Ch. 16 - Integrated Marketing Communications

The main goal for any company is to make a certain profit through the open market by putting a product or service out to the public in hopes that the public will consume it. The way of putting you're product out there is through promotions. A promotion is communication by  marketers that informs, persuades, and reminds potential buyers of a product in order to influence an opinion or response. The ultimate responce being to go out and buy that product.

Phil Schiller : senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc

Apple uses two primary methods of promotional strategies towards its public. The first being advertising. In fact Phil Schiller (senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc) revealed that Apple spent $933 million on advertising during 2011. Meanwhile their second main method of promotional strategy being personal selling. Apple Stores are home to many young and knowledgeable sales representatives who are trained thoroughly in both product information and customer service. With the release of new products and upgrades the company produces every few months or so, it is important for sales representatives to stay abreast of the latest technologies entering the market. Walking into any Apple Store you will realize that employees are often young and most likely fall within the Generation Y or X age range. Today, technology explosion has caused people to either accept the new changes or quickly fall behind. The employees of Apple, however, grew up in this technology era so they have quickly adapted to making them the perfect retail employee.

Apple uses these promotional strategies to adapt the concept of AIDA. AIDA is an acronym that stands for attention, interest, desire, and action.

Apple gets you're attention through its websites creative graphics and global headlights mostly including a highly aticipated product or institutional advertising for the company. Take its "New" ipad campaign for example the trailer for the Ipad tries to get the consumer interest by telling you things such as "best display ever on a mobile device" or "state of the art camera lenz".

The trailer then goes on to tell you about its software features such as social network apps, stock market app, and communication methods the product in equiped with.

Apple's form of exacuting the AIDA method has apperently worked out with the third generation Ipad selling 3million units in just its first weekend. Mind you the starting price for the New Ipad was $599 at the time.