CAMPAIGNPLAN

Company: Apple Inc. Brand: AppleProduct: MacBook Pro

Submitted to: Sir Rikki Enriquez

Submitted by: Elaine Joy Gumban4MK-B

CAMPAIGN OU TLINE

I. Situation Analysis

A. Company Overview

1. Business Description

2. Company and Brand History

B. Background Research

1. The Brand Experience

a. Brand in Relation with the Market

b. Brand’s Relationship with its Customers

C. SWOT Analysis

D. Key Advertising Problems

II. Key Strategic Campaign Decisions

A. Objectives

B. Target Audience

C. Brand Position: Product Features and Competitive

Advantage

D. Campaign Strategy: Key Strategic Approach and

Marcom Tools

III. Media Strategy (or Points of Contact in an IMC Plan)

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A. Media Objectives

B. Media Selection

C. Media Planning and Buying

1. Vehicle Selection

2. Budget Allocation

3. Scheduling

IV. Message Strategy

A. Key Consumer Insight

B. Message Objectives

C. Selling Premise

D. Big Idea

E. Message Design and Executions

V. Other Marcom Tools Used in Support

A. Sales Promotion

B. Public Relations

C. Direct Marketing

D. Personal Selling

E. Integration Strategy

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VI. Campaign Management

A. Evaluation of Effectiveness

B. Campaign Budget

VII. The Creative Brief

A. Problem

B. Target Audience

C. Brand Position

D. Communication Objectives

E. Proposition or Selling Idea

F. Media Considerations

G. Creative Direction

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I. SITUATION ANALYSIS

A. Company Overview

Apple is not only a brand but also the world’s largest

technology company in terms of market capitalization. The

company was founded by Stephen Gary “Steve” Wozniak and

Steven Paul “Steve” Jobs on April 1, 1976, and incorporated

as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977. The word

"Computer" was removed from its name on January 9, 2007,

reflecting its shifted focus towards consumer electronics.

1. Business Description4

The company is engaged in design, development and

marketing of personal computers, media devices, and portable

digital music players. The company also sells a variety of

related software, services, peripherals, networking

solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.

Apple's products can be grouped under different product

lines which are as follows: Macintosh (Mac) computing

systems and hardware products, iPods line of portable

digital music and video players, iTunes iPhone handsets,

iPad portable multimedia and computing devices, displays and

peripheral products, software products and computer

technologies, and internet software and services. In

addition, the company sells a variety of third-party Mac,

iPhone, iPad and iPod compatible products, including

application software, printers, storage devices, speakers,

headphones, and various other accessories and peripherals.

The company's desktop computers include iMac, Mac Pro

and Mac mini. The iMac desktop computer is an all-in-one

design that incorporates a display, processor, graphics

card, hard drive, optical drive, memory and other components

inside a single enclosure. The Mac mini is a desktop

computer in a compact enclosure.

Apple's portable computers include: MacBook–a portable

computer designed for consumer and education users; MacBook

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Pro–a portable computer designed for professionals and

consumers and MacBook Air–a high performance, ultra-slim

notebook computer designed for professionals and consumers.

The company hardware products comprise a range of

personal computing products including desktop and portable

computers, Xserve servers, related devices and peripherals,

and various third-party hardware products. The Mac desktop

and portable systems feature Intel microprocessors, Mac OS X

Version 10.6 Mountain Lion operating system and the iLife

suite of software for creation and management of digital

photography, music, movies, DVDs and websites.

Apple's iPod line of portable digital music and media

players includes iPod classic, iPod mini, iPod nano, iPod

shuffle and iPod touch.

The company's iTunes digital music management software

is an application for playing, downloading, and organizing

digital audio and video files and is available for both Mac

and Windows-based computers. iTunes is integrated with the

iTunes Store, a service that allows customers to find,

purchase, rent, and download third-party digital music,

audio books, music videos, short films, television shows,

movies, podcasts, games, and other applications.

Apple's iPhone combines a mobile phone, a widescreen

iPod with touch controls, and an internet communications6

device in a single handheld product. Based on the company's

multi-touch user interface, iPhone features desktop-class

email, web browsing, searching, and maps and is compatible

with both Macs and Windows-based computers. The iPhone 5,

the latest version of iPhone features an all-new design,

FaceTime video calling, high resolution Retina display, an 8

megapixel iSight camera with LED flash and front facing

camera, high definition video recording, Apple's A4

processor and a 3-axis gyroscope.

The iPad is a multi-purpose mobile device for browsing

the web, reading and sending email, viewing photos, watching

videos, listening to music, playing games, and reading e-

books. iPad allows customers to access the iTunes Store to

download audio and video files, as well as a variety of

other digital content and applications.

The company manufactures the Apple Cinema High

Definition Display and sells a variety of Apple-branded and

third-party Mac-compatible peripheral products, including

printers, storage devices, computer memory, digital video

and still cameras, and various other computing products and

supplies.

Apple TV is a device that allows customers to rent and

watch movies and television shows on their television.

Content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, as well

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as music, photos and videos from a Mac or Windows-based

computer can also be wirelessly streamed to a television

through Apple TV.

The company offers a range of software products and

computer technologies for consumer, SMB (Small to Medium

Businesses), education, enterprise, government, and creative

customers. The company's operating system software includes

Mac OS X and iOS. The Mac OS X is built on an open-source

UNIX-based foundation and Mac OS X Snow Leopard is the

seventh major release of Mac OS X. The latest is the Mac OS

X Mountain Lion. The iOS is the company's mobile operating

system that serves as the foundation for iPhone, iPad and

iPod touch.

Apple's portfolio of application software includes

iLife, iWork and other application software. iLife '11 is

the latest version of the company's consumer-oriented

digital lifestyle application suite included with all Mac

computers. iLife features iPhoto digital photo software

application, iMovie, iDVD,

GarageBand music creation software application and

iWeb. The iWork is the latest version of the company's

integrated productivity suite designed to help users create,

present, and publish documents, presentations, and

spreadsheets. The company also offers various other

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application software including Final Cut Studio, Final Cut

Express, Final Cut Server, Logic Studio, Logic Express 9,

Logic Studio Pro, and the FileMaker Pro database software.

In internet software and services, the company is

focused on delivering seamless integration with and access

to the internet throughout its products and services.

Apple's internet solutions adhere to many industry standards

to provide an optimized user experience. Safari 5 is the

latest version of the company's web browser that is

compatible with Macs and Windows-based computers. MobileMe

is an annual subscription-based suite of internet services

that delivers email, contacts and calendars to and from

native applications on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Macs, and

Windows-based computers.

The company primarily operates in the US. It is

headquartered in Cupertino, California and employs almost

80,000 “full time equivalent” employees.

The company sells its products worldwide through its

retail stores, online stores, and direct sales force and

third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers,

retailers, and value-added resellers. The company manages

its business primarily on a geographic basis. It operates

through five operating segments: Americas, Europe, Japan,

Asia-Pacific and retail. The Americas segment includes both

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North and South America. The Europe segment includes

European countries as well as the Middle East and Africa.

The Asia-Pacific segment includes Australia and Asia, but

does not include Japan. The retail segment operates Apple

retail stores in 11 countries, including the United States.

Each operating segment provides similar hardware and

software products and similar services.

2. Company and Brand History

The inception of Apple, both as a brand and as a

company name, has a trivial but interesting story. During

the nineteen seventy’s; Steve Jobs, the cofounder of the

company was in the midst of a “fruitarian diet” and he

thought that they should call their company “Apple” because

he believes the simple name was fun, spirited, and not

intimidating. No one came up with a better name so it became

Apple. During that time (1976), there was no substantial

financing for the industry and there was no obvious idea

that Apple would actually become a phenomenon. However, Jobs

still could not call their company “Apple” yet because The

Beatles already had the brand name Apple on their records,

and the business name as well. It was taken to the high

court in London and Steve jobs paid 26.5 million dollars to

the Beatles Company just to have it as their own company

name.

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Apple’s original logo showed famous physicist Isaac

Newton sitting under an Apple tree. This is an obvious

reference to Newton’s theory of gravitation. But now; in

light of the companies naming history, it seems to give that

apple tree a dual meaning. The Apple logo was then changed

to the rainbow variation, which lasted for many years until

the color was removed to the current incarnation of a

minimalist black or white silhouette in the early 2000′s.

Currently,

B. Background Research

1. The Brand Experience

Experience is actually the soul of the Apple Credo

saying ““We are at our best when we deliver enriching

experiences”. Whenever we hear the brand Apple, we could

easily associate it with the words, quality and

superiority. Nevertheless, Apple looks beyond the

physical attributes of the products. It orchestrates a

combination of products with services that makes the

customers not buying the products, but immersing them

into the exhilarating “Apple Experience”. Apple targets

the brand experience on a personal level. This is the

so-called Apple signature.

.

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a. Brand in Relation with the Market

First and foremost, Apple was the leader in many

aspects. The second personal computer kit produced by the

company called Apple II was chosen to be the desktop

platform for the first "killer app" of the business world,

VisiCalc, a spreadsheet program. Furthermore, in 1983, it

introduced Lisa won that became the first personal computer

sold to the public with a graphical user interface (GUI). In

1984, Apple next launched the Macintosh through the now

famous $1.7 million television commercial "1984" which is

also dubbed as the greatest commercial ever made. It is now

hailed as a watershed event for Apple's success and a

"masterpiece".

However, during 1986-1997 there was a decline in market

share and thus, a decline in profits due to internal

problems (Steve Jobs being fired out, management

malpractices, miscalculation of market forecasts and high

rate of product recalls). Then in 1998 -2005, with the

return of Steve Jobs, there was also a return to

profitability with a continuous rise in the company’s market

share. In 2005-2007, Apple announced its transition to

Intel processors for the Macintosh computers.

On January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac

became the first Apple computers to use Intel's Core Duo

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CPU. Apple's success during this period was evident in its

stock price. Between early 2003 and 2006, the price of

Apple's stock increased more than tenfold, from around $6

per share (split-adjusted) to over $80. In January 2006,

Apple's market capitalization surpassed that of Dell.

