2. 2
1.0: Executive summary
Apple. The most valuable company on the face of the planet. We all probably use an Apple
product or two, and we’ve all probably seen an Apple commercial or two, but do we know
just how this technology giant reached the stratosphere of success?
Apple is well-known for their creative marketing strategies and marketing campaigns, yet
very few know how this creativity has impacted their tremendous success. This paper aims
to explain precisely that.
It starts of by explaining the two key concepts that are addressed throughout this project;
marketing strategies and organisational success. Influential figures in these two industries,
such as Philip Kotler, give their opinion on defining and explaining what the two concepts
actually are. Within the literature review, various experts and researchers in the field have a
go at explaining and analysing what Apple’s key marketing strategy is and how that has
impacted their levels of organisational success.
This paper uses two types of data; primary and secondary. This, along with the philosophy,
approach and other methods of research are explained in the next section which is research
methodology. In addition, the ethics and validity of the data used will also be deeply
considered.
The section that follows research methodology could well be considered the most
important of all, and that is data analysis. Here, all of the vast amounts of data gathered
throughout the literature review will be heavily analysed and debated. The primary data
method of this project is an interview with technology journalist Ricardo Da Silva. The
questions asked, his answers, and the deep analysis of his views will also be included in this
section, with a transcript of the interview in the appendices. Closely related to the data
analysis section is the discussion in which the data gathered, the approach and the
limitations will be discussed and reasoned.
To finish off, the conclusion and recommendation sections will be added and a personal
view of the skills learnt, improved on and developed throughout the dissertation with be
inserted within the personal reflection.
3. 3
2.0: Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone who helped me in one way or another in producing this piece
of work over the last few months.
Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Mr. Ngwasiri, who spent practically every week
going over my constantly expanding drafts, and for giving me great pointers and insights to
ensure this project went as smoothly and successfully as possible.
Secondly, I would like to thank technology journalist Ricardo Da Silva for taking the time out
to conduct an interview with me even with short notice. He provided me with detailed and
accurate information that I was able to use effectively in this project.
Last, but definitely not least, I would like to thank my mother and father for putting up with
me and my frantic schedule. I would also like to thank them for understanding my absence
from family occasions and holidays.
4. 4
Tableof Contents
1.0: Executive summary 2
2.0: Acknowledgments 3
3.0: Introduction 6
4.0: Aims and objectives 8
4.1: Aim 8
4.2: Objectives 8
5.0: Research questions 9
6.0: Literature review 10
6.1: Introduction 10
6.2: Marketing strategies 10
6.2.1: The marketing concept 11
6.2.2: Marketing strategy 12
6.2.3: Apple’s marketing strategies 13
6.3: Organisational success 15
6.3.1: What factors do organisational success depend on? 15
6.3.2: Apple’s organisational success 16
7.0: Research methodology 18
7.1: Philosophy 18
7.2: Approach 18
7.3: Strategy 19
7.4: Data collection 19
7.5: Time-horizon 19
7.6: Ethics, reliability, validity, generalisability and limitations 20
7.6.1: Ethics 20
7.6.2: Reliability and validity 20
7.6.3: Generalisability 20
7.6.4: Limitations 20
8.0: Data analysis 22
8.1: What is marketing strategy? 22
8.2: How can marketing strategy contribute to the success of a business? 23
8.3: What is the link between marketing strategy and organisational success? 24
8.4: Why is Apple’s marketing strategies so successful? 24
8.5: Apple’s 7P’s of marketing; Email interview 25
8.5.1: Product 26
8.5.2: Pricing 26
8.5.3: Promotion 27
8.5.4: Place 27
8.5.5: Processes 28
8.5.6: People 28
8.5.7: Physical evidence 28
9.0: Discussion 30
9.1: Interpreting results 30
9.2: Approach 30
9.3: Limitations 31
10.0: Conclusions 32
5. 5
11.0: Recommendations 33
12.0: Personal reflection 34
12.1: The development of secondary research skills 34
12.2: The development of primary research skills 34
12.3: Improvement of time-management and self-confidence skills 35
13.0: Bibliography 36
14.0: Appendices 39
6. 6
3.0: Introduction
The aim of this project is to understand how Apple achieved its well documented success
through the impact of its marketing strategies. This aimis worth investigating in detail as
there are many opinions out there that explain why tech giant Apple has gained this level of
organisational success and what the factors behind it all are. This topic has been a source of
many articles and journals over the years and has been an area where many researchers are
still trying to understand just how Apple has grown to one of the largest corporations in the
world in under forty years.
One of Apple’s key successes is their marketing strategies and advertising uniqueness.
Jayson Demers says Apple’s true marketing success lies in its pure simplicity. ‘’Apple is my
favourite example of simplicity in marketing. Take their Mac versus PC ads: 2 guys just
standing and talking set against a white background. No lengthy list of product features, no
mention of price, no professional voice actors with emotional voice-overs, or even
information on how to buy a Mac. Each ad aims to make one point and one point only: one
way in which Macs are better than PCs.’’ (Demers, 2014.)
Many marketers in today’s age will tell you how vital it is for companies to invest in
advertising through various channels, from TV and radio to posters and social media. As
stated by Dinner Isaac etal., (2014, p527-528), major firms need to balance out the use of
multiple advertising mediums. ‘’Retailers such as Macy’s now need to balance advertising
across traditional media (e.g., television, print) with online techniques such as search and
display advertising (banner ads) to propel purchases across both physical and online
stores.’’
However, what makes this particular study very interesting is the fact that Apple is known
for ‘investing a little, gaining a lot.’ In other words, they use very few forms of advertising
channels, yet are world renowned and one of the strongest, if not the strongest, brands on
the planet. This, along with other factors such as my personal passion for technology and
how much of an impact Apple has made on my life, makes this project appealing and
attractive to dive deeper into.
By the end of this dissertation, it is expected that marketing strategies and their impact on a
company have been understood and explained. It is also hoped that the correct and precise
definition of organisational success is given, and ultimately to understand the question
many researchers have tried to understand before; why is Apple so successful with their
marketing strategies.
This project will include the following sections:
Executive summary
Introduction
Aims and objectives
Research questions
Literature review (introduction, marketing strategies and organisational success)
7. 7
Research methodology (philosophy, approach, strategy, data collection, time-
horizon and ethics)
Data analysis
Discussion (interpreting results, approach and limitations)
Conclusions
Recommendations
Personal reflection
Bibliography
Appendices
8. 8
4.0: Aims and objectives
According to Thomson (2014), an aimis ‘’about what you hope to do, your overall intention
in the project. It signals what and/or where you aspire to be by the end. It’s what you want
to know. It is the point of doing the research. An aim is therefore generally broad. It is
ambitious, but not beyond possibility.’’
4.1: Aim
To develop an understanding of how Apple achieved its organisational success
through the impact of its marketing strategies.
4.2: Objectives
An objective is ‘’the specific steps you will take to achieve your aim. This is where you make
the project tangible by saying how you are going to go about it.’’ (Thomson, 2014).
To understand what marketing strategy is.
To understand the level of impact marketing strategy has on a business.
To precisely define what organisational success is.
To understand why Apple is so successful with their marketing strategies.
9. 9
5.0: Research questions
As stated by The Research Assistant (2003), a research question ‘’is a statement that
identifies the phenomenon to be studied.’’ The research questions for this project are
summarised as follows:
What is marketing strategy?
How can marketing strategy contribute to the success of a business?
What is the link between marketing strategy and organisational success?
Why is Apple’s marketing strategy so successful?
10. 10
6.0: Literature review
A literature review is the research and analysis done in a particular field of study. It includes
understanding the points of views of authoritative sources and critically analysing their
arguments with opposing views. This is done by surveying the area of study, synthesising
the information into a summary, critically analysing it and presenting it in an organised
manner. (Royal Literary Fund, n.d.).
6.1: Introduction
This literature review will be summarised under three main topics as follows:
Marketing strategies
Organisational success
How Apple has used marketing strategies to achieve their level of accomplishment.
Marketing is considered one of the most important functions of any business. According to
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (2016), marketing is officially defined as ‘’the
management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer
requirements profitably.’’ Going deeper into the world of marketing, we find the term
marketing strategies. ‘’The marketing strategy is the way in which the marketing function
organises its activities to achieve a profitable growth in sales at a marketing mix level.’’
(Kotler, 2014.) Essentially, marketing strategy is the way an organisation is going to achieve
profitable growth. It is the methods, objectives and resources a company will use to achieve
their desired profit and growth whilst maintaining customer satisfaction.
