Apple Marketing Audit

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MARKETING AUDIT QUESTIONS—REVISED 2018 TEMPLATE
Apple Inc.
Founded by:
Steve Jobs, Steve Wazniak, & Ronal Wayne
Audit by:
Mathew MacGregor (U0452663)
&
Peter Kim (U0857567)
Marketing 3010
Professor Alan Sandomir
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Company……………………………………………………………………………………………….3
The Brands/Products …………………………………………………………………………………..12
The Prospect (Target Audience).…………………………………………………………………..19
The Market ………………………………………………………………………………………………….25
The Competition ………………………………………………………………………………………….31
Sales ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………35
Selling ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….39
Point of Sale …………………………………………………………………………………………………41
Merchandising ………………………………………………………………………………………….….44
Distribution ……………………………………………………………………………………………….…45
Consumer Relations ……………………………………………………………………………………..51
Advertising ………………………………………………………………………………………………..…52
Public Relations & Publicity ……………………………………………………………………….…61
Research ………………………………………………………………………………………………………66
RED TEXT – Not applicable or unable to find information

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The Company
1. Identification
• Name – Apple Inc.
• Signature (corporate “bug”—name, address etc. running across bottom of ad or
stationary) – Apple Inc. 1 Apple Park Way, Cupertino, CA95014
http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-
profile.apple_inc.4c9baa063908dbd8.html
• Trademarks – APPLE INC. The company has so many trademarks for different products.
https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/trademark/appletmlist.html
• Colors, symbols, etc. –silvery white colored symbol of an apple
http://www.corporate-eye.com/main/history-of-the-apple-logo-and-lessons-learned/
• Slogan (if any) – Think different
• Policy regarding reference to parent company, divisions, subsidiaries, etc.
The corporation’s public policy advocacy states that they strive to help policy makers at
every level of government understand about them. For the political contributions, they
do not make political contributions to individual candidates or parties.
https://www.apple.com/public-policy-advocacy/
2. Corporate relationships—partnerships, joint ventures, etc.

Accenture, Cisco, Deloitte, GE, IBM, and SAP.
https://www.apple.com/business/partners/
3. Financial Information (ownership, earnings, etc.)

Current CEO is Tim Cook. He was paid $12,825,066 as a compensation for 2017 year. His
compensation was fairly low compared to other leaders of the corporation.
https://www1.salary.com/APPLE-INC-Executive-Salaries.html
The company incurred net income of $48,351 million from it’s the core operating activities for
the fiscal year ended Sept 24, 2017. The net income increased by 5.83% compared to the year of
2016. Earnings per share for basic was $9.27. Earnings per share for diluted was $9.21. The total
number of shares in basic was 5,217,24. For diluted, it was 5,251,692.
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/6346737328x0x962680/D18FAEFF-460A-4168-
993D-A60CBA8ED209/_10-K_2017_As-Filed_.pdf (Pg.42)
The current price for the company stock is $191.44 per share. Over the past 5 years the stock
price increased from $63 which indicates the increase in stock price by $128.
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http://investor.apple.com/stockquote.cfm?benchmark1=&DisplayType=Area&Period=512#Com
pare
4. Corporate structure
https://research-methodology.net/apple-organizational-structure-a-hierarchical-structure-that-
may-change-in-near-future/
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• Divisions – The firm has four upper divisions under it’s the CEO. The divisions are: Senior
Vice Presidents, Chief Design Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Vice Presidents. Each
division handles their own particular job under division leaders. The company currently
has two main headquarters. Both are placed in California.
• Their contributions to volume, profits, etc. – The major profit of the company incurred
by the sales of their well-known product: iPhone. The smart device was responsible for
an average of around 70 percent of the company’s total revenue. In 2017, the sales of
the product sold 216 million units which was a significant increase by 150 million units
compared to 2013.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/265125/total-net-sales-of-apple-since-2004/
• Overseas operations – The corporation has two major overseas operations in: China and
Ireland. The operations in the two countries assemble Apple products. The company
also established international distribution channels in Ireland, Singapore, and China. As
well as the distribution channels, the company has retail stores in economically well-
developed countries.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/05/21/business/appl
es-international-structure.html?ref=business
5. Plants, branches, warehouses, etc.—how many and where are they

https://www.statista.com/statistics/273480/number-of-apple-stores-worldwide-since-2005/
The company owns total of 463 stores in the world. The stores are located in many high-profile
locations such as: New York, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Sydney, Osaka, and Shanghai. In terms
of plants and warehouses, the company’s suppliers are in various locations in the world: USA 75,
Mexico and Latin America 9, Israel 5, United Kingdom 9, Belgium and Netherlands 6, Germany
and Austria 13, Czech Republic and Hungary 6, France and Italy 7, China 330, Japan 148, South
Korea 38, Taiwan 35, Malaysia 26, Philippines 23, Thailand 19, Singapore 18, and Vietnam 10
https://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2015/06/apple-a-global-leader-in-supply-chain-management/
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6. Company history—go back as far as you think helpful or relevant

The well-known co-founders of the met each other for the first time in April 1, 1976. The
founders first made the first Apple I computers in Los Altos, California. In 1977, the company
became formal corporation in 1977. In the same year, the company’s first successful product
called Apple II computer was introduced. Also, they were able to fund Mike Markkula’s
investment of $92,000 in the company. In 1980, the company became a publicly traded
company by issuing 4.2 million shares for $22 each. Steve Jobs resigned from the company on
September 16, 1985. Apple released its first PowerPc based desktop computers and notebooks
in 1994. In 1996, the company faced the major competitor which was Microsoft Windows 95. In
accordance to the company’s crisis, Steve Jobs was re-hired by the board of directors in 1997.
The company first launched it’s the web store in 1997. In 1998, the company announces the
iMac. As the series of iMac, the company released iBook. In 2000, Steve Jobs was elected as the
permanent CEO of the company. In 2001, iTunes was introduced to the market. In 2004, iPod
was introduced. In the following after year, iPod shuffle and nano were introduced. In 2006,
Apple released the MacBook. In 2007, the company introduced the iPhone to the world. In
2011, the company was honored as the world’s valuable publicly traded company. In 2011,
Steve Jobs passed away. Apple Watch was introduced by the company in 2014. In 2016, iPhone
Se was released.
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/01/apple-turns-40-history-timeline/
7. Historical response to changes in the economy, fashions, consumer behavior, etc.

In the history, company was one of the leaders for the technology innovation. They developed a
personal computer, MP3, and smart phone. One of their innovated product iPod was sold 39.4
million units over the world which was 40% of total revenues. Also, by establishing their own
retail stores and online shop, they were able to establish their scales of economy. In 2015. Apple
Inc had reached their peak sales in iPhones for selling 231 million units. Over the company
history of 42 years, the company gained many loyal customers. Even products price of the
company have been rapidly increasing over last few years, loyal customers are buying them.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/21/how-apple-has-changed-in-the-past-10-years.aspx
8. Reputation – and for what

• What business is the company in? Automobile
The company is well-known for electronic devices such as: personal computer, laptop,
MP3, and smart phones.
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/6346737328x0x962680/D18FAEFF-460A-
4168-993D-A60CBA8ED209/_10-K_2017_As-Filed_.pdf (item two)
• What business ten years from now?

They are committing themselves to the best use experience for innovative hardware,
software and services. The company is continuing their expansion on platform for the
discovery and delivery of digital content and applications through its digital content and
services.
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• Image
According to a market analysis, Apple Inc is the top of the smartphone market in the
fourth quarter of 2017. A chart indicates that they have 51 percent of dominance in the
smartphone market.
https://www.statista.com/chart/12953/smartphone-market-share-based-on-revenue-
and-unit-shipments/
• Significant achievements
Technical Emmy award, Outstanding Commercial award, Brand of the Year, and Barron’s
Most Respected Company awards.
https://bgr.com/2013/07/26/apple-brand-of-the-year-award/
https://www.cultofmac.com/81823/apple-wins-barrons-most-respected-company-
award-two-years-in-a-row/
https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/29/apple-wins-emmy-award/
• Newsworthy facilities
The company currently finished building their new headquarter building in California
called Apple Park. The building illustrates a shape of spaceship. The building occupies
175 acre which can handle over 12,000 employees. The building is iconic to the
company.
https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/complete-guide-apple-park-3489704/
• Newsworthy employees
One of their former employee, Xiaolang Zhang has been charged for stealing trade
secrets and sharing the information to a Chinese company.
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/396580-former-apple-employee-arrested-
charged-with-theft-of-trade-secrets
• Newsworthy innovations
The company recently made a brand new product called Airpods which is a wireless
headphone. Usually wireless headphones cover ears and the size is bulky, however the
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company found their niche for the product on differentiation of unique design and small
size.
https://www.fastcompany.com/company/apple
9. Marketing approach
• Statement of marketing philosophy
Empathy: Apple should strive for an “intimate” connection with customers’ feelings.
“We will truly understand their needs better than any other company.”
Focus: To be successful, Apple should center its efforts on accomplishing its main goals,
and eliminate all the “unimportant opportunities.”
Impute: Apple should be constantly aware that companies and their products will be
judged by the signals they convey.
http://www.1000manifestos.com/mike-markkula-the-apple-marketing-philosophy/
• Formal or informal plan

The company is centered by 7 key strategies. The first is rethinking the need for
advertising. The second is avoiding price wars by emphasizing the unique value
proposition. The third is keeping the marketing and products simple. The fourth is
knowing audience and talking to them in their language. The fifth is designing a better
customer experience. The sixth is aiming at prospects’ emotions. The seventh is building
a community of customers.
https://neilpatel.com/blog/7-key-strategies-that-you-must-learn-from-apples-
marketing/
• Market research facilities/capabilities

The company’s market research facilities seemed to be veiled in secret. According to the
previous CEO Steve Jobs, he declared that Apple does not engage in market research.
However, they seemed to be somehow engaging in the market research through
periodic surveys to their customers
https://www.networkworld.com/article/2222892/wireless/how-apple-conducts-
market-research-and-keeps-ios-source-code-locked-down.html
• Test marketing—what kind do they conduct, examples, etc.