Although Apple's market share in computers had grown, it

remained far behind competitors using Microsoft Windows,

with only about 8% of desktops and laptops in the US.

To further understand, there is a correlation between

the operating system and the personal computer market. We

have to take note that the operating system (system that

runs the computers) market share is directly proportional

with the market share of Apple MacBook pro laptops as well

as with the other Macintosh computer products. Globally, the

operating system Mac OS X (all types) of the Apple Macintosh

product line is only second next to Windows (all types) that

comprises almost ninety percent of the operating system

market share. From this condition alone, we could already

infer that Apple is not the market leader in the personal

computer market. The chief competitor of Mac (Macintosh)

computers are computers that run on the Windows operating

system produced by Microsoft Corp., which are often

associated with the name "PC," especially when comparing

Windows and Mac computers.

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To better understand the market share analysis, take a

look at the graph in Figure 1 showing the latest Desktop

Operating System Statistics provided by Net Applications, a

web analytics firm. The graph shows the small market share

of the Operating System OS X. Meanwhile, if we total the

market share of all the Windows operating system, it would

be almost ninety percent which makes them the market leader.

Figure 1

During the introduction of the Macintosh product lines

together with the portable MacBook laptops , the trend of

Apple Macbook market share is stable worldwide.

From the introduction of the MacBook Pro in 2006,

Apple has outgrown the market in just four years. Actually,

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the apple products in general constantly, growing faster

than the market.

However, in the Philippine market which is a third

world country, we would directly infer that people are

generally price sensitive. This is the reason why Apple is

only in the seventh place during the report given to us by

Digitimes in 2008. The following are the top three brands

for laptops in terms of market share:

1. HP

2. Dell

3. Acer

This no. 7 spot for Apple actually mean that Apple went

up a notch. This is equivalent to 1.433 Million

Macbook/Pro/Air units (a 61% increase from 1Q2007) or 4.6%

market share.

In 2010 Harris Interactive, the world’s twelfth largest

market research firm, conducts an annual poll that requests

American consumers to indicate which brands they consider

best. Results from the poll showed that Apple at the rank 9.

Even in this survey of 2010 was criticized because

such polls are not true indicators of a brand.

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How could a brand like Apple be beaten out by eight

other brands, including those that are basically resting on

past laurels?

This “best brands” survey is more of a measure of

brand awareness than of brand equity and reflects past

achievements rather than current performance. In other

words, when asked to spontaneously identify the three brands

that come to mind, many respondents would mention those

brands that come easiest and quickest to mind,

Apple awarded ‘Brand of the Year’ for iPhone, iPad and MacBook.

b. Brand’s Relationship with its Customers

Apple has been dubbed as the keeper of all things

cool because of the intense loyalty found in the

hearts of core Apple buyers. Whether they own a Mac

computer, an iPod, an iPhone, or an iPad, Apple

devotees are granite -like in their devotion to the

brand. Mac enthusiasts even see Apple cofounder

Steve Jobs as the Walt Disney of Technology.

According to an industry observer, a Mac or iPhone

comes “not just as a machine in a box, it comes with

a whole community of fellow believers”

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Apple was able to make loyal customers because it

puts top priority on understanding its customers and

what makes them “tick” deep down. It understands

that to Apple buyers, a Mac computer or an iPhone is

much more than just a piece of electronics

equipment. It’s a part of the buyer’s own self-

expression and lifestyle – a part of what each

person is. It is the impression that -“When you own

a Mac, you are anything but mainstream. You are an

independent thinker, an innovator, and ahead of the

crowd.”

Apple knows that to build meaningful relationships

with customers, they must first understand them and

how they (customers) connect with their (Apple)

brand. Apple’s keen understanding of customers and

their needs helped the brand to build a core segment

of enthusiastic disciples. American Customer

Satisfaction Indexes consistently gives Apple a

market-leading satisfaction score which is totally

above the rest of the pack in the personal computer

industry. Furthermore, another survey showed that

Apple commands the strongest repurchase of any

personal computer brand. This consumer love affair

with Apple has produced stunning sales and profit

results.

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C. SWOT Analysis

Strengths

1. Strong brand image / reputationprovides an edge overcompetitors

2. Customer loyalty combined withexpanding closed ecosystem

3. Apple is a leading innovator inmobile device technology

4. Robust financial performance strengthens investors' confidence and provides capitalfor future growth avenues($10,000,000,000 cash, grossprofit margin 43.9% and nodebt)

5. Stronger Retail stores thatprovides a great deal ofcustomer experience, addingvalue to the Apple experience

6. Strong marketing andadvertising teams

7. Focused R&D driving innovationand consolidating its marketposition

Weaknesses

1. The company charging highprices on their products

2. Incompatibility with differentOS (operating system)

3. Decreasing market share4. Patent infringement lawsuit may

affect financial condition andoperating results

5. Further changes in management6. Defects of new products or

Product recalls may harmApple's reputation and addsignificant warranty and otherexpenses

7. Long-term gross margin decline

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Opportunities

1. High demand of iPad mini andiPhone 5

2. The launch of the anticipatedApple iTV

3. Emergence of the new providerof application processors

4. Strong growth in smartphone andtablet markets to boost Apple'srevenues

5. Obtaining patents throughacquisitions

6. Damages from patentinfringements

7. Robust outlook for mobileadvertising market providesgrowth opportunity

8. Increasing demand for cloudbased services

Threats

1. Rapid technological change2. Rising popularity and marketshare of Google / Android OS mayaffect its market share

3. The absence of Steve Jobs toimpact high growth sustenancelevels

4. Intense competition mayaffect revenues andprofitability

5. Breached IP rights6. Price pressure from Samsungover key components

7. Dependence on specificsuppliers may affect itsoperations

8. Competitors moves in onlinemusic market

9. Rising pay levels for Foxconnworkers.

SWOT Analysis Detailed Description

Strengths

1. Strong brand image /reputation provides an edge over

competitors

The Apple brand is well recognized amongst most

consumers. Apple's products enjoy a high level of brand

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awareness and brand recognition throughout all its

markets. This is evident with the rapid sales of new

Apple launches. For instance, net sales of iPad 2 and

related products and services was $5 billion and unit

sales of iPad were 7.5 million during 2010. iPad was

released in the US in April 2010 and in various other

countries over the remainder of 2010. Also, the company

sold 7.33 million iPads in the first quarter of 2011.

Apple leverages its brand image to differentiate its

product offering and drive sales. The company's strong

brand enables it to command a premium pricing and

create significant demand for its products such as

iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. In FY2010, net sales of

iPhone increased 93% to $25.2 billion. Also, the net

sales of Mac desktops and portables increased 43% and

18%, respectively, while net sales of other music

related products and services increased 23% compared to

2009. According to industry sources, Apple is the

fourth largest player in the global mobile phone

market. The company holds a market share of

approximately 5% and trails Nokia, Samsung and LG

Electronics, which hold 29%, 18.5% and 6.5%,

respectively. Moreover, in the global smartphone

market, Apple's iOS platform is the third largest

player, with a market share of approximately 18.5%. The

company is projected to take the second spot by20

overtaking the Symbian platform by the end of 2011.

Strong brand image gives the company an edge over

regional and global competitors.

2. Customer loyalty combined with expanding closed

ecosystem

While at first Apple’s closed ecosystem was a

weakness for the business, this has now changed. First,

Apple now has a full range of apps, software and

products that are interlinked and support each other.

Second, new products and supplements will be released

soon (iTV), hence expanding the ecosystem. Third, Apple

has a strong customer loyalty, which increases due to

Apple’s closed ecosystem, which, in turn, is supported

by customer loyalty. So the combination of Apple’s

expanding closed ecosystem and customers’ loyalty

increases firm’s competitive advantage.

3. Apple is a leading innovator in mobile device

technology

Apple has been chosen as the most innovative

business in the world for the 3rd time in 2012.

Company’s core competency of producing innovative

products is the strength the company builds upon and is

able to bring the most innovative products to the

market.21

4. Robust financial performance strengthens investors'

confidence and provides capital for future growth

avenues

Apple reported robust financial performance in the

past few years. The company's total revenue increased

to $65,225 million in FY2010 from $19,315 million in

2006, representing a compounded annual growth rate

(CAGR) of 36%. The company's net income rose at a CAGR

of 63% to $14,013 million from $1,989 million in 2006.

Following the trend, Apple's net income margin also

improved to 21.5% in 2010 from 10.3% 2006. Strong

operating performance has resulted in higher cash and

cash equivalents for the company. The company's cash

and cash equivalents stood at $51,011 million in

FY2010, which grew at a CAGR of 50% from $10,110

million in 2006. Strong growth in revenues and cash

flows indicates the company's robust financial

position, which strengthens investors' confidence, as

well as allows it to invest in future growth avenues.

Currently, Apple’s financial performance is one of

the best among many companies. Company currently (end

of 2012) holds about $10,000,000,000 in cash, which can

be used for acquisitions, buying back company shares

and other matters. It also has higher gross profit

margin than its main competitors, which is equal to22

43.9%. Company has no debt and is not directly affected

by interest rates or credit markets.

5. Stronger Retail stores that provides a great deal of

customer experience, adding value to the Apple

experience

Apple’s retail stores ensure high quality customer

experience; provide direct contact with knowledgeable

staff and increases brand awareness. Besides, Apple’s

stores are one of the most profitable in terms of

sales/ft2.

6. Strong marketing and advertising teams.

Marketing is one of the strongest functional

areas Apple has. It can sell pricier products, build

superior stores (they are more or less built to achieve

marketing goals) and advertise their products in a

compelling manner.

