marketing strategies of branding apple inc

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PROJECT REPORT ON

“MARKETING STRATEGIES OF BRANDING APPLE INC”

Submitted to

University of Mumbai

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement

For

M.Com (Accountancy) Semester I

In the subject

Strategic Management

By

Name of the student : - Vivek ShriramMahajan

Roll No. : - 14 -7288

Name and address of the college

K. V. Pendharkar College

Of Arts, Science & Commerce

Dombivli (E), 421203

NOVEMBER 2014

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DECLARATION

I VIVEK SHRIRAM MAHAJAN Roll No. 14 – 7288, the student of

M.Com (Accountancy) Semester I (2014), K. V. Pendharkar College,

Dombivli, Affiliated to University of Mumbai, hereby declare that the

project for the subject Strategic Management of Project report on

“MARKETING STRATEGY OF APPLE Inc” submitted by me to

University of Mumbai, for semester I examination is based on actual work

carried by me.

I further state that this work is original and not submitted anywhere else for

any examination.

Place : Dombivli

Date:

Signature of the Student

Name: - Vivek Shriram Mahajan

Roll No: - 14 -7288

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is a pleasure to thank all those who made this project work

possible.

I Thank the Almighty God for his blessings in completing this task.

The successful completion of this project is possible only due to

support and cooperation of my teachers, relatives, friends and well-

wishers. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of them.

I am highly indebted to Principal A.K.Ranade , Co-ordinater

P.V.Limaye, and my subject teacher Dr .Rajeshri Deshpande for

their encouragement, guidance and support.

I also take this opportunity to express sense of gratitude to my

parents for their support and co-operation in completing this

project.

Finally I would express my gratitude to all those who directly and

indirectly helped me in completing this project.

Name of the student

Vivek Shriram Mahajan

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Table of Contents:

CHAPTER No Topic Page no

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

1.1 Technology Industry………………………… 1.2 Introduction to Apple Incorporation………… 1.3 Motivations of research………………………

1.4 Research Objectives…………………………

5 5

6 7

CHAPTER 2 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction………………………………….. 2.2 What is branding? ................................................. 2.3 Benefits of branding a company (Apple)………

2.4 STP Process………………………………….. 2.5 4 Ps (marketing mix) of Apple……………......

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8 11 13

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CHAPTER 3 Methodology

3.1 Purpose of the study……………………………… 3.2 Type of research………………………………… 3.3 Research Method………………………………

3.4 Types of data…………………………………… 3.5 Target population………………………………

3.6 Sample size……………………………………… 3.7 Data Collection methods ……………………….

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18 19

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CHAPTER 4 Data presentation, findings and analysis

4.1 Data presentation, Findings and Analysis……

4.2 Summary of the findings…………………….

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CHAPTER 5 Conclusion

5.1 Conclusion…………………………………..

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Bibliography………………………………………….

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CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1.1 Technology Industry

Wiki invest (2012) Technology states, the technology industry provides foundation for

activities such as, chip production, information and communication systems, and computer systems. The companies belonging to this industry serves as developers and manufacturers of the products which increase efficiency and production of cell phones,

computers, televisions, and other communication and information systems. It is a huge industry with a high growth potential, but it is sometimes go through volatile cycles, like

the semiconductor industry. As chips are getting smaller and globalization is increasing, demand for faster and efficient technology, demand for technological industry in increasing.

1.2 Introduction to Apple Incorporation

Wikipedia (2012) Apple store states, that, Apple Incorporation is a multinational company that creates and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and personal

computers, selling in 363 stores worldwide, with global sales of about US$16 billion in merchandise. The company was first founded on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California

by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne and then incorporated on January 3, 1977. The company was named as Apple Computer, Inc before for the first 30 years. The word "Computer" was then removed from its name on

January 9, 2007. The company's traditional focus was on personal computers shifted towards consumer electronics. Now the company’s best-known products are the

Macintosh line of computers, iPod, iPhone and the iPad, along with their other line of products including, Mac OS X (operating system), iTunes media browser, iLife suite of multimedia/creativity software, iWork (suite of productivity software), Aperture

(professional photography package), Final Cut Studio (suite of professional audio and film-industry), Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools; Safari web browser and

iOS (mobile operating system).

