Itunes Marketing Analysis

They are best known for their personal computer, the Macintosh, the media player known as the iPod, and most recently the iPhone. All of these products have received great reviews and are getting better with time and technology advancements. From Warner Brothers maps to having GPS on your phone, technology has definitely made leaps and bounds in recent years.

The iPod’s introduction to the MP3 market favored the worldwide spread and use of the product thanks to its simplicity, efficiency, attractive design. It came along with iTunes, a media player and library storing and updating all the songs on a computer. It also offers to purchase music online in the iTunes store. The launch of the iPod, in 2001 was an attempt to fill in people’s frustration and make it become a popular product among a large

are essential to the existence, and in turn, the fetishization (Marx) of the iPod as we know it. The first major performer in this iPod economy is a company called PortalPlayer. PortalPlayer is a key participant in the iPod economy because Apple relies on them for the platform and reference design of the iPod (Kessler).? This crucial relationship between Apple Inc. and PortalPlayer represents the beginning of a long series of relationships involved in the production of the iPod as a consumable commodity. Located in Santa Clara, California, PortalPlayer?s headquarters are strategically situated in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Renowned for more than just sunny weather and quaint counties; the region represents a geographically intensified cluster of high-tech firms who experience a competitive advantage through both cooperating and competing with one another (Porter).? Conveniently, Apple Computer Inc. also has their headquarters in this high-tech ?Mecca? dubbed ?the Silicon Valley,? in Cupertino, California. This high-tech region?s roots stem about 50 years back when Stanford University of Paulo Alto, California, leased some of it?s land to high-tech companies in order solve financial problems. Today, the Silicon Valley is one of the fastest growing regions in California and according to and information site on the region, ?is explosively expanding? it?s geographical borders (NetValley.com). The

In modern-day society the use of technology, such as computers, is inevitable. The big guys today are Apple, Acer and Dell. They all produce the same kind of product, but each offer a different value. Apple, for example, offers the value of quality, customs, standards, and principles in which the company believes. They present us the basis for what we do and how we do our everyday tasks. Apple is identified as an unique company. The Acer Group promises the value of being innovative, fast and effective. Dell is demonstrating its values through corporate citizenship. They all play an important role in the technological environment.

Since becoming popular iTunes has had to compete with many music competitors. These music competitors included Napster, RealNetworks, Inc., Wal-Mart, and Amazon. All of these companies provide the same music. However, these companies provide music for a minimal fee or free. For example, up until 2002 Napster subscribers were able to download music for free with an account and an internet connection. RealNetworks, Inc. users were able to download songs for $.49 cents or an album for $4.99, Wal-Mart had songs ranging from $.64 to $1.24, and Amazon account holders had access to over 15 million songs. Although these prices might not seem as much, they made a big difference to Apple since they were charging $1.29 for a song and up to $9.99 for

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of the world leaders in the research, development, marketing, sales and service of personal digital music & video devices, in addition to personal computers globally. Its' innovative music and digital content delivery service, iTunes, has sold over 1 billion songs to date. As of the close of their latest fiscal year the company generated $156B in Sales and generated a Gross Profit of $68B earning a Net Income of $41B (Apple Investor Relations, 2013). The intent of this analysis is to evaluate Apple's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and provide an analysis of each. The cause, impact and recommendations for each specific strength, weakness, opportunity and threat are provided along with an action plan of how to maximize strengths and opportunities and mitigate the effects of weaknesses and threats. The Apple brand is among the most valuable in the world and its ability to innovate with successive product generations unmatched, yet this has led to a high dependence on its iPhone and iPad platforms, to the exclusion of entirely new businesses. The Apple iTunes platform and ecosystem delivers 30% of all profits and a significant portion of overall revenue, making this single business a stabilizing force in their strategic product and services roadmap (Apple Investor Relations, 2013). Despite these challenges however Apple continues to attain

The shifted new strategy of Apple was initiated by the release of iPod in 2001, followed by the iPhone in 2007, then by iPad in 2012. It was the iPod that brought significant growth in Apple. Initially, the iPod was just another MP3 but soon became the icon of the digital age due to its sleek design and user friendly interface. Moreover, iPod could sync with Windows as well as a Mac and offered accessory markets. Soon enough all the competitor in MP3 market had to face the challenge of consumers comparing their model with iPod. However, the greatest challenge that the competitors had to face was the introduction of iTunes store.