According to one of their marketing strategy, they engage in test marketing by
participatory design, usability testing. Apple integrates customer experience into design
and development process in order to fully understand opportunities and weakness.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/10/why-apple-is-a-great-
marketer/#2b6f1601297d
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10. Promotional mix—relative importance to the company

• Personal selling – In the company stores, they have personal sellers. The company has a
strong emphasis on personal selling. They stated that the company depends on the
performance of distributors, carriers, and sellers.
4168-993D-A60CBA8ED209/_10-K_2017_As-Filed_.pdf (pg.12 item9)
• Advertising and other communications- They currently won an award for their amazing
advertisement. In the history of the company, they focused on producing products, but
currently they are expanding their budget in ads: TV, magazine, newspaper, and
digital(online).
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/01/apple-expanding-ad-business-reversing-creepy-
stance-wsj.html
• Public relations and sales promotion- The company’s marketing mix includes
promotional activities. In the promotional mix, they emphasize the image of premium
and quality products. Also, the company considerately optimize corporate image
through public relations. The promotions are advertising, personal selling, sales
promotion, and public relations.
http://panmore.com/apple-inc-marketing-mix-4ps
11. Long-range corporate objectives and strategies—domestic and global

The long range of the corporate is to focus on developing future high technology. The
augmented reality is a technology which overlays digital images on the real world. An another is
virtual reality. Currently there are many virtual reality devices out in the market.
https://futurism.com/tim-cook-reveals-apples-10-year-plan-for-future-tech/
12. Plans regarding the following:

• Expansion – The corporation is planning to spend $350 billion over next five years in
order to contribute to US economy.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/01/apple-accelerates-us-investment-and-job-
creation/
• Diversification – The company diversified in their products by obtaining four iconic

products: iPhones, Macs, iPads, and iPods. Also, their recent brand new product,
airpods, has become one of their strong products.
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https://royal.pingdom.com/2011/06/13/the-diversification-of-apple/
• Decentralization – The company used to keep a structure of centralized organization.

However, they currently put their effort to decentralize their structure by product
based.
https://research-methodology.net/apple-organizational-structure-a-hierarchical-
structure-that-may-change-in-near-future/
• Acquisitions – The company is recently focusing on acquiring digital applications and

high technology companies: magazine application, augmented reality head set
manufacturing company, and camera sensor company.
https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-acquisition/
• Etc.
13. States of the Industry

• Growth – From 2004 to 2015, the company made a growth of 230 billion.
https://www.statista.com/topics/847/apple/
• Profits – In 2017 fiscal year, the company incurred net profit of $48,351.
4168-993D-A60CBA8ED209/_10-K_2017_As-Filed_.pdf (Pg.42)
• Other important trends – The company has been evaluated as one of the most valuable
companies in the world.
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14. Legal consideration in the industry – The firm is currently struggling to keep their intellectual
property. Their properties are consisted of patents for high technology such as software, and
electronic device manufacturing. They currently had an issue with intellectual property leaking.
https://www.apple.com/legal/intellectual-property/piracy.html
15. Organization chart – personnel

• Relationships of production to marketing to sales
The company has two different marketing departments: worldwide and marketing
communication. The worldwide department is placed under senior vice president. The
marketing communication is placed under control of vice presidents.
• Chains of authority for advertising – budgets and advertising approvals

The company has been putting their enormous effort on both the quality and quantity
of the advertisements. However, the company is currently not disclosing the specific
amount of money spent on advertisements. The amount is estimated to be $1.8 billion.
https://www.cultofmac.com/455536/advertising-budget/
16. Policies
• Company secrets – This is may be not a huge secret. The company used to buy screens
for their product and assemble them in the final stage of the manufacturing. The
company is now trying to produce the screens by themselves in order to maximize their
profit.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-19/apple-is-said-to-develop-
displays-to-replace-samsung-screens
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• Classified information – As the global competition in the high technology and electronic
devices accelerates, the company is currently focusing on making products as luxury
goods in order to maintain their market value creation and loyal customers.
https://www.valuewalk.com/2014/08/new-apple-inc-product-classified-as-jewelry/
• Other policies that affect communications – The company has set up a standard and
policy to lubricate the communication in between customers and employees.
https://www.apple.com/business/resources/docs/Apple_Employee_Communications_K
it.pdf
17. Management consultants—may be difficult to find, but companies like BCG are often cited
Currently, McKinsey&Company was one of their management consultant.
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/apple-googlemckinsey-how-an-old-school-company-is-
changing-the-world-of-digital-.html
18. Association memberships and services receive

The company is involving in indirect advocacy for the policies in trade and their industry.
The Brand(s)/Product(s)
1. Identification
• Names – iphone, ipad, airpods, and macbook

• Trademarks –
• Colors, symbols, etc

They always put their company symbol. Colors are vary depending on a specific product
and design along customers’ choice.
• Product shape and other characteristics
The most of their products: ipad, iphone, and macbook are in a rectangular shape, but
round shapes on its edges of the products. One of their characteristics of the products is
their big logo on the products. Their products are also well-known for simplicity, but
high value is aesthetics.
http://jobs.designengine.com/jobs/product-design-engineer-apple/
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2. General
• Lines (including degrees of completeness)
Their product manufacturing is completed by many out side of the country facilities.
http://www.supplychain247.com/article/is_apples_supply_chain_really_the_no._1_a_c
ase_study
• Types, styles, sizes, price ranges, profitability

Their products are mainly electronic devices and software. The electronic devices tend
to maintain a simple design with aesthetical values such as mild white or gray colors.
Price ranges are fairly high that their latest smart phone was about $1,000. Even though
the average of high price range, company has been successful in generating their profit.
4168-993D-A60CBA8ED209/_10-K_2017_As-Filed_.pdf
• Availability of products fact sheets

The company well organized the information about their products that any customers
can easily access to the information.
https://images.apple.com/legal/more-resources/docs/apple-product-information-
sheet.pdf
3. Product life cycle—where are key brands on the PLC

The product life cycle seemed to be heavily depending on outside of the country manufacturers.
For an instance, their screens are now manufactured by Japanese companies. Also, the
characteristics of high technology and electronic devices are bringing the maturity stage quickly.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ewa_Wiecek-
Janka/publication/319199871_Apple_Products_A_Discussion_of_the_Product_Life_Cycle/links/
59e4d6890f7e9b0e1aa87935/Apple-Products-A-Discussion-of-the-Product-Life-Cycle.pdf
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4. Product testing
• Internal R&D data
The company is spending $3.4 billion on the research and develop which accounts for 4
percent of the company’s net sales for the three-month period. Compared to their
record on R&D in the past, they are expanding huge amount of budget on it.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/02/02/apple-rd-spend-exceeds-3b-for-first-time-
up-410m-from-september
• Consumer data
For the consumer data, the company is highly relying on its surveys from their
customers.
5. Brand reviews
• History
They have been evaluated the best worthy company in the world for their technology
innovation and dedication for the industry. Not only in the technology, but also for their
design, the company has been evaluated highly.
• Usage
The brand is dedicated to electronic devices. Also, they are one of the leading company
for the high technology advancement. They are selling exclusive hardware electronic
devices such as smart phone, computer, and laptop with their exclusive software.
• Market share
According to one of the researches done above, the company owns about 50 percent of
the smart phone market in the world. During the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2017,
the company occupied 19.2 percent of the market. In the first quarter of this year, they
occupied 15.6 percent of the smart phone market share.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/216459/global-market-share-of-apple-iphone/
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• Competitive position
In the history background, the company used to focus on producing electronic products
which anybody can obtain; however, they currently changed their strategy in
competitive position to make their goods become luxury goods.
• Anything else you find

Their current new product airpods is already dominating in the wireless headphone
market share. The satisfaction for the product turned out to be 98 percent. Moreover,
85 percent of the market share was taken by their new product.
https://bgr.com/2017/09/04/airpods-headphones-profits-success-apple/
6. Patents and licenses—just for products/brands you are studying

The company extended and obtained 44 patents regarding their high technologies on
iphone, ipad, and macbook
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2018/05/apple-granted-44-patents-
today-covering-an-iphone-with-a-wraparound-display-apple-pencil-with-force-sensing-
more.html
7. Points of differentiation
• Exclusive and/or superior processes, ingredients, features, etc.
Their new ios11 have many exclusive features: live photo manipulation, high volume of
data accessibility, brand new application store, imessage, AI translation, AI keyboard,
and managing control center.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ios-11-best-features-2017-7
• What is each product’s or service’s greatest feature or consumer benefit that

differentiates each product from the competition?
The company has been successful in their strategy to create value of luxury goods for
their products that there are an image of cool people or people on the edge of high
technology when a person uses their product. Also, they have very good warranty
system for their customers.
• If differences do not exist, can they be created, and how?

They are already creating their value as luxury electronic goods.
• Functional, emotional, benefits-oriented differentiators

The hug emotional benefits from using the company’s product is people feel like they
are highly evaluated as they are using the products.
• Positioning or Value Propositions

During the last few years the company has been successfully changing their value
propositions to luxury goods.
https://www.valuewalk.com/2014/08/new-apple-inc-product-classified-as-jewelry/
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8. SWOT Analysis—if not available, build it

Strength: innovative products, first mover, brand equity, design and technology, and
distribution.
Weakness: high expectation from consumers, incompatibility, and dependency
on few products.
Opportunity: apple car, technological advancement, growing market,
iwatch, and apple TV.
Threat: market penetration, and laptop competition
https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-apple/
9. Packaging, labeling, tagging—note if there are differentiators here

The company is well-known for simple, clean, and direct packaging labeling. As one of their
marketing strategy “simple”, the company seemed to be working very well on simplifying their
packaging, labeling, and tagging. One of their exclusive packaging style is a clean and direct
looking white box with labeling or tagging of their company logo on surface of the products.
http://www.swedbrand-group.com/blog/how-apples-packaging-gives-buyers-a-sensory-
experience-that-strengthens-the-brand
10. Packing and shipping—note if there are differentiators here

As an extension of their packaging and labeling, they are consistent in the way as simple white
packing. Also, they have a special option for a present.
https://www.networkworld.com/article/2221536/data-center/inside-apple-s-secret-packaging-
room.html
11. Factors in selection of brand, including consumer resistances

Brand loyalty is one of the factors for the success. Their exclusive software and hardware
designs are one of the factors as well. Because they differentiator in software gave a strong
factor, because loyal customers now struggle using the competitors’ product Microsoft.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2011/11/27/is-brand-loyalty-the-core-to-apples-
success-2/#6daf8dc48a0a
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12. Warehousing—special considerations (such as needs refrigeration, special handling, etc)

They have several manufacturing facilities and warehouses over the world which are giving the
company advantage in distribution strategy; however, they might struggle from keeping their
special know-hows or technologies from those facilities.
http://fortune.com/2010/02/13/apples-10-biggest-problems-update/
13. Installation services—if necessary (such as appliances)

The products of the company require specialized software designed by their company. For an
instance, all of Apple products require to use Safari, itunes, and ios. Because the software
market is dominated by Microsoft, they help clients to personalize their software to keep the
entrance barrier down.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-wants-to-be-a-services-company-2016-1
14. Customer services—are they available—are they differentiated

Just like the most electronic device companies, apple also offers warranties and technical
support services.
https://support.apple.com/contact
15. What is (are) the biggest marketing or sales problem(s)?

