ASSIGNMENT ON CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

Assignment on Case Study

Case 4- “Apple”

Course Name: Marketing Management

Course Code: BTM 4505

Submitted To:
Md. Abdullah Al Mamun
Lecturer
Department of Business & Technology Management
Islamic University of Technology

Submitted By:
Arman Sarkar
Student ID: 170061038
Department of Business & Technology Management
Islamic University of Technology

Date of Submission: August 21, 2020

 Letter of Transmittal

August 21, 2020

To
Md. Abdullah Al Mamun
Lecturer, Department of Business & Technology Management
Islamic University of Technology.
Subject: Submission of the assignment on “Case Study Analysis (Case 4 – “Apple”)”.

Dear Sir,
With great veneration and humble respect that I am very glad to submit my assignment on “Case
Study Analysis (Case 4 – “Apple”)” as a partial requirement of Marketing Management course
(BTM-4505) from the Department of Business & Technology Management, Islamic University
of Technology.
All the works presented here is done with utmost sincerity and honesty. I tried my best to make
this report errorless but if any error remains there by mistake I hope you will consider it as a lack
of experience.

Yours Obediently,
Arman Sarkar
Student ID: 170061038
Department of Business & Technology Management
Islamic University of Technology
 STUDENT DECLARATION

I hereby announce that the assignment entitled “Case Study Analysis” was prepared as a partial
requirement for Marketing Management course and it is my very authentic work and does not
put forward for the award of any other degree/diploma/fellowship or other similar term or honor.
The objectivity of this assignment has been maintained with utmost care and sincerity.

Arman Sarkar
Student ID: 170061038
Department of Business & Technology Management
Islamic University of Technology

LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION

This is to certify that the assignment on “Case Study Analysis” has been prepared by Arman
Sarkar (ID-170061038) as a course work of Marketing Management Course from the
Department of Business & Technology Management, Islamic University of Technology.
This assignment has been prepared under my guidelines and is a record on genuine work carried
out successfully.

Md. Abdullah Al Mamun

Lecturer
Department of Business & Technology Management
Faculty of Science & Technical Education
Islamic University of Technology
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First, I would like to express my gratitude to Almighty Allah for giving me the strength
to complete the assignment within the stipulated time.

I am deeply indebted to our instructor Md. Abdullah Al Mamun, Lecturer, Department

of Business & Technology Management, Islamic University of Technology for
engaging myself to such a case study.
COMPANY

Apple
Technology Company

Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino,

California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online
services. It is considered one of the Big Tech technology companies in the world.

The company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer,

the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch,
the Apple TV digital media player, the AirPods wireless earbuds and the HomePod smart
speaker. Apple's software includes macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems,
the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser, the Shazam music identifier, and
the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites, as well as professional applications
like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Xcode. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS
App Store, Mac App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iMessage, and iCloud. Other services
include Apple Store, Genius Bar, AppleCare, Apple Pay, Apple Pay Cash, and Apple Card.

Apple is well known for its size and revenues. Apple is the world's largest technology
company by revenue and one of the world's most valuable companies. It is also the world's third-
largest mobile phone manufacturer. In 1998, it introduced iMac then slowly came iPod and
iPhone both of them was a huge hit. Since than Apple is considered a big company which was
way ahead of its competitors.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The journey of Apple Inc. started around 1976 with the cumulative efforts of Steve Jobs, Steve
Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne to develop and sell Wozniak's Apple I personal computer, though
Wayne sold his share back within 12 days.
In 2007 Apple officially changed its name from Apple Computer Inc. to Apple Inc. to help
communicate the company’s focus in non-computer products. Its major products are-
Macintosh
iPod
iPhone
iPad
Apple Watch
Apple TV
HomePod
Software
Electric vehicles

Apple has a name for the introduction of innovative products in the market. Apple’s evolutionary
product innovations include the iPod, iMac, iPhone, and iPad and are the reason the company
topped Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies list three years in a row, from
2008 to 2010.
Apple is the symbol of innovations, designs, attractiveness. Apple reached its impressive market
domination through a combination of shrewd product innovation and clever marketing. It defined
a broad access point for its target market. The marketing effort was designed to appeal to Mac
fans as well as people who had not used Apple products in the past. This broader access
developed a shift in Apple’s channel strategies.
The given case study mainly focused on Apple’s iPod, iPhone and iPad. It gave a hint how Apple
captured the target market using push - pull strategies and pricing skimming.
PROBLEMS / CHALLENGES

During Apple’s venture it has overcome many of its problems or challenges. Its strategies were
revolutionized enough to overcome those challenges and introduced a new era of electronics and
technologies. Apple’s challenges seemed straight forward and thus it devised an effective and
efficient plan.
 The first challenge was to introduce a device way ahead of time with already established
forms of devices.
 The second challenge was categorizing its different products.
 The third challenge was to formulate the stages in developing its new products and
services.
 The fourth challenge to manage the generation of new product ideas, concept and strategy
development.
This is a case study of a successful company that still holds its position as one of the global
leaders of technologies. It’s a wonder that how Apple was able to blend in such a harmony with
the consumers having an expensive price tag in all of its products. This case study focuses on the
following questions.
1. Apple’s product launches over the past decade have been monumental. What makes the
company so good at innovation? Is anyone comparable to Apple in this respect?
2. How important was the iPod to Apple’s current success? Discuss the significance of the
iPhone and iPad launches to Apple’s new product development strategy.
3. What’s next for Apple? Should it continue to move away from computers and toward
more new handheld devices?

