Apple Corporation
A Successful Enterprise That Changed the Electronic Industry
Here is a true story about Apple’s success. Although Apple was established over thirty years ago, it became popular in China during the past five years. This could be linked to the fact that the most popular products of Apple, the iPhone and the iPad, came out about five years ago. For me, I became a big fan of Apple at that period of time. I remember that when I was in high school in China, one of my friends got a new iPhone from America (At that time, iPhone was not available in China), and he brought it to school. The first time I looked at the iPhone, I thought it was strange, because it was so huge to be a mobile phone at that time. However, I fell in love with iPhone immediately. When my friend lent his iPhone to me to use for a while, I found it so powerful. I began to dream of having an iPhone, soon then, I got the chance. During one summer in high school, I participated in a summer camp to America. When I came to America, the first thing on my mind is that I want to buy an iPhone. Then I finally got my first iPhone. As time has passed, Apple went on to create the new iPhone 5. I still want to buy a new one, but I like my first one more.
Therefore, here are some questions to ask about how Apple made us so crazy about its products, and how Apple became so successful in recent years? The answer is that Apple did well in innovation and technology and it has the greatest strategies in marketing campaigns, which is what I am going to talk about in my research essay.
My topic is mainly about the success of Apple Inc. and the strategies it uses in marketing, and how Apple campaigns against its competitors. Here, it is also argued that the success of the iPhone was based on Apple’s conception of the mobile Internet as being another modality of the existing wired Internet and it’s leveraging of existing systems competencies. It is demonstrated how a promise to deliver the “real Internet” was a core part of Apple’s original strategy (Joel and Michael 1). Therefore, I will point out that the cores of Apple’s success are technology and innovation. Apple’s advanced technologies in mobile devices and computers make competitors follow its steps and there have been several patent conflicts between each other in recent years. Apple has influenced its industry because others have understood the importance of technology and innovation.
Then, I would like to present some backgrounds of my topic.
Apple Inc. is an American, multinational corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products are the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Its software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and production suites. Established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated January 3, 1977, the company was named Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years. The word "Computer" was removed from its name on January 9, 2007, as its traditional focus on personal computers shifted towards consumer electronics. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012. As of July 2011, Apple has 364 retail stores in thirteen countries as well as the online Apple Store and iTunes Store. It is the largest publicly-traded corporation in the world by market capitalization, with an estimated value of $626 billion as of September 2012. It is furthermore the largest technology company in the world by revenue and profit, earning more than Google and Microsoft combined. As of September 24, 2011, the company had 60,400 permanent full-time employees and 2,900 temporary full-time employees worldwide; its worldwide annual revenue in 2010 totaled $65 billion, growing to $108 billion in 2011.
Apple brand’s customer loyalty is