Organisational success is a unique concept. This is because it is defined differently by
different organisations. For example, your local grocery store will give you a different
meaning to organisational success than say Unilever. However, it can still be defined within
an organisation. Organisational success is measured by looking at where a company is now
in relation to its goals and overall mission. As it is defined by an organisation’s goals and
mission, it becomes different for different firms, as they all have different goals and
different missions.
Apple is a well-known brand with products in use all over the world. Many say Apple’s
success stems from the idea of marrying intense technology with liberal arts, whilst others
say it is their approach of simplicity to every business process they have, from the creation
of a product right down to the marketing campaign. However, to truly understand the
impact of Apple’s marketing strategy on their organisational success, and therefore answer
the project at hand, focus must be put on their marketing strategies and assume it has
played a major part in determining their success.
6.2: Marketing strategies
Marketing is one the most creative departments in any business. It is viewed differently by
every organisation, and rightly so. There are well over a hundred different marketing
11. 11
strategies and many more marketing concepts leading to some very unique marketing
techniques. Some companies like to innovate and create their own ‘marketing language,’
whilst others do what has been tried and tested before them. Larger multinational firms like
to innovate and create their own marketing concepts to be used throughout the entire
company. This may make a case for companies, big and small, to innovate in every aspect of
their processes, even marketing. ‘’The best marketing organizations, including those at
Coca- Cola, Unilever, and the Japanese beauty company Shiseido, have invested in
dedicated internal marketing academies to create a single marketing language and way of
doing marketing.’’ (De Swaan Arons et al., 2014, p62). Having a ‘single marketing language’
can be very useful to a company of Coca-Cola’s size. If they are able to create a ‘way of
marketing’ at Coca-Cola, then this method can be used at all their locations and offices
around the world, making for a standardised global marketing strategy to be used in every
country they operate in, leading to lower costs and faster advertising roll outs.
6.2.1: The marketing concept
As mentioned by Doyle, (2006, p410), ‘’the marketing concept is at the heart of the free
capitalist system.’’ A competitive industry is considered an advantage to customers as they
have the ability to choose from whom to buy. They make their decision based on the firm
they perceive as offering the best value. Value derives from the perceived quality and the
price of a product. Therefore, companies must be able to balance lower prices and higher
quality, to offer superior value, if they are to remain alive in a highly competitive market.
According to Philip Kotler, a well-known marketing author and consultant, the marketing
concept has changed over the years. It went from ‘‘product-centric (Marketing 1.0) to
consumer centric (Marketing 2.0) to value-driven (Marketing 3.0.)’’ (Cited by Khankaew,
2015, p1). Value is determined by the level of benefits a customer is getting in relation to
the costs they are willing to pay. These costs are not just the actual price of the good, but
rather can include time and energy as customers may be told to wait a few days to receive
their product or be told to come and pick it up from a store. In today’s day and age, value is
what customers are all after. They want to be able to feel like they’ve purchased a good
worth what they are paying for, and businesses need to understand and cater for this. It
starts with the product itself. If the product is not up to par with what customers are going
to pay, then the customers’ expectation of the product will fall and therefore customer
satisfaction will fail. As mentioned above, the ‘product’ is the benefits part in the value
equation, and the ‘costs’ are everything a customer is sacrificing to receive this product
(capital, time, effort, etc.) To be able to satisfy customer needs correctly, businesses must
provide as many benefits as possible with as little costs as possible, whilst still remaining
profitable.
Mr. Kotler also says that since the current age understands that the customer is a partner
and not only a target group, ‘’the marketer should give importance to the mind, heart and
spirit of a customer to reduce customer concern.’’ (Cited by Khankaew, 2015, p1). Here, Mr.
Kotler clearly understands the power of treating your customer as a person and not a
‘target group.’ The customer is the most important aspect of any business, and to be able to
form strong relationships with them, also known as relationship marketing, you need to be
able to treat them as a partner or participator, someone who is willing to purchase your
12. 12
product/service and not feel like they are being used to keep a company profitable. This
idea of giving importance to a customers’ mind and heart is critical to a company’s survival.
This is because today, more than ever before, customers have the power to speak out when
a firm is not delivering what it promised on. The beauty of social media is that it can be a
powerful tool for businesses to advertise, but also a powerful tool for customers to voice
their opinions. Therefore, if a company advertised a product as having a particular benefit,
but it turns out it does not, customer expectations will not be met, their satisfaction will fall
and worst of all for the firm, the customer can use social media to voice their negative
opinions about this company, leading to a negative reputation for them overall. However, if
a company gives importance to the mind and heart of a customer and treats them correctly
by delivering on what they promised, they will meet expectations, customers will feel
satisfied, and the firm’s Twitter page will look a lot more positive.
6.2.2: Marketing strategy
As outlined in the introduction of this literature review, marketing strategy includes the
methods, objectives and resources a company will use to meet a desired level of growth and
profit. More importantly, the marketing strategy within a firm must align will the overall
corporate strategy to ensure there is a common vision. ‘’Marketing historically has marched
to its own drummer, at best unevenly supporting strategy handed down from headquarters
and, more commonly, pursuing brand or marketing goals (such as growing brand equity)
that were not directly related to the overall business strategy. Today high-performing
marketing leaders don’t just align their department’s activities with company strategy; they
actively engage in creating it.’’ (De Swaan Arons et al., 2014, p58).
However, this view is clearly not shared by Ashe-Edmunds, (2015), who states corporate
strategies and marketing strategies cannot mix together successfully. ‘’Corporate strategies
and marketing strategies often coincide or overlap because, contrary to popular belief, a
major focus of marketing includes the strategic planning aspects of developing, pricing and
distributing a product. The two diverge when corporate strategy has less to do with product
or service development and sales and more to do with profitability initiatives.’’
Corporate strategy and marketing strategy begin to diverge due to the difference in aims.
Corporate strategy is to do with profitability of a company and ensuring shareholders are
satisfied. On the other hand, marketing strategies is to do with the product itself, its
development and more generally, the 7P’s of marketing. (Product, price, promotion, place,
people, physical evidence and processes.) Having these differences makes it that much
more difficult for the two to share a common vision.
The idea that marketing strategy must align with the corporate strategy is vital because of a
simple reason. For a company to achieve their aim, it must be the same aim for everyone
there. Marketing cannot have a different aim to HR, or vice versa. This is the common vision
talked about above. When a common vision is in place, setting out the objectives to achieve
that common vison becomes easier and much clearer for every employee, and therefore
makes it more likely that the company will achieve their aim. This is outlined by De Swaan
13. 13
Arons et al. (2014, p58). ‘’To deliver a seamless experience, one informed by data and
imbued with brand purpose, all employees in the company, from store clerks and phone
centre reps to IT specialists and the marketing team itself, must share a common vision.’’
6.2.3: Apple’s marketing strategies
Similar to Apple’s corporate culture, their marketing strategy is unique to say the least.
Many marketing directors and business owners will inevitably think of marketing as a must
have ingredient for organisational success, something no company can survive without.
However, many have not noticed how one of the largest and most successful organisations
in the world reached the top spot with the smallest possible marketing budget.
According to McCormack (2013), Apple have dared to be different by not investing heavily
in marketing. ‘‘Apple do not have a marketing budget. They never advertise their mobile
phone products anywhere. That means no SEO, PPC, Social media, TV, Radio or print ads of
any kind. They simply do not promote their iPhones what so ever.’’
For one of the most recognised brands on the planet, not promoting their products does not
seem to add up. If you have seen an Apple commercial or advert, McCormack states that it
is actually ‘’some other company advertising Apple’s products for them.’’ (2013). This is the
level of power Apple now has over mobile network operators who volunteer to pay for
Apple’s advertising just to tell the world they sell the iPhone. In typical Apple fashion, they
have ‘strict branding restrictions’ that the network operator must follow and must get
approval from Apple before airing the ad or putting up the billboards.
Apple’s marketing strategy is debated across many authors and organisations. Some say it’s
the use of one key marketing strategy whilst others mention the use of many different
strategies used by Apple over the years. One organisation believes Apple’s marketing
strategy is unique to technology companies, and is called the ‘iPod halo effect’. ‘’In a so-
called iPod halo effect, Apple hoped that the popularity of iPod and iTunes among these
new groups of customers would cause these segments to be interested in Apple's computer
products. This does seemto have happened. Since the take-off of the iPod there has been a
dramatic rise in Apple's computer sales and market share.’’ (Marketing Minds, n.d.).
Whilst this may be true, this strategy is undoubtedly one used many years ago and cannot
reflect Apple’s strategy today. This is because back in 2001, when Apple released the iPod, a
revolutionary music player, it was the core of Apple’s business and therefore was the major
product that attracted many first time Apple buyers to try it out and then try out their other
products, such as the iMac. Today, the iPod is one of Apple’s smallest categories, with
products such as the iPhone and iPad leading their revenue sheets. It would be considered
suicidal for Apple to lure new customers in using the iPod, an outdated and unrefreshed
product line, when they have something as strong and as trendy as the iPhone.