Their biggest sales problem has been Chinese market. China is well known for second biggest
market after The United States; however, because Chinese money has been devalued too much,
Apple has been struggling to keep their prices. As a solution, Apple is making their products
luxury goods.
https://www.cultofmac.com/384867/chinese-devaluation-is-terrible-for-apple-great-for-its-
suppliers/
16. New products program

• How many a year – For the fiscal year of 2018, the company is selling three new smart
phone products. Along the new smart phones, they are planning to sell a new ipad,
watch, airpods, homepod, mac aptops, mac pro, and apple pencil. Because of the
characteristics of the high technology industry, the company doesn’t have a specific
indication in per year new products. However, usually a new product comes out in an
average of one to three years.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-ipad-mac-watch-2018-release-date-
preview-2018-1
• Who’s responsible – Products don’t have a specific responsible person, but as the chief
leader position, the CEO is accounted for company products. According to the structure
of the company, different aspects of a product depends on different leaders and
departments.
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• Testing procedures
After designing and manufacturing process, a product is tested and reviewed. The cycle
takes four to six weeks in an average. After the cycle is done, new product is taken back
to the company headquarter.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/apple-s-product-development-
process-inside-the-world-s-greatest-design-organization
• Testing/approval criteria—may be hard to find

Usually the approval process is divided into two different criteria as: software and
hardware. During the software test, they check on any malfunctioning factors on a
product. During the hardware test, they take a situational test: check on heat and shock
durability.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202739
• Success rate—may be hard to find

Couldn’t find any information about success rate for the testing.
17. New products/services planned

They are planning to release many new or upgraded products and services in this year.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-ipad-mac-watch-2018-release-date-preview-
2018-1
18. Product/services to be dropped

As the company is preparing to gain market power in software industry, they dropped their
previous ios for laptops and computers. The new ios system called macOS is developed.
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19. Which products/services to be promoted, and where

Apple is keep working on upgrading their software such as: apple pay and ios. This is not just for
US, but their customers all over the world. The attempt is made in order to gain a market
dominance in software.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-wants-to-be-a-services-company-2016-1
The Prospect (Target Audience) PG 168
1. Prospect profile—THE FOLLOWING IS JUST A SMALL SAMPLE--PLEASE USE THE DEMOGRAPHIC-

GEOGRAPHIC-PSYCHOGRAPHIC—BEHAVIORISTIC CHART CITED IN TEXT OR SLIDES (CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR)
Demographic
• Age group
o Between 18 – 45, depending on the product or service that is being marketed.
o Apple products and services do appear to be most popular with people between the
age of 34 on down.
• Sex
o Both Male and Females in all market segments
o Apple Products do appear to be more prevalent among males than females; on
roughly a 2-1 basis, depending on your source.
• Race
o Apple targets all races.
o While all races buy apple products in relative numbers. The Asian community tends
to buy the most apple products of any race.
• Ethnicity
o They market to every ethnicity.
• Income
o Apple is associated with being a premium brand that comes with a premium income
level. A brand everyone wants, but not everyone can afford.
o As of such, the average household income for say a mac owner, is $98,500
o They target mainly middle to upper class citizens. Although its not exclusive, as they
do market to other socioeconomic classes such as teenagers.
• Education
o People who own Apple products tend to have a higher level of education.
o They do not however target a specific education level.
• Occupation
o Apple products are over-weighted for professionals and business people by 38%,
and operations/ sales by 31%.
o They are however under-weighted for blue-collar and retired populations.
• Family Size
o Although the average family household owns two Apple products, there is no
specific family size that Apple targets.
• Family Life Cycle
o Apple does not appear to target specific family life cycles in its marketing strategies.
20
• Religion
o Apple also does not take religion into consideration when looking for market
segments to market too.
• Social Class
o Apple appears to target middle to upper class citizens. Seeing how they tend to
spend more money on apple products.
o Apple consumers are generally higher up on the socio-economic class. They have
generally higher education, higher income, and higher representation in
professional and managerial jobs.
Psychographic
• Personality attributes
o Aspirer, explorer, and “succeeder” are the type of overall personalities that Apple is
targeting with the marketing of their products.
o They are also marketing toward more ambitious and determined individuals.
• Motives
• Lifestyles
o The middle and upper-class type of people and the lifestyles correlated with these
socio-economic-status’s.
Geographic
• Region
o U.S. and other international areas
• Urban, Suburban
o Urban is the dominant geographic of Apple users.
• City Size
• Country Size
Behavioristic
• State Size
• Market Density
• Climate
• Terrain
• Volume usage
• End use
• Benefit experience
o There are numerous types of benefits to as of why certain consumers choose Apple
products over other brands.
o These benefits include: self-expression, speed of service and efficiency, sense of
achievements and belongingness, and features and capabilities of Apple products.
21
• Brand loyalty
o Apple is heavily invested with hardcore loyal customers that consider nothing less
than Apple products themselves.
• Price sensitivity
o Apple consumers are not very price sensitive compared to other tech companies.
This was exemplified by Apples success in releasing currently the most expensive
smartphone the iPhone X. Which is retailing at a base price of $999
http://fortune.com/2017/09/14/apple-iphone-x-price/
Sources Cited for DEMOGRAPHIC-GEOGRAPHIC-PSYCHOGRAPHIC—BEHAVIORISTIC CHART!!
https://infoscout.co/brand/apple
https://research-methodology.net/apple-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning/
https://brandongaille.com/18-apple-target-market-demographics/
https://appleanalyses.wordpress.com/7-1-2-demographic/
https://appleanalyses.wordpress.com/7-1-3-socioeconomic/
https://appleanalyses.wordpress.com/7-1-4-geographic/
https://appleanalyses.wordpress.com/7-1-1-psychographic/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/toddhixon/2014/04/10/what-kind-of-person-prefers-an-
iphone/#63c83aead1b0
2. Shopping practices
• Who
o Men buy more apple products then women on a 2 – 1 ratio.
o Primarily families in middle to upper class.
o People under the age of 34 buy the most apple products.
o Although some research suggests older people; who aren’t even a fourth of all
Apple customers, spend more money when they do buy apple products.
https://money.cnn.com/2015/10/29/technology/apple-customers/index.html
https://infoscout.co/brand/apple
• When
o Although apple has sales year-round, they usually see an increase in sales during the
holidays and with the releases of new devices.
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/12/27/apple-most-holiday-device-activations/
22
• Where
o Apple stores, Online Apple stores, Authorized retailers (I.E Walmart and Best Buy),
Telecom companies (I.E. AT&T), and fulfilment services from companies like Amazon
and eBay.
http://allthingsd.com/20121003/apple-stores-get-the-glory-but-retail-partners-
shoulder-load/
• How
o Apple Pay, Credit/Debit cards, PayPal, Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards, Apple
Business Lease (AFS commercial credit), Gift cards, or cash.
https://www.apple.com/shop/help/payments
3. Purchasing Factors
• Seasonal
o Holidays are a huge deal for apple. Considering they usually see a huge spike that is
disproportionally high compared to what other similar companies see.
• How a purchase develops

o Peoples decision to purchase an Apple product relies heavily on brand image. So,
peoples purchasing decisions usually develop from a sense of wanting to belong to
that group or eco system of Apple users, not to mention the prestige of the product.
https://www.techradar.com/news/7-reasons-why-do-people-love-apple-products
https://www.techprevue.com/people-buy-apple-products/
23
• Considered or impulse purchase

o Apple is not considered an impulse purchase. Considering the price tag that comes
with most of their products and services. Many people put lots of consideration into
what device, color, and specifications they want.
• Importance of price, availability, service, etc.

o Price is important with any good or service. But for apple customers; they are so
brand loyal that many of them will pay almost anything.
o Availability is not really a big issue with customers unless it’s around the holidays.
o Services however, are one of apples next big business opportunities. And is
something they are currently trying to expand on.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2017/09/why_you_ll_pay_for_a
pple_s_1_000_iphone.html
https://www.recode.net/2017/5/3/15523268/apple-services-business-revenue-growth
• Influence of intermediaries (retailers, dealers, distributors, salespersons, etc.)

o Intermediaries can have a huge influence on Apples overall sales. Although Apple
appears to strive for supply chain standards and goals such as environmental issues.
https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/
• Average purchase value

o The average price for an Apple iPhone is nearly $800, while the average price for its
new iPhone X is at $999, currently its most expensive phone as of 2018. Although
prices can vary depending on certain specification and distributors.
o The iPad on the other hand can range from $269 - $1,079
https://www.lifewire.com/how-much-does-ipad-cost-1994297
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-average-selling-price-2018-2
• Tax considerations—are products deductible for consumers

o Since Apple products are considered more of a luxury brand, they are not tax
deductible like other products.
• Repurchase cycle
o Apple does offer a trade in program, giving people credit for trading in their old
devices for newer models.
o And their customers are very brand loyal, with 80% - 90% buying Apple products
again when they upgrade, such as an iPhone.
https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in
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• Brand loyalty
o Apple consumers are known for the unwavering brand loyalty. They have as high as
80% - 90% brand loyalty as of 2017 – 2018. Which is the percentage of customers
that will upgrade from say one iPhone to another iPhone.
http://www.starkinsider.com/2018/04/apple-iphone-brand-loyalty-1-year-high-
samsung-lg-motorola-report.html
• Obsolescence
o There have been many reports of Apple intentionally making their products with
planned obsolescence. Apple themselves don’t even deny the allegations at this
point, claiming it is because the batteries naturally decrease in performance as they
get old, so they slow down old phones so try and preserve the battery life of older
phones and devices.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42615378
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamsarhan/2017/12/22/planned-obsolescence-
apple-is-not-the-only-culprit/#8668c8e3cf24
4. Motivation
• Why they buy the company’s brand(s)
o The main reasons why people buy Apple products is because of not only the design
and hardware, but also because of the incredibly immersive experience and the
sprawling ecosystem of other Apple users.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/01/why-people-keep-buying-apple-products.html
https://www.techradar.com/news/7-reasons-why-do-people-love-apple-products
• Why they buy competitive brands

