“The arrival of the iPod marked a sea change in the audio equipment market.” (Audio Equipment- UK- 2007 Mintel).
The arrival of MP3 Players caused a decrease in sales of portable CD players, which quickly went out of fashion. In this fast moving industry the next issue to consider is the impact of the MP4 player and the variety of options available on mobile phones for the future.
It is also suggested that younger people who have access to social networks and internet are keener to buy the latest products compared with older people who are happier to wait for the product to have positive feedback.
Apple operates in a highly technological business environment with a need to continuously develop new products and patents. This requires them to carry out continuous research that is proactive to the needs of consumers. Also, the speed of change in the social environment requires Apple to adopt and adapt to new technological advances quickly so that they are able to meet consumers needs.
3.1.5 Demography
62 per cent of the total population are of working age. This is positive information for our research because audio hi-fi systems are not needs, they are wants. They are for our personal interests and are expensive and are luxury items. According to this information, in the U.K the average person can afford their own interests and needs.
Environmental/ Natural Factors
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has existed for decades and it includes a range of concerns on the part of the business organisation. A business, such as Apple is required to meet the needs of not only their immediate customers, but also the community. In the last decade there has been a substantial growth in entertainment systems for both personal and household use. These are partly linked to lifestyle changes and fads, and both of these aspects are mostly determined by society. The products produced are not being recycled as much as they can be and this is an area for improvement.
Apple use highly recyclable materials in products and they also have take-back systems. This means that consumers and businesses can safely dispose of used Apple equipment. The take-back initiative started in Germany in 1994 and, since then, Apple has instituted recycling programmes in 95% of the countries that their products are sold in. By doing this, Apple have diverted over £53 million of electronic equipment from landfills.
Apple also has an energy star rating and this is because of the energy saver feature that they have in the Mac OS X. This allows consumers to manage the power consumption of their computers. Apple also helps to safeguard the environment by restricting the use of environmentally harmful compounds in materials and manufacturing processes. This is in addition to materials and substances that have already been restricted.
Apple released and implemented their environmental policy in 1990. Apple phased out lead in batteries in advance of the 1996 European battery directive. Both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air have highly recyclable aluminium. They also have glass enclosures, arsenic free display glass and mercury free displays. The circuit boards, electrical components, mechanical parts, and internal cables are BFR and PVC free. Apple recognises the environmental issues affecting the manufacture of its hi-fi system.
3.2 Microeconomic Environment
3.2.1 Competitors
The home audio equipment market is one with many players, and is increasingly becoming more competitive. The market has also been the subject of persistent price erosion as the market matures and as increasing numbers of competitors come into the market. Some of the main players include Sony, Bush, Alba, Panasonic, Phillips, Sharp and Hitachi. In the high-end market Bose, Bang & Olufsen and Denon are the forces to reckon with. However it is important to say that Sony is the leading manufacturer, followed by Panasonic and Phillips.
Sony has been able to remain the market leader mainly by operating with a wide range of products and styles that have appeal to a wide range of customer user groups, this accompanied with the wide levels of distribution they have established. is now pushing hard on home audio based on hard disc drives, which is expected to fuel growth in its home audio sales in the immediate future.
Philips has focused its home audio selection on a smaller range of micro systems, which have proved popular – suitable for any room in the house. Their offering does not include much design and style. In the audio market, its main prospect for future growth is its range of in-home wireless music systems.
A more successful trend has been the increased sales of docking stations for portable digital players and the inclusion of MP3 connections to allow music libraries stored on portable players to be played on the home hi-fi system. Effectively the player becomes the hub of the home audio system – a convergence between the two systems (Mintel report 2007). We are proud to say that we are the market leader in the MP3 category and intend to make the most of this advantage in our proposed product.
3.2.2 Publics
A public is any group which has an interest in that organisation. It could be a commercial group which includes customers, suppliers, and competitors. The second group could be internal which consist of people who work in that organisation. Financial groups would include shareholders, potential investors, or bankers. Authority group consist of local and central government. One of the most important would be media which can have a big impact on any organisation, because everyone would listen what this group has to say. In our days consumers have a better access to information. And the last group would be general, which includes general public.
Internal and external publics mostly are concerned about the environment issues.
It is one of the most recognised values. As P.R. Smith & J. Taylor suggests (Marketing communications, 2004:446) external groups are becoming more demanding and organisations are beginning to have to demonstrate their social responsibility on a global basis.
Our research states that much of today’s electronic waist, often referred to as e-waist, is exported from all around the world to lesser developed nations where the environment standards or even working conditions does not exist or are very low. E-waist pollutes the environment and exposes people who work to dangerous chemicals. Both internal and external groups are concerned about it and we should make sure we are not among the others that do not act on it. We need both groups to be aware that we will take the responsibility. Furthermore as an organisation we will have to consider engaging in solid ethical policies e.g. by joining a per cent club which will be a sign of the willingness to help the local community. (www.copetechnology.co.uk)
- Customers
Manufacturers continue to create new audio products because music is a part of everybody’s lives. Customers listen to music from a wide range of devices. The usage of audio music players is similar to TV usage. People do not throw away their old products they just move their places such as living rooms to bedrooms. Manufacturers research shows that there are consumers with disposable income who are always looking to purchase new products. Nowadays music plays an important role in human lives especially for young people. Before music was something that people do time to time but now it is a habit that they do it everyday it is a daily routine thing now. Because technology innovates people change their way of listening to music such as because of internet they do not buy CDs they use internet and download music. But at the same time people now listen more radio then before.
3.2.4 Suppliers
Suppliers are an important link to the success of a company by providing a quality product and service to the customer, for example an electronic company like Sony makes sure there is continuous communication with its suppliers. There is a need for Sony to ensure that everything is running smoothly and that they can provide a quality product at perceived value cost.
In the case of hi-fi audio - systems the supply somewhat controls the cost, which will have an impact on the marketing mix strategy of an organisation. Prices may be forced up as a result. A closer supplier relationship is one way of ensuring competitive and quality products for an organisation.
The suppliers of a company are very important because if there is a slight delay with receiving, it can leave customers dissatisfied. Suppliers should ensure that products are delivered to the customer in the time frame to keep a strong customer relationship.
If you loose a supplier of your product this can cause the production flow to fail, or a very low quality product or expensive substitutes have to be made. This is a problem because the organisation will fail to keep its promise to the customer by not providing the right product or service at the right time and the right place. The choice of supplier should negotiate the right terms and build a relationship with the customer which is a very important task. Apple currently have good relations with its suppliers and intend to maintain this.
