The cult of Apple owes much to the company's methodical approach to PR. They are masters at crafting and controlling narratives, micro-managing everything from booklets to the famous Keynote events. This presentation provides a brief overview of their PR strategy: how it was formed, how the PR team operates and how their strategy continues to evolve to this day.

1. A P P L E ’ S
P R I N 2 0 1 6
P A S T , P R E S E N T A N D
T H E D R I V I N G F A C T O R S

2. PREPARED FOR
MUSHTAQUE AHMED
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: IMC (M403)
GUEST FACULTY
INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION,
UNIVERSITY OF DHAKA
PREPARED BY
SAMIHA MAJID (RH-01)
SHAFQAT AURIN SIDDIQUA (RH-04)
MASTURA TASNIM (RH-08)
SHATABDI BISWAS (RH-12)
NAZIA FAIRUJ MONISHA (RH-17)
NOVO MANZOOR (ZR-18)
SAMINA SARWAT (RH-25)
BBA 21ST BATCH
DYUTY AURONEE (RH-31)
TANZIR ISLAM (ZR-51)
SARA ANHAR (RH-57)
MAHROOS MURTAZA CHOUDHURY (ZR-
59)
RAFI AHMED (ZR-60)
MUHTASIM SAROWAT RAYED (ZR-61)
SARWATH HAFIZ MUMU (RH-70)

3. LIL BIT OF
HISTORY
STEVE JOBS
SETTING THE PACE

4. Before spending any money on
hardware, Jobs used the first VC
money to hire the best PR professional
in Silicon Valley

5. Steve Jobs learned from Regis McKenna
how to surround the introduction of new
products with “national excitement”

6. PR
GENIUS
LESSONS FROM
STEVE JOBS

7. Jobs, Every Step of the Way
Jobs was involved with all of Apple’s
communications down to individual words in press
releases.

8. An Adjective for Every Product
Jobs came up with the strategy of assigning an
adjective to each Apple product for usage in press
releases
Used words across Apple’s marketing materials
Revolutionary Magical Legendary
App Store
iPad
iPhone

9. PR Practice with Partners
All press releases involving a partner were to be
wholly written and distributed by Apple

10. APPLE’S PR
TACTICS
MASTERY WITH
THE MEDIA

11. Core PR Strategy
TELL THEM
WHAT TO
BELIEVE
Multiple teams and initiatives working together for months to create the hype around Apple products & events

12. Apple Events
MASTERED THE ABILITY TO
CONTROL SITUATIONS
INVISIBLY, WITHOUT HAVING
ITS EFFORTS NOTICED
A detailed approach to event planning
and wider communications strategy
Planning for rare life-threatening
emergencies during keynotes
Suppressing rowdy crowd
members
Secret bodyguards for Apple
executives

13. “The keynote is
like a production.
You have to
have a special
appreciation for
it.”
Process starts weeks before
keynote addresses
PR team keep an eye on media
reports to determine
expectations
Executives typically practice
for two weeks
Every single element of the
presentation is specifically
determined in advance

14. White Booklets
DESCRIBES ALL ASPECTS
OF THE EVENT IN EXACT
DETAIL
Senior PR members
prepare special white
booklets
Booklets are handed back
after pre-event pep talk
and shredded on site

15. PR
TEAMS
FULLY IN-HOUSE
TEAM OF 30 PR
EMPLOYEES

16. Behind the PR Brilliance
Dedicated PR staff guides
executives through Apple
media events and
interviews with reporters
Collective work of these
teams profoundly
shapes Apple’s media
narrative
Separate teams of each products and events

17. Momentum and Buzz Marketing Team
Puts iPhones and Macs
into the hands of
celebrities and public
figures
Works with major sports
leagues to integrate the
iPad into coaching
toolkits
Integrates Apple’s products into popular culture

18. CONTROLLING
THE PRESS
STRATEGIES BEHIND THE
COOL, MEASURED PUBLIC-
FACING IMAGE

19. Press Response
Directly responds only when
something needs to be said by
“Apple” rather than “sources
familiar with the matter.”
PR teams monitors what the
media is saying about the
company every day
Apple only works with
journalists who publishes the
way it wants
When not pleased with
coverage, Apple sometimes
works to shift the narrative, even
attempting to undermine giant
news organizations.

20. Product Reviews
Apple PR representatives
inspect individual iPhone and
iPad boxes for scuff marks and
minor scratches before
handing the units off to
reviewers
Apple provides writers
with a “Reviewer’s
Guide.” Meant to focus
reviewers’ attention on
key marketing points,
making the “reviewing”
process earlier.
These booklets include
many of the same
phrases used on
Apple’s website
Apple prioritizes reviewers and
gives exclusive information to
favored sources on its
upcoming products to create
the initial buzz

21. iPhone 7
Launch Event
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016

22. Changed iPhone Market Scenario
iPhone sales have levelled off, due to premium alternatives in the Android camp and lack of
real innovation in this sector in recent years
No ground
breaking update
in iPhone 7
Minor updates and
tweaks in design over
the old iPhone

23. Focus on Social Media
Apple usually avoids social
media. Consumers won’t hear
from them until they have
something important to say
Apple created an
official verified Twitter
account, from which it
has yet to tweet
Apple started
sending out ‘ghost
tweets
Invested in sponsored tweets
with a custom emoji to
accompany the #AppleEvent
hashtag

24. CEO Tim Cook
joined The Late Late
Show’s James Corden for
a quick bit of Carpool
Karaoke
James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke
Earlier this summer,
Apple announced a 16
episode order for
Carpool Karaoke at
Apple Music

25. A 107 video that highlights all the announcements of the event
PR Video

26. T H A N K
Y O U !