Marketing Leverage to Dezeen and Apple - Report Example

MARKETING LEVERAGE TO DEZEEN AND APPLE FROM APPLE’S LAUNCH OF I PHONE5 by Presented to Prof. October 27, 2012 Executive Summary This report on the marketing leverage to Dezeen and Apple from the launch of its latest model i phone5 is a delving deep into the product categorisation chemistry fruition for both the companies. This report gives full credit to the marketing initiative of Apple for including Dezeen as a strategic partner and showing its customised home page through an email link. Based on the scholarly research done recently and in the past on the innovative marketing strategies used, business management and marketing impact of such a strategic marketing move is thoroughly analysed from different marketing-related perspectives, as based on scholarly research on its impact on consumers for the collective benefit of both the companies. Featuring of an architectural website, Dezeen, in the launch video of i phone5 focuses on the variance and depth of new promotional partnerships between different category products such as Apple Inc. and Dezeen, an architecture, interiors and design company website. Apple Inc. has given huge promotional leverage to Dezeen in the videos, thus, marking a new chapter of relational linking by entering into collaboration with the architecture magazine. It highlights how LTE technology offers “really fast downloads over your cellular network”. Marketing of Apple has always been a hush-hush matter. Apple contacted Dezene a year back for a customised version of its website with no advertisements and social media links without disclosing its strategy to the management of Dezeen (Golson, September 2012). The tie-up between Apple i phone5 and Dezeen magazine on architecture, interiors and design by showing the home page of the company website on the promotional videos, on the occasion of the launch of its latest i phone5 version has huge management and functional implications for the architectural company. It offers a trade-off to the viewer of purchasing a superior quality product although it won’t be a decision taken at once, as the ad viewer would analyse the future cost and quality trajectory of the magazine in the category it belongs to. If the consumer wants to replace the product, as in this case, the decision will be taken by comparing it with the currently owned and subscribed magazine and other available magazines on architecture and design in the market. If after visiting the Dezeen company website through the Apple i phone5 link given on the email of the user, it reveals that the difference in quality is tangibly and intangibly significant relative to the cost of the architectural magazine, the possibility of replacing the current magazine with Dezeen increases. It means increase in the sale of Dezeen product. Thus, purchase decision depends, as per general modelling related to replacement. In the case of i phone5 and Dezeen, both the products are not complimentary as they are un-related. Therefore, the purchase decision in one category, i.e., the Dezeen, would not be impressed by the purchase decision in another category, i.e., the Apple company’s newly launched i phone5 (Sriram et al., 2010). Nevertheless, if the products in both the categories have been purchased, the incentive to replace them with the latest versions, as in the case of Apple i phone5, the consumer decision is going to be taken on the quality parameter only; the higher the quality, the more inspired the decision for replacement. Consumer leverage would be more if both the products are replaced relatively to a single category product replacement (Sriram et al., 2010). Anyways, the great thing for an architecture website is that a technology giant like Apple has contacted it for sharing business leverage mutually through an email link to the website address for the visitor to surf the pages of the magazine compelling the viewer to take a better decision after analysing the trade-off. As per the general model for replacement, if two products are not complimentary, as is the case here, the model provides extra significance to the quality parameter in each category of products. Only those consumers are going to take a purchase decision whose marginal leverage is greater over quality issue to purchase the leading and latest version of the product, which in this case is Apple Company’s i phone5. This reasoning fits for the increased possibility to clinch the replacement purchase in advance. Forward looking consumers can trade-off the purchase decision till the price of the new version i phone5 comes down as they anticipate by relating it with other relevant categories. Managers in technology companies such as Apple can see through the consumer purchase behaviour over categories and price change playing a role in one category on the purchase decision in related categories to manage wide product lines. Further research into optimal price or time difference in the release of various versions of the related categories can be helpful to the managers to decide the launch time of the new versions of a product category (Sriram et al., 2010). The branding strategy and product category impress consumer reaction to various advertising appeals, as Apple has made through the email link to the architecture magazine, Dezeen. Apple has included Dezeen as a partner in its branding strategy by involving another product category in the new product launch. Generally, it is complicated when two product categories are involved to inspire their purchase, as it has been proved that both the products, the Apple i phone5 and Dezeen are totally dissimilar in category. Purchase decision depends on the difference in inspiring subject to the usage. Apple’s I phone5 is relatively a more utilitarian product than an architectural product such as Dezeen. Consumer reaction to both the marketing initiatives for the products under surveillance creates different stimuli (Dens & Pelsmacker, 2010). Apple’s launch of the i phone5 version is an extension of an established brand, Apple. Brand extensions are generally analysed in positive light than new brands. Apple has taken the right move by launching new version of i phone, which is quite robust to confront products of new brands. Apple brand managers understand it very well that a good number of new product arrivals are actually latest versions. Nevertheless, the advertising strategy for new versions lacks an effective brand response. Managers know very well that quality is a huge stimulus for renowned brands, which goes well for a number of versions in actuality. Apple has strategically taken the right move, as the selection of an advertising tactic is particularly critical when new versions are launched irrespective of the fact that the brand is new or not (Dens & Pelsmacker, 2010). By providing link for the architectural website, Apple has satiated the informational thirst of consumers about the latest architectural innovations heralded by Dezeen. Dezeen products come in the high