7. Focused R&D (Research and Development) driving

innovation and consolidating its market position

Apple has a strong focus on research and

development (R&D) as continual investment in R&D is

critical for the development and enhancement of

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innovative products and technologies. In addition to

evolving its PCs and related solutions, the company

continues to capitalize on the convergence of the PC,

digital consumer electronics and mobile communications

by creating and refining innovations, such as the iPod,

iPhone, iTunes Store, Apple TV and iPad. Apple

leverages its unique ability to design and develop its

own operating system, hardware, application software,

and services to provide its customers new products and

solutions with superior ease-of-use, seamless

integration, and innovative industrial design. The

company's R&D expenditure was $1,782 million, $1,333

million and $1,109 million in FY2010, 2009 and 2008,

respectively. The company's research and development

spending is focused on further developing its existing

Mac line of personal computers; the Mac OS X and iOS

operating systems; application software for the Mac;

iPhone, iPad and iPod and related software. It also

plans to develop new digital lifestyle consumer and

professional software applications and invest in new

Apple Inc. product areas and technologies in coming

years. Strong R&D has enabled the company to

continually launch new products and upgrade the

existing ones. In March 2011, the company introduced

iPad 2, the next generation of iPad featuring an

entirely new design that is 33% thinner and up to 15%24

lighter than the original iPad. Apple's strong focus on

research and development has led to the launch of

innovative products such as iPod, iPhone and iPad

enhancing its brand image and consolidating its market

position.

Weaknesses

1. High Price. Apple’s products cost much more than its

competitors devices.

Some critics argue that the price is not

justified. When there’s such a fierce competition,

Apple products price becomes a weakness because

consumers can easily opt for similar quality but lower

price products.

2. Incompatibility with different OS (operating system)

The iOS and OS X are quite different from other OS

and uses software that is unlike the software used in

Microsoft OS. Due to such differences, both in software

and hardware, users often choose to stay with their

accustomed software and hardware (Microsoft OS and

Intel hardware).

3. Decreasing market share

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The less market share Apple has, the less it can

influence its potential customers and persuade them to

jump into using Apple’s closed ecosystem products.

4. Patent infringement lawsuit may affect financial

condition and operating results

The company is involved in legal complaints

relating to patent infringement. For example, in

January 2010, Nokia filed a revised suit against Apple

with the US International Trade Commission (ITC),

alleging that Apple has infringed Nokia's patents in

almost all of its mobile phones, portable music

players, and computers. Motorola Mobility had filed

complaints against the company in the US District Court

for the Districts of Florida, Illinois, Delaware and in

the International Trade Commission (ITC).

These complaints include claims of patent

infringement related to certain of the company's

products. Unfavorable verdict in any of the matters

related to patent infringement or other intellectual

property rights may affect the company's financial

condition and operating results.

5. Further changes in management

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During the reign of Steve Jobs, Apple churned out

one blockbuster product line after the other. Apple has

lost Steve Jobs in 2012 and Tim Cook became the new

CEO. However, Tim Cook‘s arrival as CEO had many

investors concerned over the company’s ability to

continue this tradition. After all, Steve Jobs was a

leader with incredible vision- a business leader who

knew the technology, the market, and the art of

marketing. Furthermore, Scott Forstall and John Browett

(chief of retail) left the company too and this will

have an impact on company’s management, which, as many

think, will be negative.

6. Defects of new products or Product recalls may harm

Apple's reputation and add significant warranty and

other expenses

The company's products and services experience

quality problems from time to time. Apple sells highly

complex hardware and software products and services

that can contain defects in design and manufacture.

Defects may also occur in components and products that

the company purchases from third parties. There can be

no assurance the company will be able to detect and fix

all defects in the hardware, software and services it

sells. For instance, in 2010, due to antenna problems

in the newly launched iPhone 4 smartphone, demands for27

product recall were raised. Instead of the complete

product recall, the company offered iPhone 4 customers

a free case that will mitigate reception problems.

Similarly, in 2008, Apple announced Ultracompact USB

Adapter Exchange Program. Under certain conditions, the

new Ultracompact Apple USB power adapter's metal prongs

broke off and remained in a power outlet, creating the

risk of electric shock. Therefore, the company decided

to exchange every Ultracompact power adapter for a new

redesigned adapter, free of charge.

Some of Apple’s iPod and iPhone releases had clear

faults and thus disturbed sales of the products and

firm’s reputation of superior product performance.

7. Long-term gross margin decline

Current Apple’s gross margin is one of the highest

in the tech industry but analysts fear that due to

increasing component prices and competition current

margins will not be sustained. Hence, glooming firm’s

future financial performance.

Opportunities

1. High demand of iPad mini and iPhone 5

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iPad mini sales will increase Apple’s market share

in the tablet market and, will strengthen firm’s

competitive advantage.

2. The launch of the anticipated Apple iTV

iTV launch will support Apple TV sales and the

products’ ecosystem.

3. Emergence of the new provider of application processors

Samsung, the main Apple’s competitor in

smartphones, is also the only provider of application

processors for Apple’s products. Apple has to find a

new source for the component but could not find a

suitable one yet. Nonetheless, new manufacturers with

superior engineering capabilities are arising and it’s

just a matter of time, when Apple will seize upon the

opportunity of being less dependent on its direct

competitors.

4. Strong growth in smartphone and tablet markets to boost

Apple's revenues

The worldwide smartphones market segment is

forecast to record strong growth in coming years. The

shipments for smartphones are expected to exceed 400

million globally. The number is expected to reach

approximately 850 million by the end of 2013. Apple is

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the third largest player in the smartphone market

segment in the US since launching its first mobile

device, iPhone, in 2007. iPhone is a multimedia and

internet-enabled mobile phone, combining mobile phone,

widescreen iPod and internet functionalities and

applications that support email, web browsing and maps

on a mobile phone. The company also experienced strong

growth in its iPhone business in recent years. Its

iPhone and related offerings revenues almost doubled,

at a rate of 93.2% in 2010 over 2009, to record

revenues of $25,179 million from $13,033 million in

2009. Moreover, the demand for tablets is increasing

over the years. Globally, tablet shipments are expected

to touch 150 million units by the end of 2013. Apple

launched the iPad in January 2010. In FY2010, the iPad

generated $5 billion in revenues and showed unit sales

of 7.5 million. In the first quarter of 2011,iPad sales

were 7.33 million. Mobile apps are one of the most

important factors in driving sales of smartphones.

Apple is the strongest player in the mobile apps

market, with approximately 350,000 apps. Its closest

competitor, the Android market has 250,000 apps, while

Blackberry and Windows Phone 7 has 20,000 and 9,000

apps respectively. The mobile app market is expected to

exceed $9 billion by 2014. With its innovative products

such as iPhone and iPad, Apple is in a position to30

increase its share in the growing smartphone and tablet

market.

5. Obtaining patents through acquisitions

Apple lacks of some patents to sustain its growth

and the best way to acquire those patents is to acquire

the firms holding them. In addition, Apple could

develop new skills and competencies.

6. Damages from patent infringements

Apple patents are often infringed by its

competitors. Thus, collecting the damages from the

companies that do so is a viable opportunity to not

only increase the cash reserves but to damage the

competitor’s reputation and sales as well.

7. Robust outlook for mobile advertising market provides

growth opportunity

Global mobile advertising market is forecast to

recover and have a modest growth in near future.

According to industry sources the mobile advertising

market is forecast to reach approximately $25 billion

globally by the year 2015, riding on the strong growth

of smartphones in both developed and emerging nations.

In April 2010, Apple launched its mobile advertising

platform, iAd. Apple had earlier acquired mobile ad

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platform Quattro Wireless to take a foothold in the

mobile ad market. iAds combine the emotion of TV

advertising with the interactivity of Internet

advertising, giving advertisers a dynamic and powerful

new way to bring motion and emotion to mobile users.

iAd launched its mobile ad campaigns from leading

global brands including AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup

Company, Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney,

Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm,

Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and The

Walt Disney Studios.

8. Increasing demand for cloud based services

Apple could expand its range of iCloud services and

software as the demand for cloud-based services is

expanding.

Threats

1. Rapid technological change

One of the most severe threats Apple and the other tech

companies are facing is rapid technological change.

Companies are under the pressure to release new

products faster and faster. The one that cannot keep up

with the competition soon fails. This is especially

32

hard when a business wants to introduce something new,

innovative and successful. Apple was able to bring very

innovative products to the market so far but for the

moment, even Apple hasn’t unveiled any plans for the

new products (except iTV) and may lack new

introductions to keep up with competition.

2. Rising popularity and market share of Google / Android

OS may affect its market share

The Google Android OS for smartphone is gaining

rapid popularity. With the acquisition of Android Inc.

in 2005, and the subsequent launch of Google’s mobile

OS “Android” changed the competitive landscape of

smartphone business globally. According to Andy Rubin,

Google's Vice President of Engineering and one of the

cofounders of the earlier Android Inc., approximately

350,000 Android smartphone are activated daily. In

comparison with this, every day approximately 150,000

iPhone are activated. Additionally, Android is fast

emerging as the preferred mobile OS for OEMs with

multiple OEMs using the platform for their devices. HTC

and Samsung have been aggressively pushing new mobile

phones based on the Android platform. Also, Sony and

Motorola are also actively leveraging the Android

platform. Moreover, the online application store for

Android applications “Android Market” is growing at a33

rapid pace.The Android Market currently offers

approximately 250,000 apps, compared to 350,000 offered

by Apple's App Store, although Android has been a late

entrant in the market. Increasing popularity of Android

may affect the attractiveness of Apple's iOS affecting

the market share of Apple.

Android OS is the main competitor for iOS in

mobile device market. The domination of Android

decreases iOS power over influencing consumers to join

Apple.

3. The absence of Steve Jobs to impact high growth

sustenance levels

Apple has been usually viewed along with its

charismatic and visionary founder, Mr. Jobs who has

always been instrumental in managing the growth of the

company and leading it to its current size. However,

his death is unexpected and lowers the morale not only

of the company but also the whole world. The death of

Steve Jobs resulted in an 8% drop in Apple's share

price. Mr. Jobs' involvement with the company is highly

weighed by all the stakeholders, as e has been

instrumental in Apple's success after he rescued the

company in 1996 by returning from a 12 year absence.

