Marketing Principles and Practices at Apple Inc - Essay Example

? Marketing Principles and Practices- Apple Inc Apple Computer Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak on April 1, 1976. Apple computer struggled to start its operations due to lack of funds. All the same, the dedication of the founders with the help of Ron Wayne, a former Steve Job’s colleague, saw them assemble 50 Apple I personal computers in just about 10 days. After a while, Ron Wayne considered the venture too risky and sold off his share. Jobs and Wozniak continued with the work of building the company and soon their dedication started to pay off. Towards the end of the 1970s, Apple was slowly being recognized through its distinctive logo. It also started to employ more designers who made up an efficient production line that produced Apple II computers (Lusted, 2012.p.100). Apple II computers were one of the most successful micro PCs. In 1984, Apple released the Macintosh. The next flagship product was launched in 1998, the iMac, which remains the fastest-selling PC in history. Since then, the company has released other technology dictating products such as the iBooks and PowerBooks. At the turn of the century (early 2000s), Apple shifted its focus to design and production of mobile electronic devices. In 2001, the first mobile electronic device was released, the iPod. The iPod which was a palm sized music player became the best selling portable music player in history. Another defining moment came in 2007, besides the change of name to Apple Inc. the company also released the cutting edge iPhone and the iPod Touch. Shortly after, in 2010, Apple launched the iPad. By 2012, Apple had become an iconic brand and one of the most popular cool brands (Gogerly, 2012.p.21). It is important to note that the success of Apple Inc. has not been without major challenges. It is documented that after the success of the Apple I and the Apple II home computers, Apple struggled to remain a viable company, especially after the resignations of its founders. After financial failures such as the Apple Lisa and the Newton PDA, it was not until Steve Jobs rejoined the company that it found its niche, both with computers and other electronic products (Lusted, 2012 .p.100). Presently, Apple’s products have changed the way people all over the world access technology, communicate, and entertain themselves. These aspects have become synonymous with the company that it becomes hard to think of them and not think about Apple Inc. With the launch of the iPod that set up Apple Inc. in the 21st Century Apple became one of the hottest companies in youth culture. According to cool hunters, these are researchers who track buying trends among young people, Apple has continually surfaced in their conversations (Kahney, 2005.p.62). One of the major reasons explaining the appreciation of Apple was the fact that most celebrities whom the young perceive as cool use its products. The company’s slick advertising has also helped raise its profile and contribute to the cool image. Besides the cool image to the youth, Apple Inc. has been able to produce products for everyone. What Apple ‘means’ to most people is a combination of ever-advancing technology and a certain elegance of design and function (Middleton, 2012.p.16). In return, Apple products are pleasing to the eye and to the touch, as well as being simple and generally intuitive in the way they work (Middleton, 2012.p.16). Apple has a reputation for leading-edge technology and attention to detail, particularly style detail. Very few other brands generate such interest and inspire the number of brand ambassadors that Apple does. Apple customers believe that the company really cares about the way the use the technology and about the way people look while using the technology (Masterson & Pickton .p.431). Brand Concept-Apple Inc. The concept of a brand leaves its own mark-a signature-that imparts its own meaning. It is this concept which is generally the force behind brand creation. A brand without its own unique signature would just not be able to break away from commodity status. It may achieve hollow differentiation for some time, but ultimately it would slide back into being just a commodity. In a general way, a computer is a computer (Gogerly, 2012.p.21). But what distinguishes Apple from the rest? This distinction is primarily due to Apple’s brand concept, the sleek look and user friendliness of the company’s products. Today, it is not enough to come up with one-dimensional definitions such as ‘line extension’, the actual progress and value of a brand comes from ‘concept extensions’. Traditionally, it is believed that line extensions downplayed the original brand positioning by attenuating it in the minds of the stakeholders. The contemporary consideration of concept brands helps affirm it by adding rather than taking away, from the original concept (Kahney, 2005.p.62). As an example, having the word Doom to define Rattex, an established brand, does not help the brand but is in a way a means of undermining the standings of both brands and subtracting their independent values (Grams, 2012.p.43). It is clear that such additions help improve revenue generation at a lower cost, but the idea of concept branding provides a much better way of doing that. Concepts brands are brands whose perceptual value supersedes that of the industry definition. For instance, when one thinks of Toyota they think of automotives, in this case, the concept behind the brand is bigger than any provided definition. In our case, Apple is perhaps the most outstanding