product categories; therefore, partnering with Dezeen by providing link to its website, Apple has issued an informational appeal for the advantage of Dezeen. Apple Inc., the parent brand will leverage from this additional i phone5 launch, as it will be once again evaluated over the brand attitude. Janssens and De Pelsmacker (2005)), rightly remark that advertisers attempt to gather both these positive effects by such projections that produce both positive elements and offer sufficient knowledge about the advertised product, as the architectural company products will be hugely navigated for making a sound and effective purchase decision (Dens & Pelsmacker, 2010). According to Eguaras et al. (2012), different categories of products showcased on the single platform impact and satisfy the consumers’ desire who otherwise do not have a decisive opinion. Consumers categorise complicated product categories internally, irrespective of the product pricing given or not. Consumers’ involvement with the product and informational advantage prompt them to make a purchasing decision. In this connection, the i phone5 promotional video showcasing partner company products through email link is going to impress consumers to know more about the partner architectural company, Dezeen’s products (Eguaras et al., 2012). Retail companies like Apple comprehend well how the consumers categorise products internally. It helps consumers’ decision making about different product purchase by adjusting their living room space as they process the product features internally. Additionally, if the consumers are well aware about the complicated mechanisms, they are easily selected to feel inspired by the innovative presentation, as it happened with Dezeen products by having a look at the customised home page of Dezeen, made possible through collaboration with Apple (Eguaras et al., 2012). Analysis indicates that product price influences consumers’ internal categorisation mechanism, as price forms a leading variable in the making of consumer attitude over a product. There could be many variables but two variables, namely involvement and knowledge impact consumer perceptions, as is evident from the past research in different categories of products over. These two variables have capacity as division parameters equip category managers to customise their products to relevant markets. Variable analysis though qualitative additive tree methodology is quite critical in deriving the perceived frames with an analysis of variance to attain a more objective explanation of the additive trees (Eguaras et al., 2012). Brand partnership between Apple and Dezeen is an evidence of the past research analysis showing the significance of product category fit in measuring brand partnerships for promotional purposes. Nevertheless, many elements contribute in the match between alliance partners. For instance, outcomes from brand extension study indicate that the appraisal is a matter not only of product category fit, but also of brand concept relevancy. Therefore, brand concept relevancy in study has been a critical factor of brand partnerships (Lanseng & Olsen, 2012). Gill & Dubé (2007) have devised a mechanism of conceptual combinations, which underscores the creative talent to link current concepts to create novel concepts. Employing this mechanism, two creative procedures are found, called, (a) property mapping (PM), which means linking concepts by shifting a property from one concept to another; and (b) relation linking (RL), which means linking the two mixing notions by a thematic relation. What Apple has done is relational linking, as in RL new product introductions are comfortable in explanation relatively to property mapping procedure. Additionally, the new products linking notions from different super-ordinate categories are more possibly explained by RL, and can be understood effortlessly relatively to the same super-ordinate category, which employ PM. Thus, we can see through the marketing mechanism of Apple, which has used a totally different super ordinate category, i.e., Architecture Company, which has wider implications of business generation for Dezeen products (Gill & Dubé, 2007). Different product categories for advertisement have significant impact on the opinion building process, as opinions and reactions regarding a product can be different, as determined through categorisation. The issue is not traditional, as only recently it has been analysed in psychology and marketing for approximation of boundary-crossing products or hybrid products. These are the products that carry traits of various categories and as an outcome can possibly be categorized into more than one category. In the Apple RL marketing initiative for taking Dezeen into partnership, it is certainly not a case of hybrid products, as examples of hybrid products in the electronics category could be devices that link functions like the personal digital assistant (PDA) and mobile phone combination, the phone and camera combination or crossover products such as the Chrysler Pacifica, which is a minivan and sport-utility vehicle combination and such other hybrid categories. As both the Dezeen and Apple constitute different categories, the problem of single category remains no issue for the dezeen and Apple marketers, as consumers of both products can reveal their preferences, being multiple category products (Rajagopal & Burnkrant, 2008). Apple has used a totally radical interpretation marketing strategy by aligning with Dezeen. Research based on priming approach taken from the psycholinguistics literature to evoke multiple category opinions shows that category dissociated opinions can have huge impact on product attitudes. Research finding over product beliefs does not give total credit to categorisation but also to the kind of interpretation strategy employed which is totally different from traditional categorisation theory, which states that opinions about an object evolve only from the category into which it is positioned (Rajagopal & Burnkrant, 2008). Conclusions Categorisation literature outcomes indicate that both product category fit and brand concept relevancy impact consumers’ approximations. Nevertheless, the outcomes also indicate that product category fit is critical only in operational and mixed-brand concept-based partnerships. For communicative brand partnerships, product category fit is not significant in approximating the partnership. There are implications for managers in taking precautions while locating possible partners having brands that somehow, either on the product category level or in brand concept, rhyme well with their company’s brands. Nevertheless, managers of an operational brand should search a partner whose brand has high product category fit, as low-fit alliances can harm the possible partnerships. Thus, other than brand concept relevancy, product category fit, is a significant variable in consumer approximations of brand partnerships (Lanseng & Olsen, 2012). 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