However, Patel (2016), has a different view, and believes Apple’s marketing has always been
about creating a movement. ‘’Another of the world’s most famous brands is Apple. What is
its marketing strategy? Apple created a movement. This didn’t happen by accident.
Everything about the company's marketing and advertising produced visions of world-
14. 14
changing experiences. It adorned this vision with unprecedented technology and mind-
blowing innovation.’’
Here Patel believes that Apple’s marketing strategy is way beyond the average strategies
you hear companies talk about day in day out. It is about creating a culture, a following, that
people of all types will adore so much that they cannot leave it. This may just be the
strongest form of customer retention. Avid Apple fans believe they are more than just the
‘buyer,’ they believe they are part of something bigger and something more powerful. It has
become a very powerful trend in today’s younger generations that an iPhone is the only
smartphone that people can use. Any other product is not considered socially acceptable.
On the other hand, Fion McCormack states that Apple’s marketing strategy is something
that is used by other organisations in the real world and is known as the ‘Exclusivity
Technique’. ‘’The Exclusivity Technique is typically executed with relative success by
businesses giving a select subset of customers a special deal on goods or services. For
example, some companies make certain offers exclusively available to existing customers or
Facebook fans. This is the Exclusivity Technique at its most basic form. When the first
iPhone model came out it was made exclusively available from just one mobile provider for
its’ entire life span. When subsequent iPhones were released there were ‘stock problems.’
iPhones were issued on a first come first serve basis. Those who wanted one had to queue
and sometimes camp outside an Apple store. This attracted media attention and generated
free publicity for Apple.’’ (McCormack, 2013.) (See appendix A for chart.)
It works by making a subset of customers feel special and has been proven to increase
brand loyalty and customer relationships. Usually, companies using the exclusivity
technique do it by providing special offers. Apple however have switched it up and made
their entire iPhone line-up exclusive. This is done to deliberately restrict iPhones to
customers and mobile network operators. As stock was restricted at the beginning of each
iPhone’s life cycle, tension arose between those who had one and those who wanted one.
This tension became vocal and infectious very quickly through blogs and forums and now
people who were not planning on purchasing an iPhone started to wonder what all the fuss
was about. This led to even more free publicity for Apple and garnered the media’s
attention, making it a global event.
Word of mouth in known as the strongest form of marketing because of its raw honesty.
McCormack (2013), explains how Apple understood this better than anyone else. ‘’Word of
mouth has been recognised as the most effective form of promotion for any product or
service because of its honesty and non-commercial intent. Forums and blog comments have
become this century’s extension of word of mouth. Apple recognised this and capitalised on
it early on.’’
To sum up this section, it is clearly noticeable that Apple’s marketing strategies are very
unique. Different authors and experts in this field have differing opinions. One of the
research questions for this project asks ‘why is Apple’s marketing strategy so successful,’
and the answer to that comes in different forms. Whilst Fion McCormack believes it is the
use of the ‘exclusivity technique’ and the fact that Apple purposely limits its stock to cause
interest in the public, Neil Patel believes it is the idea of founding a tribe, a following, a
15. 15
movement. However, Marketing Minds states that it is the iPod halo effect that summarises
Apple’s marketing strategy in a nutshell.
After reading from all experts and understanding all their points, it is believed that it is a mix
of all of their answers that defines why Apple is so successful in their marketing strategy. It
is clearly evident that Apple has founded a movement, as fans of Apple products flock in
their thousands to purchase a new iPhone the day it is released. As mentioned in the article
set out by the Marketing Minds (n.d.), the iPod halo effect did actually work as the growth
of the Mac business for Apple grew substantially after the introduction of the iPod. It is also
evident that Apple uses the ‘exclusivity technique’ and has network providers pay for their
advertising costs. Every Apple advert has the logo of the network provider at the end of the
usually thirty second clip. This proves that Apple is not the one creating the advert, but
rather the mobile phone provider. Also, as is clear from the chart in appendix A, Apple does
limit the amount of stock available to customers when the new iteration of iPhone is
announced, creating a sense of tension between customers, and therefore leading to more
free publicity. All in all, only Apple truly knows their marketing strategy, and with their
current levels of success, they do not seem to be giving that answer away anytime soon.
6.3: Organisational success
As mentioned above in the introduction to this literature review, organisational success is a
unique concept as it is defined differently by different organisations. Some organisations
will define it simply as how profitable a particular company is in relation to its competitors,
whilst others may define it as what percentage of market share a company owns in relation
to the rest of the industry. Either way, both definitions are correct. This is because this
concept can only be defined in relation to a particular company, and is unique to that
company. Organisational success is defined from the aims and objectives a company has set
for themselves, and if achieved, then the firm can say it has achieved its desired level of
organisational success. Therefore, as firms have different aims and objectives, their
definition of organisational success will also differ, making it more difficult to give a broader,
more general explanation.
6.3.1: What factors do organisational success depend on?
According to Tshukudu (2014, p337), organisational success depends on factors that include
‘’creating a culture, developing leadership, performance management and creating a
learning organisation.’’ He mentions the ‘creation of a culture’ as the key factor to
organisational success. This is because a common culture within the organisation will help
its employees understand what the firms aims and objectives are, and the way they should
go about doing what they do. Furthermore, having a common organisational culture will
lead to better productivity and efficiency and therefore help the firm achieve their aims and
objectives not just quicker, but more efficiently.
On the other hand, researchers from the university of Wollongong in Australia disagree.
‘’Organisational success strongly depends upon socialisation and collaboration amongst
individuals within an organisation while individual successes combine to form a permanent
adaptation capability within the organisation.’’ (Anwar etal., 2014, p10). They believe that it
16. 16
is collaboration and socialisation that determine the level of organisational success in a
company. This seems to make sense as having a team that works together well can come up
with more creative innovations and inventions than someone working by themselves, which
leads to higher levels of organisational success as the teams are achieving their aims and
objectives.
However, what they failed to mention in the journal is that collaboration and socialisation
will eventually lead to the creation of a company culture, as teams who are working
together have a common goal or common aimto work towards. This team work and
collaboration which leads to a company culture is clearly one strong factor of determining
organisational success as companies in today’s world are seeing the benefits of working
together in unity towards the firm’s corporate aim.
6.3.2: Apple’s organisational success
Apple is well known for its huge levels of organisational success (be it profits or market
share) and has had countless articles and writings on why Apple’s organisational success has
sky rocketed since their humble beginnings in 1976. Whilst many may tell you there is not
one single reason defining their success, many will still tell you the different reasons they
believe have contributed largely to it.
According to Bajarin (2012), one of the reasons Apple is so successful is simply because ‘’the
products have to be easy to use.’’ He believes that even though industrial design was a
critical component, if the product was not easy to use, the consumer would have no interest
in purchasing it. He says this is a ‘’critical goal of its approach to creating anything for the
market.’’ (Bajarin, 2012.)
However, as mentioned by Anastasia (2015), in her article titled ‘Why the Apple design is so
successful,’ it is Apple’s design principles and beauty that ultimately made the company
extremely successful. ‘’Apple counts ‘design’ as a foundation principle – the starting point of
the entire product development process.’’
It is the substance over form and the attention to quality and detail that attracts customers
to the next generation of the iPhone or iMac, therefore leading to repeat purchases and
extreme levels of customer loyalty, almost a following, that have helped Apple reach the
highest levels of success.
However, this view is not shared by other authors. One author believes that Apple’s success
stems from one single point, ‘’think brutal.’’ (Segall, 2012.) According to Segall, thinking
brutal all came from their visionary leader, Steve Jobs. ‘’Steve Jobs demanded
straightforward communication from others as much as he dished it out himself.’’ (Segall,
2012.) This form of clarity is what propelled the organisation. It is this constant, 24-hour in-
your-face characteristic that Steve Jobs possessed and used to keep his team motivated and
keep them creating the ‘right products,’ and not ‘any product.’
In summary of this section, we can clearly see how the success of one firm can spilt opinions
between many. Whilst it is believed it is a combination of all these factors mentioned above
17. 17
plus more that ultimately determined Apple’s organisational success, many experts and
authors will point out one or two reasons that were key. Surprisingly, no one author or
expert in this field believed Apple’s marketing strategies had something to do with their
level of organisational success, which many answer the research question above ‘what is
the link between marketing strategy and organisational success?’ It may be plausible that
there may not be a link between the two, and that the two concepts may be different in
their own right. All in all, this area of study may remain a mystery to everyone for many
years and decades to come, even Apple themselves.