o The main reasons people buy other brands, namely from the android platform such
as LG, HTC, or Samsung is broken down into primarily 3 categories. First, there is an
abundance of more choices out there then just Apple to fit people’s needs. Android
phones also tend to be more customizable. And it is possible to get phones with
better hardware.
https://crambler.com/10-reasons-android-phone-better-than-iphone/
• Which competitor market segment(s) is(are) vulnerable, and why

o The market segment that is vulnerable would be the ever-increasing competition in
the smartphone market.
o Apple has successfully differentiated itself away from the market, but the same can
not be said for the Android platform. Which consists of basically all of Apple’s
competitors. Every new phone on this plat-form is more likely to eat at each
other’s sales more so than Apples sales.
25
o This means that while Apples competitors are busy dealing with cannibalistic
products on the market that are eating each other’s shares away, Apple can go
about expanding its brand and product.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/google-hardware-samsung-idUKL2N1CB00E
The Market
1. How the market is segmented
Apples main market; the smartphone, seems to be segmented into several categories as
of 2014 with their individual characteristics.
https://www.marketingcharts.com/industries/media-and-entertainment-39977
2. Geographical
• Coverage—does company sell in entire geographic areas
26
Apple does appear to sell across almost the entire U.S. which is also its most important
market. Following behind is Europe, China, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. While not as wide
spread geographically as in America, they are in more than one geographical market.
https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/04/01/5-largest-markets-for-apple.aspx
• Markets ranked by importance

o The most important markets geographically for apple is in order from: America,
Europe, China, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. This is just the top 5 most important
markets for Apple.
• Market development indices—how well is product/brand developed in various markets

o Apple seems to be very good at generic strategies such as product
differentiation. And they also focus very heavily on intensive strategies such as
product development and market penetration. Which is working out for them
very well.
o They could however use some work on their least significant strategy of market
development. Developing into new markets could be a key part of its future
marketing strategies.
o As far as how developed they are in various markets is highly dependent on the
geographical location. Their brand is extremely developed in the American
smartphone, computer, software and other types of various markets. Although
Apple is still working on developing in markets such as India and China.
http://panmore.com/apple-inc-generic-strategy-intensive-growth-strategies
3. Market trends
• Market as a whole
o The market will remain weak as of 2018. Due to lower demand and less
replacement purchases, along with continuous rise in the cost of upstream
components.
https://press.trendforce.com/press/20180213-3067.html
• Segmentation—changes?—variations?
o The leading company Samsung as of global market share is going to be taking a
slight hit from 21.9% to 20.3%. While Apple on the other hand cause of new
technology and their flagship phone as of 2018 is going to see a slight increase
in market share.
o Overall every companies market share is going to change slightly, there are
however no completely new or dramatic changes.
27
https://press.trendforce.com/press/20180213-3067.html
4. State of the market

• Growth
o Even though the market has stagnated in 2018 slightly, the overall
smartphone market, which is Apples biggest market in terms of revenue is
expected to see modest growth through tell 2021 at-least.
https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43010517
https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/smartphone-market-to-see-
modest-growth-through-2021-idc
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180213005684/en/Annual-
Growth-Global-Smartphone-Market-Shrink-2.8
• Maturity
o Even though the smartphone market is still slightly growing at roughly 4% or so
annually, it is a large drop from when it was growing at around 30% annually.
o There are now many more competitors and product and brand differentiation
are just around every single corner.
o While the market isn’t completely mature, it does appear that the market is
almost in the mature stage unless new ground-breaking innovations take place.
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/28/the-smartphone-market-declined-for-the-
first-time-ever-samsung-still-on-top.html
https://nonesnotes.com/2017/05/07/suddenly-smartphones-are-looking-like-a-
mature-market/
5. Marketing Objectives
• Short-range
o Apple’s short-range marketing objectives seem straightforward. They want to
create a high-quality premium products and services. This is to build brand
loyalty and recognition for the most part.
28
https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-apple/
http://www.versiondaily.com/the-marketing-strategy-of-apple-a-concise-
analysis/
• Long-range
o Apple’s short-range marketing objectives do carry over to their long-range
objectives. Although it appears that they are focused primarily on some more
specific goals. Things such as Apple’s “One-Size Fits-All” approach and trying to
build stronger relationships.
o Focusing more on creating digital and regional campaigns and less on
“localizing” big brand campaigns for global markets
http://www.brandquarterly.com/globalization-apples-one-size-fits-approach
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/apple-shifts-its-marketing-strategy-
to-focus-on-digital-and-regional-campaigns/
6. Marketing strategy
• Product
o Apple’s core product line is as follows: iPhone, iPad, Macintosh, Apple Software,
iPod, and Apple Watch.
https://titanwebmarketingsolutions.com/4-powerful-ps-need-know-apples-
marketing-mix/
• Packaging
o Apple’s packaging is one of its most understated and magnificent features.
Apple understands that to reinforce their brand they must sell the entire
experience of their product. From the very start, as soon as you get the product
it comes in a straight-forward, clean, and elegantly crafted box that goes to
reinforce just the attention of detail and quality they put into their products.
https://www.personalics.com/2016/02/03/sensory-design-packaging/
29
• Price
o Apple uses premium pricing for their products. So, they do not typically have
sales unless a new model is released. This typically attracts middle to upper
class people and maintains its high-end image.
marketing-mix/
• Distribution
o Apple’s is very strict on who can distribute (sell) its products. This may limit
Apple’s reach, but it also reinforces its high-end image of their products. Their
distribution includes Apple Stores, Online Apple and App stores, and authorized
retailers such as Telecom Companies.
marketing-mix/
• Promotion
o Apple likes to use a lot of advertising when a new product is launched, along
with other tactics such as print ads and product placement.
https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-apple/
marketing-mix/
• Online
o Apple has a remarkable online presence. They have more than 100-country
specific localized websites. When you go to an apple website, they also
geographically locate you to the nearest Apple store details. Not to mention the
they also have language specific sites depending on your geographic area.
o This makes Apple extremely effective at marketing online to its customer base.
https://info.ibt.onl/international-business-and-technology-blog/a-for-apple
7. Export and international markets

o Apple is very interested in emerging markets such as India. And with the global
smartphone market growing at a steady pace, it is a great time to look for new
markets. India is currently 10% of the world smartphone market as of 2016 and
could grow rapidly over the next 5 years!
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-focuses-more-on-emerging-markets-2016-
12
8. New markets to investigate or exploit

o China and India are currently the newest markets that Apple is currently trying to
exploit. Apple is working on a long-term footprint to expand its presence in both
countries.
30
https://investorplace.com/2018/05/apple-aapl-new-opportunities-emerging-
markets/
9. Test marketing experience and plans

o Apples latest marketing tests and plans was with the Apple iPhone X. They were
testing just how price sensitive their customer base would be with the new $999
iPhone. Which they call a “super premium” compared to other smartphones and to
the rest of Apple’s line-up.
https://www.ft.com/content/44d8547a-97ed-11e7-a652-cde3f882dd7b
10. Markets in which to concentrate promotional activities

o As of 2016, Apple focused its promotional activities on a campaign called “40 years
in 40 seconds”. Celebrating its 40th anniversary.
o In 2017, Apple is restructuring the relationship with its ad agency “TBWA\Media
Arts” to focus more on local and digital content. One of its earliest examples was an
ad released in brazil for the Rio Carnival, highlighting the iPhone 7 Plus new portrait
photography mode.
o Overall the Apple’s iPhone in the smartphone market is going to be where Apple is
going to want to focus promotional activities. This is because their smartphone
makes up the majority (roughly 2/3) of Apples annual revenue.
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-history-through-advertising-40-years-
anniversary-2017-2#2017-meu-bloco-na-r
31
11. Markets or segment overlooked by the competition

o The premium smartphone market is probably the most overlooked by the
competition. With multiple competitors in the industry and price cuts seemingly
everywhere, Apple has taken a premium stance to differentiate itself. Although
competitors such as Google have been putting a lot of effort to get its flagship phone
into the market on its Android platform.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/01/02/apple-incs-iphone-market-share-
problem.aspx
12. Availability of written marketing plans

o
13. Availability of current marketing research
o
The Competition
1. Direct vs. Indirect

• The 10 top direct competitors Apple has been as follows: Samsung, PayPal, Tesla,
Amazon, Dell, Sony, Fitbit, Bose, Google, and Microsoft.
• A couple of note worth companies that are indirectly competing with various apple
products are as follows: Any streaming services like Spotify or Pandora, News providers
such as Facebook or Google, Head phone providers like Skull Candy and Bose, or any
personal assistance hardware like Alexa.
http://eskify.com/10-apples-biggest-competitors/
https://www.quora.com/Who-are-Apples-indirect-competitors
2. By division
o
3. By product and/or product lines
• Breadth of lines
• Comparisons of construction, patents, features, price, packaging, availability, etc.
4. By Markets
• Sales Coverage
o Apple is clearly competing with the android platform in terms of sales volume.
Although it is Samsung that is their biggest competitor in the smartphone
market.
32
http://www.modularphonesforum.com/news/modular-smartphones-sales-forecast-852/
• Share of Market
o Apple appears to be doing good in 2017, inching them ever closer to holding the
most market share in the industry. Currently sitting at roughly 14.7% according
to “IDC”.
• Opportunities
o Demand for innovation, internet growth, a growing industry, employee benefit
program. And opportunity to create a new software market and sell hardware in
those markets.
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/analysis-segmentation-and-
marketing-mix-of-apple-marketing-essay.php
33
5. Selling effectiveness
o Its no secret, given that Apple has tremendous brand loyalty and recognition
paired with innovative and top of the line premium devices that their products
basically sell themselves.
o Apple sales hundreds of millions of devices every year, although most their
revenue and sales come from their iPhone.
o Even with the market becoming mature with a saturation of competitors from
every angle, Apple still manages to increase profits and sales with almost every
given year.
o Numbers don’t lie; the average retail sales per square foot in the US is $341.
Apple is over $6,000!
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-second-quarter-earnings-revenue-
guidance-are-better-than-expected-but-iphone-sales-dont-soar/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2018/05/21/apple-iphone-sales-
revenue-income-profit-danger-timcook/#2be9eae17063
https://www.salesgravy.com/sales-articles/sales-methodology/Apple-s-Secret-
to-Successful-Selling
6. Store brands—retail (Kroger, Kirkland, etc.) and/or wholesale (Western Family, SuperValue, etc.)
7. Import brands—example: there are many import spaghetti sauces and coffee brands
8. Price cutting trends