The sequential launch of many high end tech-gadgets

34

such as iPhone in 2007 followed by iPad in 2010 has

enabled the company to create iconic brands for itself

with the sleek handheld devices in techo-gadgets space.

We must always remember that Apple is currently the

largest technology company in terms of market

capitalization.

The death of Steve Jobs caused feared of the delay

the launch of next level iPad-III series, iPhone5

(before) and other related launches, which may sublime

the growth sustainability of the company. Apple needs

more dynamic innovations if it has to continue its

momentum of expanding. Without Mr. Jobs' involvement,

that may turn out to be a challenge.

4. Intense competition may affect revenues and profitability

Apple operates in a highly competitive and rapidly

evolving technology industry. The company faces intense

competition in consumer electronics, PCs and related

software and peripheral products markets. Rapid

technological advances in both hardware and software,

increasing the capabilities and use of PCs and digital

electronic devices, characterize these markets. Rapid

changes in technology have resulted in the frequent

introduction of new products with competitive prices,

features and performance characteristics. The company's35

competitors include Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard,

Fujitsu, Samsung Electronics,Sony and Toshiba, among

others. The company is currently focused on market

opportunities related to mobile communication devices

including the iPhone.The mobile communications industry

is highly competitive with several large, well-funded

and experienced competitors. Further, the launch of

iPhone spiked the demand for smartphone with touch

functionality and other innovative features. This made

several players in the mobile phone market, such as

Nokia, HTC, RIM, Palm, Samsung and LG Electronics,

launch their respective smartphone devices in the

market creating significant competition. Intense

competition in various markets in which Apple operates

may result in the price erosion which may affect the

company's revenues and profitability in the long run.

5. Breached IP rights

The companies that breach Apple patents might not be

discovered soon and may benefit from it, while

weakening Apple at the same time.

6. Price pressure from Samsung over key components

Samsung, its main supplier has already asked Apple

to pay higher price for its application processors. Due

36

to intense competition and no viable substitutes, Apple

may be asked to pay even more.

7. Dependence on specific suppliers may affect its operations

The company depends on third party suppliers for

various components used in its products. Although most

components essential to the company's business are

generally available from multiple sources, certain key

components including microprocessors, enclosures,

certain liquid crystal displays (LCDs), certain optical

drives, and application-specific integrated circuits

(ASICs) are currently obtained by the company from

single or limited sources. Moreover, many key

components that are available from multiple sources

including NAND flash memory, dynamic random access

memory (DRAM) and certain LCDs, are subject to

industry-wide shortages and significant commodity

pricing fluctuations. The company's dependence on few

suppliers makes it susceptible to supply and pricing

risks, which may adversely affect the company's

operations.

8. Competitors moves in online music market

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Apple faces threat from online music stores, such

as Amazon, Wal-Mart and online music subscription

companies, such as Spotify.

9. Rising pay levels for Foxconn workers

Pay levels for Foxconn’s workers already rose 3

times from 2010 to 2012. Foxconn is the main

manufacturer of Apple products and the rising pay level

for Foxconn’s workers will likely raise the prices for

Apple products.

D. Key Advertising Problems to be solved

Basically, this campaign plan is designed for a particular

product in the Apple product line that has a problem. I chose

MacBook Pro laptops as the product that needs solutions to its

current marketing communication problems. Base from the

research I made, the data I gathered and the analysis I made;

I have deduced the following advertising problems:

1. The Status Quo Problem: Stigma of Incompatibility

(A perception problem)

When many people look at Mac (Macintosh) specifically

MacBook Pro, they were concerned about switching (changing

38

or transferring to the competitor) because they were afraid

that the Macintosh would not fit in a Windows environment.

This problem with incompatibility was already fixed

since 2008 by Apple by including boot camp on every single

Macintosh which enables windows to run natively on the Mac.

Apple also work with third parties on products like

fusion and parallels which allows the Mac and Windows to run

side by side for the person who wants to run the Windows

program on occasional basis. This is done in order to remove

the fear of Mac users, similar to what an insurance policy

does.

There are lot misconceptions about the MacBook Pro

laptops and what's absolutely the worst one, though, is that

there's no software for it. This misconception is slightly

irrelevant in a first world country, but in a third world

country like the Philippines, this misconception is a great

factor affecting sales and market share.

2. The image of the MacBook Pro laptops as being overpriced.

I have gathered a number of reviews, blogs, write ups

and articles discussing about the MacBook Pro and the latest

MacBook Pro with retina display. Most of the reviews speak a

single voice – MacBook Pros are overpriced. Starting at a

39

price of 56,000 (regular MacBook Pro) up to a whopping price

131,000 (MacBook Pro with Retina Display). Even I would

react on this at the first mention. To understand further,

think closely on this simple analysis of the problem. If

the consumers of first world country, such as the United

States of America, are complaining that Apple products are

overpriced, then how much more it would be for a third world

country such as the Philippines? The Philippines only has

less than five percent of the population belonging to the

upper class. An estimate of twenty percent belonging to the

middle class and the rest are the lower class or even those

in the line of poverty. This makes the Philippine market

consumers become elastic with the price. This means that

price is a great factor to the purchase decisions of the

consumers.

3. The knowledge that MacBook Pro is left behind in terms of

innovation which caused an expectation of the removal of the

product in the market.

The SWOT Analysis I discussed and analyzed the Apple

Company and its products offering as a whole. But we still

need to discuss and analysis solely for the MacBook Pro

laptops.

There are better laptops in the market with similar

feature and an additional touch screen feature but offers it

40

at a lower price. Apple's decision to neglect the MacBook

Pro shouldn't really come as a surprise, as it's been

pruning its notebook range for the last few years. It killed

off the standard white 13-inch MacBook in 2011 with little

fanfare, making the 11-inch MacBook Air the new entry-level

notebook. Then last year it killed off the top-of-the-line

17-inch MacBook Pro, leaving Apple users the choice of a

13/15-inch MacBook Pro or 11/13-inch MacBook Air.

When Apple announced the latest MacBook Pro with retina

display after two years of neglect, it only received a minor

upgrade, minor speed bump, but no new graphics hardware.

Everything was minor.

MacBook Pro loyal users feel that sooner or later the

product is going to be grassed out or be put into mandatory

retirement or scrapped out of the market. In other words,

users of MacBook Pro laptops are disappointed by the lack of

upgrades.

4. The attitude of consumers of preferring technological

gadgets that are smaller, more portable thus, providing more

mobility.

In today’s fast paced technology, anything can change,

even the rules of the game. Indeed, the rules of the game

have changed for the laptop market. If Apple has to worry

only about laptop to laptop competitors before; now, their

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highly valued MacBook Pro laptops are competing against

smartphones and tablets (even their own iPads) that can do

the same jobs but with better mobility.

Household adoption and spending on consumer technology

products is shifting faster than expected in favor of

gadgets and services that are portable or mobile and those

that deliver networking capabilities and entertainment,

according to a recent survey by Gartner, Inc.

The major change is that mobility is now reshaping

mainstream consumer behavior in fundamental ways, the way

people organize their lives and the spaces they live in.

In a survey called Gartner survey that was conducted

during July and August of 2012 and included responses from

more than 8,000 consumers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and

the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China); it

showed that:

“Early adopters tend to leave the home laptop in the bag and are

abandoning the home office in favor of the lounge room couch or bedroom

to do online activities in a more comfortable environment using a tablet or

smartphone,” said Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at

Gartner.

“This early adopter trend is becoming mainstream

consumer behavior. Consequently, technology and service

providers are faced with no alternative but to innovate for42

mobility. If they do nothing, they face a potential train

wreck as consumers abandon gadgets, services and

applications that do not fully support changing mobile

lifestyles.”

The average household spending by users of media

tablets, e-readers, laptops and digital cameras has fallen

even as household penetration of these devices has

increased. Falling prices and increased technology

performance are primary drivers of increasing adoption and

multiple purchases.

According to the survey, legacy products such as TVs

and desktop computers have the highest mean years between

upgrades, at 4.5 and 4 years, respectively, while newer

products such as tablets and e-readers have yet to be

replaced by the majority of respondents. Replacement and

upgrades of fixed devices will be deferred or abandoned as

consumers find they can do most of what they want on

portable devices – anytime and anywhere they want.

“Where they are occurring, the lengthening of gadget

replacement cycles reflects a mixture of economic pressures

on the consumer wallet and hardware product maturity,” said

Amanda Sabia of Gartner.

The shift to wireless access and portable devices

represents both an opportunity and a threat to Apple. The

43

consumers’ shift to more mobile devices and applications

provides opportunities for equipment to deliver Internet

access and content as well as to accelerate the development

of mobile solutions and portable extensions to traditionally

fixed products and services. However, the shift of focus

more on the portable tablets and smartphones would actually

risk the market share and sales of the MacBook Pro laptops.

To answer this call for mobility, Apple actually introduced

the MacBook Air laptops, but it still did not match with the

expectations and demand of the market.

In other words, there is a creation of another value here –

mobility.

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II. KEY STRATEGIC CAMPAIGN DECISIONS

A. Objectives

1. Objectives based on the Facets of Effects

a. The advertising campaign shall aim for “near-term” sales

Create Awareness of the higher compatibility of Apple

MacBook Pro laptops – both the MacBook Pro Non-Retina

and MacBook Pro with Retina Display

Enhancing the Brand Image of the Apple as a creator of

the highest quality laptop not only in the Philippines

but also in the world

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Implant Information or Attitude

Create Conviction and Belief that Apple provides the

greatest product experience

Combat or Offset Competitive Claims

Correct False Impressions, Misinformation that Apple

will remove MacBook Pro laptops

b. The advertising campaign shall aim for building a

Consumer Franchise

Build confidence in the Apple company and the Apple

brand

Build “greater” customer demand for the MacBook pro

c. The advertising campaign aims at helping increase sales

Hold present customers

Convert Other users to Advertiser’s Brand

Convert nonusers to user – in Apple this is called

switchers

Make Steady Customers out of Occasional Ones

Advertise New uses of the MacBook Pro

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d. The advertising campaign shall aim at specific steps

that lead would to a sale

Persuade prospect to write a descriptive literature,

return a coupon or enter a contest for the MacBook Pro

Persuade prospects to visit a showroom, ask for a

demonstration

Induce prospect to sample the product, or try the

MacBook pro laptops

e. The advertising campaign should impart information

needed to consummate sales and build customer

satisfaction

“Where to buy it” advertising

The advertisement must feature the MacBook laptop and

new MacBook model MacBook Pro with retina display. It

must also aid in understanding the features, benefits

package of the products and their difference with other

laptops in the market

Announce the New “LOWER” prices

Special Terms, trade-in offers

New policies (extended guarantees , extended warrantees

)

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f. The advertising campaign Building an image for the

entire company

Remind the Apple brand

The Ad campaign will remind the audience of the

technical leadership of Apple Inc. and the MacBook Pro

2. Measurable Objectives

The goal of this campaign is to increase the customer

and consumer awareness of Apple MacBook Pro laptops’

greater compatibility from 30 % to 50 % within twelve

months.