18. 18
7.0: Research methodology
Research methodology gives the clear cut idea of the methods used by the researcher to
achieve their research objectives. It ‘’describes the rationale for the application of specific
procedures or techniques used to identify, select, and analyse information applied to
understanding the research problem, thereby, allowing the reader to critically evaluate a
study’s overall validity and reliability.’’ (Kallet, 2004, p1229).
The research methodology is summarised under six sections as follows:
Philosophy
Approach
Strategy
Data collection
Time horizon
Ethics, reliability, validity, generalisability and limitations
7.1: Philosophy
The chosen philosophy for the project is the view of an interpretivist. According to Myers
(2008, p38), ‘’interpretive researchers assume that access to reality (given or socially
constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness, shared
meanings, and instruments.’’
The interpretivist approach is based on two beliefs:
Relativist ontology
Subjectivist epistemology (see appendix B for more information).
7.2: Approach
The chosen approach for this project is inductive. Inductive approach, according to Goddard
and Melville (2004, p7), ‘’starts with the observations and theories are formulated towards
the end of the research and as a result of observations.’’
Inductive approach starts off with no theories at the beginning of the research, however
theories can evolve as a result of the research. This method is often referred to as ‘bottom-
up’, and its reasoning is based on learning from experience. (Research Methodology, n.d.).
(See appendix C for more information).
Whilst a deductive approach is a ‘closed’ logical system, which can limit the possibilities of
thought, inductive is open to a lot more possibilities as there are no restrictions. This
advantage can be very useful to people who want to solve problems and very little is known
as it is a more flexible approach. (Phatak, 2011).
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On the other hand, according to Phatak (2011), a deductive reasoning is going to ensure
your results are always going to be true, whilst inductive reasoning can only challenge
established thought with the possibility of being wrong.
An inductive approach is chosen here as, generally speaking, an inductive approach is
associated with qualitative methods of data collection whilst a deductive approach is
perceived to be related to quantitative methods of data collection. It is also chosen because
as a researcher, the nature of the topic at hand is unknown until the study is completed. It is
based on theories and patterns developed whilst learning, which is what is occurring in this
dissertation.
7.3: Strategy
There are different types of strategies researchers use including experiment, survey and
case studies. The chosen strategy for this dissertation is a case study.
Case studies ‘’aimto analyse specific issues within the boundaries of a specific environment,
situation or organisation.’’ (Research methodology, n.d.).
There are three different categories that case studies can be divided into:
Explanatory
Descriptive
Exploratory (see appendix D for more information).
7.4: Data collection
Data collection can be divided into two sections:
Primary
Secondary
Primary data collection can then be split into two further groups; quantitative and
qualitative. Quantitative data includes the likes of questionnaires and surveys, whilst
qualitative data collection is more to do with words, feelings, emotions and other elements
that cannot be quantifiable. These include the use of interviews, role playing and
observation. (Dudovskiy, n.d.). (See appendix E for more information).
7.5: Time-horizon
There are two types of time-horizon used within studies:
Cross-sectional
Longitudinal (see appendix F for more information).
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7.6: Ethics, reliability, validity, generalisability and limitations
7.6.1: Ethics
The ethical considerations of a dissertation can be considered as one of the most important
aspects for its success. According to Bryman and Bell (2007, p128), there are ten ethical
guidelines to follow:
1. Research participants should not be subjected to harm in any ways whatsoever.
2. Respect for the dignity of research participants should be prioritised.
3. Full consent should be obtained from the participants prior to the study.
4. The protection of the privacy of research participants has to be ensured.
5. Adequate level of confidentiality of the research data should be ensured.
6. Anonymity of individuals and organisations participating in the research has to be
ensured.
7. Any deception or exaggeration about the aims and objectives of the research must
be avoided.
8. Affiliations in any forms, sources of funding, as well as any possible conflicts of
interests have to be declared.
9. Any type of communication in relation to the research should be done with honesty
and transparency.
10. Any type of misleading information, as well as representation of primary data
findings in a biased way must be avoided. (See appendix G for more information).
7.6.2: Reliability and validity
Reliability and validity play a vital role in any dissertation where secondary research is the
primary source of data collection. Essentially, reliability refers to the ‘’extent to which the
same answers can be obtained using the same instruments more than one time.’’ (Research
Methodology, n.d.). Validity is the ‘’extent at which requirements of scientific research
method have been followed during the process of generating research findings.’’ (Research
Methodology, n.d.). (See appendix H for more information).
7.6.3: Generalisability
Generalisability simply defined is having a research finding be valid in both internal and
external environments. This is usually applied to scientific research such as that conducted
within a lab, therefore it does not have much of an application to this dissertation, which
sourced secondary data such as articles and books from experts in the field and an interview
for primary data means.
7.6.4: Limitations
As with any piece of work, there will be limitations of all kinds. In this dissertation, it is
believed there could be limitations in the research objectives. It is believed the research
objectives could be broad in relation to the topic covered. Instead of stating how marketing
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strategy in general is affected, it could have been asked how something more specific, such
as the digital marketing strategy of Apple, has had an impact on their organisational
success. This will have given a more detailed overview of the importance of digital
marketing in today’s digital world, and how much of an impact that could have had on
Apple’s well-documented success. (See appendix I for more information).
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8.0: Data analysis
Research is used to understand the various aspects of the world we live in. It involves a
systematic approach that tests out preconceptions and the process. To begin a piece of
research work, one must start with a research question before diving deeper into the
matter with a literature review and a research design method. This will help the researcher
understand what kind of data will be collected, who will be asked to participate and
ultimately, how the data will be analysed.
As the majority of the information in this dissertation will be qualitative, this requires a
slightly different form of analysis than what is considered the norm such as tables, charts
and questionnaires. Qualitative research tends to focus on people who have different views
of reality and why this is the case. It also takes into account the complexity of the research
by looking at real-world context, and not just statistical data. Fundamentally, qualitative
research is concerned with explaining social phenomena. To explain the data used, the four
research questions and the primary data gathered will be used below.
8.1: What is marketing strategy?
One of the research questions asks ‘what is marketing strategy?’ It is a simple yet vitally
important question that required a lot of research to truly understand. In the introduction
of the literature review, it was mentioned that ‘’the marketing strategy is the way in which
the marketing function organises its activities to achieve a profitable growth in sales at a
marketing mix level.’’ (Kotler, 2014.) That was the view of one of the most influential and
successful people in business, Philip Kotler.
De Swaan Arons et al. from the Harvard Business Review come up with a slightly more
optimised definition of what marketing strategy should be. ‘’Today high-performing
marketing leaders don’t just align their department’s activities with company strategy; they
actively engage in creating it.’’ (De Swaan Arons et al., 2014, p58).
Here, they are trying to put forward the point that marketing strategy should not just be
considered as a strategy all by itself, rather a strategy that should marry well with the
overall vision of the whole company. Unlike Kotler (2014), who mentioned that marketing
strategy ‘‘organises its own activities to achieve a profitable growth,’’ The Harvard Business
Review believe it is vital to ensure it goes along well with the rest of the firm. The benefits
for a firm who align their marketing strategy with the overall vison of the company are
huge. One example is that employees have a complete sense of the direction the company
is heading towards. This applies to employees in the marketing department as well as
employees throughout the rest of the company. This benefit helps employees stay focused
on the task at hand as they now understand ‘why’ they are doing what they are doing. This
also helps them stay productive and ultimately engaged with the firms aims as a whole,
leading to a much higher figure for employee retention and for employee satisfaction. This
will have a direct impact of the firm’s ability to satisfy its customers’ needs correctly, as
employees who are engaged and happy working at the company will pass this positive
outlook onto the customer, leading to higher sales revenue, but more importantly for the
company, repeat purchases and loyal customers.
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However, Ashe-Edmunds (2015), believes that ‘’corporate strategies and marketing
strategies often coincide or overlap because, contrary to popular belief, a major focus of
marketing includes the strategic planning aspects of developing, pricing and distributing a
product.’’ He states that the two concepts cannot go together due to the fact that
marketing strategies includes other aspects such as pricing and distribution of a product,
which forms tensions and problems between the two departments who have opposing
goals. The marketing department is aiming to price a product correctly for the intended
audience, distribute it to as many places as possible for maximum market attention and
promote it in as many places as possible in the most attractive and engaging way there is.
On the other hand, the board of directors and corporate strategists are looking to keep
costs to a minimum and profits to a maximum, to satisfy their shareholders’ needs. This
causes a conflict within the company. Marketing may want to distribute to various cities
within a country at launch, however the board may disagree and state that it requires too
much capital to do so, therefore forcing the marketing department to scale back and launch
in only a few locations. Marketing may also want to promote their new, innovative product
heavily and make use of interactive and engaging adverts such as TV ads and social media.