1.2.1 Mission statement of Apple Inc

According to Apple Inc (2012), ''Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the

world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and AppStore, and has recently introduced its

magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.''

Another mission statement is:"Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and internet offerings."

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1.2.2 Vision Statement of Apple Inc

According to Apple Inc (2012), “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the

primary technologies behind the products that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of

projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less

than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change. And I think regardless of who is in what

job those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.”

1.2.3 Objectives of Apple Inc

As stated on the website Apple Inc (2012) are:

To obtain products and services within tight timeframe, at a cost providing the best

value to the customers and shareholders.

To keep creating and releasing computers and consumer electronics those are user-

friendly.

To open more stores even on international locations to increase sales and dominate

world market.

To innovate on a regular basis.

1.2.4 Major competitors of Apple Inc

Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Blackberry, Nokia

1.3 Motivations of research:

As the competition in the technology industry has increased, it has become mandatory to

make a study on the importance of using marketing strategies of branding for Apple, to stay at the top of consumer's mind, to cope up with the changing environment, to gain competitive edge, to make improvements in future and to attain goals set by the company.

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1.4 Research Objectives:

To analyze the importance of using marketing strategies of branding for Apple Inc and

to find out how STP strategies helps Apple's brand.

To find out about the benefits of branding for the company and to find out how branding helps to gain a competitive edge by differentiating themselves and how it

increases customer loyalty and increases brand awareness.

To find out about the branded product and its related price, promotion and placement

and to find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats the company may be facing.

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CHAPTER 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction

This section will provide the details about the qualitative data, providing a foundation for all the details to follow.

2.2 What is branding?

According to Kotler (1999), branding is a ''name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of all these that identifies the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.''

Branding does not only allow your target market to choose your company over the competitor's, but it helps in getting your prospects to see you as the only company that

provides a solution to the consumer's problems. It provides a company’s with a recognizable and trustworthy badge of originality, an intangible guarantee, i.e. a promise of performance that the product will meet with

desired consumers' expectations.

2.2.1 Apple's Branding Strategy

According to Marketing minds (2012), Apple Inc. uses the Apple brand to compete

across several highly competitive markets, including the personal computer industry with its Macintosh line of computers/laptops and related software, the consumer electronics

industry with products such as the iPod, digital music distribution through iTunes Music Store, the smart phone market with the Apple iPhone, magazine, book, games and applications publishing via the AppsStore for iPhone and the iPad tablet computing

device, and movie and TV content distribution with Apple TV. The company is also establishing a very strong marketing presence relative to the rival (Google) in the

advertising market, via its business Apps and iAd network. Steve Jobs, the co-Founder of Apple, described the company as being a "mobile devices company", largest in the world as their revenues are bigger than Nokia, Samsung, or Sony's mobile devices business.

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2.2.2 Brand Awareness

It is when the consumers are familiar about the life or availability of the product. It is the

degree to which consumers associate your brand with a specific product/service. As indicated by Management study guide (2012) in their article '' What is brand awareness?'', Brand awareness may include of:

Brand recognition- is when the consumers have good knowledge of brand when they

are asked questions related to a specific brand and they are able to differentiate a brand on the basis of having noticed or heard about earlier.

E.g. Is I-phone related to Apple or Samsung?

Brand recall- It allows a customer to recover a brand from his memory when given the

product class/category, needs satisfied by that category or buying scenario as a signal, i.e. if they are able to recall the brand from their memory. E.g. Showing a logo of Apple's brand, and asking which brand does this logo belongs to.

2.2.3 Apple's brand personality

As stated by About.com (2012), ''What is branding and how important is it to your

marketing strategy?'', a good brand helps a company to achieve these objectives:

Helps to deliver the message clearly

It confirms your company's credibility

It connects your target prospects emotionally

It motivates the buyer

It strengthens user loyalty

Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. Apple brand's personality is about lifestyle, imagination, liberty regained, innovation, passion, hopes, dreams and aspirations, and power-to-the-people through technology. The Apple brand personality is

also about simplicity, making life easier for people as they have people-driven product design, and is a humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers.