3.2.5 Intermediaries
Electrical specialists such as: Curry’s and Dixons are fighting hard against grocery retailers such as: Asda and Tesco as they are the two major outlets for the audio equipment market share at the moment, this is happening because grocery multiples are increasing their shelf space for audio equipment as a result of changes of strategies as they are not electrical retailers specialists and the battle for sales continue among them however, is the independent electrical outlets that is finding very difficult to keep their audio equipment prices competitive, in consequence having sales losses of 28.7% comparing to the drop of 4.3% to grocery retailers. On the other hand, sales through internet have shown a real increase of 14.8%, being the fastest growth of all the distributions. This has been attributed to activities such as Amazon or EBay where customers find cheaper audio systems products so for that reason electrical specialists and grocery retailers are working to develop and/or improve on their Internet sales.
3.3 S.W.O.T Analysis
- Strengths
Apple has market dominance in the mp3 market, and this gives them a position of market leadership. This is a strength because it improves their image in terms of how customers view them, and it is also a signal to their rivals as to their capabilities. The core strengths of Apple are their iPOD products, which benefit from having a number of unique selling points. For instance, customers perceive them as being fashionable and trendy accessories. Such USPs allow Apple to differentiate their products more clearly when compared with rival competitors.
Economies of scale are also regarded as a strength for Apple because they can produce their products in large enough volumes. With the course of time their production costs have also reduced. This is also the case with most large businesses because, with greater experience and knowledge of suppliers, they are in a better position to produce more units as and when required by the market. They can also make better use of ordering and production methods, such as just-in-time.
As a well-established company, Apple is in a prime position to be able to employ and retain the best leaders and managers in the field. This is an important strength because labour stability, especially in terms of the senior staff members of an organisation, means that there are less likely to be human resource issues. Also, recruiting and training staff is an expensive activity and, as a large and successful company, Apple is in a position that enables them to retain staff members for much longer.
Apple is financially strong because they are a large company, which means that they are in a position to obtain loans or investments more easily than many other companies. This financial strength is extremely important, especially when attempting to secure finance to support future development costs.
Apple has recently taken great strides to ensure that their manufacturing processes and operations take account of their environmental impact. This is a strength because, increasingly, customers hold strong views about the effects of business activities on the environment. However, Apple have established a unique reputation for producing highly innovative and clearly differentiated products that are appealing and eye catching. This is a significant strength because it appeals directly to customer’s needs or their likely preferences. Overall Apple has a good record on innovation and the generation of new ideas.
3.3.2 Weaknesses
As a large and well-established company, Apple has only one significant weakness. This is that they are mostly dependent upon the success of a few products when compared with their direct rivals. Therefore, there is an over-reliance on a relatively narrow product portfolio and this is a risk, especially considering the nature of the market. Apple operates in a highly technological and fast-paced market and, therefore, having a broader product portfolio can help to reduce the overall level of risk.
3.3.3 Opportunities
Apple is already regarded as an opportunist company because they make use of differentiation in order to appeal to different segments in the market. This is also evidence of their market research, which involves segmentation of the market followed by effective targeting and positioning strategies. Apple is already a highly successful global company but, as more economies emerge and develop, a new demand is created for such products and Apple has the opportunity to tap into this new need.
Apple can spread the risk attached to their core products by introducing a wider range of products in the electronic sector. However, although this is an opportunity, Apple must be careful not to go too far away from their comfort zone by producing a whole range of diverse electronic products. This is because although this can help to spread the level of risk attached to their products, they could lose their association with their key products that have brought them the most success. However, taking such opportunities is vital to the future success of the company. They have to continue to be innovative and take opportunities, in addition to benchmarking their performance against their closest rivals.
Apple has the opportunity to enter new markets, with new products, using a differentiation strategy. This is because they are financially able and they also have a strong brand name. Social change has provided Apple with the opportunity to respond to lifestyle changes with products that meet these new needs. They are also able to influence changes in lifestyle by producing highly desirable products. Apple has created demand by releasing the iPOD and then they have responded to changes in demand by releasing the variations of the product. For example, the original iPOD was quite large, relatively expensive and it was only available in the colour white. As demand increased and the types of need changed, Apple responded by releasing the iPOD Nano, a smaller version that came in different colours. Later, they also released the iPOD Shuffle that was a cheaper version.
As a large manufacturer, Apple has the opportunity to take over medium sized or small businesses in their industry. This can be a useful strategy because it helps to reduce the level of future competition. Also, these competitors are not only prevented from becoming larger competitors in this way but, also, it is possible that Apple can benefit from the human resources in these businesses.
3.3.4 Threats
Apple and the other firms in this industry are always threatened by the prospect of a new market entrant. However, the barriers to entry in this industry are relatively high and this offers protection, especially to the major producers, including Apple. Increased competition from direct rivals is an ongoing concern for Apple because they have to aim to be proactive rather then reactive in their approach. This is important when attempting to maintain and increase market share. The market is already highly competitive, with customers having the ultimate power over the producers. Therefore, Apple must aim to outperform their competition by addressing customers needs better then there are able to.
Increased pressure from customers, demanding high quality and innovative products, is a threat that Apple must manage appropriately. This is because if their needs are not met then these customers will purchase products from their rivals. However, customer loyalty can be partially obtained from customers who purchased their first product from the Apple.
The downturn in the economic cycle is a further threat because customers have less disposable income to spend on such products. However, Apple is not the only firm affected by this downturn in the economy. But Apple does have the resources to survive such a downturn when compared with medium sized and small sized rivals.
4.0 Product
Mintel research (Audio Equipment-Uk-2007) shows that 51% of people listen to the music on hi-fi system compared with only18% DAB digital radio. Our group will design an Apple hi-fi system called The Apple iSoundBox. It will have the capability to bring all your digital music together in one place.
- 80GB storage music server
- Rip music directly from CD,
- Import music from MP3 players and USB
- Ability to create new playlists and edit old ones
- Wi-fi capability
-
is provided using Gracenote’s music recognition technology and database, containing music data for approximately 350,000 albums.
- Ipod docking station, with connection to iTunes
The design will have aesthetic appeal to both sexes through the shape and interface.
The design of our new hi-fi system will be very modern but very easy to use as well as it will appeal to both sexes. The price will be £400.
5.0 Target Audience
We have established through research that the hi-fi environment in our days is male dominated. Furthermore it is estimated that each purchaser spends about £165 each year. Secondly it states that 50.5% of UK populations are females as well as almost 50% of millionaires in the UK are females as well as. In addition the research shows us that women’s spending power is increasing faster than men’s. This is very important to take in to the account when the companies are choosing their target audience. Our target audience will be both men and women age 18-35 within the ABC1 socio-economic group. We will develop a marketing communications plan targeting this group for both sexes. This age group has the highest disposable income as well as might not yet have loans and mortgages to pay. It has been claimed that the young consumers are more interested in music than the elder age groups. That is one of the reasons why we chose the target age group: 18 to 35.