Increase the market share from a 5% market share to a

10 % market share overtaking Sony Vaios, (the next in

the line) within six months.

B. Target Audience

MacBook Pro laptops just like the other Apple products

are targeted to high-end consumers. With this, we mean

consumers who can afford to pay the premium prices that

Apple charges.

The target audience of the advertisements has the following

characteristics: 

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1. Middle/Upper income consumers/ customers who are

willing to pay a bit more for a better user experience.

They are willing to pay more than 50,000 Php for a

computer. Therefore, this will also refer to people who

have decent income.

2. Students coming from affluent families. They are called

Skippies or students with high purchasing power.

MacBook Pro is an attractive educational tool because

no other platform offers as many entry level tools- the

whole iLife, iMovie, iWork bunch and more. This also

includes people who like to shoot a lot of digital

photos or video. It's the whole digital hub concept.  

3. Professionals – publishers, graphic professionals,

professionals in media and design and engineers that

see laptops as a tool to get their jobs done.

The three groups do overlap, but it's a huge market

which is bigger than 15%. Apple's market share and

success will grow in the next ten years for the simple

reason that our generations X and Y who have been

exposed heavily to the internet weren't using computers

much during the 'compatibility' days But anyway, the

'compatibility' problem dies when the people who believe

in it are not young anymore.

C. Brand Position: Product Features and Competitive Advantage49

To say Apple is hot just doesn’t do the company

justice,” concludes one Apple watcher. “Apple is smoking,

searing, blisteringly hot, not to mention hip, with a side

order of funky. Gadget geeks around the world have crowned

Apple the keeper of all things cool.”

1. Product Features and Attributes

a. MacBook Pro (Non-Retina)

Top-of-the-line processors

The 15-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 2.3GHz

quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6MB of shared

L3 cache and Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3GHz. And you

can configure it to be even faster with the 2.7GHz

quad-core Intel Core i7, featuring 8MB of cache and

Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7GHz. You can also

increase performance with the 512GB solid-state

drive, which is up to 4x faster than a traditional

hard drive. Or boost capacity with a 1TB hard drive.

The 13-inch model also speeds things up with

either the 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 or the 2.9GHz Intel

Core i7. With Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6GHz, these

processors bring more power to everything you do

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The very latest graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 processor

boosts performance by up to 60 percent.1 That extra

power gives you a smoother, more fluid experience

than before. It’s still highly efficient, too, so you

get long battery life when you’re out and about.

For graphics-intensive applications, the 15-inch

MacBook Pro automatically switches to the NVIDIA

GeForce GT 650M discrete processor with up to 1GB of

video memory. It’s also up to 60 percent faster than

the previous generation,2 so you see more frames per

second in 3D games and get greater speed and

responsiveness for your HD video projects.

The fastest, most versatile I/O in a notebook

Imagine accessing multiple streams of uncompressed

HD video — from your MacBook Pro — at speeds that let

you edit an HD feature film in real time. Thunderbolt

technology allows you to connect the high-performance

peripherals that make it possible. Ultrafast and

ultraflexible, the Thunderbolt pipeline is up to 12

times faster than FireWire 800 and offers

unprecedented expansion capabilities.

FaceTime HD camera.

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Get more of your friends in on the fun with crisp,

widescreen HD video. The picture is so clear, it will

look and feel almost like you’re in the same room.

You can make HD calls from your MacBook Pro to any

Mac with a 720p FaceTime HD camera. You can also make

video calls to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and other

Mac computers.

Multi-Touch trackpad

The Multi-Touch trackpad is the most natural way

to interact with what’s on your screen, and the smooth

glass surface gives you plenty of room for gestures.

Pinch to zoom in and out, swipe to flip through photos,

rotate to adjust an image, and much more. The

buttonless design lets you click anywhere. And if

you’re coming from a right-click world, you can right-

click with two fingers or configure a right-click area

on the trackpad. The more you use the Multi-Touch

trackpad, the more you’ll wonder how you ever did

without it.

A long-lasting battery

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MacBook Pro delivers amazing battery life. And

that’s with more powerful processors and faster

graphics than ever. An energy-efficient processor

architecture with an integrated video encoder, along

with automatic graphics switching in the 15-inch model,

helps improve battery life. So you can get up to 7

hours on a single charge

Wifi Connectivity

MacBook Pro automatically finds available networks

and allows you to join them with a click. And three-

stream 802.11n wireless technology gives you the best

possible performance at the greatest range.5 Bluetooth

wireless technology is also built in, so you can use

your favorite wireless accessories right out of the

box.

Ports with possibility

With the Thunderbolt port, you can daisy-chain as

many as six devices — including an Apple Thunderbolt

Display and Mini DisplayPort peripherals — to create a

full-fledged workstation. And with support for video

and eight-channel audio, it’s easy to connect HDMI-

compatible devices — like your TV and home stereo —

53

using an HDMI adapter (sold separately). Current VGA,

DVI, and DisplayPort adapters are also supported.

Two USB 3 ports let you access a pipeline that’s

up to 10 times faster than USB 2. And your USB 2

devices can still plug right in. If you have devices

that use FireWire 800, there’s a port for that, too.

And an SDXC card slot that supports up to 64GB cards

makes it a snap to transfer all those photos to and

from your MacBook Pro, so you can edit and share them

on the spot.

Burn DVDs superfast

Use the 8x SuperDrive on MacBook Pro to burn DVDs in

no time. Since the SuperDrive writes to double-layer

discs (DVDs with nearly 9GB of space), it’s great for

backing up data, too.

b. MacBook Pro with Retina Display

Retina Display

This is the main feature. Apple wanted a screen

for the customers to be as vivid as their imagination.

A screen where everything you see is vibrant,

detailed, and sharp. With the 15-inch MacBook Pro with

Retina display, we created the world’s highest-

54

resolution notebook. And the view on the supercompact

13-inch model is just as impressive.

Multimillion-pixel view

More color and contrast. Less glare.

All-flash Storage

When your goal is to build the high-performance

notebook of the future, you begin at its foundation.

For MacBook Pro with Retina display, that foundation is

flash. Because when you build a notebook around an all-

flash architecture, not only is everything more

durable, reliable, and battery efficient — everything

is fast. Really, really fast.

Long-lasting Battery

With 7-hour charge, 30-day standby time, MacBook

Pro has more than just processing power. It has an

incredible amount of battery power, too. So you can do

more than ever — all on a single charge.

Fastest Mobile Processors

MacBook Pro with Retina display features third-

generation Intel dual-core and quad-core processors.

They’re the muscle behind the most powerful notebooks

we’ve ever built.

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Next –generation graphics

It has a flawless onscreen performance. These

graphics are so fast, smooth, and realistic, you might

just forget you’re looking at a computer screen.

High Speed Ports and Connections

Everything about the MacBook Pro with Retina

display is high performance — even its I/O. Whether you

choose the 13-inch or the 15-inch model, you’ll get two

Thunderbolt ports — the fastest, most versatile I/O

available. That’s a huge advantage when you need to

connect to just about anything — external displays,

RAID arrays, video capture devices, even FireWire

peripherals (adapter sold separately) and Gigabit

Ethernet networks (adapter sold separately). Combine

that with two USB 3 ports, an HDMI port, and an SDXC

card slot, and in a matter of minutes you can build an

entire professional studio with MacBook Pro as its

centerpiece.

With Face Time HD camera and Dual Mics

Advanced speaker design. Your notebook neversounded this good.

You haven’t heard it all until you’ve heardthe speakers inside the MacBook Pro. For somethingso thin and light, the sound is huge. And with awide dynamic range, optimal balance, and a crisp,

56

expressive quality, these speakers might sound toogood to be true. That’s because we laboredpainstakingly over the design to maximize thequality of every decibel you hear.

Dual mics. They’ll hear you loud and clear.

Dual built-in microphones are great for when

you want to be heard. If you’re making a FaceTime

call, for example, the mics reduce background

noise from behind the notebook. And when you use

Dictation, they create an adaptive audio beam that

intelligently adjusts to detect your voice —

instead of the noise around you.

Multi-touch Trackpad and Backlit Keyboard

In OS X, Multi-Touch is an essential part of how

you interact with your Mac. Using realistic,

intuitive gestures, you can switch between apps,

navigate your content, and get the most out of your

desktop space. The MacBook Pro with Retina display

features a Multi-Touch trackpad with a large, all-

glass button surface. So you can tap, pinch, swipe,

and click away comfortably.

Thin and light, MacBook Pro is designed to go

anywhere — including places with less-than-stellar

lighting. A built-in sensor detects changes in

ambient light and adjusts the keyboard and display57

brightness automatically. So you’re never in the

dark.

iCloud

Your content. On all your devices. iCloud stores

your content and lets you access your music, photos,

calendars, contacts, documents, and more from

whatever device you’re on. So if you take a picture

with your iPhone or make changes to your meeting

schedule on your iPad, iCloud makes sure everything

appears on your Mac, too. And it works both ways —

create a to-do list on your Mac and you can make

edits to it on your iPhone.

