Apple’s Marketing mix – Promotion

Image 1 – Apple stores are creative, vibrant and provide a welcoming feel for all customers and potential customers. It’s up keeping with modern interior design and one which stands out from the crowd.

Image 2 – Apple have launched a range of products for different purposes including mobile phones, tablets, computers and speakers to up keep with consumers ever changing and growing demand for performance within technology

Image 3 – Apple’s employees wear a bright blue t-shirt with the Apple Logo printed on the front to ensure they stand out for the customers.

Image 4 – Apple are fully aware that their customer base is varied from students, individuals and entire families and therefore adapt their pricing strategy to accommodate this to provide a cost effective Apple product solution.

Image 5 – Apple’s marketing techniques is one of the most powerful in the world and have creative, innovative and cool techniques to attract and appeal to their customers including Carpool Karaoke.

Image 6 – Apple’s products are created to enable users to sync their Apple devices to each other. Your Apple phone can be connected to your I-watch and I-mac.

Image 7 – Apple offer customers a financing plan to customers as they are aware customers aren’t always able to pay for their devices with one upfront payment.

Apple is the most valuable company in 2019, with Amazon and Microsoft making up the top 3. (Statista, 2019) The range of Apple products on offer attract a variety of customers from different age ranges, location and customer personas. Therefore, Apple have developed and implemented both outbound and inbound marketing techniques to meet the needs of these different customers. 

Steve Jobs quoted “Marketing is about values. It’s a complicated and noisy world, and we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is. So we have to be really clear about what we want them to know about us” (Best Marketing speech ever! Steve Jobs thinks different) (Youtube, 2019). His recognition of seeing marketing as operating in a crowded world, the process of marketing is about getting customers to remember your brand and company.

Taking this key message from Steve Job’s speech, it became essential to Apple’s marketing strategy to advertise and promote their unique selling point and brand messages. To achieve this, Apple have continually used the following promotional techniques: TV Advertising and magazine articles to the more modern social media. Seen to be incredibly successful in maximizing Apple’s profits, they have witnessed their market value sore as proven by being the most valuable company according to Statista. (Statista, 2019).

Apple concentrates heavily on their promotion investing a large proportion of their finances into creating engaging adverts. To properly appreciate Apple’s technique, we have to rewind 40 years to the introduction of the Macintosh computer in 1984. (YouTube, 2019) Using the 1984 superbowl commercial, it indicated the newly coming Macintosh which was symbolized by the product drawn on the women’s t-shirt. When she throws the hammer towards the screen, this represents her saving humanity which was the purpose behind creating the Macintosh. Directed by Ridley Scott, the commercial came under scrutiny when first shown to Apple’s board of directors. We only see the product once on the women’s t-shirt leading the board spellbound that the product itself wasn’t being promoted. However, it’s message of the women ‘saving the human race’ was shown to over 90 million people creating a craze which saw Apple sell over 76,000 Macintosh’s.

Fast forward forty years and in their launch of Apple Iphone 7 back in 2017, the commercial is 90% based on Dwayne Johnson going about his daily routine (Youtube 2017). The Iphone 7 is only shown several times within the six-minute advert representing how this apple product is aiding Dwayne’s daily activities, making his life easier. This causes the audience to dive in further to research the product online. 

Apple’s inbound marketing strategy is one of the strongest within their competing industry and the world. Their presence on social media is second to none. Apple joined Instagram in 2017 and today have a following of more than 16 million. Users are encouraged to post high quality photos and features available on Apple products using the hashtag #ShotonIphone for a chance to appear on Apple’s account. Although a late adaptor of Instagram, Apple today have a large following enabling customers to engage with the brand and their products.

To conclude, Apple’s promotion strategy sends out a powerful and engaging message to their customers. They use both inbound and outbound promotions ensuring they can appeal to their wide range of customers. Their activities, whether through television commercials, social media or online articles create debates between customers to implement interest within their products, which has led to the company identifying itself as the market leader and one of the world’s most powerful brands.

References:

Image 1 – Apple (UK). (2019). Apple Financing with Barclays. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/browse/financing [Accessed 22 Jul. 2019].

Image 2 – Rathnayake, C. (2019). Apple Ecosystem | TechWire. [online] TechWire. Available at: https://techwire.lk/apple-ecosystem/ [Accessed 21 Jul. 2019].

Image 3 – Keefe, T. (2019). The Apple Guide To Providing Exceptional Customer Service. [online] TGK & Associates. Available at: https://www.tgkandassoc.com/the-apple-guide-to-providing-exceptional-customer-service/ [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].

Image 4 – Apple (United Kingdom). (2019). iPhone – Compare Models. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/compare/ [Accessed 21 Jul. 2019].

Image 5 – Apple TV. (2019). ‎Carpool Karaoke: Taron Egerton & Richard Madden. [online] Available at: https://tv.apple.com/gb/episode/umc.cmc.46espeq0cyjwl521e73nw9erf?app=tv&action=play&at=1010lGbf&ct=tva_cpk2_18&itscg=10706&itsct=tva_cpk2_18 [Accessed 29 Jul. 2019].

Image 6 – Apple (United Kingdom). (2019). Apple Music. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/apple-music/ [Accessed 25 Jul. 2019].

Image 7 – Apple (United Kingdom). (2019). Apple Watch – Compare Models. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/uk/watch/compare/ [Accessed 22 Jul. 2019].