It was clearly specified not to include an introduction in this document, however, I feel that adding the following words would strengthen the arguments in this document. I have an IT background, I am not a programmer, but I have been working in IT for the last 10+ years. All my life I have been a PC person and not a MAC person, I have used MAC in some occasions but I always felt that PCs were more user-friendly. It is needless to describe how electronics have progressed and invaded every aspect of our life now a days, we are all about gadgets, MP3 players, GPS, Palm, email, web-cam, web-conferencing etc etc… Every day there is a new invention that seduces us, and I am not immune to

iPods have positively influenced the way people all over the world listen to and share music in the blink of an eye. Since Apple introduced the first iPod in 2001, 350 million iPods have been sold as of September 2012. That’s enough iPods for every single person in the United States to have their own device with twenty million still left over. Those are some pretty staggering numbers, considering more iPods are sold every second.

| Weaknesses * It is reported that the Apple iPod Nano may have a faulty screen. The company has commented that a batch of its product has screens that break under impact, and the company is replacing all faulty items. This is in addition to problems with early iPods that had faulty batteries, whereby the company offered customers free battery cases. * There is pressure on Apple to increase the price of its music download file, from the music industry itself. Many of these companies make more money from iTunes (i.e. downloadable music files) than from their original CD sales. Apple has sold about 22 million iPod digital music players and more than 500 million songs though its iTunes music store. It accounts for 82% of all legally downloaded music in the US. The company is resolute, but if it gives in to the music producers, it may be perceived as a commercial weakness. * Early in 2005 Apple announced that it was to end its long-standing relationship with IBM as a chip supplier, and that it was about to switch to Intel. Some industry specialists commented that the swap could confuse Apple's

Apple has placed itself into pop culture, from how ipods and subsequent trends like the pod casts are created. Apple has managed to market its mp3 players to become renowned around the world as the best selling, or at least the classiest and simplest of mp3 players. From the simplicity of the design, to the uniqueness of its operating system, ipods have made the people who

Apple Incorporated, formerly known as Apple Computers Incorporated, and more commonly known just as Apple, has lead the way in technology and innovation for consumer electronics with their slender storage capacities, vibrant displays, and incredible touch screen products. When they first started, their focus was more on personal computers for customers, but as the company has aged, so has their focus expanded towards this idea of consumer electronics as a whole. Seeing as they now offer popular devices including, but not limited to, computers (Mac Book), home theater (Apple TV), phones (iPhone), tablets (iPad), and media (iPod), it can clearly be

iPod is a line of portable media players created by and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up consists of the hard drive-based iPod classic, the touchscreen iPod touch, the compact iPod nano and the ultra-compact iPod shuffle. iPod classic models store media on an internal hard drive, while all other models use flash memory to enable their smaller size (the discontinued mini used a Microdrive miniature hard drive). As with many other digital music players, iPods can serve as external data storage devices.

Also, as the purchasing power of the common has risen in various markets across the global, the purchasing of luxury products have gone up. For examples, the iPhone, iPod, iPad and the most latest technology, iWatch. Having these products are considered as statues symbols in many societies which have also increased the sales of Apple Inc. products. Another big social influence to the Apple Inc products is the rapid growth of the music industry, which have improved markets over the cyber space as well. The main exclusive music store is the iTunes and it is ahead of any of their competitors. Thus, in all Apple products benefitted from the social aspects as it has started defining a modern individual lifestyle.

Apple Inc. is known for their innovative products, combining user-friendly technology and elegant design, Apple’s bite of the consumer electronics market has been getting a little larger year by year. The Apple brand is fun, unique, and memorable because it is such a departure from brands that sound serious and corporate. Apple’s Macintosh computers has always stood out because it looks different from other personal computers and relies on software that even novices can learn. IPod backed by music-driven advertising, the player with the white ear buds immediately became the product of choice for many consumers. Newer models such as the iPod Nano and the iPod Touch have continued the