Case Study : Imc Strategies For Building Brands

The sensation of the iPhone is obvious in person; everywhere you go, someone has one of these devices in their possession. With millions of units selling every year, it is no wonder that the device is becoming highly ubiquitous and iconic. Like other Apple products, the iPhone is something that is easily recognized all around the world. The same phone has been selling for over four years now with cosmetic and hardware updates for each year’s new iteration, along with an operating system that is becoming more refined. Since its release in 2007, the iPhone has been a massively successful product for Apple, who has sold more than 100 million units in the iPhone's first four year, including 18.6 million in the first quarter of 2011 (Artman). Other competitors make smartphones that are better than the iPhone in many ways, yet Apple is selling more than ever. Other companies release new phones faster than the yearly refresh of Apple’s iPhones, but the latest isn’t always the greatest. It isn’t the technology that makes the iPhone successful, but rather the cool factor that the device expresses (Mintz).

And the front is more attractive too” (Crothers). The new transformation of the iPhone 5 in 2012 still has many people turning their heads and observing the phone. When people look past the functionality of the phone and see the design for its aesthetic beauty and design, it is a no-brainer that the iPhone’s sharp yet soft appearance can attract so many people to buy the phone. Apple completely redesigned the iPhone when the iPhone 5 was released and this only has strengthened Apple and has brought many people to turn away from Android. The design is very sharp and razor like at the edges but the center is soft and a great contrast to the edge. The thinness of the phone is spectacular and also strengthens the clarity of the phone’s sharpness. The iPhone also has a retina display that is designed to create optimal viewing of a screen with the right amount of PPI (pixels per inch), so the view is never distorted but crystal clear. A sharp design and crystal clear screen has aided the iPhone and showed many that the iPhone is clearly crafted better than an Android device.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone at the Macworld convention in January of 2007, a tidal change in the way users communicate with one another was unleashed. The phone, which combined the already popular attributes of an iPod with the traditional cell phone, was an instant success, selling millions of units even at the initially haughty price of $599 each (Vogelstein, 2008). The theory behind the creation of the phone was deceptively simple: combine an MP3 player with a Blackberry, camera, and regular cell phone operating on a sleek touch-screen controlled software system. Consumers were finally freed from carrying separate devices to perform all they tasks they now wanted to away from home. In one simple hand-held device they could take pictures, listen to music, play games, communicate with friends and family, and even surf the Internet. This one device changed the way that people began sharing information, allowing them to instantly access information anywhere in the world while also transmitting it just as quickly. The iPhone is now universally recognized and has become a cultural artifact in our times.

The purpose of the situational analysis is to look at a company’s internal environment in terms of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities as well as Threats, this enables the company to then set objectives accordingly.

Apple just released a new phone that is larger than it was in the past. They make the items look clean and sleek. They make it seem as they were the first to have the massive phones. If I wanted a massive smartphone I would have bought 1 3 years ago when Samsung release their Galaxy Note.

New top-end mobile phones such as the Apple Iphone are allowing a new class of mobile to emerge in the world today. Combined with its ease of use, rich design, and well-organized application system through Apple App Store makes the Iphone an appealing platform for development of other smartphones. The Apple IPhone was released on June 29, 2007 by CEO of Apple Steve Jobs (Honan). The IPhone offers many of the innovative features found on competing devices, but it also differs from other smartphones on the market.

The mobile market has continued to grow over the years with more and more of Apple’s competitors entering the smartphone market. It has also created more competitive prices (other than the iPhone) for customers who don’t want to shell out the big bucks to get an expensive phone. For the most part people know what type of phone they like or what company they prefer to do business with. IPhone is still very high on the top selling smart phones in the cellular

Apple very meticulously examines the trends and lifestyles of consumers as the lifestyle of a person is directly linked to his/ her preferences. As different people have different lifestyles, Apple identified and provided different features for different people in one phone like touch screen, iTunes, iPod for young generation while calendar, emails and web browsing for sophisticated business class people.

