Apple Marketing Strategies
Intro
Few companies have made as big an impact on world culture as Apple. A company once on the verge of fading into oblivion made an incredible comeback, using a combination of savvy marketing techniques and devices unlike any previously created. Whether leaking information deliberately to generate buzz or creating commercials that stand the test of time, Apple can be considered an innovative marketing company.
The Beginning
When it comes to marketing strategies, Apple Computers is a company that consistently works on being on the leading edge. When Apple first decided to engage the PC market, it aired a Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott. At the time, Scott had just finished directing “Blade Runner” and was considered a hot property. In the commercial, a young woman with a huge sledgehammer smashes it into a massive television screen, bathing the bald-headed drones mesmerized by the monitor in a brilliant white light. The commercial then announced the release data of the Macintosh computer. The commercial generated widespread buzz and was actually voted “Commercial of the Decade”.
IPOD and ITUNES
Apple excels at turning brand into market shares. When the iPod was first introduced, Apple made sure that it also had its iTunes store in place. That way, in addition to marketing MP3 players, Apple also made money from selling downloadable music. In addition, the original iTunes store sold music that could only play on iPod players, making it a proprietary marketing strategy. The strategy continued with the arrival of the iPhone and the iPad, which also use proprietary software applications.
IPHONE
Once Apple succeeded in convincing buyers that the only MP3 player worth having was an iPod, it set its sights on the next big thing — the cellphone market. In order to begin the marketing campaign, rumors began surfacing online in late 2006 that Apple was planning on looking into getting into mobile phones. To make...