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2.2.4 Apple's Brand equity

According to Investopedia, it is the premium value that the company realizes from a

product with a recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent firm. Companies can create brand equity for their products by making them memorable, easily recognizable and superior in quality and reliability.

Also, mass marketing campaigns may help to create brand equity. Brand equity is said to

be positive if the consumers are willing to pay more for a branded product than for a generic one. Brand awareness plays a key role in building brand equity. Create reliable brand image,

slogans and taglines, helps to strengthen brand awareness which therefore improves brand equity.

Marketing minds (2012) also states, Since Apple has strong brand awareness, it has high

sales and high market share, and the consumers are well acquainted and familiar with the brand and its products. They are also willing to pay premium price for their products,

relative to the competitor's brand due to Apple's positive brand equity. Apple is not just intimate with their consumers but there is a real sense of community among users of its main product lines. Therefore, this also helps to

create consumer's brand loyalty (where brand loyalty is when the consumers become committed to your brand, choosing it over competitors and making repeat purchases over

time.)

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2.3 Benefits of branding a company (Apple)

2.3.1 Emotional Appeal – As stated by Clarity marketing LTD (2005), emotional appeal helps a great deal in targeting customer's emotions with product names. A strong,

recognizable brand will acts like a ‘short cut’ in decision making process, as the customers don't dither over alternatives or compare options where there is no clear point of difference, and instantly chooses your brand as they know what it stands for. For

instance, as Apple manufactures technological items, the name of each product clearly reflects technological aspects like iPod touch, which indicates that it is a product that

allows you to play and choose music through touch properties. It therefore, helps in creating an integrated appeal to specific emotions promoting the product recognition and sales.

2.3.2 Memorability and Familiarity – According to Marcia Yudkin (2012), brand helps to create a reputation and good will for a company. It is very hard for customers to refer to a company as "that What its name store" or to refer business as "the shop from the

Yellow Pages." In addition to the company name, it gives people to give constant reminders reinforcing the identity of companies they will want to buy from.

Memorability can come from the logo, its design, color, style etc which helps to nail your company's name in the minds of the public.

Similarly, after your brand is nailed in the minds of your customers, that’s when your

customers have become familiar and aware of your company’s existence in the market. Branding allows having huge effects on non-customers too. Psychologists' studies have proved that familiarity develops liking for it.

Also, the customers who have never bought from your company, may many tomes be

willing to recommend your company to others even without having any personal knowledge of your products or services. Therefore, the half bitten Apple logo and the brand name 'Apple' help a great deal to help customers remember, be familiar and

recommend the brand to others.

2.3.3 Premium image and Premium price - Branding allows a company to differentiate

themselves from competitors existing in the market, because of which instead of dealing with price-shoppers the customers become eager to pay a higher price for your company's

goods and services. A strong brand let the customers associate themselves as being a company that offers premium quality, trendy products and is offering unique products

that other companies are not offering.

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2.3.4 Extensions - When your company's brand is well-established, you can spread the

respect you've earned to a related new product, service or location and win acceptance

easily of the newcomer. For instance, when Apple introduced a new product extension

line of Ipad, the customers trusted the brand so they didn't feel reluctant and bought Ipads

anyway, making these tablets quite popular of its kind in the market.

2.3.5 Loyalty - When customers have a positive experience with your company's brand, they are more likely to buy your products and services again in future rather than the competitors. Customers that are closely bonded with your brand's identity may not only

repurchase what they bought earlier, but may also buy related items of the same brand, and recommend your brand to others and resist the lure of a competitor's price cut. The

brand identity helps to create and anchor such loyalty. Apple's loyal customers wait every year to buy a new version of iphone every year,

regarding the high price and numerous other phones existing of competitors brand in the market.

2.3.6 Lower marketing expenses – Branding helps a company to invest less in

marketing (promotion) expenses, though you need to invest money in order to create a brand, but it's more like a one off investment as once it's created you can maintain it and

do not need to tell the whole story about the brand every time you market it. For instance, Apple promoting for iphone by Apple, everyone knows that iphone is a touch phone produced by the brand Apple.