example of brand concepts, what Apple is in the minds of stakeholders is larger than any specific application it produces, whether PCs, music, iPads etc. Before the launch of Apple Television, skeptics were unsure of what this would mean to the existing products (Parameswaran, 2006.p.33). However, the meaning “Apple” had in the minds of consumers superseded the particular application a factor that meant people will look beyond this one application and go for the other features, quality and sleek values (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2008.p.193). This meaning has also helped create exponential value for the brand; this is because the best techies want to work for the company, they want to do applications to run on the company’s products and all these help enhance the utility of the brand, in turn this augments the brand’s value. The ultimate result of such incremental growth is unmatched value represented by brand Apple and this has enhanced its capacity to generate present and future revenue. Apple’s Inc. Brand Identity The concept of brand as identity has attracted interest of researchers in marketing, organizational behavior and strategy. As quoted by Chernatony (2012), Hatch and Schultz (2000) defined brand identity as the distinctive or central idea of a brand and how the brand communicates this idea to its stakeholders. Particularly when the organization brands its offering with its corporate name, or the brand is strongly endorsed by the corporation, this involves a lot of internal “soul searching” to understand what the firm stands for and how it can enact the corporate values across all its range (Paley, 2013.p.165). Managers and staff become engrossed in surfacing consensus above who the organization is and what it stands for. Apple Inc. believes in increasing people’s productivity through challenging inborn resistance to change. Its visual corporate identity of the bitten apple epitomizes this; communication is not directed just at consumers, but also at staff, so that they can appreciate how they must behave to be the embodiment of the brand (Chernatony, 2012.p.54). Undoubtedly, Apple has gained a sustainable product leadership advantage through their innovative designs and superiority of their products combined with customer-centric applications. Furthermore, Apple Inc’s corporate brand identity is of crucial importance for customers and their intimacy, because trust and satisfaction are important parts of gaining a close relationship to the company as Apple is among the high-technology companies with the most loyal customers (Bach, 2007 .p.16). The intimate relationship between Apple Inc. and its customers, and which has become the base of the company’s brand identity, is cultivated through the creation of appeal, desire and trust. The company’s core emotional attitude “think differently” resonates well with every product the company releases to the market. The resultant emotional bond has helped create an unmatched perception of the brand across the globe and thence its identity (Bach, 2007.p.16). There is no single product released by Apple that can be regarded as failing to exemplify this visions of “thinking differently”, each of the product since the turn of the 21st century has crossed the three vast domains of computing, music and telecommunication. All these products ensure a dedicated following among Apple fans. Central to this identity are three main areas which Apple inc. has continually dedicated its workforce to improve. These areas are; design and appeal. Design There is not much in the public domain regarding Apple’s design process, however, interviews by key people such as Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of design at Apple and a major figure in the development of iPod and iMac sheds light into the company’s design doctrine. In one of his interviews, held at Design Museum, Britain, Ive described Apple’s design process as guided by two qualities, ease and simplicity of use (Temporal, 2010). At the same interview, Ive talked of the company’s insistence on caring beyond the functional imperative; acknowledging that products have significance beyond traditional views of function. To illuminate on this point, he referenced on the handle of the iMac, he noted that “while the primary function is obviously associated with making the product easy to move, a compelling part of its function is the immediate reference it creates with the customer by unequivocally referencing the hand” (Temporal, 2010). Apple’s capacity to exude exuberance, an important aspect of creating the emotional connection with customers, goes beyond its products. Apple’s retail store is an experience in itself and has often been described as the “Nordstorm of Technology” (Temporal, 2010). On entering an Apple store, one realizes how the entire retail concept connects with the wider vision and its products. The brand touch points in the store have all been carefully designed; for instance, specialists provide assistance in knowing the product, and ‘geniuses’ provides hands-on technical support and repair at the Genius Bar, while the ‘concierge’ is the guide to the store who will point you in the right direction (Bach, 2007.p.16). Personalized help aside, the store layout is also very well thought out; it is visually spare, preferring to focus on a selection of essential messages instead of cluttering the customer’s field of vision (Masterson & Pickton, 2010.p.425). Products are also placed in context of use; for instance, iPhoto software is set up beside a digital camera. It is the remarkable and rigorous