Apple Marketing Strategy: Masterplan Behind Their Global Domination

Ring! Ring!☎️ We live in a time when the value of the half-eaten Apple cannot be taken lightly. ?

Apple is a status symbol and a leading trendsetter of our time. It’s a synonym for luxury, and I guess the dictionaries should start putting it that way too. ?

In 1976, Apple embarked on the journey to become one of the most popular and successful tech giants of all time. Don’t you wonder how? Well, let’s find out together!

QUICK FACT?- Apple employs around 164,000 people on a full-time basis as of 2022.

About Apple

Apple Inc. is one of the leading manufacturers of personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The Cupertino, California-headquartered tech giant was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. 

Not many people know that the origin of the company lay in Woznaik’s dream to build his computer. 

Apple started from the garage of Job’s home, and today, it has surpassed all its competitors in terms of market capitalization. It is, in fact, a part of the Big Five IT companies, along with Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. ?

QUICK FACT- Did you know Steve Wozniak damaged his memory in a plane crash in 1981, following which he parted ways with the company?

Apple’s History in Short

By now, you must already know that Apple’s life began in 1976. The company launched the ‘Original Apple Computer’ or the Apple I, followed by Apple II, which revolutionized the market with its color graphics.

By the 1980s, Apple picked up the pace but at the same time entered into competition with IBM PC. The company went on to introduce more user-friendly computers.?

In 1985, Jobs left the company and founded NeXT and acquired Pixar. The company went downhill until Jobs returned in 1996. The company collaborated with Microsoft to launch iBooks, iPod, and iPhone. 

In 2018, Apple made history as an American company by surpassing the one trillion dollar mark. And history repeated itself when in 2022, Apple crossed the $3 trillion mark. ? Today, Tim Cook leads this star tech company. 

QUICK FACT?- Steve Jobs assumed the office of Apple’s CEO in the year 2000 and continued till 2011.

Marketing Strategies of Apple

Building Suspense 

Apple is known for withholding details when it comes to the specifications and information regarding its new products. 

Through this strategy, Apple has always managed to build anticipation and excitement among its customers. 

Apple is very well aware of the revolutionary character of its products. But that is not it! ⤵️

Storytelling

The company expanded its efforts beyond the technical arena to captivate the minds of its customers through an excellent storytelling approach.

The “Share Your Gift” ? advertisement is a prime example of how the company utilizes its unique storytelling technique to build a connection with its targeted segment. 

When a company can make space into people’s minds, it is sure to stand out from the rest of its competitors. 

Simplicity

Apple has always tried to embrace simplicity. In the case of technology products, many brands often overload their marketing efforts by frequently bombarding customers with multiple messages?.

Apple attempts to take a different approach. It has limited itself to a selected few marketing channels like public relations and strategic product placement. And interestingly, this strategy has worked wonders for Apple.

Apple products are featured in movies like Transformers 4 and popular shows like Saturday Night Live.

Community Building

Apple is focused on building a sense of community and expanding its customer base. The company engages in various youth programs, like providing free coding classes for children.

It also leads initiatives like the ‘Today at Apple’ program, which brings together artists, photographers, musicians, etc. 

Creating visual appeal

Apple uses visually appealing images to convey information that leaves a lasting impact on its customers. The company figured out that visuals help people retain information much better and found ways to use it to their advantage. 

With a focus on impactful visuals, Apple succeeded in building a deeper connection with its customers.  

Importance of Design 

Apple has time and again proved its excellence in consistently creating designs that scream the company’s narrative. The uniformity of minimalism in its products aesthetics, brand logo, user interfaces, clean design, and even advertising is phenomenal. This is also one factor that allows Apple to justify its premium price approach.

QUICK FACT?- Apple’s first logo featured Sir Issac Newton under the historic apple tree, along with William Wordsworth’s quote about Newton. 

Customer Experience 

Apple is committed to providing an excellent customer experience at all touch points- from products to advertisements to Apple stores.

The company has seamlessly integrated features like secure mobile payments, health tracking, and home electronics control into a unified ecosystem of complementary products. 

Catering as Per Customer Needs

Apple organizes its sales in terms of the diversity of customers it serves and not in terms of the products it sells. The company targets customers associated with education, government, SMEs, and enterprise. To assist the needs of its varied customer base 

Apple hires sales representatives from diverse walks of life. 

Tops Products of Apple

iPhone?

The iPhone has remained the highest revenue generator for the company since 2008, bringing in around 52% of the company’s revenue.

The sales saw a peak in the year 2015 and then in 2021. In the following year, iPhone sales declined comparatively. The US remains the highest market for iPhones, followed by Europe, China, and Japan.

iPad

Apple manages to generate an almost constant revenue of around $20 bn to $30 bn through its iPads. iPads saw a massive 57% rise in sales during the year 2020. But, it followed a drop in sales in the next year, 2021. 

Wearable, Home, and Accessories 

Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats are the star products in this segment. In 2022, the company raised around $41.1 bn revenue from this segment. 

Apple Watch is a leader in the smartwatch market, holding on to over 50% share. 

Airpod marked the beginning of an era of ‘hearables’ now being launched by other phone manufacturers as well.

Apple TV?

With not an impressive performance as in other segments, Apple remains behind its competitors like Roku and Amazon in the smartTV market.

Mac?

MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and iMac form the core of this segment. Apple has been able to improve its Mac sales significantly since 2009, even when the PC fails to perform its best. 

Apple Services

Often considered to be the most significant segment of the company, Apple’s services have brought in increased revenue every year. As per some analysts, Apple services can touch the $50 bn mark in profit by 2025.

iOS

With an increase of 20% from the previous year, around 900 million iOS users subscribed to one or more apps in 2022. 

Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is a payment platform offered to all iPhone users with the choice to set it up or not. Around half of the total iPhone users utilize the platform for carrying out their monetary transactions. 

Apple Music ?

Apple offers the second largest music streaming service after Spotify, with most of its subscribers from the USA.

Apple TV+

Apple TV saw an increase in subscribers over the years since 2019 while offering free yearly trials to its iPhone and iPad buyers. 

Apple News?

Not a great revenue puller, but Apple News continuously witnesses a rise in the number of its readers.

Siri

A public favorite, Siri assists a massive number of iPhone users every day. The company keeps updating the accuracy of Siri’s smart assistance every year.

Apple Marketing Mix 4P Analysis

Product

Apple has a broad market presence with quite a diverse but complementary set of products, including the Macbook, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, iPod, Apple watch, etc.  

Apple also provides several services to its customers in the form of digital content, software accessories, and cloud services. Some of these are iCloud, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, etc.

Apple’s product mix shows that the company prioritizes quality and experience over quantity. This is also a reason why Apple can maintain a loyal customer pool.

Price 

We all find Apple to be synonymous with luxury and premium quality. Would you agree? 

The company sticks to a premium pricing approach targeting individuals with significant purchasing power. This strategy helps in preserving the image of Apple as a high-end luxury brand.

Apple justifies its premium pricing by offering cutting-edge technology and superior-quality products. 

The company does not usually provide heavy discounts to attract new customers. It does, however, offer certain free products and services, but then, customers again have to pay to unlock more advanced features. 

QUICK FACT?- Would you believe me if I told you that Apple values more than every country in the world except for four- the USA, China, Germany, and Japan?

Place

Apple has maintained a diverse range of distribution channels across the world. These channels offer customers the option to make purchases online or offline. 

Customers can approach Apple stores, Apple’s official website, telecom companies like Verizon, and e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. In addition, the company also collaborates with authorized corporate resellers. 

All of these channels have made the global availability of Apple’s wide range of products possible. This also helps in the expansion of its customer base. 

Promotion

Apple utilizes a variety of strategies to promote its products in the market. As discussed earlier, the company is all about simplicity, which applies to its promotional strategy as well. 

Apple is popular for its unique, creative, and precise advertising campaigns. The company does not clutter and makes use of only a few selected channels for its promotions. 

Apple utilizes print media, billboards, television, social media, and its website and stores to promote its products. 

Apple also gains immensely from its product placement strategy as well as positive media reviews.

The promotions are focused on maintaining the brand’s premium image and appeal to its target customers. 

Apple’s Top Campaigns

  • Silhouettes 

It remains one of Apple’s most loved advertising campaigns that ran between 2003-2008. With people enjoying their music on iPods, the campaign featured U2 and the Black Eyed Peas giving an extra boost to its advertising. 

  • 1984

Though not considered one of Apple’s hits, the 1984 commercial was broadcasted during the Super Bowl when Apple launched the legendary Macintosh in the market. 

  • Romeo and Juliet

In 2016 Apple introduced its iPhone 7 Plus with the launch of the Romeo and Juliet campaign, wherein it showcased the video capabilities of the product.

  • Get a Mac

This campaign was built around a conversation between a ‘Mac’ and a ‘PC’ personified by actors against a white background. The campaign broadcasted globally for three years straight with slight alterations for the British and Japanese markets.

  • Think different ?

Apple launched its think different campaign in response to IBM’s slogan thing the campaign Run from 1997 to 22 TV Advertisement print advertisement

  • Misunderstood

The ‘misunderstood’ campaign marked the launch of Apple’s iPhone 5s and its airplay technology in 2013.

  • Shot on iPhone

An iconic campaign by Apple in which the company invited iPhone users to showcase their best shots on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. The selected few were featured on billboards, Apple retail stores, and even online. 

Key takeaways

Apple is a tech giant that rules the arena of luxury in terms of customer experience and aesthetic designs. ✨️

The star player knows its target customers and continues to withhold their loyalty while also keeping up with the upcoming generation. 

Apple promises class and satisfaction. Customer testimonials would support that, right? ?

I hope the marketing strategies of Apple listed by me will help you in your own business! See you in the next blog! 

FAQs

Which channels does Apple use for its marketing?

Apple utilizes mobile phone network carriers, stores, the website, retail stores, and e-commerce like Amazon to promote its products.

The company also actively uses billboards, print media, TV ads, and social media like YouTube to market its launches and brand identity. 

What is unique about Apple’s marketing campaigns?

Apple focuses on maintaining its commitment to minimalism even as it promotes its products.

The campaigns are minimalistic while also being creative and precise. Moreover, the storytelling approach helps the company create imagery in the audience’s mind and fosters a connection with the customers.

Where is Apple’s biggest market?

The United States is home to the largest market for Apple, followed by Europe and China.

Which is the best-selling smartphone?

As per Forbes, among the top 10 best-selling smartphones of 2022, 8 were sold by Apple. And the top spot was earned by the iPhone 13, followed by iPhone 13 Pro Max and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

References:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/11-smartest-marketing-tactics-apple-uses-dr-tuhin-banik?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/03/apple-becomes-first-us-company-to-reach-3-trillion-market-cap.html#:~:text=Apple%20hit%20a%20market%20cap,all%20of%20its%20product%20lines.

https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/april/apple-computer-founded#:~:text=and%20Photographs%20Division.-,Apple%20Computer%2C%20Inc.,in%20their%20homes%20or%20offices.

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/business-studies/business-case-studies/apple-marketing-strategy/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2018/01/12/why-apple-is-still-a-great-marketer-and-what-you-can-learn/?sh=17e29f0315bd

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