Without saying, the iPhone does no less of a job than any of the smart phones out in the market. More importantly, Apple has re-demonstrated to the world that their logo represents innovation and reliability. The advantages of having a big brand name means that people know your product, and believe in it. What Apple has over small companies and startup companies is a financial leverage over them. Instead of mass advertisement, apple can feed more of its money into R & D which can allow them to fuel the economy with new innovating idea’s and products. Strengths: 1) Brand name- Highly recognized name from previous products like Apple computers and iPod & iTunes. Known for offering multi-functional, reliable and cutting edge products- that is design capabilities of products. 2) Capital- profits from its long established operations give iPhone financial leverage or R & D Startup Company’s lack. Weaknesses: Like almost all products, the iPhone is not entirely flawless. Its major weakness is its limited channels of distribution. Unlike the IPod, which are sold through many retailers, the iPhone canonly be sold in AT&T stores, T-mobile, and Apple stores. Although AT&T is the largest phone service provider in the United States, they only currently serve 58 million out of 2.14 billion cell phone subscribers. Besides for their poor channels of

On June 29, 2007, Apple Inc. launched sales of the iPhone at Apple and AT&T stores across the country. Many hours earlier, enthusiastic customers lined up outside stores to get the first iPhone in their hands. The iPhone is more than just a breakthrough mobile-phone device. It is a strategy that may expand Apple's sphere of influence. Apple elegantly combined a mobile phone, mp3 player, and personal digital assistant (PDA) on the same machine characterized by its unique, innovative design.

Once again Apple has been the first to the market when it comes to new features such as the touch screen, which has helped to keep its competition at arms length. Like all other Apple products, the smartphone is seen by many consumers in the industry as fashionable and a must have. Also Apple’s online music store support has also been a huge lift to its smartphones, as consumers can download music and thousands of applications.

With Apple being so far ahead of their competition, the only problem one can foresee in Apple’s future is how long they can sustain such innovation before they plateau. Apple does a phenomenal job at releasing their innovative products before their competition, but if their innovation cannot hold steady, this may lead to changes in demand for their products considerably. This can be seen with their release of the iPhone, the first successful touch screen cellular phone. Although people swarmed to the iPhone when it was first released because of its advanced technology, as the years have passed, other similar designs, including those with android and windows based operating systems, have drawn a considerable portion of the market. A clear representation of Apple’s attempt to regain some of this market can be seen when the iPhone was released to Verizon Wireless’ customers in

Currently in 2014, the iPhone offers over hundreds of thousands of apps that make almost any task user-friendly. They also have the most advanced technology compared to other app markets (“iPhone” 1). This did not just happen quickly. There was not an App Store until a year after the launch of the first iPhone. It is mind blowing to believe that the iPhone 5s has LTE mobile broadband, while the first iPhone in 2007 did not even provide 3G (2). In about five years, Apple's iPhone developed greatly when it comes to the technology within it. Also, the outside features went through modern enhancements, including change in appearance from the original, and getting slimmer with each new generation. Throughout time apple will continue to

In 2007, Jobs invented the iPhone, a user friendly smart phone, which launched the smart phone market as we know it today. Until the emergences of other companies in the smart phone industry Apple monopolized the smart phone market. Although, other competitors are producing smart phones, Apple still continues to be successful when it comes to sales. For instance, Apple’s new iPhone 5S models sold more than 9 million units in their first weekend, and the company has earned praise for

Preliminary Brand Audit EA Engineering, Science & Technology, Inc. PBC Prepared for MKT 654 – Strategic Brand Management and Integrated Marketing Communications Professor: Jim Wills University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler School of Business Prepared by Group #4: Crystal Souza, Phil Potter, Amy Shiroma & Tanya Tarampi June 2015   TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES iii LIST OF TABLES iii 1.