2.3.7 Greater company equity- Branding your company allows you to get more money when you decide to sell it. Also, it allows the company to borrow loan even if the company's facilities and inventory vanished, just because of their brand name. Similarly

if Apple Inc founder ever decides to sell the company he will get more money.

2.3.8 Less Risk and Quality Assurance –Lynne Haley Rose (2012) states, when you market a Product/service with a strong, positive brand association, you communicate an

assurance of quality to the potential customers, which makes the consumers more likely to buy from your branded company rather than a no name company. Often, superior sales

are due to the trust and expectation of quality that the recognized brand has established through an integrated marketing program. This is the reason that customers prefer to buy Apple's products rather than those that are unbranded.

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2.4 STP Process

It consists of a set of three strategies namely (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) that is created after branding, and further helps in developing marketing strategies for

Apple's brand.

2.4.1 Segmentation- As stated by University of Southern California (2012), when the

market is divided into sub groups, known as market segments, in order to create product differentiation strategies and to exploit these segments to the firm's own use. There are

several segmentation techniques that can be used, like: 2.4.2 Targeting- It is the second stage of the STP process. After the market has been

separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or series of segments to target at, and then resources and efforts will be targeted at the segment.

2.4.2 Positioning- According to Switchtomac, 2009 'Understanding Apple's positioning', positioning is the third and final part of the STP process. Positioning is one of the

simplest and one of the most useful tools for marketers. After segmenting a market and then targeting a consumer, you would proceed to position a product within that market.

Positioning is all about the 'perception', and it may differ from one person to another. E.g. What you perceive as quality, value for money, etc, maybe different to another person's

perception about it.

Apple is positioned as a premium brand in the mind of the customers that demands and earns a price premium. This price premium spans the entire Apple product lineup encompassing the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, software, and accessories. Therefore, Apple's

has positioned them to target a less price sensitive customer, thus which has created a culture and a set of activities through which Apple differentiates itself from competitors

to meet the needs of their targeted customers.

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2.5 4 Ps (marketing mix) of Apple

2.5.1 Product:

According to Boseng (2011), Products are the goods and services that a business provides for sale to target the market. Apple like any other company began with the products. At first Apple computers (MAC) were considered as an overpriced niche product with a low

market share. Only communications segment considered it as a great took for design and AV

applications, but the rest of the people remained loyal to the traditional PCs; but Apple continued to build their base of brand advocating through design, combining unprecedented features and innovative styling. In the recent years, Apple diversified it

product mix by introducing new line of products, keeping up with the competitive consumer electronics market. Some of their well known products such as the iPod, a

portable music player was the first product range that was launched to compete in the portable media player market and not after long came the iPhone (the most innovative device that has several features like mobile phone capabilities, music player, small

personal organizer and portable computing, all put in a one tiny handheld which dominated the mobile phone market).

What makes iphone unique is that it allows customization to be done suiting the individual needs accordingly, making it relevant to its target market. Other famous

products of Apple comprises of ipad, another handheld touch form of mini-computer and Apple TV.

2.5.2 Price:

According to CJ (2011), Price concerns with the amount of money that customers should

pay in order to purchase the company's products. Apple has never considered pricing as one of the competitive advantages. They only use their best resources to make a great final product first, and then only worry about the costs.

The only buck to this trend we have seen now is with iPad. Apple’s competitors release their own tablet devices, but none of them are coming any

closer to iPad’s entry price of $499 even when everything is equal in regards of the hardware and component quality. It is clearly seen that Apple is leveraging some of the supply chain advantages earned from the iPhone and iPod with regards to materials like

touch screens and flash memory in order to keep iPad’s pricing down, which will prove very difficult for the major competitors to approach in the near term. Rival firms such as

Samsung operate in many different business segments that ties together the multiple component suppliers, would probably come close over time, but it assuredly is an uphill battle for even the best of them to compete in the short-term.

Therefore, the high price charged for its products also portrays the high quality of its

products, for which customers are willing to pay for.