6.0 Positioning
As we mentioned before our product will be very modern but easy to use it and it will be sold for about £400. One of the aims is offer to the market a very good quality product. We would sell our new hi-fi system through intermediaries like: Curry’s, Dixons, PC World, Argos and Premium resellers as well as we would sell it in Apple store. It is very important that people who will sell our new hi-fi system has the knowledge about it which means that some training will be essential. We will advertise the product on magazines targeting men and woman, as well as we will have posters on the underground stations, on buses, as well as we will advertise it on the road posters. We will have our product on exhibitions, as well as we will have some sales promotions in the stores and the magazines. Furthermore we will send emails to our customers and use Public Relations to create the awareness and to generate higher profits. The product will be positioned as a trendy, modern and easy to use hi-fi/ entertainment system that integrates new technology with easy to use appeal. The product will also be aesthetically pleasing to both men and women.
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Marketing Objectives
- Successful entry into the market within the first year, this means an acceptance from distributors and positive feed back
- Establish product sales to target group by 15% within 1 year
- Achieve 10% market share among iPOD owners within 1 year
- Achieve 5% market share among non- iPOD owners within 1 year
- To establish distribution channels in 65% of the major specialist electrical retailers & major department stores at launch and 75% after first year
- To establish product as market leader (long term).
7.2 Marketing Communications Objectives
- Determine customer acceptance by target group
- Increase brand loyalty in target group by 30% in coming year
- Create awareness amongst25% of target audience before launch & 65% within 1 year of launch
- To position the product as the latest fashion technology “must have” by up to 50% amongst target audience
- Create interest in product among 60% of target audience i.e. features & benefits
- Obtain trial / experience of product amongst 40% of target audience within 1 year of launch.
8.0 Strategy
An integrated communications campaign will target 18-35 male and females, ABC1 socio-economic groups, who are pre/no family and may be either single or living together as partners. It is these groups, which have the most disposable income. Also the urbanites who like to have the latest must-haves and do not have major cost-centres. Males will be the main target group as they are the heaviest users and are the most likely to purchase, however our situation analysis has shown the potential of female purchasers and the influence they often on male purchases. Females will also targeted through the communications campaign.
Our Hi-fi will play to the aesthetic tastes of women, and also satisfy men who focus more on function and branding, the combination of both will target both genders. Both groups will be reached through:
- Transport
- Recreation
- Where they work,
- What they read
- What they watch (TV programs, films, etc)
The IMC campaign will go through various stages and will achieve different objectives accordingly. We will focus on building awareness and brand credibility,
creating awareness and positioning as a premium product which will be recognised as offering: technical superiority, technical innovation through extensive R & D, and a beautiful design which consumers will want to take pride of place in the living room, rather than to hide them away.
We will also work to establish distribution channels for the product by supporting it with this robust campaign. Establishing distribution channels through specialist retail outlets and all major authorised dealers, department stores and grocery multiples. This would allow for specialist-trained staff to give better customer service regarding in-depth knowledge of our product and our company. The main focus of the campaign will be to stimulate acquisition from our target market and his will be achieved through an effective combined campaign leading up to the launch date, and continue thereafter. A launch date of August 15th 2010 has been chosen. Various communications tools will be used.
We also hope that the introduction of this product and campaign will allow us to build and manage relationships as we do not take these for granted when doing business.
We will endeavour to offer good sales service, warranty, and after sales service. Increasing our existing customer database and continuing to distribute promotions and offers will also be involved.
Apple will also create room for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the tools used during the campaign by looking at sales, and also qualitative research.
9.0 Tactics
We have devised a specific and targeted plan of communications tools to achieve our core objectives. The tools involved are detailed below.
9.1 Advertising
- TV, Using specific channels to target males and females according to the type of programmes that they watch.
- Press, Both males and females will be targeted through the relevant magazines, and newspaper articles.
- Posters, Target group will be exposed to posters in many different places, particularly when commuting.
9.2 PR and Publicity, We will use a range of publicity methods to enhance the product to maximum appeal. It is important to balance the information to interest both men and women of all ages to encourage sales of our product. This tool will allow us to raise our credibility before our visibility and establish good relationships with our publics. It will also allow us to create a lot of the initial awareness that is needed to ensure successful entry into the market.
9.3 Direct Marketing –We will use direct marketing to advertise our hi-fi this is because the key advantages are that it offers our business are that, it is a quick, efficient, effective and a cheap method of advertising for the business. Also it will directly get the message across this is because it has a direct relationship with the business and customer. It allows us to get a quicker feedback response.
9.4 Exhibitions - We will use exhibitions to get recognition both by competitors and customers. It will enable us to know more about sellers, buyers and competitors and will announce our new product and get first comments on that. So we will be able to make changes as the target group suggests. Hi-fi exhibitions are another way to reach the innovators and early adopters and spread the word amongst the tech community. This is a relatively cheap way of reaching this key target group.
Female groups could also be targeted this way, by using exhibitions such as the Ideal Home Exhibition, positioning our hi-fi, as the future regarding home design.
9.5 Sales Promotion – This is big business in the UK, currently bigger than advertising and so we will use this to encourage trial as well as purchases. In this economic situation we are aware that customers are price-conscious and search for value for money promotions so we will cater to that need. Promotions will be designed externally for customers, trade and internally for the sales force.
9.6 Selling and Sales Management - Selling and sales management is a very important tool of the marketing communication mix. By using selling and sale management we will be closer to our customers, we will have a chance to build strong relationships with them, and have face-to-face conversations or telephone conversations. This can be very influential in the decision to purchase then and there or at a later date. Communication of the features and benefits are also heavily relied upon. We understand that a major part of our success will be down to the sales force.
9.7 Internet – Will be a base for promotional campaigns and serve as a means of relationship marketing and keeping all consumers up to date. All communications will include our website address so consumers can access our interactive website. This will provide a basis from which information can be communicated to the consumer, and where they can learn about the company, products, and our values.
9.8 Sponsorship – Will be used to reach a particular target audience and will enable us to achieve many objectives such as increased awareness, improved relationships with public, increased sales, image enhancement, etc.
9.9 Packaging- This will be used as a sort of silent salesperson, to enforce the functions and benefits of the product, helping customers to focus on the USP. It also allows us to give instructions and friendly tips and usage, but most importantly to break the misery of choice created by the increasingly vast range of similar brands and products. (PR Smith & Jonathan Taylor 2004:524). This is a major form of communication which we will make the best opportunity of.