However, the corporate strategists will again be looking only for the shareholders’ interests
and therefore decline as they cannot spend their finite capital in two places at once.
Ultimately, this causes friction between the two areas within a firm, and may even be a
cause for lack of innovation and creativity as employees are held back from coming up with
great ideas by matters such as capital and time.
8.2: How can marketing strategy contribute to the success of a business?
One advantage that marketing strategy has over other factors in contributing to the success
of a business is its sense of creativity. Marketing is considered an art, not a science, and is
the only department within a firm that is considered to be creative. This uniqueness must
be taken advantage of by employers by recruiting talent that is very fresh, innovative and
original. The originality that these new and upcoming marketers bring to the table can prove
to be a vital factor in keeping a business successful and innovative. International
corporations such as Coca-Cola and Disney must always be on the lookout for these new
and creative ideas to ensure they always remain one step ahead of their rivals in a very
competitive market. This will also help smaller, more local firms to grow and make a name
for themselves as they require fresh, unique ideas to help them increase in size and market
share as well as enter and conquer new, and sometimes even radically different, markets
for survival.
At the beginning of the literature review it was mentioned that marketing is most the
creative department of any business. This creativity and uniqueness must be used correctly
by firms to ensure their business model is a success. De Swaan Arons et al. (2014) explains
how this can be achieved. ‘’The best marketing organizations, including those at Coca- Cola,
Unilever, and the Japanese beauty company Shiseido, have invested in dedicated internal
marketing academies to create a single marketing language and way of doing marketing.’’
This method of creating a ‘way of doing marketing’ can prove to be vital to a firm’s success
as this means companies can find the best way they do marketing, then ensure it is
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repeated across every marketing location the firm has across the world and ensure it is
done again and again over the many years to come by training new employees this method
through academies. This single language helps firms find out their strengths and weaknesses
when it comes to marketing and therefore focus on turning their weaknesses into strengths
to ensure they remain successful. As with any other department, the marketing department
must be able to adapt to change quickly if they are to survive in an ever-changing
environment, which is why they require new and fresh minds to understand what the ‘next
big thing’ is going to be and take advantage of it before rivals do.
8.3: What is the link between marketing strategy and organisational success?
Under section 6.3.1, it was mentioned that organisational success depends on ‘‘creating a
culture and a learning organisation’’ according to Tshukudu (2014). Some of the greatest
companies out there all share a common factor which is a unique organisational culture.
Apple, Google, Disney and Nike all have that in common. There is a clear positive correlation
between a successful company and a company culture. This is because the creation of a
culture within an organisation gives employees a sense of ‘why’ they are doing what they
are doing. This sense helps them stay motivated and engaged with the aims of the company
and therefore will help the firm achieve its goals quicker and more effectively. The labour
force of a firm is probably the most important asset any company has as they are the ones
who decide whether a firm will be able to achieve its aims or not. Therefore, companies
must take care of their employees and make them feel like they and their opinions are
valued within the organisation to ensure they stay focused and do the right thing for the
business. Having motivated and inspired employees will lead to higher productivity levels
and higher quality of products and services as employees feel they should take
responsibility ensuring the firm delivers up to customer expectations. This company culture
is what helps employees stay focused and therefore help the firm remain successful.
Further down, Apple’s organisational success was talked about. From the various experts
and researchers in the field, it was found there to be very differing views on what is Apple’s
key factor for their tremendous success. From their products ‘ease-of-use’ to their
‘simplicity throughout the company’ to their ‘brutal thinking’ set out by their founder Steve
Jobs. This indicates that there is a wide range of answers when it comes deciding what link
there is between a company’s marketing strategy and their organisational success, and that
is no more evident than from the research undertaken in this project, both primary and
secondary.
8.4: Why is Apple’s marketing strategies so successful?
One of the experts, McCormack (2013), mentioned that Apple’s marketing strategy is
successful because they do not have one. ‘’They never advertise their mobile phone
products anywhere. That means no SEO, PPC, Social media, TV, Radio or print ads of any
kind.’’
This is because they do not need to invest in a marketing budget, as they have network
operators fighting each other to be able to create an ad and put their logo at the end of it.
Apple’s accepts this, however slaps the network operators with ‘strict branding guidelines’
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that they must abide by or be thrown to the back of the queue when the next ad needs to
be produced.
However, the Marketing Minds (n.d.), believe it is what they call the ‘iPod Halo Effect’.
‘’Apple hoped that the popularity of iPod and iTunes among these new groups of customers
would cause these segments to be interested in Apple's computer products. This does seem
to have happened. Since the take-off of the iPod there has been a dramatic rise in Apple's
computer sales and market share.’’
Whilst this view may have been true around the release of the iPod back in 2001, this surely
cannot reflect the view of Apple’s marketing strategists today. The iPod today is a minor
‘hobby’ when compared with Apple’s biggest product inventions, such as the iPhone and
the iPad, and therefore Apple would not take such a risk on such an outdated product.
On the other hand, Patel (2016), believes it is Apple’s ability to create a movement that
resulted in their world-renowned success. ‘’What is its marketing strategy? Apple created a
movement. This didn’t happen by accident. Everything about the company's marketing and
advertising produced visions of world-changing experiences. It adorned this vision with
unprecedented technology and mind-blowing innovation.’’
Creating a following is probably one of the most difficult things a company can try to do as it
requires extremely loyal customers who will always purchase Apple products and never
think about rivals’ inventions. Yet, Apple was able to achieve this, and this could ultimately
define their immense success as they have the customers’ trust, and purely put, their bank
accounts.
To summarise the first part of this data analysis section, all four research questions that
were first set out at the beginning of this project have been answered. It has been explained
what marketing strategy is and how different experts have different definitions for it, and
also explained, is how marketing strategy can affect an organisation’s success and if there is
a link between the two concepts. Finally, the various experts who state the differing points
they believe lead to Apple’s incredible success, has also been outlined.
8.5: Apple’s 7P’s of marketing; Email interview
One key marketing strategy that is usually used in every business is the 7P’s of marketing
model. It is a model that focuses on seven various aspects of a firm and ties them together
in a way that greatly impacts customers’ perception of the firm. The 7P’s of marketing are as
follows:
Product
Price
Promotion
Place
Processes
People
Physical evidence
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An email interview was conducted with technology journalist and freelance writer Ricardo
Da Silva to get his views on what Apple’s 7P’s of marketing are, and how they have
impacted the overall marketing strategy of the firm. Da Silva writes about a range of
important issues in the technology world, however he has a keen focus on analysing Apple’s
products and organisation. The email interview was based on seven questions, each relating
to one of the seven P’s of marketing, with a full transcript placed in the appendices. (See
appendix J for full transcript).
8.5.1: Product
Question: ‘What type of products does Apple create and who are the intended customers?’
Da Silva, (2016), states that ‘‘having used a number of Apple products, it’s clear that the
company seeks to produce easy to use tech.’’ Here, Apple are demonstrating one of their
key values; simplicity. Apple products have been designed from the start to be simple,
intuitive and engaging. This is evident from Da Silva’s (2016) comment as he states ‘‘I do not
think I have ever had to look at the manual.’’ This shows that Apple aims to create products
for all types of customers, regardless of their age, culture or other differences. This can
prove to be a valuable asset when expanding internationally, as customers from different
cultural backgrounds and various languages will still understand Apple’s message and the
various symbols they use. One great example of this is the icon that is used for the Phone
app on an iPhone, which simply is a symbol of a telephone and is coloured in green,
therefore is known around the world, indicating the ease of use to be able to pick up the
phone and call or answer someone. However, there are particular products that have a clear
and intended customer in mind, and Da Silva (2016), mentions that. ‘’Of course some
products such as the iPad Pro and Mac Pro work best for industry professionals.’’ The iPad
Pro and Mac Pro are products that have been designed with the end user clearly in mind. In
this case, the end user is an industry professional, such as movie editors, architects or
doctors. Having such products that cater for a specific need becomes vital for a company
such as Apple as they are now clear market leaders in the professional technology industry.
To maintain such a commanding lead, Apple must continue to innovate and create new
products and technology break-throughs that will help make the jobs of industry
professionals easier, more creative and free of technological barriers.
8.5.2: Pricing
Question: ‘What pricing strategy do they use and why?’
Da Silva (2016), states quite clearly that Apple’s pricing strategy is ‘‘definitely premium
pricing.’’ Using such a strategy creates the idea that Apple is a ‘brand of quality’ and
therefore this helps them maximise profits which in turn will attract more shareholders to
further invest in the company. However, this has not always been the case, as only as
recently as March of this year, Apple announced a cheaper, more affordable iPhone called
the iPhone SE. The iPhone SE changed the idea that is usually associated with Apple of only
using premium pricing, therefore helping Apple target the lower income group of the
market and increase their market share. Many say that Apple has since changed from being
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‘profit maximising’ to ‘sales maximising’, however it is widely believed that this is not a
change of pricing strategy for the whole company, but rather a one-off product.