o While there are lots of price cutting trends in markets such as the smartphone
market, Apple appears to be taking a different stance; on premium pricing
instead of price cuts. Which appears to have been working out for them very
well.
https://marketrealist.com/2014/08/price-important-factor-smartphone-player-
except-apple
https://marketrealist.com/2014/02/apples-premium-pricing-strategy-product-
differentiation
34
9. Comparative analysis of competitors (The analysis is on Apples biggest competitor, Microsoft)
• Weaknesses, strengths
o Microsoft strengths include: dominant brand image, product alignment with
positive externalities, and a strong alliance with other firms.
o Microsoft weaknesses include: vulnerability to cybercrime, limitability of some
products, and lack of dominate computer hardware products.
http://panmore.com/microsoft-corporation-swot-analysis-recommendations
• Positions, strategies
• Expenditures
o Over the past 10 years Microsoft; who is Apples biggest direct competitor, has
had capital expenditures ranging from 2 – 9.9 billion dollars per year.
35
• Share of advertising and A/S (Advertising to Sales) ratios
• Share of mind (awareness, preference levels, etc.)
10. From which competitors we can win business (this is VERY important to positioning)
o Considering Samsung has the most market share in Apples biggest revenue
market; the smartphone, it is no wonder what competitor Apple will try and win
business from.
o With Samsung’s market share at roughly 21%, and Apples market share at
roughly 15%, not to mention the ongoing rivalry between the two tech giants.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/what-apples-legal-
win-over-samsung-means-for-you-technology-design-and-the-world/261620/
https://www.thrv.com/how-apples-product-strategy-satisfies-needs-better-
than-samsungs/
http://business.time.com/2012/04/25/why-apple-wins-innovation-opportunity-
and-execution/
Sales
1. By product lines and/or products

• Old vs. new products
o Apple’s newest iPhone 8 is currently outselling any other single model on Apples
smartphone line. Currently holding 44% of all sales.
o What is surprising though is that their latest iPhone X accounts for only 16% of
all their smartphone sales. With their iPhone 6 taking 13% sales and their last
gen iPhone 7 taking 20% of all sales.
https://bgr.com/2018/04/23/iphone-x-price-vs-iphone-8-iphone-7-shocked/
• Private brands
o Apple does not have any known private brands that it sells to retailers, they are
far too concerned on brand image and are very strict in maintaining it. This
leads them to be very picky on who can even retail their products.
36
2. By markets (all or whichever of these you can find)

• % of company sales
o Roughly 2/3 of Apples sales are from their smartphone market, or more
specifically; their iPhone. With their iPad, Macs, and services making up roughly
25%. The last 5-10% of their sales come from other products such as ear/head
phones, accessories, watches, etc.
• Share of market
o Apple has roughly 15% market share give or take depending on source
37
• Number of customers
o Apple has 588 million users worldwide. And 1 billion active Apple devices in use.
o This means the average Apple user owns 1.7 devices.
http://www.businessinsider.com/credit-suisse-estimates-588-million-apple-
users-2016-4
• Number of % of customers accounting for 80% of sales

o Couldn’t find
3. Geographical sales trend

o It would appear the biggest market for Apple is America, with Europe and
greater China right after that. Although there are sales in japan and other Asia
Pacific countries.
4. By individual customers
• % of customer purchases by product type (such as size of package or flavor of product)
o
• Heavy users vs. light users
5. Goals
• Performance, current year
o Apple is aiming for 34% iPhone growth for 2018. Which means they must sell
more than 140 million units in 2018. And considering this is Apple’s core
product where they receive basically 2/3 of their revenue, this is no small goal.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4121177-34-percent-iphone-growth-goal-
apple
• Next year’s goal

o Couldn’t find
38
6. Where increased sales will come from

• Expanding markets
• New markets
• Broader line(s)
• Higher per capita consumption of the product(s)
• From the competition
7. Whether sales figures are released to the public (example—The Wall Street Journal often cites
figures released to them—this enthuses shareholders and future shareholders)
o There are some statistics of sales figure on the web portraying Apples sales
figures on its core product over many years. It looks like their core product has
been growing strong for several years running!
https://www.statista.com/statistics/263401/global-apple-iphone-sales-since-
3rd-quarter-2007/
8. Best indicator of sales vitality (shipments, warehouse withdrawals, retail store audits)
o The best indicator of Apple sales would be shipments. With 215.8 million
shipments in 2017.
9. Peak sales periods (very important to promotional efforts)

o The peak sales periods for apple is around the holidays, or more specifically,
around Christmas time! Were 44% of new device activations are Apple
products, and the next closest competitor is Samsung at 26%.
39
Selling
1. Staffing – management and sales staff

• Number
o Typically, there are over 100 employees both full and part time at each one of
their store locations. Totaling about 30,000 full or part time retail workers.
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-really-like-to-work-at-an-apple-store-
2015-7
• Type
o They are looking for highly energetic people with very good interpersonal skills.
People that are both competent and easy to get along with that can create a
great experience for the customers.
https://jobs.apple.com/us/search?job=USASP#&openJobId=USASP
• Qualifications
o There are 3 important key qualifications to becoming an Apple specialist in one
of their retail stores. You must have a strong interest in technology, particularly
Apple products. Ability to deliver great customer experiences in any
environment. And strong communications skills.
https://jobs.apple.com/us/search?job=USASP#&openJobId=USASP
• Ages
o They typically require people to be 18 or older.
https://www.job-applications.com/apple-store-job-application/
• Etc.
o Other noteworthy things include; that you need at-least 5 years of experience
before becoming management. The pay for specialist is roughly between 20-30
thousand a year. And duties usually include either catering to customers if
you’re a specialist or organizing & setting schedules and training new employees
if you’re a manager.
https://www.job-applications.com/apple-store-job-application/
2. General line sales people or specialists

o Apple does not have general line sales people. They put a lot of effort and
training into their sales people to make them specialist in selling their products.
They even use the terminology “Specialist” for their retail sales force.
https://www.apple.com/jobs/us/retail.html
40
3. Compensation and incentives

o The typical specialist at Apple retail stores were compensated between 20 and
30 thousand a year. There were also other incentives such as healthcare for all
employees, full and part time. There were also discounts, such as anywhere
between 25% to 10% discount on store items depending on circumstances.
2015-7
4. Training
o Apple had a very in-depth training program for all sales employees. They would
refer to this as “Core” training. This training took place off-site with other new
employees.
o After learning about everything that is Apple, they were assigned a mentor to
shadow on the actual retail sales floor. After they got the hand of it they were
then shadowed to see if they were ready to work on their own.
2015-7
5. Sales meetings
• When
• Where
• Agency
• Participation
6. The sales call

• On whom do they call
• Frequency, cost, etc.
• Team selling
• Materials used and needed
• Sales message
• Closing techniques
7. Number of accounts per person

o Sense Apples products are technology based. Almost all of apple products are
hooked to an account of some sort, whether it is an iTunes account, or some
sort of app store account. And considering the average consumer has 1.7
devices. I would believe it would be safe to say the average consumer has
roughly just under 2 core Apple accounts.
http://www.businessinsider.com/credit-suisse-estimates-588-million-apple-
users-2016-4
8. Average time period and number of calls to make the sale

41
9. Quotas, and how set

o Apple doesn’t have any sales quotas. They are more interested in creating value
propositions and an experience that sells itself. They are however strongly
encouraged to sell Apple Care and one-to-one support.
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-retail-store-2011-6
10. Sales aids (such as brochures, computer-assists, premiums, etc.)
11. Typical sales resistance
Point of Sale
1. Promotional package provided to retailers

o Apple is a unique case in terms of how it engages with retail. Simply put, they
own a great proportion of its own retail stores. They do however license out
their product to other retails such as Best Buy or telecom companies like AT&T.
o While they don’t normally offer things such as discounts on their premium
products. They do however have exceptions.
o Apple offers promotions during holidays such as black Friday and for education
concerns such as student discounts.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/apple-deals-promotions-2891801
2. Identification (inside store or for online purposes)

• Sign
o The iconic Apple logo is also their biggest identification for the company.
• Decals
o There have been probably over a million different ways in which the Apple logo
has been displayed as a decal all over the world. Both in stores and online.
https://www.etsy.com/market/apple_logo_decal
• Banners
o While Apple doesn’t routinely use banners, they have employed them in big
opening situations such as their first store in south Korea!
https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/08/colorful-banners-apple-korean-store-
opening-soon/
42
• Camera-ready art/photos
o Apple routinely puts elegant art into its stores. Usually for aesthetic purposes,
or for in this specific case, to showcase art created on Apple products
themselves as part of their new ad campaign that was launched in 2015.
https://www.cultofmac.com/307688/apple-stores-transformed-art-galleries-
new-ad-campaign/
3. Incentives for consumers (two for one signs or BOGO signs)

o Apple is not big on BOGO signs and the such, they are more concerned on
brand image. And keeping their premium position.
o There are however dozens of incentives for consumers through promotions
and BOGO signs through other licensed retailers such as AT&T or Best Buy.
Offering discounts and free products with certain sales criteria.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/17/08/03/att-promotions-offer-bogo-
iphone-7-or-free-ipad-with-directv
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/iphone-x-iphone-8-best-deals,news-
25833.html
4. Sales aides for retailers

• Catalogue
o There are multiple online and hard copies of catalogues for Apple products sold
through a variety of different sources.
http://www.solutioncentre.co.zw/brands/apple/
https://www.lasoo.com.au/brand/apple-ipod-imac-iphone.html
• Buyer’s guide
o Any person is just a handful clicks away from hundreds of different “Buyer’s
Guide” websites and reviews for Apple products.
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
http://appletechtalk.com/buyers-guide/
• Selector/cross-reference
• Etc.
o Apple even has its own webpage (obviously) that allows for feedback and quick
access to all the tech-specs, features, and products/software they have available
for sale. You can even purchase products right off their website!
https://www.apple.com/
https://www.apple.com/feedback/
43
5. Outside store promotion

