https://www.signaturevideogroup.

com/2016/08/what-brands-can-learn-from-apples-shot-on-
iphone-campaign/

https://www.professionalacademy.com/blogs-and-advice/marketing-theories---the-marketing-
mix---from-4-p-s-to-7-p-s

 What was the campaign, and how was it successful?

Apple’s ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign has caught the advertising world by a bit of surprise. Not
only has the entire campaign generated over 15 million combined views on YouTube alone,
but it has kick started a new method of unique advertisements from user-created content.

What makes these short ads interesting, is apple spent virtually nothing to produce them.
Outside of a few minor color edits, a quick crop, a text overlay and a music track, these
spots were created by apple’s very own army – iPhone users.

 Which marketing theory can you link to this campaign?

Marketing is a continually evolving discipline and as such can be one that companies
find themselves left very much behind the competition if they stand still for too long.
One example of this evolution has been the fundamental changes to the basic
marketing mix of Apple. The company smartly determined products or the brand they
offer. 

Apple Inc.’s marketing mix (4P) indicates how the company matches its business activities
to the conditions of the global market for information technology, consumer electronics, and
online services.

The focus of the marketing mix is on the 4P variables, namely, Product, Place, Promotion,
and Price. In this business case, the marketing mix is specific to the technological nature of
Apple’s business. For example, the company’s 4Ps encompass multinational operations in
the consumer electronics market, the information technology market, the Internet services
market, and the digital content distribution market. Such diversity in operations brings Apple
Inc. in competition with a variety of firms, such as Google, Amazon.com, Samsung, Dell,
Lenovo, Sony, and PayPal, as well as Microsoft, IBM and Intel. These competitors are
known for their aggressiveness in innovation and marketing. As a result, Apple has a
marketing mix that involves various strategies and tactics that correspond to the
approaches of these other firms.

 What message is the advertiser trying to convey?

In 2015, Apple believed in their camera quality so much that they included
amateur videos in their ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign. The campaign, which
featured footage filmed with the iPhone camera, aimed to highlight the quality of
the Apple products.

The company’s foray into user-shot home videos began during the promotional rollout of the
iPhone 6. The videos submitted utilized the slow-mo and time-lapse features of the iPhone,
and all ended with the same frame. The videos cut to a white screen with the text ‘Shot on
iPhone 6’, followed by the videographer’s name and the Apple logo.

 Who is its target audience?

This model of generating low cost branded content is ingenious, but very limiting. Most
brands will have a hard time implementing user-submitted content. This model is almost
entirely restricted for brands who sell cameras/video devices because there are too
many additional steps. It’s hard to believe that a company who sells jeans is going to
ask consumers to film a video of ‘a day in their jeans’ because they just don’t know what
they’re going to get. Apple’s model is headlined by beautiful pictures and amazing
experiences, which some brands don’t have the ability to replicate.

While we love the idea behind Apple’s campaign, it certainly isn’t the only successful
way of producing branded content.
  Does the ad include a call to action?

Since this wasn’t the first time that the world was seeing the ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign,
Apple knew that the response was going to be considerably better. When looking at ways to
use this to an advantage, they established the campaign as a challenge for their customers.
iPhone photographers around the world shared their best photos for the Shot on iPhone
Challenge, capturing remarkable moments with the world’s most popular camera. The 10
selected winners will be featured on billboards in select cities, in Apple retail stores and
online. The winning shots came from a range of models, from iPhone XS Max to iPhone 7,
showcasing the quality of cameras across the line.

The winners came from countries including Singapore, Germany, Belarus, Israel and the
US, highlighting the global community of iPhone photographers out there. These photos
capture everything from colourful city scenery to curious animals and creative reflections.

 Given all of the visual elements (text, colors, images, etc.), audio elements (if
applicable), and advertising appeals, do you think the ad was effective? Why or why
not?

Overall, it is easy to observe that the “Shot on iPhone” campaign was a real success, solely
by focusing on the numbers which speak for itself. The campaign was mentioned by 24,000
opinion leaders, with 95% positive mentions and, estimated 6.5 billion media impressions.

In this example, Apple created the hashtag #shotoniphone to promote the social media
campaign on Instagram.

So far, the hashtag has 12.9 million posts – remember, this is brand exposure that Apple
hasn’t had to pay for directly.

This successful social media campaign has even spawned other hashtags from people
wanting to associate with the brand, such as #iphoneography, #iphotography,
#iphonephoto, and #shotoniphone12pro.

 What social networks did the campaign utilize?

Presently, #ShotOniPhone has been populated with more than 15 million posts (to date) on
Instagram alone and is arguably one of the most successful UGC campaigns that launched
an online movement which is relevant till today and is revived each year.
The meme from 2015 managed to stayed dormant for a few years until someone used the
format on TikTok. Pairing the ‘Shot on iPhone”‘text with an upbeat instrumental, people
started to share the real videos they shoot on their phones.

 Why was social media essential for this campaign?

All the large brands are using social media to achieve their business and marketing
objectives. One social media account has become a multipurpose solution for many
branding and marketing related needs. Businesses are using their social media accounts
to connect with their customers, run their campaigns, and discussions. Apple is among
the largest tech companies in the world. It is the first one to have surpassed the two
trillion dollar market cap. The tech industry is marked by heavy competition. A few
things have become crucial for a strong competitive advantage. One of them is brand
recognition, which can be achieved through successful marketing. Social media
platforms have emerged as a great marketing solution because of their reach and
efficiency. Networks like Facebook offer some great advantages, apart from access to a
large global audience. These features can be used to build great relationships, as well
as excellent and lasting connections. Apple has also used social media to deepen its
reach among its customers. Its number of followers on each of these platforms
highlights its popularity around the globe.

 Which social media network could the company add to this campaign? Why?

They could add advertisement of Facebook and Twitter since there are many users of both of this
platform. However, the biggest advantage to Apple not using Facebook and Twitter is the lack of
negative comments from users clogging their feeds. Users are still able to tweet at Apple but nobody
besides that user’s followers are going to see it. If Apple would have published a statement about this
on Facebook, you could imagine the amount of negative comments it would have received. If this would
have happened to any other company, you would have expected a response and how they will fix it.
However, since Apple isn’t active on Facebook or Twitter, there was no waiting period. People knew that
Apple wasn’t going to post or tweet about it.

It’s true – Twitter has its problems, but in certain cases and contexts, it truly is the best
ad platform you'll find – though ultimately it will depend on what you hope to accomplish.

But Twitter offers some unique ad targeting features you won't find anywhere else.
These are the unicorns in a sea of donkey ad features.

Don't get me wrong –Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, and Bing Ads will also a great
platform for Apple’s campaign. These advertising platforms all do a ton of things
fantastically well.