consistency of Apple’s brand promise across the products, and retail stored that has further strengthened Apple’s brand identity. Trust Users of Apple products are one of the most passionate brand communities globally. For many users, their preference and unconditional affinity for Apple products arises from the brand’s message “think differently” which provides a break from the normal products and the “cool” tag that is ever so evident in the company’s products (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2008.p.193). To a section of other users, the fanatic view is informed by the company’s uncompromising approach to design that translates to products that are functionally superior and aesthetically pleasing. This level of affinity transcends the transactional relationship with Apple. It is this level of affinity that explains why, in July, 2008, Japanese enthusiasts withstood harsh weather conditions for 48 hours waiting for the launch of the iPhone in their country. A similar situation was witnessed in London people had to queue for 24 hours, to buy an arguably overpriced phone (Temporal, 2010). The queues outside Apple’s flagship store in Regent Street started two days before the iPhone’s much publicized arrival. It was November, a very cold and wet month. In one of the interviews, a Commercial Director, waiting to buy the iPhone was quoted saying ‘This is ridiculous behavior for someone like me’ but he was not about to give up a chance to be among the first to buy the phone (Masterson & Pickton, .p.431). This trust was tested two months after launch; the Company announced that it would slash the costs by $200 to make the iPhone accessible to a lot more Americans. Those who had paid the initial $599 felt betrayed and felt like their effort to distinguish themselves from the rest of society was unrewarded by the company. The company responded by offering credit worth $100 for those who had paid the initial amount. Though tested, the brand’s trust only faltered but never failed a factor which epitomized the extent of endearment to users globally (Masterson & Pickton, 2010.p.425). Such situations have helped affirm Apple inc. as one of the most identifiable brands across the globe with an unmatched emotional connection with its customers which explains the level of loyalty witnessed throughout. Brand positioning The ultimate positioning of a brand should reflect the overall strategic vision of the firm. This means going beyond just products benefits. Given the costs of building a strong global awareness, a compelling brand has to be relevant today and in the future, and one that the firm can grow with (Grams, 2012.p.43). Environmental and competitive factors should help shape the positioning of the brand, but once the positioning is chose, that focus should be consistent and serve as a blueprint for product development (Kahn, 2013). Being guided by strategic brand positioning, rather than by R&D suggests that there may be some products that should not be produced because they will not be a good fit for the brand strategy (Oswald, 2012.p.110). The first e-tablet was produced by Microsoft, but it was not a success in the market. Apple Inc. succeeded where Microsoft failed in large part because its iPad meshed perfectly with Steve Jobs well-defined brand aesthetic and understanding of what consumers wanted. This happened even before they themselves figure out what they wanted (Kahn, 2013). Many years after, Microsoft is trying to introduce a tablet, this time in a more mature market that’s already been well defined by Apple’s products. It should be noted that a good brand positioning is built through consistent communications. Apple first product which was the Macintosh PC was marketed as “the computer for the rest of us” it brought forth an era of easy to use computers. This ease of use has been the characteristic of all Apple Inc. products (Kahn, 2013). The brand’s positioning for all its applications as easy to use must consistently be communicated and adhered to and this way it will be very difficult for any other brand to dislodge it from its prime position. Conclusion In conclusion, Apple Inc. is not only a personal favorite but is undoubtedly a brand of choice for many people across the globe. The company’s journey to the top has not been easy but visionary leadership has helped simplify the means. The company’s brand strategy has been exemplary and this has been greatly aided by edge cutting products which have met and exceeded customer expectations. As discussed through the various sections, brand identity, brand positioning and brand concept it is clear that the company has exemplified its vision of simplicity, and ease of use by making the best of technology. This coupled with brand focus has ensured consistent growth of the brand to the present level. Bibliography Arcature, L.L. (2012). Branding strategies for success. London. FT Press. Bach, B. (2007). Implications of enabling technologies for Apple Inc: Cybermarketing & enabling technologies. Mu?nchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Chernatony, L. (2012). From Brand Vision to Brand Evaluation. New York: Routledge. Gogerly, L. (2012). Cool brands. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications. Grams, C. (2012). The ad-free brand: Secrets to building successful brands in a digital world. Indianapolis, Ind: Que Pub. Hoyer, W. D., & MacInnis, D. J. (2008). Consumer behavior. Mason, OH: South-Western. Kahn, B. E. (2013). Global brand power: Leveraging branding for long-term growth. 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