10.0 Actions
Apple as a company we feel we have excellent achievements in communicating with our customers and will be aiming to continue this success with our new product. Each communication campaign has been tailor-made to suit the need of our target group to ensure achievement of our objectives. The specifics are outlined below.
10.1 PR and Publicity
In order to reach the target audience we shall be releasing a series of press conferences at different points in the year. The first time will be in Sept at the hi-fi News exhibition, and will be to introduce the brand to the audience and the next will be to raise awareness and to keep the product fresh in the audiences mind.
Through reviews from journalist and professionals of gadgets/audio industry, we plan to build up a database of professional critic’s opinions to the hi-fi, in order to build up interest in the industry, and use them as key selling points to add to press releases.
10.1.1 Press Release
Press Release is an announcement made to the news media and targeted at informing the public of new information from a company. We will be announcing the date our product will become available for sale through this means. We will also allow customers to book their product on the release date. This is called Pre- release.
It is important to use a press release date to launch our product. This can be difficult to manage if something else in the world becomes front page news e.g. the recent troubles in India as the papers are flooded by one topic and our launch would be sidelined. Press releases will also be available on the Apple website on a regular basis along with media contacts within the company.
The press releases will sent to various magazines and newspapers that appeal to our target group for both sexes. In order to obtain free publicity through magazines we will look at the feature calendar of each magazine, using creative ideas in order for the Apple system to blend in their current/ upcoming features.
-Men’s health
A magazine that appeals to the health conscious male, and also features an extensive lifestyle section where a press release or editorial can be placed.
-What hi-fi? Sound and vision
A press release will also be placed in the hi-fi choice magazine to directly reach the hi-fi users in the UK (the 50 best hi-fi’s edition). This is one of the strongest publicity campaigns as most hi-fi users will buy the magazine at this time of year in order to get a back to back comparison to the best hi-fi’s out there and their price ranges.
-GQ Magazine
An article in GQ magazine would also be a fantastic option, as GQ magazine is a magazine aimed at the young affluent man who is with image conscious, high-income lifestyle. By carefully selecting the magazines in which it is placed in it will allow the right image is being built and the market segments of medium-high income males are being targeted.
-Daily Mail
Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday has a magazine supplement called NITE in which they do a section for the latest in men’s technology/clothing/ aftershaves etc.
- Telegraph
The Telegraph has a weekly Telegraph magazine, which contains a digital feature, called ‘Digital life’ which has reviews and notifications of the hottest new gadgets on the current market.
-The Guardian has a technology section in their newspapers and also has a gadgets feature in their Sunday supplement magazine.
-Daily Express
The Dailey Express has an entertainment section on its Thursday’s paper with gadget /games section which features and reviews the latest technology.
-Times
The Times has technology feature in its Sunday times with a feature called test bench which compares and rates the latest in gadgets and innovative technology out of 5 stars on its quality, features and overall design.
As all that is mentioned above is aimed at men we will also target women through separate press releases. This will be more in touch with the needs and lifestyles of these women.
Women tend to be more engaged in the design aspect of the product and look for something that would complement the furnishings in their home in the overall design.
-Vogue
A press release in vogue will make the Apple brand be regarded as high fashion and in style. Anything featured in Vogue usually has a good following.
-Elle
A glossy magazine like vogue but has more features on personal stories, and has a stronger section on lifestyle then vogue. By contacting the editor of Elle we could add an Apple system which will display how versatile and easy to blend the product into the home.
-Cosmopolitan
This is more of a mid market publication and has great to modern women and has an extensive lifestyle and home section.
10.1.2 Advertorials
An Advertorials is advertisement written by an editorial giving opinions on the product. I will be looking for support from a music journalist to argue the positive aspects of our product, which will go into music magazines including “What Hi-fi?.” This a good publication as people considering buying a product compare articles in such magazines. They will be sent of to certain magazines according to their feature calendar.
10.1.3 TV shows
A further way to promote our product is using television selling programmes such as “The Gadget Show.” This is a good way of selling our product as customers’ phone in for immediate sales. The presenters are keen to sell the product and give favourable information on screen. We will be searching for current and future programmes like the one mentioned above as which to feature in. Also we will try to get the product featured on T4 on Sunday morning, even if it’s only in the background, sort of like product placement.
10.2 Advertising
Advertising will be used in the build up to the launch date to create interest and desire to stimulate acquisition. Advertising will be used not only as a way of promoting the product itself, but also to promote the launch event, and act as a countdown clock. A selection of communication channels will be used based on the type of advertisements our target audience will come into contact with according to our research. A selection of TV channels, Newspapers, Magazines and advertisements on specific types of public transport, will be used to best target our audience. All advertisements will carry contact details (web address and free phone number).
10.2.1 TV
Television has the magical X factor – it is exciting, engaging and empathetic. Unlike any other medium, television is a complete sensory feast, bringing people and communities together with programmes like Coronation Street and I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! As a nation we enjoy watching television adverts more than those on any other media. (itvmedia.co.uk)
In 2008 the television marketplace is very different – there are now 500+ channels, and in1990 there were only 15. This gives the average viewer an even greater opportunity to indulge in their favourite pastime!
In the ever growing multi-channel environment, the strength of Sky Media's portfolio is the diversity of the channels they represent. While famous for Sky Sports, Sky Movies, Sky News and Sky One, wider or niche audiences are accessible through channels such as Discovery, National Geographic, EMAP, Hallmark, The History Channel, The Biography Channel and many more. In total Sky Media represents over 60 channels. The strength of these channels is in their programming. From the action of the Premiership on Sky Sports to must-see drama on Sky One, the schedules are designed to entertain a wide variety of viewers.
Interactive digital sales (ids) provide advertising solutions on some of the UK's best-known TV channels and their related websites. Over 27 million people in 12 million households watch their channels. Their “viewers are younger, better off and more free-spending than average...”
Placing a 30 sec spot on Sky and with IDS would be a step in the right direction. We will agree a channel mix based on our target audience and timing schedule of the adverts. We aim to put them in peak spots, evenings from 5.30pm to 11pm.
10.2.2 Press
The main form of advertising, which Apple Inc will use, is press. Press advertising is relatively much cheaper than TV advertising. Media such as magazines and newspapers, allow the audiences to own and read the advertisements at their own leisure and readers are also be able to refer back to the article at any time to find contact details (web address/free phone number). Magazines and especially newspapers tend to also be read by more than one person
Magazines
MEN
What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies.
Men’s Health is the number one magazine for the health conscious British male. It has a monthly adult readership of 1,040,000 with a median age of 31. It also has 72% of its readers falling within the ABC1 category. Our research also suggests that this type of consumer is also interested in the latest audio- technology.