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2.5.3 Promotion:

According to Villing and Company (2011), promotion refers to the act of communicating

the benefits and value of your company's product to their consumers. Apple’s commercial spots are instantly recognizable by everyone whether you are a fan of their products or not. It is easy to identify their commercials immediately because of the use of the

simplistic approach of the layout of their product featured on a white background, with catchy music playing in the background, using the approach ''Less-is-more products,

meets less-is-more advertising''. Everything in their advertisements are visual, and visually plentiful, but not overpowering as some ads can be. When a new product gets launched, along with the press conference, several major tech blogs and websites also

take part in covering the event. Apple spends half billion dollars annually on paid media, which is actually lesser than rival brands Microsoft and Dell. However, given the

memorability of Apple’s advertisements, it seems to be more pervasive than it actually is. In addition, if there was a poster child for the powers of word-of-mouth marketing and brand loyalty, it would be Apple.

2.5.4 Place

Villing and Company (2011) states, Place is related to the distribution, location and

methods of getting the product to the customers. Apple has adopted a hybrid distribution channel involving an online store, physical outlets and the retail points of the exclusive

mobile service provider and its online store. Apple recognized that by getting their products used by students, could influence brand preferences more in the development years of a new generation of computer users. The most dramatic 'Jobs-led' initiative

involved the 4th element of marketing mix “place”, which was the opening of its now iconic Apple retail stores. Apple expanded its consumer reach by building numerous new

retail outlets, owing and operating around the world in the last ten years. It has also placed their products from iPods, iPads, and iPhones in about every store that sells electronics these days. Also, from numerous retail outlets to a great e-commerce website,

like Amazon, Apple's website, making their products as easy to buy for consumers as anything out there today.

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2.6.1 Apple Marketing

According to Rob Enderele (2004), Apple really stands out in its marketing. The company simply seems to understand what will get people excited about its products and

services, then only it executes on its vision. They don’t talk about features or technology, but about how the computers will make your life better. Apple has also not been afraid of in-your-face campaigns. The company has run campaigns that have shown Intel-based

laptops catching fire and getting flattened by steamrollers. Also, the place where Apple puts its logo on its products is unique; on laptops the logo is right side up when the screen

is open. As Apple believes that the logo is not for the person who bought the computer but for the person who is in the market for one. It is good advertising placement which should not be a throw-away design element. Apple also does the best placement in the

TV shows which really showcases a logo. Even when the other vendors get a spot, their logos are quite hard to see, as their logos on laptops do not light.

2.6.2 Apple's retail strategy

Apple has their own retail stores, though many of the companies failed miserably at having their own stores. However, for Apple this has been one of the most brilliant moves they made. The reasons that why some other companies tried owning their own

stores and failed was due to location or a lack of priority, but Apple got both of those correct.

Apple had been very careful about how people buy their products, they authorized retailers with small shops that carried Apple’s products and accessories, and also they

provided an outlet for support and repair. They later decided to control the retail experience themselves instead if investing heavily in external retail experience.

Ben Benjarin (2011), also adds that location plays a significant role; they have their stores located in malls, as the consumers are already in shopping mode. The location

plays well into supporting Apple's strategy. The fact that consumers can go in and get support or repairs for their products and then get some shopping done while they wait is a

bonus. Primarily it is a priority that Apple places focus on their retail strategy which has set them apart from those who have tried retail and other outlets in the past. Apple spends top dollar on the look and the in-store experience and it shows.

However, there is always room for improvement in Apple stores, they have assembled a strong team, experiment heavily, and listen to customers.

Since, Apple owns their own retail experiences they get a chance to have direct

conversations with their customers and potential customers. This helps Apple to think about future needs of their customers and how their products can help them to solve

current and future problems.

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CHAPTER 3: Methodology

3.1 Purpose of the study:

The main purpose of the study is to attain these research objectives:

To analyze the importance of using a marketing strategies of branding for Apple Inc

and to find out how STP strategies helps Apple's brand.

To find out about the benefits of branding for the company and to find out how

branding helps to gain a competitive edge by differentiating themselves and how it

increases customer loyalty and increases brand awareness.