Today Apple has made a name for itself by becoming the first trillion-dollar company by
creating a value with introducing new market offerings.

Based on the given context a SWOT analysis can be developed. It features the core competencies
of Apple alongside the drawbacks it faces in today’s highly competitive market.
Figure: SWOT Analysis
SOLUTIONS

Apple’s product launches over the past decade have been monumental. What makes the
company so good at innovation? Is anyone comparable to Apple in this respect?
Apple is the leader in the market for introducing new product lines. It has changed the lifestyles
of people through its innovations. It has such a unique innovation skill that others can’t match it
in the market. Apple focused on incremental innovation, entered markets by tweaking products
for new customers, used variations on a core product to stay one step ahead of the market, and
created interim solutions.
Apple company has seen a large popularity over the decades. Their creativity and productivity
have been recognized all over the world. The company is always innovating something new and
refresh to attract their consumers. They understand the demands of the consumers and try to
fulfil the demand. Another thing is they maintain their marketing strategy as they know the 4 P’s
(Price, Place, Promotion, Product). They set the price according to their target market, they also
try marketing skimming strategy to maintain the target cost. They know the place so they keep
the distribution at large, they put diversification strategy in mind, they put online store facility.
They know how to promote their product by famous figures, they even tested Mac in 1983
before its launch as a test. And finally, they put feature which is unique than others which
attracts the consumers a lot.
There is still lots of competitors and new entrances in market but they have their competitive
advantage so there is no other comparable company at innovation. Porter’s Five forces analysis
respect to their competitive advantage is given below:
1. Competitive rivalry: There is a few competitors who came close to Apple’s unique
performance but still no one has outperformed it. Apple continuously monitor its
competitors activities.
2. Bargaining power of Buyers: Although there are lots of alternative choices for Apple’s
buyers but they still prefer it as no one has still came close to the uniqueness that is
offered by Apple.
3. Bargaining power of suppliers: They have high number of suppliers making an efficient
supply pool.
4. Threat of substitution: Although Samsung, Huawei are giving their best to outsmart
Apple, they are lagging behind because of Apple’s innovative strategy and great
creativity.
5. Threat of new entrants: There will always be threats of new entrants but Apple has
always one step ahead as they know the demand and willing to take risks.
In the past, Apple approached each innovation with positive attitude and maintained effective
teams to achieve their desired goals reducing strategic planning gap. Apple is way innovative
and creative in their own league which yet still has to surpass by other competitors. Thus, they
are still ahead in that respect. There’s a tagline for Apple products among the users/consumers
“It’s Apple”.

How important was the iPod to Apple’s current success? Discuss the significance of the
iPhone and iPad launches to Apple’s new product development strategy.
There are several processes that Apple followed in iPod development strategy.
 Idea generation
 Idea screening
 Marketing strategy development
 Business analysis
 Market testing
 Commercialization

The iPod was responsible for paving the way for other Apple devices and was the first indicator
towards Apple’s success. With its initial launch the company followed the same new product
development process that it still uses for products like iPhone and iPad. Beginning with idea
generation, screening, and concept development and testing, Apple could made the initial moves
to introduce the iPod to the market. Then they applied marketing strategy development, business
analysis, and product development to finalize the launch of the product. Lastly, they used market
testing and commercialization to spread product awareness and built a name for their brand.

Apple launched its iPod on October 23,2001. After launching iTunes iPod became revolutionary
as the iconic duo of portable music player just won millions of hearts. From then people buys
Apple products trusting them for new invention. It happened through the cyclic process of new
product adaptation.
 Awareness
 Interest
 Evaluation
 Trial
 Adoption
Now in the new product development process this iPhone and iPod launches have great
significance as it helped to find the consumers, always making them aware of new products and
inspiring them to give the product a go as they trust the innovative minds of this multinational
company.
What’s next for Apple? Should it continue to move away from computers and toward more
new handheld devices?
This case study focused on the events prior to 2010. At present, Apple has a massive product line
residing with breadth and depth (All product types are given in introduction and executive
summary). In the context, the question has been asked whether it should continue to move away
from computers and lean towards more new handheld devices. In single sentence the answer is
both yes and now. It totally depends on the company’s mission and vision.
If it’s mission is to create a huge profit margin constraining product mix then it should lean
towards handheld devices. As the company continues to grow and innovate itself questions arise
on from where to grow. Apple initially served as a computer company, but their most profitable
products have been consumer friendly handheld devices. In order to progress through the future,
Apple should look at expanding in both the direction of handle held devices that they have been
going and look for alternatives areas to gain profits. To market a new category of products, the
company should brainstorm. They need to take the next step to technology creating something
different that no other company has created. I think they could make something that we don’t
have to talk to our phone or maybe make it that we can just look at it.
CONCLUSION

This case study depicts the exponential rise of Apple. It has begun with the inception of iPod.
iPod paves the way for Apple to walk on the innovation zone and it motivates other companies to
do the same.
As one of the leading brands and one of the most profitable company Apple needs to keep
growing and make creative and unique product. Correct Marketing strategy will help this
company to grow even further. Customer demands is rising day by day and to meet the
expectations and reserving its brand value Apple has to come up with new products or add value
to its existing one. This case study shows how far Apple has grown and how to manage to
maintain its growth as the market is also growing with it.

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.
https://www.apple.com/business/
Kotler and Keller Marketing Management