• Signage
o Apple uses simplistic high-quality signage for its retail stores. Usually always
involving a literal apple in most every case as a universal icon for their stores.
http://www.weareendpoint.com/end-work/apple-store-signage/
• Window display
o Apple is one of the best at window displays. With their retail stores mainly
compromised of huge panels of glass for the front entrance, this gives them a
lot of space to work with window displays. Some of their notable displays
include things like new technology of self-opening iPad cases, or my favorite,
LED lights behind the glass giving the impression of things like snowflakes during
the season.
http://www.idownloadblog.com/2013/11/18/holiday-apple-stores-window/
https://www.engadget.com/2015/01/13/clever-apple-store-window-display/
6. In-store promotional
• Floor display
• Counter display
• Wall displays and banners
• Digital displays and signs
• Television/Online displays
• Audio/Syndicated or Online Radio
• Shelf talkers
• Racks/dispensers
• Demonstrator
7. Cooperative advertising plan for retailers

44
Merchandising
1. Pricing
o Apple charges near-luxury prices. It’s core product the iPhone has had a base
price of $649 for the past half-decade, with fancier configurations costing even
more. For example, Apple’s newest iPhone X will debut at $999.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2017/09/30/apples-expensive-
devices-bring-big-profits-but-come-at-a-price/
2. Allowance, deals for retailers and online retailers
3. Financing made available (example—automobile leasing and rentals for name brand riding
mowers, etc.)
• Trade-in
o Apple has a very easy and upfront way to trade in old devices for credit toward
other Apple products. You can trade in just about any Apple product, including:
smartphones, tablets, computers, watches, and other devices of Apple’s.
https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in
• Financing plan
o Apple has entire business and consumer finances readily and easily explained on
their website.
o They even have financing for education.
o Depending on what you need there are at-least 3 different methods of financing
readily available. If you still need more help you can easily reach them on their
main website for additional financing support and questions.
https://www.apple.com/financing/
• Leasing
o Apple has three different options for finance leases.
o You can do the fair market value lease, the 10% purchase option lease, or the $1
purchase option lease. All these have different requirements and conditions.
https://www.apple.com/financing/
4. Sampling programs provided—such as having merchandisers sampling new ice cream brand
5. Premium offers—in store
6. Servicing policy—how manufacturer will provide in-store assistance (example—using a food

broker for:
• Installation—installation of displays, floor decals, j-hooks, etc.
• Repair—of displays, refrigerated units or racks provided by manufacturer
https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-
support/terms/repair/Retail_Repair_US_Terms_Conditions.html
45
7. Returned goods policy for retailer

o Apple has a pretty standard return policy in America.
o You have 14 business days to return an item from the date you purchased it.
Only products directly purchased from Apple can be returned to Apple. And that
everything be returned in the original packaging with the receipt.
o There are however a few things Apple considered ineligible for return. Things
included are: opened software, electronic downloads, apple gift cards, print
products, or membership products.
o Products can be returned for debit/credit, or for gift cards to Apple’s stores.
https://www.apple.com/shop/help/returns_refund
8. Couponing—annual programs for retailers

Apple doesn’t do discounts, except for when Apple product dealers are given permission to
discount their existing inventory to make room for the newest releases.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/apple-deals-promotions-2891801
9. TPRs—annual programs for retailers
Distribution
1. Present channels
• Road map of distribution (how the product gets to market, including all the “hands” that
touch it—wholesale, transportation, retail, Amazon and online retail)
o Apples products get to market through a multitude of channels. Something that
makes Apple unique is that they don’t do discounts through its direct channel,
only through indirect and refurbished products.
o Its also important to note they don’t do price discounts, on price changes
around things like the holidays where Apple sells most of their product lines.
https://mpk732.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/apples-sales-and-channel-strategy-key-to-its-
success/
46
• Trends
o Apple retail stores along with its online storefront appear to sell most of their
products, at 20 to 47 percent in 2011-2012.
o Although it’s important to realize that other channels are quickly starting to sell
a lot of Apple products, retail and wholesale outlets such as Best Buy, AT&T,
Verizon, and Amazon.
o This could mean that the future of Apple’s distribution could be large
wholesalers like BestBuy. And, large telecom companies like AT&T.
https://mpk732.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/apples-sales-and-channel-strategy-key-to-its-
success/
• Level of distribution (percent of all stocking/selling products nationally and regionally-by

market—example: do wholesalers, retailers, online retailers stock all types, sizes,
flavors, etc.?)
o As noticed in the graph above it is obvious that a lot of retailers such as AT&T
usually only stock their main product line such as smartphone’s, not other
things such as Mac’s and the sort.
o Although other bigger retailers such as Best Buy will often stock a more
complete arrange of Apple products.
o The best place to go for a very deep level of distribution of Apple products is
obviously the Apple store themselves.
• Quality of current distribution

o Apple’s has a wide distribution network, although since they take a very
exclusive and premium approach to their product and distribution strategy is
can often be hard to get a broader distribution. A problem they are currently
dealing with trying to penetrate markets abroad.
47
o Although since Apple does have tight grips over what distribution channels they
do have, it is usually very efficient and effective, or in other words, good quality.
http://panmore.com/apple-inc-marketing-mix-4ps
2. Policies
• Franchise arrangements—if this applies
o Cant find
• Consignment—if this applies
o Cant find
• Stocking
o Apple does have something listed under their policies outlining the limited
availability of their products.
o They state that they can change or cancel an order at anytime for just about any
reason. Although they will reimburse retailers for orders or products that were
promised to them.
https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/sales-policies/retail_us.html
• Returned goods (Refer to question #7 under “Merchandising”)
3. Importance of line (a) food/non-food broker, (b) wholesaler, (c) retailer (d) online retailer (e)
other
o Apples most important line of distribution is first their own formal channels
through their Apple stores.
o Although “B” which is wholesaler, is the next biggest line of where they get their
sales from, who are people like Best Buy and so on.
https://mpk732.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/apples-sales-and-channel-
strategy-key-to-its-success/
4. Discount schedule for wholesalers and retailers (example: 10% wholesales and 40% retail)
• The actual percentage for discounts given to wholesalers and retailers are closely
guarded, but they do get a discount by a small amount
https://www.macworld.com/article/2024257/how-apple-sets-its-prices.html
5. Average stocking order—may be hard to find
6. Turnover—by brand and/or type-size—etc.

o The Apple brand has an astonishing fast turn over rate for their industry. They
have an inventory turn metric of 74, which means for products such as their
iPads are turned over on average every 5 days.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/12/05/31/apple_turns_over_entire_inventory
_every_five_days
48
7. Shelf life
o Shelf life of most products at their retail stores is roughly a week, or for the
iPad’s case it is basically 5 days.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/12/05/31/apple_turns_over_entire_inventory
_every_five_days
8. Dealer identification (example—Beer and Alcohol manufacturers provide these to bars, clubs,
etc.)
o Apple has a variety of different dealer identification tactics to promote their
products, which is mainly their iPhone; cause after all it is their core product.
• Signs
• Decals
• Wall plaques
9. Deals, allowances, incentives of any kind to intermediaries (example—spiffs, vacations, etc.)

10. Sales training for intermediaries
11. Sales aids for intermediaries
12. Wholesaler/Distributor promotion plans (how they move products to retail)
• Materials
• How distributed
• How paid for
49
13. Cooperative advertising plan (how manufacturer helps intermediaries to advertise their brands)
14. Quality and quantity of intermediary cooperation—this is extremely important (example—
Walmart often pressures manufacturers and even establishes adversarial relationships; this is
especially true when retailers sell their private labels against major brands)
15. Communications methods between manufacturer and intermediaries
16. Changes
• New intermediaries sought
• New methods of distribution sought
17. Intermediary acquisition plan—does manufacturer vertically integrate or plan to do so?
18. Most important wholesalers

o The biggest wholesaler for Apple products is obviously Best Buy. Besides Apple
stores themselves this is where most Apple product sales come from.
https://9to5mac.com/2017/10/19/apple-store-sales-cirp/
19. Most important retailers

o The most important retailers for Apple products come from phone carriers such
as AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. Considering they sell a large majority of Apple’s
core product, which is their iPhone.
50
https://9to5mac.com/2017/10/19/apple-store-sales-cirp/
20. Most important online retailers

o Apples most important online retailers is clearly first their own dedicated
website at Apple.com. Then Amazon, a giant online retail company that has
entire pages dedicated to selling Apple products alone.
https://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/
https://www.amazon.com/The-Apple-
Store/b?ie=UTF8&node=12652232011
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Consumer Relations
1. How does manufacturer maintain good relations with consumers?

o Offering tips, answering questions, valuing feedback, managing expectations,
and communicating positively
https://www.bloomcreative.com/the-apple-way-of-connecting-with-customers/
2. Does manufacturer use ad agencies or public relations firms for consumer relations? If so,
which firms do they use and in what capacity
o Apple uses a dedicated global advertising agency known as TBWA\Media Arts
Lab that focuses more on local and digital content
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-restructures-relationship-with-ad-
agency-tbwamedia-arts-lab-2017-2
3. Does manufacturers have an in-house consumer relations group? If so, in what capacities are
they employed
o Apple has what they call “SugarCRM”; which is their new internal customer
relationship management system as of 2017.
o This system went live in April of 2017 and gave a broader and deeper view of its
customer relationships and how they relate to different parts of their overall
company and business.
o This new system linked every part of Apple’s internal customer relationship
system, which include: in-store, Genius bar, and online presences.
https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3005958/apple-taps-sugarcrm-for-
internal-customer-relationship-management-system
4. Present or future consumer relationship programs

o Its current customer relationship programs include different in-store programs
such as the genius bar and other online presences that are monitored and
controlled through their customer relationship management system.
https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3005958/apple-taps-sugarcrm-for-
internal-customer-relationship-management-system
52
Advertising
1. Advertising department structure (if there is one)

• Organization
There is only a brief organization structure. There are two advertising department in the
company. Each of them belongs to marketing communication and worldwide marketing.
• Personnel
• Division of work and responsibilities

It depends on a specification of a marketing work. Regional marketing affairs are taken
by communication and marketing department. National wide marketing affairs are
taken by worldwide marketing department.
• Authority vs. responsibility

There no specifics about the authority and responsibility. On the company webpage,
they just indicated leaders for each department.
https://www.apple.com/leadership/
2. Ad Agency responsibilities—what are they doing for the manufacturer

They are responsible for local and digital campaigns. Agencies less focus on localizing big global
brand campaigns for different geographical regions.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-restructures-relationship-with-ad-agency-tbwamedia-
arts-lab-2017-2
3. Company policies
• Role of advertising
Giving information about device, location, stores, and news about the company.
• Relationship to sales
53
They don’t have any information about this. But on the website, they indicated that ads
create market segments which would have an impact on sales.
• Use of advertising as a tool for leads generation