Retina Ready Software

Your favorite software like you’ve never seen it

before.To take advantage of the beautiful Retina

display, OS X Mountain Lion apps like Safari, Mail,

Calendar, Contacts, and more — as well as other Apple

apps including iPhoto, iMovie, Pages, Numbers, Keynote,

iTunes, Aperture, and Final Cut Pro — have already been

optimized, and updates to other Apple apps are coming

soon.

58

2. Product Feature Analysis

Feature Importance to

Prospect

Product Performance

AppleMacBookPro

DellXPS15

LenovoIdea PadYoga 11s

SonyVaio Pro

13

ToshibaKIRAbook

Price 6 - + - - -Quality 1 + + - + +Style 4 + - - + +Compatibility

3 + + + + +

Durability 5 + + - + +Availability

7 + - + + -

Specifications

2 + - - + +

Legend: 1- most important 5- least important

- = least important+ = most important

D. Competitive Advantage

A competitive advantage is found where the product has:

1. strong feature

2. in an area that is important to the target

59

3. where the competition is weaker.

From the table above, we could conclude that

a. Apple MacBook Pro laptops have competitive

advantage over Dell with Style, Availability and

Specifications.

b. Apple MacBook Pro laptops have competitive

advantage over Lenovo when it comes to Quality,

Style, Durability and Specifications.

c. Apple MacBook Pro laptops have competitive

advantage over Toshiba in Availability

E. Differentiation

1. Tangible

a. Sleek Design

b. Premium Price

c. totally different operating system

2. Intangible

a.High Quality Products 60

b. Perceived as the superior product in the

market

c. The Company is the leading innovator

F. Campaign Strategy: Key Strategic Approach and Marcom Tools

The campaign strategic approach is countering the

competition through the use of the Facets Model. The

strategy is designed to change the consumer’s perception of

the brand’s price or the price-value relationship. For the

perception strategy, that advertisement will focus on

building awareness of the higher compatibility rate of the

MacBook Pro operating system. For the emotional strategy,

it would be the to remind the people about the “Apple

experience” through the usage of the MacBook Pro laptops.

For the cognitive strategy, the advertisement would

influence what the customer and general public think about

the product that it is going out of the market and that

Apple is shifting its focus away from the personal computer

market. The association strategy shall build a personality

for the brand, reinforcing it as exciting, superior and

liberal. Moreover, there will be a cue for a brand’s

position by associating it with certain lifestyle or

symbols. A persuasion strategy will change the Filipino

target market’s belief and attitude of abandoning the old

form of gadget to this new “mobile” gadgets by positioning

61

the MacBook Pro as being productivity relevant and portable

at the same time.

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III. MEDIA STRATEGY

A. Media Objectives

1. The advertising message will reach 50 % of the target

audience

2. The advertisement should develop an impression to the

targeted audience

3. Members of target audience will be exposed, on average of

five times in a four-week period.

4. Members of the target audience needed to be exposed on a

minimum of five times.

B. Media Selection

1. Television

- Needed in order to reach a wide mass of audience

- The product needs both sight and sound

- The message calls for action and drama

- There is a need for product demonstration

- There is a need to reinforce brand personality in

terms of the MacBook Pro laptos

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- The audience’s interests align with a certain type

of program (Discovery Channel, National

Geographic, Star World, TLC)

- There is a need for the “halo” effect of the big

TV to impress other stakeholders, - dealers and

franchisees

- The Apple Inc, the company- advertiser has a large

budget

2. Print – Magazine

- The target audience is defined by some special

interest

- The MacBook pro laptops need to shown accurately

and beautifully

- A high-quality image is important

3. Internet Advertising

- The need to create buzz

- The need for the target audience to engage in

dialogue with others

- The need to provide information

- The need to collect customer information

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- The need to engage the audience in online

activities – Retina Display applications

C. Media Planning and Buying

1. Vehicle Selection

The vehicles are chose because this is the most

effective way to reach the target audience.

2. Budget Allocation

3. Scheduling

IV. MESSAGE STRATEGY

A. Key Consumer Insight

Users of MacBook Pro laptop have the following Key Insights:

1. Entertainment, such as music and movies

2. Travel or a lot of mobile work

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3. A lot of graphic works or multimedia work as well as

gaming

4. For a balance of performance and portability

B. Message Objectives

1. Apple should create customer value and relationships base

from the key consumer insights stated above.

2. The message will further enhance further brand equity

3. The message will establish the MacBook Pro as an all-in-one

portable laptops for both professional and consumer users.

4. The message should justify that Apple MacBook pro is of

premium quality product that deserves a premium price.

C. Selling Premise

Building brand-related associations through the dint of

repeated claims about the features that the MacBook pro

possesses and the benefits it delivers. Basically, the

emphasize is the benefits that the customers will get from

the features of the product. This is a type of brand-equity-

building and can be thought of as the message-driven

approach. This approach will be effective through marcom

messages that are creative, attention-getting, believable

and memorable. Needless to say, the speak-for –itself and

message-driven approaches need to work together. This means

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that the consumers’ associations related to a particular

brand result both from what they’ve learned firsthand about

the Apple brand and the MacBook Pro laptops and what they

have acquired through exposure to the brand’s marcom

messages. This is the appeal.

D. Big Idea

“Pro on the Go”

Thin and light, MacBook Pro is designed to go

anywhere. Bid idea will be able to this “revamp” the

product. This will emphasize the latest features and

upgrades of the MacBook pro laptops and center of the

benefits of the features. It is also a tool that users can

bring without compromising mobility and performance

E. Message Design and Executions

The big idea has a clear and focused objective, it is

to maintain and increase the consumption and awareness of

MacBook pro laptops. This can be done through the core

messages about the brand.

There are a series of executions in which we could

address the key advertising problems:

1. Incorporate Reference Groups – especially those belonging to

the professional graphic and video field

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2. The use of Opinion leaders who can greatly influence the

target audience to retain their loyalty to MacBook Pro and

to convince non-users to switch

3. Testimonials to be given by real life individuals which can

make the advertisement more credible

V. OHER MARCOM TOOLS USED IN SUPPORT

A. Sales Promotion

The sales promotion is supported with the following

activities:

1. Loyalty Card

Loyalty cards can be one of the sales promotions

strategies that Apple company can implement. The loyalty

cards can be a way to trace and to track customer purchases

to clearly comprehend the buying patterns and to fully

understand its scope. In this matter, the loyalty cards will

serve as a benefit for the customer since they will earn

points while purchasing items from the store.

The points include:

300 points- 2 selected products/item

600 points- 4 selected products/item

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1000 points 7 selected products/item

2000 points- customers will be the one who

will choose

Basis of points

50,000 -60,000 php (10 points)

61,000-70,000 php ( 20 points)

71,000- 80,000 Php (30 points)

81, 00 above ( 50 points)

2. Membership Identification

This sales promotion tool involves the membership

identification that is an extension of the loyalty card.

This will be used in a seasonal basis and it will be

presented along with the loyalty card for informational

purposes to refrain bogus and other negative discrepancies.

Moreover, this will be used in buying purposes especially in

online selling. This will serve as a security for the owner

and the buyer.

3. Raffle Draw

Raffle draw sales promotion can be implemented in a

seasonal basis such as (Christmas seasons, Valentines

seasons, year-end seasons, etc). The raffle draw will be in

the form of percentage, and it will depend on the item that

the customer purchased. The proceed shall go to other social

involvement does that the company have. This kind of 69

activity will attract customer in the prizes that the owner

will implement.

The following are the suggestions for the prizes:

1. Discount percentage (Gift Certificates)

2. Brand New MacBook Pro with Retina Display 13”

4. Buy Back Allowance Contest

This sales promotion strategy will be implemented in the

year-end to trace who are its loyal customers and trace the

customers who are “IN” with the trends. The basis would be

the number of items the customer had purchased in the store,

it will be in a form of hardcopy document where the customer

will take photos holding the MacBook Pro laptops and will

select the best photo in all the items they had purchased to

the in thing collection.

5. Price off Promotions

The Price off promotion will be implemented to stimulate

sales during a lamp slump season. The owner will give a

temporary discount to her loyal customers and to other

customers.

B. Public Relations

The public relations is supported with the following

activity:

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Philippine World Cyber Expo

The Philippine World Cyber Expo will be conducted once

a year where Apple is the main sponsor for the event. The

Philippine World Cyber Expo will serve as promotional

strategy to gain exposure for the MacBook Pro Laptops.

1. Facilitate the introduction of New Products – the

MacBook pro with Retina Display to the Trade

2. Obtain Trial Purchase from Customers

C. Direct Marketing

The Direct marketing will be handled online through direct

mailing, product catalog and e-tailing done by Apple website

(www.apple.com)

D. Integration Strategy

The best way to maximize synergy for the MacBook Pro

laptops would be to held an Apple trade show with only Apple

products, promotional discounts, product testing, product

demonstrations, product tutorials. Furthermore, the

highlight of the show would be to present to the attendees

the features, upgrades and benefits of the MacBook Pro

laptops.

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VI. CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

A. Evaluation of Effectiveness

The current concept of the ad campaign does not show

the usual feature –benefit form that Apple has in their

advertisments. In fact, Apple’s softer ad campaign fails

to impress viewers, likely to be   short-lived . In a a survey

by ad effectiveness specialist Ace Metrix Inc. showed that

Apple’s new ‘mission statement‘ ad campaign has been far

less effective than its traditional product-focused ads. The

company’s latest ad, which began airing June 10, has earned

the lowest score of 26 Apple TV ads in the past year,

according to Ace Metrix Inc., a consulting firm that

analyzes the effectiveness of TV ads through surveys of at

least 500 TV viewers. The ad scored 489 on the company’s

scoring system, below an industry average of 542 and far

below past iconic Apple campaigns that often topped 700.

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The ad campaign, which aims to focus on the experience

people have when using Apple products, rather than the

products themselves have been a forced decision for Apple,

since it doesn’t currently have much in the way of new

products to promote.

