Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Apple Company is counted among top ten innovative companies in USA. It is a branded company and is highly praised among all ages and races. The two main aspects that contribute to Apple Inc’s success are the quality of product and the local advertising, sales promotion, and the public relations.  

          

  Apple Company advertises aggressively and is shows their products down consumer’s throat, they put a lot of thought, effort, and time, not to mention money into ad and publicity campaigns. The advertisement of few minutes captures the attention of its target markets. It affects consumer’s daily lives, inform them about new products and services.  As the ad for iphone 5C (attached above) shows the featured new phone, various themes, the colorful image of the new phone, and most importantly involves all the different ages and races to convey the message that Apple tends to sale the product to everyone including all ages and races.

           

Apple Company uses two major types of advertising, which is: The institutional advertising and product advertising. Institutional Advertising- Apple Inc. uses institutional type of advertising to promote the corporation as a whole and its design, to maintain the company’s identity. As compare to the first commercial of Apple Inc that took place in the Super Bowl in 1984. It showed the Apple Company as in black and white color theme but promoted a unique idea “ THINK DIFFERENT”.

Where now, in 2013 the Apple Company changed its identity, became a brand, competitive company, and highly recommended company this all happened due to the strategy of institutional advertising. Now, Apple Company has a colorful image.

  The other type of advertising is the Product advertising. Unlike the institutional advertising, Apple Inc. also promotes the benefits of the new product invented and also those advertisements appeal to show the new features, quality, design, style, and advantage of better capacity as compare to old products and other competitive brands.

            After this huge comparison shown in the video clips, it can be said and easily agreed on that Apple products are beautiful, elegant, precise, and they are everywhere. Apple Inc does this through the advertising, which is done through every possible aspect to connect with the public and to introduce them to the upcoming new products. 

Apple spent about $200 billion on advertising of iphone 5C only. Apple advertise through television, internet, radio, billboards, posters, social networking websites( facebook, twitter), commercials, magazines, newspapers and many more ways. Every single advertising help the Apple brand create better public relations and attract more customers.

RETAILING- RITE AID VS. 99 CENT STORE.

      Rite Aid Corporation is one of the nations leading drugstore chains on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the USA. Rite Aid’s first store opened as thrift D Discount Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1962. And now Rite Aid has been extended to all over US. It approximately has 4,600 Rite Aid stores.

The Rite Aid I spot to visit is located at

2002 Avenue U

Brooklyn, New York 11229

(At the corner of avenue U and the OCEAN AVE).

Honestly, I  have visited this Rite Aid many times but this time , I went there with aspecific purpose to find out the reason behind the success and advantage of Rite Aid over all other stores like 99¢ store . I compared Rite Aid’s retailing techniques with the 99¢ store located right across from Rite Aid.

                                                              

 2000 Avenue U 

Brooklyn, New york 11229

1)   PLACE- Rite Aid is located right on the main street on the corner. This gives the store an advantage of attracting the customers passing by. Rite Aid’s name board attracts people due to the location. Rite Aid offers everyday’s products and services to help the customers lead to a healthier and happier lives. Rite Aid store itself is huge and for customer’s convenience provides them with driving spot. Where as, 99¢ is way smaller in size, does provide everyday products but not in big quantity nor doesn’t offer a lot of variety. 

 

       2)   PROMOTION- Rite Aid always has sales in different departments. It advertises the sales coupon the magazines. Rite Aid gives out a magazine advertising and article every weekend to prepare the customers maintain their budget for the following week and take out the coupons for the sales and to get advantage by using Rite Aid wellness card. Due to the wellness card and coupons together, the products can be purchased and very cheap price. On the other side, 99¢ doesn’t provide any discounts nor sends out the weekly magazines with coupons.

3)   PRODUCTS_ Rite Aid provides the customers with a wide range of the products. Not only it offers range of brands but also it sells the products in big quantities. Customers can easily purchase a wide variety of vitamins, beauty products, personal care items, basic household items, makeup, hair care products, and all kinds of candies and chocolates. 

                                                    Every products at Rite Aid is organized and has its own place. 

               

    

 Where in 99¢ store the products aren’t organized at all and nor are in wide variety.  

      The negative part in retailing of 99¢ store is that the products are placed outside the store for advertisement.