Market segmentation is made through the company’s ads.
4. Management’s attitude toward advertising

They take it as an important tool for the market segmentation. Also, they conduct ads in a
considerate attitude in order to avoid privacy concerns.
5. Sales organization’s attitude toward advertising
6. Advertising strategy/positioning
They give various options for ads preferences to their customers. Also, they have a targeted
base ads system.
7. Target audiences for agency

Their target audiences are college students, business people, children, and adults.
https://appleinccasestudy.weebly.com/apples-target-market.html
8. “Sacred cows” (what agency is not allowed to say or do or must say and do)
According to the company’s key philosophy, they emphasis in simplicity. All of their ads in the
history have been relatively simple compared to competitors. Anything complicated might be
banned.
https://neilpatel.com/blog/7-key-strategies-that-you-must-learn-from-apples-marketing/
9. Graphics standards
The company standards are centered on privacy concerns.
https://searchads.apple.com/
10. Method of setting budget

• Competitive parity
• % of sales per unit, per task (zero-base budgeting)
54
Their marketing departments are budgeted $1.8 billion which is 50 percent increase in
the amount. According to an analysis, the company seemed to be generating or saving
more cash compared to similar businesses. 7 percent of sales were invested into ads
which is about 6 percent growth rate.
https://vtldesign.com/digital-marketing/content-marketing-strategy/percent-of-
revenue-spent-on-marketing-sales/
• Objective-and-task
Advertisement is an important communication tool for the company which helps them
to give their product information to customers. The task is taken by target marketing on
online and social media.
• Present budget for agency or in-house agency

Couldn’t find information about this
11. Media used over the past five years

• Media strategy
The company is currently trying to expand their target marketing on medias which is
especially social medias. Their main media use has been TV in the past.
stance-wsj.html
55
• Media used
▪ Newspaper
NY Times, Germany National, and etc.
1. https://www.cultofmac.com/233247/apple-takes-designed-by-apple-
campaign-to-print-with-two-page-newspaper-ad/
2. http://www.mobile-pond.com/MobilePond/apple-posts-newspaper-ad-
in-germany-featuring-photogene/
3. https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/09/the-evolution-of-apple-
ads/
▪ Consumer magazines
Rolling Stone, Mad, vogue, and etc.
1. https://bgr.com/2015/02/26/apple-watch-vogue-magazine-ads/
2. https://www.madmagazine.com/blog/2012/09/21/apple%E2%80%99s-
revealing-new-iphone-5-ad
3. https://appleinsider.com/articles/12/04/02/siri_print_ad_shows_up_in
_rolling_stone_magazine
▪ Trade or farm magazines

Couldn’t find any
▪ Outdoor
San Francisco, train stations, subway, and etc.
56
https://www.outfrontmedia.com/whereweare/markets/pages/san-francisco-
oakland.aspx
▪ Trade shows
In
Las Vegas and many other places.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjCjafEiLn
cAhUP71MKHdR9D6sQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nstands.com
%2Flas-
vegas%2F&psig=AOvVaw3CKjoE9LvTCvykEDjVkAmA&ust=1532567373847481
▪ Catalogues
▪ Trade directories
▪ Yellow Pages
▪ Direct mail
▪ Electronic (radio, broadcast and narrowcast television, movie theatres, etc.)

TV, Radio, theatres, and etc.
57
http://techpp.com/2017/01/18/apple-airpods-ad-review/
▪ Internet, Social Media, Blogs, You Tube, Watch, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Youtube, Facebook, Tweeter, Instagram, and etc.
https://www.meltwater.com/au/blog/apple-bendgate-brand-attachment/
▪ Email
• Any significant changes in emphasis over recent years

They have budgeted large sum of money for online advertisements.
stance-wsj.html
• Media testing
58
12. Seasonal factors for ad agencies due to seasonality of products or budgeting

Their new products usually come out in an average rate of one to three years which could have
an impact on budget for the advertising.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-ipad-mac-watch-2018-release-date-preview-
2018-1
13. Mailing facilities

• Outside services
Fedex and UPS.
https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-ipad-mac-watch-2018-release-date-
preview-2018-1
• Lists
14. Inquiry-handling system

15. Photographic capabilities/facilities
16. Method of advertising evaluation
I couldn’t find any information about this.
17. Competitive advertising

They had many competitive advertisings in the history with Microsoft and Samsung.
https://www.nevillehobson.com/2012/09/01/apple-samsung-and-pots-and-kettles/
18. Recent and current performance of advertising

The company has been very successful in advertising and presenting their new products.
Also, the company was awarded for their exclusive advertisements.
https://bgr.com/2013/07/26/apple-brand-of-the-year-award/
https://www.cultofmac.com/81823/apple-wins-barrons-most-respected-company-award-two-
years-in-a-row/
https://9to5mac.com/2017/08/29/apple-wins-emmy-award/
59
19. Advertising objectives for this year and into the future
They don’t have specific indication for objectives. However, their long-term goal has been
creation of new value position for their products as luxury goods.
https://research-methodology.net/apple-marketing-strategy-an-overview/
20. Advertising strategy for brand(s) being studied

The company has been well implementing ethos on their advertisements.
21. Advertising media tactics for brand(s) being studied

They are currently focusing on target marketing and social medias.
22. Ads presently being employed

• Magazines
Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Made.
1. https://bgr.com/2015/02/26/apple-watch-vogue-magazine-ads/
2. https://www.madmagazine.com/blog/2012/09/21/apple%E2%80%99s-revealing-
new-iphone-5-ad
3. https://appleinsider.com/articles/12/04/02/siri_print_ad_shows_up_in_rolling_sto
ne_magazine
• Airline or transit magazines

American Air, Korean, and Alaska.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/553520610428482094/
• Newspaper
NY Times, China Press, and German International.
1. https://www.cultofmac.com/233247/apple-takes-designed-by-apple-campaign-to-
print-with-two-page-newspaper-ad/
2. http://www.mobile-pond.com/MobilePond/apple-posts-newspaper-ad-in-
germany-featuring-photogene/
3. https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/09/the-evolution-of-apple-ads/
60
• Journals
• Corporate newspaper
• Catalogs
• Direct Mail
• Transit (train,bus, subway, taxi, etc.)

NY train, and subway stations
https://www.gettyimages.com/event/ipod-triples-apples-quarterly-earnings-
51055147#/an-ipod-mini-digital-music-player-is-seen-in-the-apple-store-july-15-picture-
id51072817
• Outdoor
San Francisco high way
https://www.outfrontmedia.com/whereweare/markets/pages/san-francisco-
oakland.aspx
• Radio
• Television
TV has been their main channel for the advertisement. One of their newest product
airpods seemed to be always on TV ads.
http://techpp.com/2017/01/18/apple-airpods-ad-review/
• Online
• At Retail (example—Walmart in-store media)

They have their own retail stores which display their company logo in the front.
stance-wsj.html
http://adage.com/article/agency-news/apple-agency-hunt-support-retail-
support/299653/
• Email
• Any other medium
61
23. Pre-testing
Testing is done by company departments which usually involves marketing departments.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/apple-s-product-development-process-
inside-the-world-s-greatest-design-organization
24. Analytics---is there an in-house group or is there an outside analytics firm being used)
Mckinsey was one who helped on analysis and working on a project.
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/apple-googlemckinsey-how-an-old-school-company-is-
changing-the-world-of-digital-.html
25. Google or Facebook Analytics—Key findings (example: stickiness, click-rate, etc.)

Apple is currently test serving ads from Google’s double-click.
http://adage.com/article/digital/apple-news-testing-doubleclick-ads-publishers/310695/
26. Behavioral Targeting—who handles it and how it is employed (example—which brands employ
it and is it designed to get email addresses—if so, how are email addresses used)
The company handles the target marketing. But they don’t explain it specifically. On their
website, they indicated that they use preferences and interest marketing as the behavioral
targeting.
Public Relations and Publicity
1. Structure
• How PR is handled (in-house or outside PR company)
o Considering Apples interest branding and relationships I believe that they are
handled in-house by a PR team. There is a story by Wesson Wang who use to
work for over 10 years at Apples PR agency at porter novella in Sydney and his
experiences.
https://hbr.org/2016/07/what-i-learned-from-10-years-of-doing-pr-for-apple
• Policies and procedures

o Apple has many procedures on its public relations strategy. Including product
reviews for their audiences, crafted press releases, cultural marketing to certain
groups and demographics, and their “Golden Circle Strategy”.
o Apple encourages a lot of creativity and learn from mistakes type of culture.
https://glean.info/17954-2/
https://publicrelationssydney.com.au/be-like-apple-and-use-clever-pr-to-
launch-your-new-product/
62
• Press releases—is there a program for this in place

o Yes, although not very often, they do release them during important moments
like the new release of a product.
o Their “Newsroom” site is which is on Apples main website is their front platform
program for press releases and the sort that they have in place.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/
https://glean.info/17954-2/
2. Product/brand publicity
• On-going programs
o Yes, they have an ongoing PR program for their latest iPhone X. When it was
released, just a small group of hand-picked publications received products
before other publications.
o Some new ongoing publicity programs that Apple is working with is give in
giving the iPhone X to a handful of YouTube video bloggers before established
tech and media publishers, which shows how the industry of media is changing.
o Many reasons to giving it to ordinary people for publicity reasons is because
they don’t want expert reviews on a list of technicalities, they want reviews on
the fun and everyday features of their devices!
https://glean.info/genius-apples-iphone-x-public-relations-strategy/
• Method of program delivery

o Some of methods for their program delivery is giving out iPhone’s and
advertisement material to established tech and media publishers.
o They also use their main website because of the traffic and easy availability for
delivery of their PR programs.
o Although a new method they are using is giving out things such as their “iPhone
X” to YouTubers.
https://glean.info/genius-apples-iphone-x-public-relations-strategy/
• Measurement of effectiveness
o Apple’s methods have been effective.
o Considering YouTube boasts 1.5 billion monthly users, and that marketing and
PR managers are granting social media influencers the first opportunity to
review products. I believe Apple has made the right move on getting their
message across to the public.
3. Financial PR
• Specific goals of management
• External communications program already in place
• Annual reports
63
4. Special programs
• Customers, distribution, trade
• Employee
• Community
• Environment, consumerism
• External affairs, public affairs
• Disaster management plans
• Test marketing
• Marketing communications
• Institutions
• Government
5. Internal publications
o They have an internal publication system up on their main website called
newsroom, which lists all their current publications on their Apple products,
services, and other company details.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/
6. How managements appraise current communications

o Apple routinely takes steps to increase the flow of communication between
employees and management.
o They also encourage 2-way communication between employees, board of
directors, CEO, and the managers.
o Apple is also trying to keep communication up with all its stakeholders on all
necessary information, people, and news that is relevant to the company.
o They accomplish a lot of these strategies through tactics such as monthly
meetings, random audits, and consistent newsletters.
https://shaganaas.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/apples-internal-
communications-strategy/
7. Changes management would like to see

o It is no secret that Apple was given a lot of heat under the labor issues at
Foxconn when a 23-year-old committed suicide in their factory. This was due to
workers being paid low wages, worked long hours, and limited in
communication strategies to voice their concerns.
o Management would like to see an increase in communication, resources for
employees and managers, and better processes to avoid such problems in the
future like what happened at Foxconn.
https://shaganaas.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/apples-internal-
communications-strategy/
8. Possible obstacles to effective communications (internal and external)

o The biggest obstacle to effective communication seems to be the external noise
in trying to communicate the desires of the customers to the company.
64
o Although communication to Apple isn’t the only problem, they also are having
problems with internal communications to developers and customers.
https://www.imore.com/biggest-problems-facing-apple-2018
https://www.imore.com/we-need-better-communication-apple
9. Probably image of the company among is key publics
10. Most important communications problem