NME Magazine - Continuing to bring you the very best in new music
The NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music. The award-winning www.nme.com, launched in 1996, has grown to be the biggest commercial music news site in Europe.
It has an adult readership of 362,000 (NRS Jul 07- Jun 08). The target market is men aged 17-30 and the average reader age is 25. Men make up 69% of its readers and women 31% and 65% of its readers are in the ABC1 category. NME readers are known to be tech savvy with 72% having broadband at home, 67% purchased online in the last 12 months and 59% like to keep up with the latest technologies. (www.nme.com)
GQ Magazine An advert in GQ magazine would also be a fantastic option, as GQ magazine is a magazine aimed at the businessmen with an image conscious, high-income lifestyle. By carefully selecting the magazines in which it is placed in it will allow the right image is being built and the market segments of medium-high income males are being targeted. The style definer, not just a trend reflector. A magazine whose ethos is 'success with style', GQ is the best men's magazine in the world.
FHM Packed with the funniest, sexiest and most useful information, FHM is the UK's best selling men's magazine. Every month FHM delivers the sexiest women in the world, along with the best in music, movies, sex, health, fitness gadgets, sport, fashion and much, much more. Subscribe now, save cash on the cover price and get free UK delivery.
WOMEN
Cosmopolitan is another one of the UK's leading glossy magazines aimed at lifestyle conscious 18-35 women. The adult readership is1,584,000 and reaches 66% of ABC1 profile. Female readers account for 89% and men 11% with the median age being 27.
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a leading woman’s fashion magazine, with editions in 25 countries. According to IPC Advertising it is “the inspirational media destination for today’s fashionable woman who thinks more about her” and “recognises that her lifestyle choices make a difference”. Distributed monthly, it has a female readership of 1,006,000, with 71% falling within the ABC category (Marie Claire, 2007), with readers have a median age of 32 (IPC Southbank, 2007).
Vogue
This is referred to as the fashion bible by 85% of women. It is one of the most popular magazine publications all over the world and is very influential in the lifestyles of many women. We feel this would be a perfect choice for us. The circulation is 221,090 and 164,652 actively purchased. The total readership is1,205,000 of which 77% are women and 23% men, the average age is 32. The profile of readers is 74% ABC1 and 35% AB. Information from the mediapack also states that nearly 60% of their readers have an item of new technology in their home.
Elle
This is a worldwide that focuses on 's , , , and . It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in , means "".
It is now the world’s largest , with 39 international editions in over 60 . Technologically speaking, the Elle brand is a global encompassing over 20 . Elle have a median age of 34.7 years. account for 73 percent of readers. With the remaining 27 percent purchasing single issues, Elle is the only fashion magazine to have increased its newsstand sales in the past five years, most notably with an 18 percent increase in the first half of 2006 The vast majority (82 percent) of Elle's audience are women between the ages of 18 and 49. Forty percent of readers are single, and the is £32,000. "Our readers are young enough to think about as an and old enough to have the means to live it," said Robbie Myers, .
Newspapers
Metro
- Around 1.8 million people up and down the country read Metro.
- Around half of our total readership is comprised of “Urbanites”. We define “Urbanites” as Metro readers aged between 18-44 and working full-time.
London Lite
- London Lite is aimed at 16-34 year old urbanites. It appeals to a young audience who are looking for a news and sports update, the latest gossip and an entertainment guide (to going out and staying in)
- From a circulation of just over 400K copies, London Lite has 1,021,000 readers. This includes 802,000 15-44 year olds and 762,000 ABC1s, 58% of them are male and 42% female.
(NRS 12 month top line data July07-June08)
The London Paper
- ABC1: 71.7%
- Working full time: 64%
- Under 45: 77.2%
- ABC1 under 35: 80.8%
The Sun Newspaper
- 7,675,000 adult readers (4,535,000 Men & 3,140,000 Women)
- 15-24 year olds make up 21% (1,608) of readers and form the largest age band for readers and 25-34 year olds make up 19% (1,462) of readers
- ABC1C2 adults make up 68% (5,227) of readers and form the largest social class band for readers
- London readers make up 26% (2,017) of total readers.
(NRS Apr 06 – Sep 06)
10.2.3 Posters
Our research shows us that during 2006/07 public transport accounted for 36% of journeys made within London. Furthermore it states that 18% of journeys made within London were by bus. It is approximately 6 million journeys made per weekday. Looking at these figures we decided to advertise our product on buses as well. We would have nationally on 3650 buses and it would cost us about £346,750 for the first two weeks of the launch of the product. Also we would have 100 buses in central London with advertisements on the rear of the bus. It would cost us £143,000 for the first two weeks of the product launch. (www.london.gov.uk)(www.cbsoutdoor.co.uk)
Furthermore our research shows us that in 2006 10% of all journeys were made by London underground which is approximately 4 million journeys per weekday. In addition in 2007 there were 321 rail stations in Greater London, 275 London Underground stations, and 34 Docklands Light Railway stations. Looking at the figures above we decided to use Digital Escalator Panels (D-EPs). The campaigns can run at a variety of spot-lengths and across a range of escalator locations. The basic spot length is 10-seconds and all the screens could play the campaign simultaneously. We would have the campaign running for the first two weeks of the campaign and it would be 10 seconds within a 90 second loop. It would cost us about £93,333. The campaign would run all week from 6am to 12am in 14 tube stations (Bank, Baker Street, Bond Street, Charing Cross, Embankment, Euston, Green Park, Knightsbridge, Leicester Square, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Tottenham Court Road, Waterloo and Victoria). The aim of the first campaign would be to create the awareness which would follow to the second step which includes two weeks every month for a year and it would run only in 6 stations (Baker street, Bond street, Green Park, Knightsbridge, Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road) on the weekdays only 6am-10pm. It would cost us in total £246,000. Further research states that on an average weekday 1.11 million people in 2006 entered central London during the morning peak (7am to 10am) which increased compared to the numbers in 2005.
Posters could target people who travel by train, bus or car. In our days the underground stations are transformed into a digital advertising environment. Our research states that in central London only 11% of people use a car or a van as the main mode to work. In outer London there are 63% and in the rest of Great Britain 76%. Looking at these statistics we decided to advertise our new hi-fi system on Billboards nationally for a month. Our research shows us that the double size Billboards (also known as 96 Sheets) could cost us about £450 per week. We decided that we would have around 200 Billboards nationally which would cost us about £360,000 for a month. The next 11 months we would reduce the number of Billboards to 100 and would advertise only for a first week of each month. It would cost us about £495,000 eleven months.