8.5.3: Promotion
Question: ‘How, if any, do they promote their products/services?’
Da Silva (2016), states that Apple uses ‘‘very little marketing’’ when compared with other
multinationals. This was mentioned by McCormack (2013), earlier in the literature review
under section 6.2.3. ‘‘Apple have dared to be different by not investing heavily in
marketing.’’ Da Silva (2016), also agrees with McCormack on Apple’s key promotional
technique, which is word of mouth, by saying ‘‘the huge queues you see on product
launches is done because of the incredible word of mouth the iPhones receive.’’
McCormack (2013), stated the same idea earlier in the report under the same section, 6.2.3.
‘‘Word of mouth has been recognised as the most effective form of promotion for any
product or service because of its honesty and non-commercial intent. Forums and blog
comments have become this century’s extension of word of mouth. Apple recognised this
and capitalised on it early on.’’
This agreement between the two technology journalists, who both have a strong passion for
analysing Apple’s products and strategies, is strong evidence that Apple do rely heavily on
word of mouth marketing as they believe it is still one of the best forms of free publicity.
8.5.4: Place
Question: ‘Where does Apple sell their products?’
As clearly evident by their unique architectural designs, Da Silva (2016), states that Apple
primarily sells their products ‘‘at their own retail stores.’’ This is a key aspect to Apple’s
product chain as this is where they can prove their industry leading customer service
transparently and have customers feel satisfied and content with their relatively expensive
purchase. The Apple retail store is also quite unique in the fact that customers can come in
and try out any Apple product they wish, hands-on, for free before deciding whether to
purchase it or not. And since Apple does not pay sales commission to their employees,
customers feel happy and not under pressure from workers to make a purchase. This all
results in problems being solved for customers and not problems being sold, which
ultimately leads to Apple’s world-renowned customer service. Apple also has an online
presence in the shape of the online Apple retail store and an Apple Store app used for
shopping on the go. Put this all together and Apple has a very strong method of satisfying
customer needs when it comes to retail purchases.
Da Silva (2016), also mentions that Apple uses ‘‘authorised retailers’’ as part of their retail
strategy. This helps Apple directly appeal to the mass market and therefore increase their
market share against other rivals in the industry, possibly at the cost of a weaker customer
service level however.
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8.5.5: Processes
Question: ‘What are Apple’s values/culture and how does that affect customer’s purchasing
decisions?’
Da Silva (2016), mentions that Apple ‘‘promotes itself as a technology company with
values.’’ These values include simplicity, a great organisational culture and focusing on the
product, not the profit. Apple uses these values to distinguish themselves from a saturated
market and appeal to hard-core fans and normal people alike. Da Silva (2016), states that
‘‘fans do seem to buy it and that is seen in the loyalty of fans.’’ This may have a dramatic
effect on customer’s purchasing decisions as normal customers may be inclined to purchase
a new Apple release, such as a new iPhone, due to the fuss that is being caused by fans who
have been queuing outside stores for days, sometimes weeks. This again relates back to the
point mentioned above in section 8.5.3 about the use of the word of mouth strategy by
Apple as a means for free publicity.
8.5.6: People
Question: ‘How are employees treated at Apple? Are their voices heard or are they just told
what to do?’
Da Silva (2016), believes that Apple employees are treated fairly and equally due to the
positive energy they pass onto the customer when they walk into an Apple retail store.
‘‘Whenever I enter the store, the employees seem happy and quite cheery. Of course
whether that translates into a good working environment only they can answer.’’
A mentioned above in section 8.5.4, employees are told by upper management to solve
problems for customers. This is evident through the lack of a sales commission program,
where employees may have been pressured to make a sale rather than actually help
customers out. Apple employees are known to be very good listeners and have been trained
by following the A.P.P.L.E. acronym. This stands for approach, probe, present, listen and end
and cutely matches the name of the company so employees do not forget what it stands
for. This is the technique every Apple employee uses when approaching a customer, and as
is clearly visible, does not contain any instruction to ‘sell.’ Rather, it is a way of solving
customers’ problems and a way of keeping them satisfied after they leave.
8.5.7: Physical evidence
Question: ‘How does Apple help distinguish the physical evidence of their products
compared to rivals?’
Da Silva (2016), states that Apple’s philosophy defines as ‘‘less really is more.’’ He also
states that there is ‘‘very little waste, clever packaging and a clean box’’ (2016). This all
points towards their idea of simplicity and ease of use as something such as the product’s
packaging must be easy to open, clean and concise. Da Silva (2016), also mentions that
‘‘white is definitely a favoured colour for Apple.’’ This is a very clever way of promoting
Apple’s connotations of clean, sleek and openness. White is considered by many cultures as
29. 29
‘pure’ or ‘open,’ which is why Apple uses it predominantly, and as a form of promotion,
through the fact that they are perceived by customers as transparent and customer-driven.
All of these techniques are used by Apple as a method of distinguishing themselves from the
competition, and therefore gaining a competitive advantage, which is precisely why many
firms try and stop that from happening by emulating Apple in their products and processes.
To summarise this section, it is clearly evident from the interview conducted with
technology journalist Ricardo Da Silva that the 7P’s of marketing is in fact a marketing
strategy used by Apple. This particular model is considered to be one of the most effective
models there are for creating a differentiated marketing strategy as it focuses on almost
every aspect of the business. From the product, to the people selling it, to the place it is
being sold at, every area is affected. Marketing should be understood in this way; a
department of a business that has the power to change every other area of a firm to
successfully sell a product or service.
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9.0: Discussion
9.1: Interpreting results
The aim of this project is ‘to develop an understanding of how Apple achieved its
organisational success through the impact of its marketing strategies.’ It has been seen
throughout the dissertation that there were many different factors that experts believe is
the single cause of Apple’s organisational success. From the simplicity of their products, to
its ease-of-use, to the use of the 7P’s of marketing, all these factors come from experts who
believe it is the only reason why Apple succeeded. This varying degree of opinions shows
how little is actually understood of the phenomena that is Apple’s organisational success.
Not one expert from those researched agreed with another, but rather mentioned their
factor as the only reason why Apple succeeded. The reason why this phenomenon is not yet
relatively understood could be because it is a new reality, something not many experts have
seen before, and therefore they cannot be as sure about it as other circumstances that have
been occurring for hundreds of years. This particular area will undoubtedly improve and
become more attractive to more researchers to try and understand, ultimately finding out
how Apple’s world-conquering success came to be.
What is interesting is that this project had the intention of understanding how Apple’s
organisational success came to be through the impact of their marketing strategies. Whilst
technology journalist and Apple enthusiast Da Silva believes it is the use of the 7P’s of
marketing that determined Apple’s success, other researchers such as Patel believe it is
because Apple was able to create a movement or a culture, something not many companies
have had the privilege to do. Ultimately, what has been understood from this project is that
Apple clearly do not have a single marketing strategy, but rather a combination of many.
This may be because they could not take the risk of depending on one particular strategy to
guide them to their overwhelming success seen today. It also could be because of an ever-
changing external environment. Apple has understood better than many other firms the
power of being able to change and adapt to various markets and global conditions. For
example, when Apple humbly started back in the garage of Steve Jobs’ parents, the internet
was not even a dream yet. Fast forward to 2016, and the internet could possibly be
considered the greatest invention of human history. This was a huge and challenging
adaptation many firms had to face, as it changed everything a business does, from the way
products are created, to where they are sold, to the marketing and promotion used with it.
New areas such as digital marketing and content marketing were born and this means that
companies such as Apple must understand how to take advantage of these opportunities
before and better than rivals to gain a significant competitive advantage.
9.2: Approach
The chosen approach for this dissertation was decided before any research or writing was
done. It is believed that the inductive approach is the strongest way of tackling the
proposed topic. This is because the inductive approach is considered a ‘bottom-up’ way of
research, or in other words, learning from experience as you go along. The primary reason
this approach was chosen at the beginning of the project is because this project was
31. 31
entered whilst not knowing if marketing strategies impacted Apple’s organisational success
at all. This means research is learnt along the way, and as mentioned in the paragraph
above, it was found to be a combination of many marketing strategies over the years that
Apple have used to garner this level of success. Unlike deductive, the inductive approach is
very flexible and open to a range of possibilities. This can be seen as an advantage in such a
study, but also a drawback, as you cannot guarantee any results as true, only a possibility.
