9. Shows “From: Apple” instead of a non-recognizable address, such as, “News@InsideApple.Apple.com” ✓
10.
11. Offer.Call-to-Action. Offer: Free iPod touch with the purchase of a Mac for college ✓ Suggestion: Free printer with purchase of a Mac for college. Suggestion: Free Windows software for college students with purchase of a Mac. Call-to-Action: “Learn More” ✓ “Shop online” ✓ “Find a store” ✓ Suggestions: “Buy Now!” “Ask us How”
The subject line, “Buy a new Mac, get an iPod touch for free” is very straight-forward, and not too “salesy”. It provides and describes an offer, and explains what the email will be about. I suggested the idea of the subject line “Free iPod touch for College”. I thought that without the word “buy” in the subject, it might have a greater opening rate. Seeing that they need to purchase a Mac might turn them off from opening. After they open, they can “learn more” to find that they will qualify for a student discount on the Mac AND receive a free iPod. The “from” line seems to be effective, using the company name “Apple” instead of the general address “News@InsideApple.Apple.com”. Apple customers will immediately recognize this name, and will be eager to learn more about the offer. The “to” line is effective, using a personal address, but could personalize the email by stating the name of the receiver in place of the email address.
Apple is targeting all college students in this advertisement. Many college students invest in laptop either when they begin school to prepare for college courses. Because many classes are offered online, and a computer is almost always required for completing class work, a laptop is almost a necessity for college students. Knowing this, Apple is targeting the right audience for this offer. Another very popular device used by college students are iPods. Offering a free iPod with a Mac purchase is much like a two-in-one offer for many college students. Because many parents assist their children through college, this offer also applies to parents of college students. College can be extremely expensive, so finding an offer like this, could save parents some money on sending their children to school.
The offer presented in this advertisement is a free iPod with the purchase of a Mac for college students. Many campuses sell Apple computers and devices, and also offer discounts for students through these campus stores. I believe that this is an extremely effective offer. There are many college students purchasing laptops for the first time, and also upgrading in order to prepare for school and a college workload. Along with laptops, students are beginning to use iPods to listen to music between classes, record lectures, and download lectures from their class websites. Offering a free iPod with this purchase is a great idea because students will feel that they are getting two-for-one, and this will save them the purchase of an iPod! This may also prompt a student to purchase the Mac if they were on the fence between a few other brands. Another offer that they could promote is a free printer with the purchase of a Mac. This would appeal to many students just starting school, and moving away from home for the first time. Another offer that would be effective for Apple is to offer free Windows software to college students with a Mac purchase. This, however, may be more difficult because of Windows’ rights, but Apple could choose to pay for the software themselves as an incentive to sell these laptops to students. Students will need Windows for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint to complete class assignments, so this would be very appealing to students.There is a “Learn more” button on the advertisement to take the customer to more information about the offer before they need to commit to any purchases. By using the words “learn more”, the customer is not as intimidated by the ad, and are more likely to click for more information. The bottom of the ad also provides two calls-to-action: “shop online” and “find a store”. Although these may seem more intimidating to some, this is effective because they offer a quick, easy way to purchase online or in a store. If the customer is sure that they want to purchase a Mac, they have a direct link straight from the email, and do not have to navigate the site. Two other CTA’s could be “buy now” or “ask us how”. “Buy now” does ask the customer to commit when clicking, but if the customer is convinced by the advertisement, they will want the easiest route to purchasing the product. “Ask us how” provides a little more personal “learn more”. It shows that there is someone there who will answer there questions, and could link to an online chat with an Apple employee.
The email uses an HTML layout, which is effective here because the picture explains most of the offer itself. The design is simple, and straight-forward with limited text so that the reader does not get lost in the text and lose sight of the offer. The graphic caters to college students, showing, what looks to be, a college student with both the Mac and the iPod. The background is of a bulletin board much like those seen in the hallways of buildings on college campuses, filled with ads for student jobs and opportunities. This gives the ad a personal touch, and really targets students. I would suggest that they include the Apple logo at the top corner of the email. At first, I did not notice a logo at all in the email, except for inside of the shirt at the bottom of the page. When looking over the page again, I found a small Apple logo in the top corner of the bulletin board in the email. I think that the logo should stand out a little more, and maybe be placed above the picture so that it is more noticeable, or else it may not seem like a legitimate offer from the company.
![Subject.To.From. Subject: ,[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)