Writing in a Forbes opinion piece, branding specialist

Will Burns suggests that the campaign is a defensive one,

attempting to counter the interest generated by Samsung in a

flurry of new product launches until Apple releases the

iPhone 5S.

In other words, it seems like Apple are reminding us of

the irrational bond to their brand, the halo, the Steve Jobs

effect, because they don’t have the products to back it up

these days. Please buy Apple products anyway because you

feel good about the brand.

Edward Boches, a professor of advertising at Boston

University, says the campaign is a risky one. Apple was

never a company that bragged about itself. In a manifesto

ad, it’s hard not to come across as self- indulgent. And

even though it suggests the wonderful things Apple products

can do, the ad lacks joy.

Base from my readings, I believe the campaign approach

will be short-lived, though it’s worth noting that ad

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surveys are not always a good gauge of an approach, and that

consumers can initially reject a style they later come to

enjoy – and the consensus here in the Philippines is that

we rather like them. We were, though, very surprised the

Apple didn’t run an ad campaign promoting the all-day

battery-life of the new MacBook Air. To us, that’s a huge

improvement to the company’s best-selling Mac and definitely

worthy of an ad campaign in its own right.

Lastly, there is no concrete, interesting advertisement

about the MacBook Pro ad. There have been two official ads

about but it only discusses about the features and not the

benefits. Viewers will always wonder, what’s in it for me?

How will that feature benefit and that is that one point

that Apple missed out.

B. Campaign Budget

The basis for the campaign budget shall be based on

historical method. In 2012, Apple spent 1 million dollar in

advertising. If we convert that to peso per month, then the

advertising budget would be an estimate of 3.5 million pesos

per month.

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VII. THE CREATIVE BRIEF

A. Problem

Basically, this campaign plan is designed for a

particular product in the Apple product line that has a

problem. I chose MacBook Pro laptops as the product that

needs solutions to its current marketing communication

problems. Base from the research I made, the data I

gathered and the analysis I made; I have deduced the

following advertising problems:

1. The Status Quo Problem: Stigma of Incompatibility

(A perception problem)

When many people look at Mac (Macintosh) specifically

MacBook Pro, they were concerned about switching

(changing or transferring to the competitor) because they

were afraid that the Macintosh would not fit in a Windows

environment.

This problem with incompatibility was already fixed since

2008 by Apple by including boot camp on every single

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Macintosh which enables windows to run natively on the

Mac.

Apple also work with third parties on products like

fusion and parallels which allows the Mac and Windows to

run side by side for the person who wants to run the

Windows program on occasional basis. This is done in

order to remove the fear of Mac users, similar to what an

insurance policy does.

There are lot misconceptions about the MacBook Pro

laptops and what's absolutely the worst one, though, is

that there's no software for it. This misconception is

slightly irrelevant in a first world country, but in a

third world country like the Philippines, this

misconception is a great factor affecting sales and

market share.

2. The image of the MacBook Pro laptops as being

overpriced. It is not worth the price.

I have gathered a number of reviews, blogs, write ups and

articles discussing about the MacBook Pro and the latest

MacBook Pro with retina display. Most of the reviews

speak a single voice – MacBook Pros are overpriced.

Starting at a price of 56,000 (regular MacBook Pro) up to

a whopping price 131,000 (MacBook Pro with Retina

Display). Even I would react on this at the first

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mention. To understand further, think closely on this

simple analysis of the problem. If the consumers of

first world country, such as the United States of

America, are complaining that Apple products are

overpriced, then how much more it would be for a third

world country such as the Philippines? The Philippines

only has less than five percent of the population

belonging to the upper class. An estimate of twenty

percent belonging to the middle class and the rest are

the lower class or even those in the line of poverty.

This makes the Philippine market consumers become elastic

with the price. This means that price is a great factor

to the purchase decisions of the consumers.

3. The perception that MacBook Pro is left behind in terms

of innovation leading to the removal of the product in

the market.

The SWOT Analysis I discussed and analyzed the Apple

Company and its products offering as a whole. But we

still need to discuss and analysis solely for the MacBook

Pro laptops.

There are better laptops in the market with similar

feature and an additional touch screen feature but offers

it at a lower price. Apple's decision to neglect the

MacBook Pro shouldn't really come as a surprise, as it's

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been pruning its notebook range for the last few years.

It killed off the standard white 13-inch MacBook in 2011

with little fanfare, making the 11-inch MacBook Air the

new entry-level notebook. Then last year it killed off

the top-of-the-line 17-inch MacBook Pro, leaving Apple

users the choice of a 13/15-inch MacBook Pro or 11/13-

inch MacBook Air.

When Apple announced the latest MacBook Pro with retina

display after two years of neglect, it only received a

minor upgrade, minor speed bump, but no new graphics

hardware. Everything was minor.

MacBook Pro loyal users feel that sooner or later the

product is going to be grassed out or be put into

mandatory retirement or scrapped out of the market. In

other words, users of MacBook Pro laptops are

disappointed by the lack of upgrades.

4. The attitude of consumers of preferring technological

gadgets that are smaller, more portable thus, providing

more mobility.

In today’s fast paced technology, anything can change,

even the rules of the game. Indeed, the rules of the game

have changed for the laptop market. If Apple has to worry

only about laptop to laptop competitors before; now,

their highly valued MacBook Pro laptops are competing

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against smartphones and tablets (even their own iPads)

that can do the same jobs but with better mobility.

Household adoption and spending on consumer technology

products is shifting faster than expected in favor of

gadgets and services that are portable or mobile and

those that deliver networking capabilities and

entertainment, according to a recent survey by Gartner,

Inc.

The major change is that mobility is now reshaping

mainstream consumer behavior in fundamental ways, the way

people organize their lives and the spaces they live in.

In a survey called Gartner survey that was conducted

during July and August of 2012 and included responses

from more than 8,000 consumers in the U.S., the U.K.,

Canada and the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and

China); it showed that:

“Early adopters tend to leave the home laptop in the bag

and are abandoning the home office in favor of the lounge

room couch or bedroom to do online activities in a more

comfortable environment using a tablet or smartphone,”

said Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at Gartner.

“This early adopter trend is becoming mainstream consumer

behavior. Consequently, technology and service providers

are faced with no alternative but to innovate for79

mobility. If they do nothing, they face a potential train

wreck as consumers abandon gadgets, services and

applications that do not fully support changing mobile

lifestyles.”

The average household spending by users of media tablets,

e-readers, laptops and digital cameras has fallen even as

household penetration of these devices has increased.

Falling prices and increased technology performance are

primary drivers of increasing adoption and multiple

purchases.

According to the survey, legacy products such as TVs and

desktop computers have the highest mean years between

upgrades, at 4.5 and 4 years, respectively, while newer

products such as tablets and e-readers have yet to be

replaced by the majority of respondents. Replacement and

upgrades of fixed devices will be deferred or abandoned

as consumers find they can do most of what they want on

portable devices – anytime and anywhere they want.

“Where they are occurring, the lengthening of gadget

replacement cycles reflects a mixture of economic

pressures on the consumer wallet and hardware product

maturity,” said Amanda Sabia of Gartner.

The shift to wireless access and portable devices

represents both an opportunity and a threat to Apple. The

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consumers’ shift to more mobile devices and applications

provides opportunities for equipment to deliver Internet

access and content as well as to accelerate the

development of mobile solutions and portable extensions

to traditionally fixed products and services. However,

the shift of focus more on the portable tablets and

smartphones would actually risk the market share and

sales of the MacBook Pro laptops. To answer this call for

mobility, Apple actually introduced the MacBook Air

laptops, but it still did not match with the expectations

and demand of the market.

In other words, there is a creation of another value here

– mobility.

B. Target Audience

MacBook Pro laptops just like the other Apple products

are targeted to high-end consumers. With this, we mean

consumers who can afford to pay the premium prices that

Apple charges.

The target audience of the advertisements has the

following characteristics:

1. Middle/Upper income consumers/ customers who are

willing to pay a bit more for a better user experience.

They are willing to pay more than 50,000 Php for a

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computer. Therefore, this will also refer to people who

have decent income.

2. Students coming from affluent families. They are called

Skippies or students with high purchasing power. MacBook

Pro is an attractive educational tool because no other

platform offers as many entry level tools- the whole

iLife, iMovie, iWork bunch and more. This also includes

people who like to shoot a lot of digital photos or

video. It's the whole digital hub concept.

3. Professionals – publishers, graphic professionals,

professionals in media and design and engineers that see

laptops as a tool to get their jobs done.

The three groups do overlap, but it's a huge market which

is bigger than 15%. Apple's market share and success will

grow in the next ten years for the simple reason that our

generations X and Y who have been exposed heavily to the

internet weren't using computers much during the

'compatibility' days But anyway, the 'compatibility'

problem dies when the people who believe in it are not

young anymore.

C. Brand Position

To say Apple is hot just doesn’t do the company

justice,” concludes one Apple watcher. “Apple is smoking,

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searing, blisteringly hot, not to mention hip, with a side

order of funky. Gadget geeks around the world have crowned

Apple the keeper of all things cool.”

1.Product Features and Attributes

a. MacBook Pro (Non-Retina)

Top-of-the-line processors

The 15-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 2.3GHz

quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6MB of shared

L3 cache and Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3GHz. And you

can configure it to be even faster with the 2.7GHz

quad-core Intel Core i7, featuring 8MB of cache and

Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.7GHz. You can also

increase performance with the 512GB solid-state

drive, which is up to 4x faster than a traditional

hard drive. Or boost capacity with a 1TB hard drive.

The 13-inch model also speeds things up with

either the 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 or the 2.9GHz Intel

Core i7. With Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6GHz, these

processors bring more power to everything you do

The very latest graphics 83

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 processor

boosts performance by up to 60 percent.1 That extra

power gives you a smoother, more fluid experience

than before. It’s still highly efficient, too, so you

get long battery life when you’re out and about.

For graphics-intensive applications, the 15-inch

MacBook Pro automatically switches to the NVIDIA

GeForce GT 650M discrete processor with up to 1GB of

video memory. It’s also up to 60 percent faster than

the previous generation,2 so you see more frames per

second in 3D games and get greater speed and

responsiveness for your HD video projects.