9.3: Limitations
Throughout the project, a lot of limitations had to be overcome. One of the most important
being the scope of depth used in the research questions. This dissertation only focuses on
Apple’s marketing strategies and how they could have impacted their success, however a
more detailed view, such as Apple’s famous TV ads, or a broader view, such as their overall
corporate strategy, could have shown a very different side to their success and how it was
all achieved. Another limitation, as mentioned in appendix I, has to do with data collection.
This project focused on primary and secondary data collection, however the marketing
director of Apple retail did not manage to respond on whether an interview could have
been conducted and therefore his consent was not approved. This is considered as a strong,
yet unfortunate limitation, as he is a very influential figure in the creation of Apple’s
marketing strategies and therefore could have contributed vital and new information to this
project. The final limitation is one that we have no control over, yet should still be
considered a limitation, and that is the depth of discussions within this project. As a
university student completing his final project, there is less experience in researching and
producing works of this size and magnitude when compared with more professional experts
in the field, who may have been doing this for years, if not decades.
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10.0: Conclusions
In conclusion of this project, there have been many key findings. One very obvious yet truly
surprising finding is that many experts and researchers in this field do not agree with each
other on what Apple’s key marketing strategy actually is. They all tend to have their own
view, which generally is not shared by another expert who has studied the same
phenomena and at the same time period. One view as to why this is the case could be
because Apple is known to be a very secretive company when it comes to anything related
to them, be it new products down the pipeline or even their unique marketing strategy. This
makes it that much more difficult for researchers to truly get a grip on the topic and
understand precisely why or how Apple has become this successful through the use of its
marketing strategies.
Another key finding is the definition of organisational success. This dissertation was started
with the idea that organisational success had a generic and well-known definition. However,
through the research carried out and the view of experts understood, it turns out that
organisational success can only be defined by the company itself. This is because every firm
defines organisational success differently as it is based on the firm itself. For example, a
worldwide brand such as Pepsi-Cola will define organisational success very differently to a
much smaller local brand such as Waitrose due to the differences in the organisation itself.
When starting out, it was expected to see one key marketing strategy be explained by
researchers and experts over and over again, however, as mentioned above, this did not
happen. Whilst this may be surprising, it is also very informative and interesting as the many
different views gives a wide and open-minded understanding of the phenomena happening.
There were many conclusions drawn from this research project, including the key idea that
many researchers are trying to understand this unique phenomena of Apple’s success, with
more and more experts interested every day. This clearly shows how important and vital
this field of research is to many business analysists, entrepreneurs and experts in the area,
who want to diver deeper in the field to see what they could learn, and emulate, from Apple
in their business and personal lives.
Finally, it is believed that this particular project will be of great importance when added
with the views of others in the field. This is because it is one of the very few research papers
that combines the views of many experts and researchers in the area into one
comprehensive understanding of the phenomena that is Apple’s success in relation to their
marketing strategies.
33. 33
11.0: Recommendations
Under this section, there will be various recommendations given for future researchers to
use and understand before heading out and explaining the phenomena on their own.
Firstly, one very vital piece of this project that has not been understood in detail is the use
of unique and special marketing events held by Apple.
The 1984 ad was used to promote the newly released Macintosh, yet the special moment of
the entire thirty second clip was the fact that there was not a single photo of the computer
itself. This was a technique used by Apple over and over again for many years to come and
was believed to be a very creative method of communicating the firm’s values and beliefs as
no company had done this before. Instead, the short clip depicted the leader of the PC
industry at the time, IBM, as a corrupt and evil organisation who wanted control over
everything, with Apple being the younger and newer talent on the block trying to stop them
taking over the world. It proved to be very clever as today it is regarded as one of the most
successful ads of all time.
The Think Different campaign was started by Apple in 1998 with the release of the iMac. It
described Apple perfectly; very simple and straight to the point. The campaign starred
famous people who changed the world for the better from all aspects of life. These included
Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart and many more. It
involved a TV commercial, again at only thirty seconds with these famous people and a
famous quote. However, the most interesting part was the fact that huge Billboards were
set up across many large cities in the world with a photo of one of these successful people
and the words ‘Think Different’ next to it and an Apple logo below. It was simple, intuitive
and once again, does not show or speak about a single feature of the newly released iMac.
It was all about Apple’s deeply integrated values that stand within the firm. The Think
Different campaign was again voted as one of the most successfully created campaigns of all
time.
These two events are seen by many experts as world changing. This is because they both
depicted a firm that stood by values, not profits, and by honoring the people of the world
who change it for the better. This is why this is believed to be a vital place for research and
to see how Apple managed to create not one, but two, marketing campaigns that are
considered to be the most innovative and most creative.
Finally, some advice for future researchers. What has been learnt from this unique
experience in creating this piece of work is the fact that you should always focus on one
particular area of study and understand it in detail. It is always better to understand one
area in great depth than many areas vary vaguely. Also, it is believed to be very important
to understand opposing views of experts in the field as there will never be only one answer
to a particular topic or research area. Understanding these two points will make the
research project much easier to undertake, but more importantly, a lot more interesting
and mind-opening.
34. 34
12.0: Personal reflection
In this personal reflection, I am going to use this opportunity to go over and reconsider the
events that have occurred, and my thoughts and feelings on it from a new perspective.
12.1: The development of secondary research skills
Before starting this project, I had some basic skills regarding secondary research in terms of
how to find academic sources, how to present them and how to reference my information.
However, as I reflect back now at the end of this study, I have noticed a great improvement
in those particular skills, especially in finding academic sources. I believe in the phrase
‘practice makes perfect,’ and therefore after many years of conducting research
academically through various studies, I believe that practice has finally paid off. As with any
skill you decide to improve on in life, there is still space for improvement, and I will continue
to push myself to ensure my work gets better and better with time.
We live in a time where all sorts of information can be obtained at our fingertips. The 21st
century has had many great inventions; the smartphone, social media and electric cars,
however, I do not think any of those come close to having such a huge impact on society as
the internet does. In fact, some of those great inventions above might have not materialised
had the internet not been created. However, all this vast amount of information must have
some form of a drawback like anything else, and that is the quality of data obtained. As
mentioned in appendix E, the quality of information obtained from secondary measures
must be closely scrutinised to ensure it is valid enough to be used. This, I believe, is another
skill that I have vastly improved on.
12.2: The development of primary research skills
Prior to starting this dissertation, my primary research skills were in the very early stages of
the development cycle. I had done questionnaires and interviews before, however they
were nothing when compared with the detail and scale of the interview used in this project.
I had not interviewed a journalist and analyst before, and I had not used the form of email
interview before either. However, this interview pushed me to engage in primary data
collection and analysis in a very individual manner, which I believe has taught me many
skills. First of all, I was able to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the various
primary research methods and obtained in-depth knowledge about them prior to deciding
which one to use, as shown in section 7.0. Secondly, I believe the engagement in primary
data collection and analysis has made the biggest contribution to my personal development
as a researcher. I must stress the positive role that my dissertation supervisor took here, as
he ensured I was continually pushed throughout all the sections, especially under the
primary data collection area. He also offered valuable advice and help to deal with the
various issues that arose since I started this project.
In today’s competitive environment, the value and importance of market intelligence is
greater than ever before. As I am now equipped with primary research knowledge, I believe
I am now able to create competitive advantages for businesses through the acquirement of
35. 35
primary information about different aspects of a firm as well as the factors affecting them.
This undoubtedly will help greatly in strategy formulation.
12.3: Improvement of time-management and self-confidence skills
Whilst undertaking this dissertation, I was taught the skill of being able to quickly skim
through a particular source of information to firstly find out if it was relevant to what I
needed, but also to ensure if it was valid and reliable.
Aside from the project itself, I had to ensure that I set out my daily activities just right to
make sure the right proportion of work was done every day, and that I had accounted for
days off study in order to protect myself from being pressurised and burnt-out come the
end of the project, which would have surely negatively affected my work.
I also believe my level of self-confidence producing large amounts of work has greatly
increased since completing this project.
36. 36
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39. 39
14.0: Appendices
A:
(Kukakinu, 2010.)
As shown above, iPhone sales dramatically increased from their introduction in 2007 up to
2010. As mentioned by McCormack (2013), when a new iPhone is introduced, Apple say
there are ‘stock problems’ to limit the number of phones people can purchase. Whilst most
firms make the highest number of sales at the beginning of a product’s life cycle, Apple does
the exact opposite. This is clearly visible by the short bars at the beginning of each iPhone’s
introduction (e.g. 07Q2 and 08Q2.)
B: Relativist ontology perceives reality based on meanings and understandings on social
experiential levels. Subjectivist epistemology is the idea that people cannot be separated
from their knowledge and therefore the researcher and the research subject are linked.