Furthermore we considered to have train advertising posters which would cost about £30 per month for a spot. We considered advertising on the national rail. We would have about 600 spots on the trains for the first month nationally to create the awareness of our new hi-fi system. It would cost us about £18000 a month for the 600 posters on the trains. In total the advertising on the buses, tube stations, national rail, Billboards and road posters would cost us £1,684,083.
10.3 Exhibitions
Exhibitions are important to be used before launching a new product. We will be using exhibitions to take advantages of face-to face conversations, to know our competitors, to see buyers and sellers. It will unable us to show our product not only to business representatives but also to the public. We will have chance to affect people to purchase our product also we will see other companies products so we can improve our product if we think it is not good enough. We will be able to build relationships with our potential customers. Exhibitions are unique in that they are the only medium that brings the whole market together-buyers, sellers and competitors – all under one roof for a few days. Products and services can be seen, demonstrated or tested, and face-to-face contact can be made with a large number of relevant decision makers in a short period of time .Relationships can be strengthened and opportunities seized if planned carefully (Smith and Taylor, 2004, p504.)
We will be demonstrating at 3 different exhibitions which are called What hi-fi?
Sound and Vision, HI-FI News Show and the last one is going to be an exclusive event in our own Apple stores.
What Hi-fi?Sound and Vision
What Hi-fi?Sound and Vision show started in 2003 and became one of the best hi&fi event in the U.K . The show enables people to see the world’s latest and best entertainment and hi-fi brands. It is the biggest show in the UK nowadays. In 2006 the show gave the opportunity to test the new Playstation 3 and it was the first time that happened in the UK. It is a three-day-event and the interest for the show is increasing every year. This year the show was seen from 31 October till 2 November. The interest for the show was around 10,000 people. This figure demonstrates a 20% increase in visitor numbers. Next years show will take place on 30th Oct - 1st Nov 2009. As Apple we will join next year’s exhibition. We will be able to meet our potential customers and try to affect them to purchase Apple hi-fi product. Also we will see our competitors and the products that they offer. This will help us to improve our product. As everybody already knows Apple is well-know brand but has never produced hi-fi before. So the chance to see products and companies who produce hi-fi for along time will be helpful for us to advance our product.
Hi-fi News Show
Hi-Fi news show which is shown at Heathrow Renaissance Hotel is an English tradition. For over 20 years it is one of the most important show about products which are high-end audio. This year there were 120 exhibitors and 300 brands. Hi-fi News Show is different from what is hi-fi show. Hi-fi news show has more lectures and workshops where what is hi-fi has more free bias and competitions to pull the punters in. That is the reason we decided to join both of them. Hi-fi news show is 3 days show and the first day is for business representatives only and the other two days is for general public. We will not be able to join all three days so we will take place in the first two days, because we want to present our product both to business representatives and public. The show takes place from the 18th to 21st September. Our expectation is to have high quality customers who would like to purchase or will think to purchase in the future.
Apple store event
The Apple store which is located in Regent Street has exhibition everyday on one specific product that Apple manufactures. We will accommodate exhibitions on iSound. The exhibitions will be an exclusive event for invited customers only at first. Later on members of the general public will have the opportunity attend this event.
Not only will the flagship store do this event but all the Apple stores nationwide will hold a similar event. This will create the opportunity for potential consumers to experience physically what they would have been seeing and hearing. There will be a demonstration by one of our specialists and people can ask questions and use the product themselves.
10.4 Sales Promotion
We want to entice customers to buy as well as encourage and motivate the sale forces involved, so we will cater promotions towards the customers and also incentives for the sales force. In the current economic situation where people are less likely to buy this type of item, we will cater to the price conscious customer. This will not be in the form of discounts or money off, but we will give them a valuable deal. The sales force will be motivated through incentives.
-Customers
It will be the night out of their dreams and it costs up to £400.
Ten of our customers who are fan of music will have the great opportunity to win Madonna’s VIP Package.
When purchasing Apple hi-fi every customer will have the same chance to take part into the lottery where ten lucky winners and their companions will have the full hospitality package and tickets which includes: Top price ticket to see Madonna live in concert, two and a half hour hospitality event before the show at the concert venue including champagne reception on arrival, three course meal with fine wines and coffee, complimentary bar of beers, wines and soft drinks during the pre-show and post-show hospitality, one hour post show party at the concert venue , resident DJ , exclusive VIP tour gift for each guest and presentation wallet containing event documentation for each guest.
Vouchers will be offered to customers within the first 3 months of launching for every purchase within the specified period an i-tunes library card to the value of £15 will be given.
Goodie bags will also be made for those participating in our expo exhibitions. The goodie bags will have a booklet containing all the hi-fi features, website, distributors and as a gift we will be giving an Apple pen and a notebook.
-Sales Force
-Commission, in order to stimulate the sales, each salesperson we will be given a commission of 1% of the total value for every hi-fi sold.
For every 10th hi-fi sold the salesperson will get a Selfridges voucher worth of £50 .
-Discounts, all Apple staff will be entitled to a discount of 10% on our hi-fi range.
-Holiday, in all retail outlets nationwide the salesperson with the highest performance within the first year will have the opportunity to get a 7 days holiday to Cancun all inclusive to the resort 5* Grand Oasis Caribbean Resort that is up to £500 per person.
The second one will have the chance to spend 2 days in Paris including one dinner at Louvre restaurant which worth £250. The third sales person will have an amazing day out to Thorpe Park ticket price is £65 per person.
10.5 Selling and Sales Management
Selling used to be a short-term tactics before but nowadays selling and sales management is a very important tool that many companies pay attention to. Currently salesmen are more like “customer servants” and they are actually very important people to be the face of the company to customers. Customers constantly interact with them so we have to be sure that salesmen know the newest issues about the products, the latest advertisements, prices and sales promotions. Apple will give training sessions to our salesmen about how to treat customers, about our new product including the characteristics and prices and so on. We will also assign some people who work for apple to go to stores such as Curry’s and Argos and give some training to the salesmen who work for that stores. The reason for that our aim is to gain recognition and sell our product as many as possible and gain market share. But selling and sale management needs to work with other communication tools like direct mail, telesales and advertising. Hence we will be always in touch with other communication tools to work it out successfully and try to improve salesmen to gather more information about the product. Also because salesmen are going to build relationships between us and consumers we will train them how to persuade people to purchase.
