Apple Inc. continues to be one of the most recognizable tech companies in the world with immensely high brand value and consumer loyalty. Such a prominent presence has distinct influences in different geographical regions as Apple Inc. tries to expand further and turn more countries into selling points. The company’s expansion has been driven by local culture and sentiment. Still, Apple Inc. stays true to its mission and values while conquering emerging markets. This essay is going to discuss in detail the US and German regions and a number of unique approaches Apple Inc. has taken while trying to position itself in different markets. The core characteristics of the company’s presentation have remained the same in order to fit the narrative of Apple’s brand identity based on simplicity and innovation. Differences include adaptation and promotion as the company has faced different barriers and powerful competitors in each market.
Apple Inc. originated in America, which is one of the reasons why it remains the largest market generating most of the company’s revenue. The tech business was started decades ago by Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, who first made computers by hand and sold them to businesses and individual customers (Weinberger and Hartmans, 2020). The immense success of the first computers proved the potential profitability of launching another business venture, including numerous web-products and Internet-services. Nowadays, Apple Inc. is one of the biggest businesses in the world, which explains the company’s contribution to the US economy. The start-up specializing in computer technologies in the 1970s did not interest a lot of investors or the general public, who were unfamiliar with most of the innovations (Weinberger and Hartmans, 2020). Windows operating system (OS) became one of the most prominent competitors of Apple Inc. After the introduction of the smartphone, companies like Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola persisted in taking the leading position in the growing telephone market. America started to change slowly, and Apple Inc. had to find their target market as well as practical ways to promote and position their products in the growing tech industry.
Apple Inc. targeted medium to high-income individuals since the company’s executives made a decision to integrate exclusivity into their marketing strategy (Kulkarni, 2016). Apart from premium pricing, Apple Inc. focused on simplicity and high-quality user experience in their positioning on the market (Kulkarni, 2016). The company usually got public attention because of revolutionizing and innovative products. However, the persona of Steve Jobs served as an excellent instrument for increasing brand recognition (Kulkarni, 2016). Apple Inc. managed to attract loyal customers by being open-minded and nurturing the ideas of diversity and inclusivity (Apple Inc.). The company’s promotion and positioning were based largely on market segmentation and consistent innovations.
Apple Inc. proved to be a successful global, multinational enterprise, but one of the first expansions of the company was Europe. Germany, for example, had one of the highest GDP per capita (Goecke and Hüther, 2016, p. 167), which made it perfect for premium prices of Apple products. Entering a new, highly demanding German market was not easy for Apple Inc., and the number of competitors had significantly increased since the introduction of new online services. Apple Inc. was highly criticized for failing to utilize the faster capabilities of European wireless networks (Pfanner, 2007). In order to adapt to a new target market, the company’s executives introduced product differentiation and pricing strategies to maintain an exclusive brand image (Payne, 2017, p. 53).
Apple Inc. faced a new consumer demographic and had to analyze the ‘American’ system in order to optimize it to fit the German market. Germans were sophisticated consumers familiar with the latest technological innovations (Pfanner, 2007). Minimalistic advertising campaigns and strong consumer loyalty remained some of the integral parts of Apple’s success in emerging European markets (Payne, 2017, p. 51). Therefore, Apple Inc. used a similar ecosystem to the one in the United States and continued to make a spectacle out of new product launches and leverage its leading position in the technology industry.
Reference List
- Apple Inc. Web.
- Goecke, H. and Hüther, M. (2016) ‘Regional convergence in Europe’, Intereconomics, 51, pp. 165-171. doi: 10.1007/s10272-016-0595-x 167
- Kulkarni, C. (2016) ‘10 things you need to learn from Apple’s marketing’, Entrepreneur. Web.
- Payne, B. (2017) ‘Brand positioning and its usefulness for brand management: the case of Apple Inc.’, Newcastle Business School Student Journal, 1(1), pp. 51-57. Web.
- Pfanner, E. (2007) ‘IPhone introduced to Europe, where standards differ’, New York Times, Web.
- Weinberger, M. and Hartmans, A. (2020) ‘Apple just celebrated its 44th birthday. Here’s how it came to rule the world, from its early struggles to beat Microsoft to the launch of the iPhone’, Business Insider. Web.