton & Broderick 2005, p. 76). A series of iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 commercials will be run through AIT International, which is an entertainment TV. A total of 90 commercials will be run in a period of three months, which implies a commercial break on daily basis. The TV commercial will be run immediately after news, other days the advert will be run just before the news that occur at 9:00 PM and it will also be shot in between entertainments. The TV commercials are expected to be highly persuasive and to make use of the brand’s features and applications in the content (Plessis 2005, p. 183). For instance, an advert could include use of an inspiring artist or musician making use of Siri to purchase a guitar. Such an advert will capture the minds of customers and make them desire to experience the produce and thus buy (Tyagi & Kumar 2004, p. 111). TV adverts when well designed are the most effective since they make use of both audio and visual application in the advert (Cook 2001, p. 103). The selected timing of the advert is suitable since it is the time when people are eager to watch news and it is therefore possible that the advert will reach many people. 9 adverts will also be made through the newspaper in a span of 9 weeks, which will imply running an advert once in a week for that period. News International Ltd will be approached and be requested to run the developed advert for iPhone. The advert will be discussed by the agency and the company and possible corrections be made. The news paper advert will incorporate iPhone displayed on a whole page together with its applications and features indicated by their names. Conclusion This study report has developed an advertising campaign strategy for iPhone, a product of Apple. The report has explored the brand and discussed its various features, its competitiveness and how the brand appeals to the customer. The advertising campaign strategy has defined the targeted audience and the effective media strategy to be applied. Some of the media categories used in developing this campaign strategy include internet advertising avenues like Facebook, Twitter and online videos, which have become common advertising strategies for companies in today’s market (Leiss et al 2005, p. 69). Other media categories include use of TV and newspaper to advertise iPhone. The report has identified some of the critical issues in creating an advertising campaign strategy. 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