Apple - Focus, Research, Improve, Write

Apple 

Apple’s target audience is not specified, but it is considered to be teenagers as they are the consumers that use the widest range of Apple’s products, i.e. iPhones, iPods, MacBooks etc. Whereas other age groups may only use a limited collection of products (such as businessmen known for using iPhones). However this is just an assumption as Apple do not produce their products to be age range specific and nowhere do they state who they originally aimed to target and instead focus more on attending the needs of the general public.

It is common knowledge that Apple’s main competitor is Android, and therefore this is whom they are commonly compared to. It seems to be a constant battle of ‘Apple. vs. Android’ in the headlines and this also applies to their market share too. In 2014, figures show that Android held 80.2% of the market share, whilst Apple only maintained 14.8%, so whilst Apple have held onto a sizable chunk of the market share, Android are rapidly eating up the majority.

In 2015, between April and July, Apple was leading in the increasing amount of people adopting Apple are their choice of smartphone. Apple increased by 1.1%, compared to Samsung that resulted in a loss of 1.3%. However It is listed that Apple’s main competitors, when considering all products, not just the commonly thought of favourite ‘iPhone’; when bearing in mind computers, laptops, tablets and iPods, the main competitors are: Samsung, Google and Microsoft.

It is hard to fault Apple’s strategies when it comes to advertising and being recognisable, as you would be hard pushed to find someone that wouldn’t be able to identify an iPhone or name at least one Apple product. In fact in this generation, it is hard enough to find someone that doesn’t own at least one Apple product. However, although Apple remains highly competitive and has made a definite name for themselves, the main thing I would do differently is to expand their brand focus from one product to many. Whenever you see an Apple ad or hear about the latest new Apple product, nine times out of ten it will be about the latest iPhone, as this is admittedly their best seller. When talking to someone about Apple, I guarantee that the iPhone is the first product to pop into his or her mind. There are such a wide range of Apple products available on the market that some consumers may not even be aware of. I personally do not think there is enough emphasis on advertising all the alternative Apple products offered. If focused on, this would ultimately increase their market share, make them more competitive and increase popularity with a new potential consumer market. This strategy can be seen as effective in one of the most recent launches of a new product; the Apple Watch. They launched this new product onto the market with a heavy advertising campaign supporting it and with the high level of exposure and effort behind promoting this new product, they were very successful.

·      Paid – The direct email received from people that own an Apple ID             or are registered to receive latest news and updates.                         The ads that are shown on TV and the ever-effective large               banners showing the ‘latest model’ of an iPhone or iPad. 

·      Owned – There is a slick and refined website that has been  polished and has become uniquely recognisable in its own        right for its appearance. Apple have been branded as ‘afraid          of or allergic to social media’, but are now ‘getting over’ that by  expanding into social media slowly. More than a decade after the  creation of Facebook and more than eight years after the founding of Twitter, the world’s most valuable  company and second-most valuable brand is an increasingly lonely social media holdout. Though it maintains  accounts for iTunes and the App Store, Apple doesn’t have an official corporate Facebook page or Twitter  profile. Nor does it have one on Instagram, Google+ or Pintrest (like many of its competitors).

A screenshot from the website.

·      Earned – Word of mouth is what I would say leads their marketing strategy. Apple have cleverly collected a group of almost ‘fan like customers’ that have then in turn spread the word of Apple and have built their reputation so strong, with minimal effort from Apple themselves. With subtle presence on social media, it is easy to argue that it would have been hard to get to where they have today, but Apple have tactically avoided social media and have gone around it in a unique but effective and strategically way, which has evidently worked in their favour.