To find out about the branded product and its related price, promotion and placement and to find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats the company may be

facing.

3.2 Type of research

Descriptive Research - According to Ghauri and Gronhaug (2005), descriptive research is conducted for the purpose of finding answers to the structured questions like, who, what, where, when, why and how. It helps in clearing the distinctiveness of a population

or an observed fact. As stated by Zinkmund (2000), “descriptive research studies are based on the previous understating of the nature of the research problem”.

It mainly involves the use of methods like: surveys, observation, secondary data, panels, etc.

E.g. of application: Who are our existing competitors? How strong is our brand image?

Therefore, descriptive research has been used since dissertation requires to answer structured questions like who, what, where, when, why and how, allowing answers to be distinctive of the observed facts.

Surveys and secondary data is used is mainly used to conduct the research.

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3.3 Research Method

The research method used for the research is:

Survey Method

According to Kotler, Armstrong, Ang, Leong, Tan, Tse, (2005, page 119), Survey

research is the most widely used method to collect primary data; this approach is best suited for gathering detailed information. Survey research is very flexible; it can help to

obtain many different kinds of information in many different situations. Researchers can select target groups for asking questions about their knowledge, attitudes, preferences and behavior.

In order to gather information regarding the marketing strategy of branding in Apple, a

survey questionnaire will be used to collect data due to its flexible property of providing different kinds of data i.e. both qualitative and quantitative.

3.4 Types of data

3.4.1 Primary data – It is the first hand obtained data for any issues or specific information collected directly through thorough observation and research. (Kotler,

Armstrong, Ang, Leong, Tan, Tse, (2005), Page 118)

Researchers here are using survey (questionnaire) method to obtain the primary data regarding the respondent's views about using branding strategies and related marketing strategies related to Apple.

3.4.2 Secondary data – It is the second hand data obtained by the use of secondary

sources such as articles, books, journals, internet, etc. For the research related to the marketing strategy of branding Apple, the secondary data was collected via the use of internet (websites, articles and journals) and books. The secondary data collected was

presented in the dissertation in the form of a literature review. The citations and referencing states clearly from which online websites, published articles or journals the

data was collected from. Few of the reasons that the secondary data was also collected along with primary data were because of its readily available nature, and it helps to support primary data, making it more specific as it helps to uncover the gaps, deficiencies

and other information that needs to be collected. Also, since it is economical, and saves time, efforts and expenses, it provides a quicker solution to the problem. The secondary

data collected answered a few questions about what benefits did branding bring Apple, who the competitors are. The secondary data helped a great part in achieving most of the objectives of the research like how primary data did, and it supported the primary data

research thoroughly.

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3.5 Target population

The target population that this dissertation is aimed at consists of working people and students belonging of both sex (female and male).

3.6 Sample size

The sample size chosen for this research consist of 30 people.

3.7 Data Collection methods:

According to University of Wisconsin (2012), The data collection method used for

gathering data for the research of marketing strategy of branding in Apple is a questionnaire (It is a survey method in which a set of questions are given to the

respondents to fill in, in order to collect data) form. A questionnaire in a web based form is being used, containing of all close ended –questions with set responses is being used.

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CHAPTER 4: Data Presentation, Findings and Analysis

Q2. Gender?

Frequency Percentage

Male 24 80

Female 06 20

Total responses 30 100

INTERPRETATION: This table shows the gender (demographic factor) of 30

respondents who participated in the survey. 80% male respondents and 20% female respondents, i.e. majority consisted of male respondents.

80

20

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

% Respondent

Male Female

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Q3. Age ?


Below 15 0 0

16-20 3 10

21-25 18 60

26-30 3 10

31-40 30 10

Above 40 3 10

Total Responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows that majority 60 % of the respondents

belonged to the age group (21-25), along with 10% belonging to (16-20) and rest minority between 10 %(26-30),10%(31-40) and 10%(Above 40).This proves that Apples customers mainly consisted of young people.

010

60

10 10 100

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Below 15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 Above 40

Percentage of Response (%)

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Q4. Are you brand conscious? Frequency Percentage Yes 18 60

No 12 40

Total responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows that majority (60%) of the respondents happen to be brand conscious, who consider branding an important factor whereas,

minority (40%) were found to be not brand conscious.