(Research Methodology, n.d.).
Interpretivism has many advantages. One major benefit is that qualitative research areas
such as cultural differences, ethics and leadership can be studied in great depth and detail.
This is because the validity of primary data collection under the interpretivist approach
tends to be very honest and trustworthy. Another advantage of Interpretivism is that it
40. 40
enables us to see how social reality is constructed through meanings, something positivism
cannot account for. (Research Methodology, n.d.).
The drawback of this research philosophy is the great room there is for bias from the
researcher. This is because primary data gathered from Interpretivism is heavily impacted
by personal values and viewpoints and therefore cannot be generalised. This also
undermines the reliability of the data as well.
The two most popular primary data collection methods in Interpretivism are interviews and
observations, therefore this project has focused on both primary data collection, in the form
of an interview, and secondary data collection.
There are many reasons why both these data collection methods are used here, one being
in this digital age, accessing information has been quicker than ever before. Technology has
revolutionised the world and the process has been simplified. Whilst before many would
have to spend hours tracking library corridors, now we can access the same quality and
depth of information via search engines. This benefit also applies to the interview
conducted. The interview was done through email as the interviewee was based in another
country at the time that it was run. Therefore, thanks to the power of the internet, the
interviewee was still able to give his opinions. Another reason is the feasibility of
international comparative studies. This project has focused on Apple’s marketing strategies.
Apple is an American firm based in Cupertino, California. Due to the power of the internet,
information regarding Apple and everyone involved can be accessed from any location
across the globe. This of course saves time, as well as capital, whilst still maintaining the
standard of information gathered, leading to a more efficient method of data gathering.
To briefly summarise, interpretivist produces qualitative primary data, which is empathetic
in nature, with high validity but this is offset by the low levels of reliability.
C:
(Boundless, 2015).
41. 41
D: Explanatory usually answers questions such as ‘how’ or ‘why’ with the researcher having
little control over the events that occurred. Descriptive case studies analyse a sequence of
events after a certain time has passed and is used to describe cultural aspects. Exploratory
case studies are designed to find answers to questions such as ‘what’ or ‘who’. For this
project, it is believed that the explanatory method is used. This is because the proposed
question asks ‘how’ marketing strategies impact the level of organisational success a firm
achieves, explaining the phenomena in relation to real-life scenarios, in this case with
relation to Apple Inc.
As mentioned by Garger (2013), the case study strategy is the most open of all the
strategies available. This advantage means it can use primary or secondary data for
research, it can create new knowledge (exploratory), solve a problem (constructive) and
even test a hypothesis. It can also be qualitative or quantitative, giving the researcher the
highest number of opportunities available. Another benefit of using case studies is that it
can be a perfect method for researchers who have a small sample size to test. This helps the
researcher avoid the problems of statistical power.
As with any strategy used, case studies have their drawbacks. One of the biggest
disadvantages of the case study method has to do with its validity of internal and external
factors. For some researchers, they often do not have control over events and variables like
scientists do in a lab, meaning their results can only be applicable to similar cases or even
only applicable to this particular case. Therefore, what the study gains in internal validity, it
loses in external validity. (Garger, 2013).
To summarise this section, the benefits of case studies has been of great usefulness to this
project. Case studies have the ability to capture the complexities of real-life scenarios to
help the phenomenon be studied in greater depths. This particular benefit has been the
major reason why this case study on Apple has been undertaken. Apple’s meteoric rise to
success and fame has been an intense area of great interest from many researchers before,
and will continue to do so for many years to come due to its singularity. On the other hand,
the drawback of not having validity on the results like a scientist would in a lab means this
project is of great uniqueness and cannot be repeated with other organisations or real-life
situations.
E: Secondary data collection is information that has already been done and published in
different forms such as books, magazines, journals and online articles. Since this data has
already been done before, the application of it becomes increasingly important as it plays
an important role in increasing the reliability and validity of the research conducted. Some
of the criteria required to increase the quality of the data gathered include the date of the
publication, the reliability of the source and the depth of analysis. (Dudovskiy, n.d.).
The chosen data collection method for this project is a mix of both primary and secondary
data. There are many reasons why these methods have been chosen for this dissertation.
One reason is the ease of access to the great quality of information. Prior to the
introduction of the internet, gathering information was difficult and time-consuming. In
today’s world, it is at your fingertips. This offers great convenience whilst maintaining the
standardised usage methods for all sources. This also applies to the interview conducted as
42. 42
it was easy and relatively quick to do. Another major benefit is the lost cost that comes with
acquiring information from some primary and secondary sources. Most of the time, the data
available online is free or comes with a little fee, making it much less expensive to receive
reliable and valid data than if the researcher had to carry the research out themselves.
Primary research can sometimes be considered expensive due to the methods used to
gather the information, however this project used an email interview, which uses the power
of the internet, and as mentioned as a benefit in appendix B, the internet is great for
receiving information for free or at a low cost. (Prescott, 2008).
However, according to Prescott (2008), primary and secondary data collection has some
drawbacks including the quality of research. For secondary data collection, the originators
of the data are self-governed and therefore the information must be scrutinised closely to
ensure the origins of the data is valid and reliable. In addition, due to the large volumes of
data present today, the majority of this information may not be specific to the researchers’
needs. This requires time to search through all this data and find precisely what the
researcher is looking for. Finally, the data a researcher is looking for may be out of date. In
many companies today, data and industries change quickly and therefore reports from the
past may have no relevance to the current situation. For primary research, some drawbacks
include the time it takes to receive the data and the inaccurate feed-back that is received
from either experiments or even interviews.
In summary, secondary data collection can be very useful for researchers who are looking to
find information of relevance in a quick and easy manner. It also helps researchers who do
not have the budget to spend on carrying out primary research, as the cost of secondary
data is generally free. However, these benefits have been overshadowed by some of the
disadvantages faced when using this type of data, including the time and effort spent filing
through vast amounts of information to find the exact data required and to ensure this
information is valid and reliable. Primary data collection can also be gathered for free or at a
low cost when using means such as the internet, however its time penalty and inaccurate
feed-back can stop some researchers from using it.
F: Cross-sectional studies make comparisons at a single point in time whilst longitudinal
studies make comparisons over a longer period of time. Both studies are considered
observational as researchers are trying to record information without interfering. The major
difference between the two is that a cross-sectional study compares different variables at a
single point in time. (IWH, 2009).
The chosen time-horizon for this dissertation is cross-sectional. The benefit of a cross-
sectional study includes comparing many different variables at the same time with little or
no additional cost. (IWH, 2009).
However, cross-sectional studies cannot provide definite information about cause-and-
effect relationships. This is primarily because it only takes a snapshot during time and
therefore does not consider what happens before or after. (IWH, 2009).
43. 43
In summary, the research design of this project dictates that the time-horizon is cross-
sectional. This is because the information is taken in one snapshot in time, and does not
cover the study over a longer period of time.
G: The primary data collection of this project required some ethical considerations to be
taken into account. One being the consent required from the interviewee for being able to
use his comments for analysis. This was done by asking himto sign a consent form, which he
agreed to do and therefore the interview could go ahead.
There also was no use of offensive or discriminatory language, nor was privacy or anonymity
of respondents required.
The works of other authors has been acknowledged within this dissertation with references
placed in the bibliography and citations in text. The Harvard referencing systemwas used.
At all times this dissertation has maintained the highest level of objectivity within
discussions, analysis and research.
H: The reliability of a piece of work is always going to be a concern when there is a single
observer who is the source of data, due to the subjectivity that could be present. Within this
dissertation, various researchers from various backgrounds and industries have been used
to keep the reliability of the data sourced as high as possible.
Once again, the validity of the project has been kept as high as possible by ensuring the
correct time scale for the project has been selected, the correct methodology has been
chosen and the most suitable sample method has been chosen. This all helped keep the
reliability and validity of the project high at all times.
I: Another limitation includes the choice of data collection method. As mentioned
throughout this dissertation, both primary and secondary data collection methods were
used. However, the plan was to also include an interview with the Marketing Director of
Apple Retail. Unfortunately, he did not get back in time on whether doing a short interview
with him by email was consensual. Therefore, it was decided to leave his interview data out
as it was taking up too much of the little time available waiting for a response, and focus on
the interview data gathered from another source.
One final limitation is the scope of discussions within this report. As a student with only a
few years of experience producing academic papers of large size individually, the scope and
depth of the discussions within this dissertation will always be slightly compromised when
compared to the works of experienced scholars in the field.
J: Email interview with Ricardo Da Silva: Apple’s Marketing Mix (transcript).
Interview questions and answers:
Q1: What type of products does Apple create and who are the intended customers?
