Strategy and Positioning Paper
Breialle Coleman, Graham Potter, and Sherrelle McCloud
Instructor Davis
MKT/421
October 2, 2014

Beats Electronics was formally established in 2008 by, Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre (Andre’ Young) rapper and producer. Consumers can purchase premium headphones, ear buds, and speakers which include beats audio patented software technology. They also offer a subscription service for streaming music; no other headphone company has this ability. Beats popularity was due to marketing practices centered on product placement and branding deals with some of the most popular celebrities. In August of 2014 Beats sold to Apple Inc. for 3 billion in cash and stock, making this deals the largest acquisition in Apple’s history. Beats Electronics, marketed under Beats by Dre, is now a division of Apple Inc. Beats produces audio products such as speakers and headphones. The newest product to be released is The Pill, which is a portable speaker that is wireless, loud and has Bluetooth capability. A SWOT analysis is used in business as a general method of identifying opposition for a new venture or strategy. SWOT is an acronym for strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. This allows a business owner to identify the positive and negative element that may affect any new proposed action plan.
Strengths
Monster cable is a globally recognized company known for superior audio equipment. The fact that monster owns part of the Beats products, Monster can network internationally, giving consumers in other countries easier access to their products. The endorsement of Dr. Dre alone is also strength; Dr. Dre is known for being a perfectionist during producing and being a hip hop artist. Jimmy Lovine is the chairman of Interscope Geffen A & M records and he also is a former producer. He has connections and access to come of today’s top musicians and has done a great job at getting them to endorse Beats products. The design is also a key strength; they have a sleek appearance that caters to the new and “hip” trendy consumers.
Weakness
The only weakness Beats by Dre has is the price of the product. Product prices range from 150 to 600 US dollars. Which modest consumers are probably not willing to pay regardless of the quality of the product?

Threats Since the creation of Beats by Dre has been very popular with consumers because of its excellent sound and cutting edge design as well as its popular celebrity co-signers. This in return has prompted other audio-ware companies to follow the same marketing techniques, which is heavily celebrity endorsements. Other celebrities are now pairing up with other audio companies to create similar products to Beats by Dre. Hip Hop Mogul Jay-z has paired up with Skull Candy to create RocNations Aviator headphones. Other threats would be from other companies that might sell similar products for a cheaper price. Counterfeit products can also be a threat to a well-established brand because it can hurt marketing by creating distrust with consumers.
Opportunities
By creating external relationships Beats by Dre has created external opportunities. By creating partnerships with other companies, such as, HTC, Chrysler, and HP, Beats by Dre is able to show product diversity, and cannot be labeled just another headphone company.

One of the beats by Dre competitor is Sync by 50, which is a line of head phones by 50 cent. Sync by 50 head phones came out in the year of 2011. Sync by 50 headphones has an adjustable head band to make the fit more comfortable for all of their customers. They also have different control buttons that are on the outside of the ear part on the head phones to control things such as the volume, play, and pause buttons. The company claims that when the head phones are fully charged, the customer can listen to music for about 17 hours long. The price for the headphones costs are about up to $400. The customer can