60

40

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


YES NO

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Q5. Have you ever heard about the brand Apple?


Yes 30 100

No 0 0

Total responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows that all respondents (100%) have heard about

the brand Apple, which shows that the brand Apple has effective and successful brand awareness.

100

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


NO

YES

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Q6. How did you first hear about Apple Inc?


Word of mouth 11 37

Internet/Social Media 6 20

TV Advertisement 3 10

Flyers 3 10

Outdoor Advertisements

(boards/buses) 3 10

Newspaper/Magazines 3 10

Sponsored Events 1 3

Total Responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows that the most effective marketing strategy of

Promotion, through which the respondents heard about the brand Apple was Word of mouth (37%) and Internet/Social media (20%) along with other ways of advertisements

like TV advertisements (10%), Newspaper/Magazine (10%), Outdoor advertisements (10%) , Flyers (10%) and Sponsored events (3%).

37

20

10 10 10 1030

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40


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Q7. Have you ever owned one of Apple's products or used one of their services?


Yes 18 60

No 12 40

Total responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows that all respondents (60%) have used and

owned Apple's products/services. with only minority (40%) of the respondents who haven't. Therefore, this proves that Apple's marketing and branding strategies are quite

effective.

60

40

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


YES

NO

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Q8. Which products of Apple have you owned?


I-pod 8 44.4

I-phone 4 22.2

I-pad 0 0

Mac PC/Laptop 2 11.1

I-tunes 4 22.2

Total Responses 18

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows the products/services owned/used by the 60%

of the respondents, Majority (44.4%) of the respondents owned Ipod, (22.2%) owned Iphone and minority (22.2%) used Itunes with only (11.1%) used Mac Pc/Laptop.

44.4

22.2

0.0

11.1

22.2

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

I-pod I-phone I-pad Mac PC/Laptop I-tunes


27

Q9. How would you rate Apple's products and services on a scale (1 to 5), where 5 being Excellent and 1 being Poor.

Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Total

responses

Frequency 3 21 6 0 0 30

Percentage 10 70 20 0 0

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows the satisfaction level of the Apple's customers by their products and services, it shows that majority (70%) of the respondents rated the

service as being good.

10

70

20

0 00

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Excellent Good Average Fair Poor


28

Q10. What do you think about Apple's products pricing?


Expensive 24 80

Affordable 6 20

Cheap 0 0

Total responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows that majority of the respondents find Apple's

pricing as being Expensive (80%), and rest (20%) find it Affordable with (0%) finding it cheap, which indicates that majority find the pricing to be high.

80

20

00

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Expensive Affordable Cheap


29

Q11. When buying a smart phone, which brand would you prefer to buy?


Apple (I-phone) 13 43

Samsung (Galaxy phones) 12 40

Blackberry 1 3

Nokia 4 13

HTC 0 0

LG 0 0

Other 0 0

Total responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows a competitive brand analysis between the most preferred cell phone brand, it was noticed that Apple Iphone received majority

(43%) of respondents votes, Samsung Galaxy phones (40%) and minority votes for Blackberry (3%) , Nokia (13%), Other (0%), and(0 %) votes for HTC and LG.

43 40

3

13

0 0 00

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Apple (I-

phone)

Samsung

(Galaxy

phones)

Blackberry Nokia HTC LG Other


30

Q12. Do you think Apple's products should be charged premium for?


Yes 6 20

No 24 80

Total responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows respondents views about whether Apple

should charge premium for their products, it was noticed that majority 80% of the respondents think it don't deserve to and the rest 20% thought it should, which indicates that the respondents may not be getting value for money as there are many similar

competitive brands in the market.

20

80

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


YES NO

31

Q13. Would you have still considered purchasing Apple's products, if

Apple wasn't a branded company?


Yes 21 70

No 9 30

Total responses 30

INTERPRETATION: Above table shows that majority (70%) of the respondents would have still chosen Apple if it was not a branded company, and rest (30%) would not have chosen Apple if it wasn't branded. The results are quite controversial as they are quite

close to each other and the majority of the respondents, who may have still bought from Apple, are the respondents who are loyal to Apple's products, which in a way are brand

loyal.