10.6 Direct Marketing
Since more and more people have access to a pc at home and they make greater use of email on a frequent basis, apple can make use of this growing trend. It is a communication tool that allows apple to directly target individuals without having to rely on using the mass media as a method of approaching them. This action is more suitable for apple because they can address the needs of their target market more specifically. Email marketing accounts for less then 20% of the marketing budget, according to a survey carried out by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). This means there are other methods of advertising that are more favourable. The benefits of using emails for direct marketing are that it is relatively low cost; there is ease of delivery due to the speed involved. The costs involved for apple in sending emails is mostly associated with the amount of time taken to structure an email message to recipients. This is mostly concerned with the actual design cost, especially if they have to outsource.
Direct mailing is based on the “mailing list” – a critical part in the direct marketing process. The mailing list is a database, which collects together details of potential customers. Our properly managed mailing database enables Apple to:
• Focus on the best prospective customers
• Cross-sell related products
• Launch new products to existing customers (in the future)
The starting point is the existing information the business keeps on its customers. All forms of communication between a customer and the business need to be recorded so that a detailed, up-to-date profile can be maintained.
10.7 Internet
The use of the internet will have great importance and is crucial in the campaign. It will be a way of sending press releases to various editors on a regular basis and onto news websites like MSN NEWS,Yahoo News and Google News. Accessibility is key and will be essential to the success of our product.
We are aware that the Apple website will be the first point of call for customers who want to know more about our product which means updating it regularly with features, review articles and sales/purchase information eg. prices. Everyting to do with our product will be communicated through the site from launch to after sales service.
Email marketing campaigns will also be used as a cheap way to market our product and provide an immediate link to our website for more information. This is more cost effective than direct mail and also quicker, it is also easily controlled and monitored. We will use advertising in order to increase our site’s traffic and generate sales, we will advertise through Google AdWords. Google AdWords, will allow us to connect with new customers at the precise moment when they're looking for our products or services. With Google AdWords we will create our own ads, choose keywords to help match our ads to the target audience and pay only when someone clicks on them - this is referred to as “pay-per-click” advertising. If a person enters “trendy hi-fi” for example, a direct link to us will become available.
We will also make use of a blogging site that will be managed well and will allow our brand to connect with opinion leaders, trendsetters and brand fans. It will also be a platform for viral marketing campaigns.
10.8 Packaging
The packaging will have the main function of communicating to customers. Furthermore our product will be innovative, stylish and also very simple to use.
We would like that our customers could link the product to the brand (Apple) because it has the strong position in the market. It is a well recognised brand. The design of our new hi-fi should grab the attention of the shoppers as well it should convince them to buy it. Our product has to be recognised through its unique visual identifiers, name and also the colour. Nowadays it is essential to create products designed for contemporary lifestyles.
Shape- our product will be very simple shape with softer edges and curves it would not be just masculine or just feminine because we are targeting both sexes and still giving the product a value. It will be stylish and bring the contemporary feel to the product.
Size- our hi-fi system will be medium-sized and will be very light, which makes it easier to move it around when necessary. It will fit the customer’s room but not dominating it as it will be practical and compliment the ambience.
Colour- as it is an Apple hi-fi system and we are targeting people age group of 18-35 we have to be more concerned when choosing what colour our product will be. We will give our customers a choice of black, white and silver colours. The main reason would be that it is easy to fit it in any type of room as well as Apple mainly uses those colours.
Furthermore our hi-fi system would have a brand logo on it.
The packaging will serve to protect the product as well as to communicate with the customers and they will feel secure to purchase it because the packaging will be 100% recyclable. Customers are more aware of the ethical values and its influence in the environment so for that reason the packaging will display the image of the product and its features. Important technical information will also be available.
As a company we understand the importance of a good packaging which means that our product packaging has to protect the product during the storage and transportation.
10.9 Sponsorship
Compared to advertising sponsorship can be cost-effective in connection with a particular audience. We will use sponsorship to gain awareness, enhance image and also to improve or create good relationships with target audience. We are targeting both men and women who are aged 18-35. We will use sponsorship to reach these people. So we decided to be sponsor “X Factor Talent Show”. It is one of the most popular show nowadays and the people who watch it match with our target audience. Apple’s sponsorship will cover repeats and brand extensions such as the The Xtra Factor spin-off show on ITV2, off-air rights covering broadband, interactive, licensing, all episodes, repeats and merchandising rights. Contestants from the show will also have some duties to perform such as being in the shop which is located in Regent Street. We will have exhibitions in Regent Street store and the influence will definitely be higher than normal if contestants will be there at the exhibition times. So contestants will make special appearances in the store sometimes. The deal between Apple and X Factor is a 2 year contract, and it will cost Apple nearly 5 million pounds per year.
11.0 Control
11.1 PR & Publicity
- People will be able to find out about events that are happening by leaflets, website news and they will be able to call our centres with any queries that they have.
- We will check how many magazines and newspapers featured our press releases and did editorials.
- We will keep record of every single publication of our product.
- In house PR practitioners will be in charge of checking all broadcast and print media in order to look for column where the hi-fi range was mentioned.
- We will look for the Apple brand mentioned as well as for press release sent out and articles about our brand
- Quantitative research will show how many times articles about our product appeared in magazines and how many times the name was mentioned on TV.
Qualitative research will test whether the hi-fI featured in the top magazines such as Elle etc.
The staff will be assessing throughout the Charity Event the impact of the event and will aid the planning of the project for the press release. The staff will also be undertaking qualitative research on how many people have read the magazines where we have advertised our product. They will also consider whether the marketing is being targeted at men and woman equally or more to one group. They will consider the age groups that the campaign is aimed at for best results.
11.2 Advertising
- A brief survey will be conduct in order to measure the brand awareness among target groups: Top of Mind awareness (when a customer indicates a certain brand among certain category of products), Spontaneous awareness (when the brand are mentioned without interviewers help) Supported awareness (when the respondent recognize the brand after the interviewers listing).
- We will monitor magazines sales in order to control how much audience they reached. Keep checking popularity of TV programs and channels we use for advertising.
- Comparing the profit made before and after the advertising campaign
Advertising media spending efficiency needs to be measured and benchmarked
- Recognition on the poster will be checked through scores on Poster Track and SignPost tracking studies.
11.3 Direct Marketing
- The emails can be controlled by keeping a record of when they were sent, and response rates in this way it is possible to make changes to email structure so that is more consumer friendly. Also, by making use of a short questionnaire at the end of the email it is possible to obtain relevant feedback from the target group. They will explain how useful they found the email and they could even be asked to rate their satisfaction, from excellent to unsatisfactory. From this it is possible to establish the usage rate.
11.4 Internet
- In order to track how well our Internet advertising campaigns are performing we will use sites that employing tracking programs that can produce reports on virtually every aspect of the online campaigns. Now the vast majority of sites will at least offer the ability to view how many impressions our ad has received, as well as how many clicks the ad has earned.