The fastest, most versatile I/O in a notebook

Imagine accessing multiple streams of uncompressed

HD video — from your MacBook Pro — at speeds that let

you edit an HD feature film in real time. Thunderbolt

technology allows you to connect the high-performance

peripherals that make it possible. Ultrafast and

ultraflexible, the Thunderbolt pipeline is up to 12

times faster than FireWire 800 and offers

unprecedented expansion capabilities.

FaceTime HD camera.

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Get more of your friends in on the fun with crisp,

widescreen HD video. The picture is so clear, it will

look and feel almost like you’re in the same room.

You can make HD calls from your MacBook Pro to any

Mac with a 720p FaceTime HD camera. You can also make

video calls to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and other

Mac computers.

Multi-Touch trackpad

The Multi-Touch trackpad is the most natural way

to interact with what’s on your screen, and the smooth

glass surface gives you plenty of room for gestures.

Pinch to zoom in and out, swipe to flip through photos,

rotate to adjust an image, and much more. The

buttonless design lets you click anywhere. And if

you’re coming from a right-click world, you can right-

click with two fingers or configure a right-click area

on the trackpad. The more you use the Multi-Touch

trackpad, the more you’ll wonder how you ever did

without it.

A long-lasting battery

MacBook Pro delivers amazing battery life. And

that’s with more powerful processors and faster

graphics than ever. An energy-efficient processor

architecture with an integrated video encoder, along

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with automatic graphics switching in the 15-inch model,

helps improve battery life. So you can get up to 7

hours on a single charge

Wifi Connectivity

MacBook Pro automatically finds available networks

and allows you to join them with a click. And three-

stream 802.11n wireless technology gives you the best

possible performance at the greatest range.5 Bluetooth

wireless technology is also built in, so you can use

your favorite wireless accessories right out of the

box.

Ports with possibility

With the Thunderbolt port, you can daisy-chain as

many as six devices — including an Apple Thunderbolt

Display and Mini DisplayPort peripherals — to create a

full-fledged workstation. And with support for video

and eight-channel audio, it’s easy to connect HDMI-

compatible devices — like your TV and home stereo —

using an HDMI adapter (sold separately). Current VGA,

DVI, and DisplayPort adapters are also supported.

Two USB 3 ports let you access a pipeline that’s

up to 10 times faster than USB 2. And your USB 2

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devices can still plug right in. If you have devices

that use FireWire 800, there’s a port for that, too.

And an SDXC card slot that supports up to 64GB cards

makes it a snap to transfer all those photos to and

from your MacBook Pro, so you can edit and share them

on the spot.

Burn DVDs superfast

Use the 8x SuperDrive on MacBook Pro to burn DVDs in

no time. Since the SuperDrive writes to double-layer

discs (DVDs with nearly 9GB of space), it’s great for

backing up data, too.

b. MacBook Pro with Retina Display

Retina Display

This is the main feature. Apple wanted a screen

for the customers to be as vivid as their imagination.

A screen where everything you see is vibrant,

detailed, and sharp. With the 15-inch MacBook Pro with

Retina display, we created the world’s highest-

resolution notebook. And the view on the supercompact

13-inch model is just as impressive.

Multimillion-pixel view

More color and contrast. Less glare.

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All-flash Storage

When your goal is to build the high-performance

notebook of the future, you begin at its foundation.

For MacBook Pro with Retina display, that foundation is

flash. Because when you build a notebook around an all-

flash architecture, not only is everything more

durable, reliable, and battery efficient — everything

is fast. Really, really fast.

Long-lasting Battery

With 7-hour charge, 30-day standby time, MacBook

Pro has more than just processing power. It has an

incredible amount of battery power, too. So you can do

more than ever — all on a single charge.

Fastest Mobile Processors

MacBook Pro with Retina display features third-

generation Intel dual-core and quad-core processors.

They’re the muscle behind the most powerful notebooks

we’ve ever built.

Next –generation graphics

It has a flawless onscreen performance. These

graphics are so fast, smooth, and realistic, you might

just forget you’re looking at a computer screen.

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High Speed Ports and Connections

Everything about the MacBook Pro with Retina

display is high performance — even its I/O. Whether you

choose the 13-inch or the 15-inch model, you’ll get two

Thunderbolt ports — the fastest, most versatile I/O

available. That’s a huge advantage when you need to

connect to just about anything — external displays,

RAID arrays, video capture devices, even FireWire

peripherals (adapter sold separately) and Gigabit

Ethernet networks (adapter sold separately). Combine

that with two USB 3 ports, an HDMI port, and an SDXC

card slot, and in a matter of minutes you can build an

entire professional studio with MacBook Pro as its

centerpiece.

With Face Time HD camera and Dual Mics

Advanced speaker design. Your notebook neversounded this good.

You haven’t heard it all until you’ve heardthe speakers inside the MacBook Pro. For somethingso thin and light, the sound is huge. And with awide dynamic range, optimal balance, and a crisp,expressive quality, these speakers might sound toogood to be true. That’s because we laboredpainstakingly over the design to maximize thequality of every decibel you hear.

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Dual mics. They’ll hear you loud and clear.

Dual built-in microphones are great for when

you want to be heard. If you’re making a FaceTime

call, for example, the mics reduce background

noise from behind the notebook. And when you use

Dictation, they create an adaptive audio beam that

intelligently adjusts to detect your voice —

instead of the noise around you.

Multi-touch Trackpad and Backlit Keyboard

In OS X, Multi-Touch is an essential part of how

you interact with your Mac. Using realistic,

intuitive gestures, you can switch between apps,

navigate your content, and get the most out of your

desktop space. The MacBook Pro with Retina display

features a Multi-Touch trackpad with a large, all-

glass button surface. So you can tap, pinch, swipe,

and click away comfortably.

Thin and light, MacBook Pro is designed to go

anywhere — including places with less-than-stellar

lighting. A built-in sensor detects changes in

ambient light and adjusts the keyboard and display

brightness automatically. So you’re never in the

dark.

iCloud90

Your content. On all your devices. iCloud stores

your content and lets you access your music, photos,

calendars, contacts, documents, and more from

whatever device you’re on. So if you take a picture

with your iPhone or make changes to your meeting

schedule on your iPad, iCloud makes sure everything

appears on your Mac, too. And it works both ways —

create a to-do list on your Mac and you can make

edits to it on your iPhone.

Retina Ready Software

Your favorite software like you’ve never seen it

before. To take advantage of the beautiful Retina

display, OS X Mountain Lion apps like Safari, Mail,

Calendar, Contacts, and more — as well as other Apple

apps including iPhoto, iMovie, Pages, Numbers, Keynote,

iTunes, Aperture, and Final Cut Pro — have already been

optimized, and updates to other Apple apps are coming

soon.

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3. Product Feature Analysis

Feature Importance to

Prospect

Product Performance

AppleMacBookPro

DellXPS15

LenovoIdea PadYoga 11s

SonyVaio Pro

13

ToshibaKIRAbook

Price 6 - + - - -Quality 1 + + - + +Style 4 + - - + +Compatibility

3 + + + + +

Durability 5 + + - + +Availability

7 + - + + -

Specifications

2 + - - + +

Legend: 1- most important 5- least important

- = least important+ = most important

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D. Communication Objective

1. Apple should create customer value and relationships

base from the key consumer insights stated.

2. The message will further enhance further brand equity

3. The message will establish the MacBook Pro as an all-

in-one portable laptops for both professional and

consumer users.

4. The message should justify that Apple MacBook pro is

premium quality product that deserves a premium price.

5. The advertisement will increase awareness on the higher

compatibility of MacBook products eliminating the

stigma of incompatibility

6. The advertisement will enable to change the

attitude of the gadgets consumption behavior of the

target audience thus, persuading them to consider

buying MacBook Pro laptops and not those belonging to

the competitor.

E. Proposition or Selling Idea

Communicate the features and benefits, however, the

message should be more in emphasizing the benefits of the

features.

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Building brand-related associations through the dint of

repeated claims about the features that the MacBook pro

possesses and the benefits it delivers. Basically, the

emphasize is the benefits that the customers will get from

the features of the product. This is a type of brand-equity-

building and can be thought of as the message-driven

approach. This approach will be effective through marcom

messages that are creative, attention-getting, believable

and memorable. Needless to say, the speak-for –itself and

message-driven approaches need to work together. This means

that the consumers’ associations related to a particular

brand result both from what they’ve learned firsthand about

the Apple brand and the MacBook Pro laptops and what they

have acquired through exposure to the brand’s marcom

messages. This is the appeal.

The Big Idea for the advertisement is entitled “Pro on

the Go” .Thin and light, MacBook Pro is designed to go

anywhere. This Big idea will be able to this “revamp” the

product. This will emphasize the latest features and

upgrades of the MacBook pro laptops and center of the

benefits of the features. It is also a tool that users can

bring without compromising mobility and performance

F. Media Considerations

1. Television

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- Needed in order to reach a wide mass of audience

- The product needs both sight and sound

- The message calls for action and drama

- There is a need for product demonstration

- There is a need to reinforce brand personality in terms

of the MacBook Pro laptos

- The audience’s interests align with a certain type of

program (Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Star

World, TLC)

- There is a need for the “halo” effect of the big TV to

impress other stakeholders, - dealers and franchisees

- The Apple Inc, the company- advertiser has a large

budget

2. Print – Magazine

- The target audience is defined by some special interest

- The MacBook pro laptops need to shown accurately and

beautifully

- A high-quality image is important

3. Internet Advertising

- The need to create buzz

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- The need for the target audience to engage in dialogue

with others

- The need to provide information

- The need to collect customer information

- The need to engage the audience in online activities –

Retina Display applications

G. Creative Direction

In order to stimulate the desired consumer

response, the tone of voice of the advertisement should

be cool and genuine. Since a part of Apple’s DNA is

being cool then it should be on a cool, humorous and

edgy tone advertisement.

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