70

30

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80


YES NO

32

Summary of the survey findings

After analyzing the survey findings, it was found out that more men bought from Apple. Most of the respondents were young.

Most of them were brand conscious who perceived that branded products are better than regular products, as they offer better quality products. They mainly liked to shop for Apple’s products at retail outlets. Majority of them first came across Apple through word

of mouth, which may be due to a recommendation received from a friend or family. They associated the brand Apple with almost everything like smart phones, PC/Laptops, music

and other technological items.

The findings also highlighted few problems that Apple maybe facing, like:

1. High prices and High competition: Most of the respondents find Apple’s pricing to

be high and they do not prefer to pay premium for their products due to the availability of similar kind of competitor’s

products existing in the market. 2. Fewer store outlets – as Apple stores are located mainly in public places like malls,

technology streets, etc., for many customers they are not easily accessible.

3. Lack of promotion – for some products like Apple TV very less promotion is being done.

4. Existence of similar products in the market produced by competitive brands, which can easily be substituted by the customer.

33

Conclusion

The main aim of the dissertation was to conduct a study on the marketing strategy of branding in Apple.

The study finds out more about the segmentation, targeting, positioning, branding strategies and marketing mix strategies. The analysis showed Apple that the identifying

the success factors that will help in gaining a competitive edge; allowing it to increase profit, brand power and customer loyalty proving it to be a well-known, leading and a

successful company in the saturated technology industry. Survey findings were made to find if the marketing strategies of branding are proving to

be effective or if any changes are needed to be made in the future. The literature review consisting of the secondary data and the descriptive survey research consisting of primary

data, they both helped in fulfilling the objectives of the dissertation, which helped in conducting a study on the marketing strategy of branding, by recognizing the problems that Apple maybe facing in order to improve or eliminate them.

34

Bibliography

Newspapers:

The Times Of India

Economic Times

World Wide Web

http://www.apple.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

http://www.slideshare.net/

35

ANNEXURE This is a survey for M.COM Work, “Strategic Management of Apple

Inc.” You are requested to provide factual information and oblige. All the

information disclosed by you will be used only for academic purposes.

-Vivek Mahajan

The questionnaire mainly consisted of all close ended questions to find the responses suiting the respondents from the given choices in order to find the

exact information required.

The purpose of each question added to the questionnaire is described below:

Q1. Name – to identify each respondent

Q2. Gender – to find out the ratio of gender interested in Apple Inc Q3. Age – to know the age group of respondents interested in Apple Inc

Q4. Are you brand conscious? – To find out about respondents perceptions about

branded businesses to regular businesses. Q5. Have you ever heard about the brand Apple? - to discover about the respondents

ability of brand recall, recognition and brand awareness and to find out if branding helps in communication the firm's mission, vision and objectives to the respondents.

Q6. How did you first hear about Apple Inc? - to find out about the success rate of using promotional marketing strategy

Q7. Have you ever owned one of Apple's products or used one of their services? – to

know about the purchasing power of respondents and success rate of implementing a branding strategy.

36

Q8. Which products of Apple have you owned? - To find out about the most successful

product line.

Q9. When thinking about Apple, which of the following do you mainly associate

Apple with? – To find out about the market positioning of Apple over competitors.

Q10. How would you rate Apple's products and services on a scale (1 to 5), where 5

being Excellent and 1 being Poor. - To find out about the satisfaction level of the

respondents about the overall products and services of Apple

Q11. What do you think about Apple's products pricing? – To find out if the respondents are receiving value for money.

Q12. When buying a smart phone, which brand would you prefer to buy? – To find out about the positioning of Apple's products in comparison to competitors in the mobile

market Q13. Do you think Apple's products should be charged premium for? – To find out

respondents views about the high set price for their products.

Q14. Would you have still considered purchasing Apple's products, if Apple wasn't

a branded company? – to find out if branding made a huge difference to Apple's success.

marketing strategies of branding apple inc

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