• Today
o It appears their most important communication problem is dealing with noise.
This basically encapsulates the problem of having mixed reviews on how to
innovate their product. They are currently trying to improve this communication
between their R&D team and what the consumers really want!
https://www.imore.com/biggest-problems-facing-apple-2018
• Tomorrow
o Their next biggest communication problem is coming from within. They are
having issues trying to communicate across their supply chain effectively. Things
including communication between things like distribution and advertising is a
big one that can become a problem.
11. Opinion leaders
12. Consultant’s past recommendations and whether any were adopted

o John Sculley probably gave the biggest recommendation to Apple, telling the
company that selling their product has everything to do with the brand, not so
much the products. Apple would later higher Scully as their CEO and they
expanded their marketing budget from 15 million to 100 million, and it was an
amazing success.
https://www.wired.com/2002/12/apple-its-all-about-the-brand/
o Apple also has the one of the best support networks for their retail stores,
providing professional consultants and experts to help them run their store.
https://consultants.apple.com/us/
https://consultants.apple.com/us/search
13. International problems and opportunities

o One of Apple’s biggest PR issues was in 2016 where they got into a dispute over
taxes with the EU.
o The problem came about when the EU wanted to impose different tax codes
and regulations then what was states in Irelands tax laws. The two entities;
65
Apple and the government of Ireland went about appeal the ruling set by the
European Union.
o There are however some opportunities in gaining better relations with certain
countries depending on how Apple goes about handling this. And depending on
the decisions, they could even save some money in the process!
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/29/apple-vs-fbi-all-you-need-to-know.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/admiral-jim-stavridis-ret/apple-fbi-privacy-
security_b_9404314.html
14. Anniversaries and other important milestones

o There are at-least 40 giant milestones that Apple has achieved and a couple of
anniversaries celebrating things like the companies 20th and 40th years.
o Some important anniversaries include Apples 20th were they revealed the
iMac for the first time.
o Just a few of Apples biggest milestones include: founding of Apple by Steve
Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple 1 computer is born, Apple going public on Dec
12 in 1980, John Scully who was the former CEO of Pepsi joining Apple, the
1984 AD, Jobs leaving Apple, Apple suing Microsoft, Jobs coming back, the
iMac debuts, Apples first retail store opens, the launch of iTunes & the iPod &
the iPhone, the App Store, Job is diagnosed with cancer, the death of Steve
Jobs, the Apple Watch, and the time Apple went head to head with the
government’s FBI on a high profile case involving an iPhone.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/04/01/40-biggest-moments-apple-
history/82430458/
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/milestones-in-apple-s-40-year-history
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/06/imac-20th-anniversary/
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/04/05/apple-music-40th-anniversary-playlist/
15. Company policies on dealing with writers

• Policy on by-lines
• Policy on compensating writers
16. Speakers bureau

o Its hard to find very many people that talk on Apples behalf, although the most
famous speaker bureau Apple has is Steve Wozniak. He has written dozens of
books and performed numerous speeches on Apples behalf on many things.
https://www.bigspeak.com/speakers/steve-wozniak/
17. Clipping service
18. Archives, museums, repositories of historical materials, etc.

o This website below is amazing. It is a literally an entire museum dedicated to the
company Apple. You can look at a variety of things that shows the entire history
66
of the founders, the products over the years, stock price, and even memorable
quotes and other fun bits.
o You can even take 3D tours of historical Apple products!
http://www.applemuseum.com/en/
19. Industry PR program
Research
1. Management attitude on the role and importance of research

The company highly values research and develop role in the process of making new products.
Because the characteristics of high technology industry, the company managements have much
of emphasis on the role.
http://fortune.com/2011/05/09/inside-apple/
2. Research facilities and procedures

The company has research facilities in Grenoble, France, Yokohoma, Jpan, Naples, Italy, Java,
Indonesia, and Bangalore India. The procedures are taken by each division to give an advantage
for its specialties for each department.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3181020/apple-mac/apple-is-pumping-money-into-
creating-an-international-chain-of-randd-enters.html
3. Inventory or bibliography of available research studies

The company is admired for having the most efficient inventory and distribution systems.
However, the system has a critical risk with currencies and protecting intellectual resources.
http://www.supplychain247.com/article/is_apples_supply_chain_really_the_no._1_a_case_stu
dy
4. Marketing research
• Budgeted
They don’t have a specific indication for the research budget, however the total budget
for marketing is $1.8 billion.
67
• Current studies
They are focusing on groups such as segmentation. However, the study is made based
on their on-going customers rather than potential customers.
• New assignments
Market segmentation and product positioning as the luxury goods.
5. Specific research subjects

• Advertising copy research (including pretesting)
Couldn’t find anything specific, but the company might engage in the research on
customer surveys.
• Distribution/trade research
There is no information for the distribution research. However, the company involves in
activities which can help policy makers regarding trade and distributions.
• Field trips and store checks

Couldn’t find any information about this.
• Sales forecasting
The projected sales for this year is $261,022 million.
68
http://www.4-traders.com/APPLE-4849/financials/
• Tracking studies
Couldn’t find any information about this
• Syndicated or special studies
Couldn’t find any information about this
• Retail store audits

They have financial information for retail stores on their annual financial report.
However, there is no indication about the research.
4168-993D-A60CBA8ED209/_10-K_2017_As-Filed_.pdf
• Consumer panels
Consumer surveys are taken periodically by the company.
• Consultant used
Currently, Mckinsey was one of them who helped them on a researching and product
planning.
https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/apple-googlemckinsey-how-an-old-school-company-
is-changing-the-world-of-digital-.html
• Analytics of any kind for any marketing or general advertising needs

They are currently focusing on online marketing. Compared to their past data, the
company indicated that they are focusing on online.
stance-wsj.html
6. Biggest unsolved problem that research might help solve now

Apple has been denounced after the previous CEO death for its lack of innovation and
less appalling ads. Also, many experts doubted if apple really does a market research or
not. Focusing on market research for their new value creation as the luxury goods can
definitely help them bringing their fame back.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/apple-needs-fresh-marketing-vision-and-we-have-some-
ideas-151312/

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1

MARKETING AUDIT QUESTIONS—REVISED 2018 TEMPLATE

The Brands/Products …………………………………………………………………………………..12

The Prospect (Target Audience).…………………………………………………………………..19

The Market ………………………………………………………………………………………………….25

The Competition ………………………………………………………………………………………….31

Point of Sale …………………………………………………………………………………………………41

Consumer Relations ……………………………………………………………………………………..51

Public Relations & Publicity ……………………………………………………………………….…61

RED TEXT – Not applicable or unable to find information

2. Corporate relationships—partnerships, joint ventures, etc.

3. Financial Information (ownership, earnings, etc.)

5. Plants, branches, warehouses, etc.—how many and where are they

6. Company history—go back as far as you think helpful or relevant

7. Historical response to changes in the economy, fashions, consumer behavior, etc.

8. Reputation – and for what

• What business ten years from now?

• Formal or informal plan

• Market research facilities/capabilities

• Test marketing—what kind do they conduct, examples, etc.

10. Promotional mix—relative importance to the company

11. Long-range corporate objectives and strategies—domestic and global

12. Plans regarding the following:

• Diversification – The company diversified in their products by obtaining four iconic

• Decentralization – The company used to keep a structure of centralized organization.

• Acquisitions – The company is recently focusing on acquiring digital applications and

13. States of the Industry

15. Organization chart – personnel

• Chains of authority for advertising – budgets and advertising approvals

18. Association memberships and services receive

• Names – iphone, ipad, airpods, and macbook

• Colors, symbols, etc

• Types, styles, sizes, price ranges, profitability

• Availability of products fact sheets

3. Product life cycle—where are key brands on the PLC

• Anything else you find

6. Patents and licenses—just for products/brands you are studying

• What is each product’s or service’s greatest feature or consumer benefit that

• If differences do not exist, can they be created, and how?

• Functional, emotional, benefits-oriented differentiators

• Positioning or Value Propositions

8. SWOT Analysis—if not available, build it

9. Packaging, labeling, tagging—note if there are differentiators here

10. Packing and shipping—note if there are differentiators here

11. Factors in selection of brand, including consumer resistances

12. Warehousing—special considerations (such as needs refrigeration, special handling, etc)

13. Installation services—if necessary (such as appliances)

14. Customer services—are they available—are they differentiated

15. What is (are) the biggest marketing or sales problem(s)?

16. New products program

• Testing/approval criteria—may be hard to find

• Success rate—may be hard to find

17. New products/services planned

18. Product/services to be dropped

19. Which products/services to be promoted, and where

The Prospect (Target Audience) PG 168

1. Prospect profile—THE FOLLOWING IS JUST A SMALL SAMPLE--PLEASE USE THE DEMOGRAPHIC-

Sources Cited for DEMOGRAPHIC-GEOGRAPHIC-PSYCHOGRAPHIC—BEHAVIORISTIC CHART!!

• How a purchase develops

• Considered or impulse purchase

• Importance of price, availability, service, etc.

• Influence of intermediaries (retailers, dealers, distributors, salespersons, etc.)

• Average purchase value