4)   PERSONNEL- In Rite Aid it's easy to find a staff around you, since they are always loading goods or cleaning and arranging something.Where in 99¢ store there is no uniform for the employees. And mainly the helper of the store is the cashier.

In Rite Aid the customer service alarms are placed near the products such as near the deodorants and are placed in very security.

Also, in Rite Aid there is staff wearing uniform of Rite Aid employee who can answer any question regarding products. They can also help the customers take off the product from the shelves. Where in 99 cent store the cashier is the staff itself and there is no uniform for them that distinguish them from the customers.

5)   PRICE- Rite Aid provides products in affordable prices and can help with discount through the wellness card.

Sometimes due the coupon and the wellness card+ and the sales the products can be purchased at very low prices.

  Where 99¢ has fixed prices plus always charges tax of  59¢ on every purchase.

I mainly liking purchasing things from Rite Aid because its cheap, and branded, and trust worthy.

CONSUMER DECISION MAKING

Why do people purchase Apple products and wait for the next innovative product?

            Apple Inc. is an innovative company that manufactures the products with promoting styles, durability, effective features, and easy to handle. As I read the chapter 6, I learned the term that explains consumer decision-making process, consumer behavior.

Apple Inc. is a premium brand company, which is recognized in the world. Its new products like iphone 5C, 5S are sold on retail price in many developed countries. Apple Company has an advantage of the quality and brand’s name over its competitors. Apple Inc. is ranked as one of the top technological company not only in US but also all over the world. When it comes to purchasing the Apple products, consumers are driven by social factors, cultural factors, and individual factors. Even though the products are bit expensive but people still balance to purchase them.

            Particularly, when buying the expensive products consumers generally follow the consumer decision-making process. I recently, purchased a new and first cell-phone in my life. During that time period I figured that I followed all the aspects of the process.

1)   Need Recognition- To stay in touch with my family and for calling purposes.

2)   Information Search- Iphones are sold widely around the countries and same like with galaxy. To reaserch which is more advanced and worth buying.

3)   Evaluation of alternatives and Purchase- Both of the cell-phones iphones and galaxy are new-featured, sold at high prices but due to new software IOS 7 took advantage over the galaxy.

4)   Postpurchase behavior- Iphones always satisfies its consumers. Just like for me as a consumer I expected few outcomes from iphone ,which it fulfilled. I wanted to have an option to text in my language other than ENGLISH. Where after my research I found out that galaxy doesn’t allow to text in certain language.

     The external stimulus of the consumers like me comes from a wide range of factors such as the continous innovation of the products. And to promote these productions, Apple advertise through all possible ways like from commerials, billboards, magazines, social media like facebook, twitter, youtube and many more. This advertising performs as a factor to spread the word around before the product is even launched. This forces the consumers to make the decision to purchase the new product from Apple Inc.

                        

DEVELOPING A GLOBAL VISION.

In chapter 5, we learned about the global marketing and impacts of multinational firms on the world economy. In previous chapter, a chart showed Apple Company to be on the second rank of the top ten innovative companies in the US. Apple Inc. is a worldwide well-known company. Apple Inc. make the products very much reliable, new-featured, uses beautiful material like aluminum, glass, advanced graphics, and very fast memory. This wide variety of qualities helps Apple.Inc marketing to expand in other countries too. An estimate count would be that Apple has around 28 stores in the UK, 28 in Canada, 231 in the U.S, and several stores in China, and many other countries. As a bottom line, Apple Inc has expanded their markets well beyond the United States borders.

   

            Apple Company is considered a multinational corporation. It develops their global business in stages. Apple Company has built its popularity in steps and still working on it through their new products like iphone4, 4S, 5, 5C and 5S. The steps involve of manufacturing of goods in other country, has evolved primarily Internet. This is the great strategy for Apple to have a global vision and strive for globalization. Apple has been building its overseas presence with its Apple retail stores but still needs to built stores in countries like Pakistan, where the products are being used but the retail stores aren’t present.

            A global marketing must consider the external environment. Apple Inc is a great example that operates with environmental factors, which include culture, language, demographics, political and economic structure and natural resources. Apple phones are manufactured with advanced features that handle the environmental factors of the other countries too. Like it has an option to operate iphones in other language other than English and through this positivity Apple Company develops a global vision and built its success.