11.5 Selling & Sales Management
- We will ask for the each month’s results of the sales from every store to control if trainings are useful or not. We will locate some complaint boxes in the stores that if there is anyone who wants to complain about any inconveniences. We will also leave a telephone number that consumers reach to customer services and tell their problems or inconveniences. By these ways we will be able to control if trainings are beneficial or not. At the end of each training session participants will have the opportunity to tell us if they feel more comfortable with selling it.
11.6 Sales Promotion
- Posters will be placed in the staff area including dates of training and the prizes offered.
- Questionnaires will be given to them to check what they think about our prizes
- In order to keep a track in our sales we will have representatives that will go to stores to check how the sales are going and to encourage sales people to sell our hi-fi as well as the total sales will be checked, the individual sales will be monitored and divulgated in monthly basis to create competition and reinforce the awareness of the product.
- To keep sales growing trainings will be given to staffs and managers as the knowledge is the main key to make sales.
After sales service
- When registering their hi-fi the customers will have one page to answer a 2 minutes questionnaire and they will be able to find the after sales number where our team will be available to answer any questions or to help them out eventually with some issues.
- The calls will be monitored and depending on the case letters to thank them or apologies will be sent out in order to keep our customers satisfaction.
- The registration of the product will immediately generate data which it will be used to send information to our customers and/or also to promote new products
11.7 Exhibitions
- We accommodated exhibitions to gain recognition and create more awareness so we will evaluate if we achieved our goal by using questionnaires. We will delegate someone to ask questions about our product to the people who come to exhibitions before they leave the exhibitions. By questioning people we will be able to learn if we could reach to our target audience and we will also supply a measurable list about what people think about the product. We will also have a small film crew which will film peoples experience and first hand reactions to the product.
- We will also produce booklets that have photos and info of the product in it. The booklet will also cover an explanation of the product qualifications and price of the product. The back page will have a feedback section.
11.8 Packaging
- Packaging communicates to customers and their needs, likes and dislikes change over time so for that reason it needs to be improved from time to time. Nevertheless packaging will change according to people’s tastes, trends, environment and culture. In fact packaging plays an important role because it can affect people’s perception of product quality and it can reinforce the brand’s name. It is also driven by environmental pressure groups as we can see that most of manufactures as our company and retailers are using environmentally friendly packaging.
- We’ll be monitoring the external factors that can affect customer’s opinion and changes will take place immediately to satisfy them and also to try to keep innovation ahead of competition.
12.0 Men/Women
Each element of the communications mix requires particular skills. Some of these will be already available from within the employees of the company. Consideration must be given to whether these employees have the time to dedicate to any new tasks required. Sometimes new resources must be brought in house for particular projects. Other skills may be specialist and not be available from within the company. Often it does not make sense to bring in these skills and it is better to outsource elements of the communications campaign to specialist firms and agencies. If this is the case this must be budgeted for. For our marketing campaign we will be using a mix of in house resources and other firms/agencies.
12.1 PR & Publicity
All PR activity will be handled by the in-house PR team who also deal with the PR activity of other Apple products. A key strength of advertising and PR recruits is their familiarity with dealing daily with journalists. We will create that daily dialogue between them and the media in-house all the time to double the effort. PR personnel will handle exhibitions as well. We feel we have a lot of expertise in this field and have had great success so far and intend to extend this with new products also.
12.2 Advertising
Apple have an extensive product marketing team, known to be one of the best and so to capitalise on this will be using the capabilities within the department. However it will be necessary to conduct some audience research which will be given out to a research company to perform. Also for the production of the TV advert, this will be given out to a creative production company; however the creative brief will be done in-house. Also the creative material for the press and posters will be handled through a graphics company.
12.3 Exhibitions
These events will be staffed and organised jointly between Apple and the exhibition owners. Although extra staff may need to be recruited for the day the planning will take place in-house with liaison with the exhibition owners. Some of our training and technology experts will also be there on the day. An agency will be used for stage/ audio-visual production.
12.4 Direct Marketing
This will also be handled in- house with the use of a graphics company if and when literature is needed. The product marketing team will consult with database companies for data, if needed, although Apple has a customer database already.
12.5 Internet
Apple will use its in-house IT department to update, maintain and monitor our website.
12.6 Selling and Sales Management
Apple will use our dedicated in house sales team to deal with department stores that we already have built a client base with, as we are able to best equipped to deal with already established relationships. Our products will be available for purchase all over UK, making it accessible for anyone in demand. Specialist trainers will visit all the retail outlets including Apple Stores to do training workshops with sales staff. The website will also be a valuable sales prop and lots of information will be published there too. We will also endeavour to train specialist independent retailers as we are aware how vital they are to our business. Full training regarding knowledge about our Hi Fi will be given to the sales team, and also information packs and training for sales personnel within stores will be provided by our in house team on on-site visits of selected stores.
12.7 Sponsorship
This will be handled by the marketing communications team with regular meetings and conferences with X Factor creative team as well as ITV station.
* Launch August 2010
14.0 Money
Our overall expenditure for the marketing communications campaign for the iSoundbox hi-fi is £21,691,366. However we have not included the price for the production of the advert. This budget was made via executive judgment.
15.0 References
Books:
-
Brassington, F. and Pettit, S., 2006. Principles of Marketing. 4th ed. Pearson Education Limited.
-
Smith, P. R. and Taylor, J., 2004. Marketing Communications: An Integrated Approach. 4th ed. Kogan Page Limited.
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Armstrong, G. and Kotler, P., 2000. Marketing an Introduction .5th ed. Prentice Hall.
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Baker, M.J., 1996. Marketing an Introductory Text. 6th ed. Macmillan Business.
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Websites:
16.0 Appendix
Table 1
Retail distribution of audio equipment 2005-07
* includes catalogue stores, phone and music outlets
Table 2
Sales of Hi-Fi Sold in 2006-2007
Table 3
Figure 15: Manufacturers’ shares in MP3 players, 2005-07 (Mintel)
Table 4
Figure 31: Features influencing decision to buy an MP3 player, July 2007 (Mintel)Base: 1,000 adults aged 16+
Table 5
Figure 29: Method of listening to music nowadays, July 2007 (Mintel)
Base: 1,000 adults aged 16+
Table 6
Projected number of women in employment in the UK 2001-11
Source: National Statistics/GAD Mintel
Table 7
Method of listening to music nowadays, by gender, age, region, socio-economic group. July 2007
Based: 1,000 adults aged 16+
*Low sample size 70-100
**Low sample size les than 70
Source: Ciao/Mintel
Table 8
Advertising Expenditure of Audio Equipment Brands
Source: Nielson/Mintel
