Analysis of An Ad Campaign: Apple Ipad Advertising
Getting ideas for Advertising Campaign is the most difficult part. In the beginning, one looks at their own reaction to some new technology with some interest. However, beyond a certain age, it gets difficult to garner the same interest for a new change. The insecure advertising agencies particularly practice a mini-version of crowd sourcing all the time. They are threatened with a creative review or are up against a tight deadline. Getting ideas is not only difficult, but it difficult to sell them too (Jeremy, 2012). They need to package by the creative directors and promoted by someone professional. Moreover, the personal authority must have the trust to shoulder the risk.
TV remains the most cost-effective and popular vehicle reaches out to masses. Faced with slow economic recovery and higher competition from other players, Apple needs to put more efforts in its ads to deliver the message and break through the clutter. The customers should feel motivated to learn about the products. The future marketing efforts will rely on some Key Strategic Initiatives that should work to increase product relevancy, increase consumption frequency and optimize resources (Ken, 2010). It should also work on improving the price and value relationship of the product. The advertising campaign needs to incorporate all strategic initiatives to ensure successful marketing programs.
The tablet market is ultra-competitive and the tablet ad wars are always on (Matthew, 2012). Apple faces real competition, what with the arrival some serious rivals that seem to be growing in numbers all the time. Each of these companies’ are seen to spend huge amounts on advertising. Amazon's Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7 manufacturer Asus claim to have sold millions of devices.
The global media spend of Microsoft is already pushing the £1 billion mark. Apple’s mini tablet computer was announced in 2012. It competes with the equally sized Kindle Fire and iPad mini. The Nexus ad branding is heavily male that shows a father and son on a camping trip. Apple's latest, miniaturized iteration of the iPad, iPad mini, is twice the price of the Kindle Fire, its main rival. The iPad mini is smaller and cheaper version of the iPad and is certainly more portable. It is well-matched with all 275,000 apps in the App Store, as its screen resolution is the same as the iPad and iPad 2.
Apple has been its worst enemy itself, as per the advertising experts. It has launched the iPad mini, a fourth large iPad, new iPod touch range and a new iPhone. Despite a high-profile TV campaign the difficult economic times and tougher competition could affect sales.
It was Apple's desire to offer a more portable iPad for people and thus the iPad Mini was born. The tablet is more portable for people, especially when we find that the full-size iPad can really get in the way. In the ad campaigns, we find Apple making it seem as though the Mini is the same in every way to its larger iPad. However, things are different. For instance, its dual-core processor is not as strong as the iPad (Goyer, 2013). The Mini Wi-Fi-only models do not have built-in GPS and you need to pay $100 for the upgrade. You will not get the amazing colors that you see on the Apple's full-size tablet, as the retina display is missing in the Mini. However, the display on the Mini is really nice and an upgrade from the first-generation iPad.
Apple’s mini tablet computer (7.9 inches) was announced on Oct 23, 2012 with a starting price of $329 (16GB). The internal specifications are similar to the iPad 2. The new billboard ad campaign flaunts not just the iPad mini, but also the shared library of 300,000 apps (Apple Insider, 2013). The new ads depict a series of creative applications with simple headline and highlights a specific category of apps. The new ad also draws attention to Apple's strong software lead way ahead of its competitors like Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry and other mobile platforms. We see that Apple's iPhone and iPad ads are more focused on the functionality.
iPad Air
The new commercial from Apple entitled “Your Verse Anthem,’ was aired on January 2014 and it shows how people from different strata of life rely on iPad for various needs (Think Marketing Magazine, 2014). The voiceover from the film “Dead Poets Society” in the ad carries a very serious tone, arguing the need for poetry and love over business and engineering. Back in October 2013, Apple ran a ’Pencil’ television spot that flaunted the use of in expeditions, Boardrooms, classrooms and in space. The ad campaign for the iPad Air shows extraordinary use of the tablet in a number of different situations. The groundbreaking nature of the iPad as a digital life companion is portrayed in the ad as we see mountaineers, biologists, choreographers, athletic trainers, filmmakers, making good use of the iPad.
"The power of lightness” phrase was use by Apple to promote iPad Air, for its new, thinner and light weight design.
The ad focuses on 20 per cent thinner size than the previous generation iPad 4. A product of crash diet, it is just 7.5mm with a ground-breaking design and feels very different, yet comfortable in hands.The Earlier iPad Ad Campaigns1 . iPad The ad for iPad were released on Apr 3, 2010.
“Meet the iPad” was created by the Advertising Agency: TBWA/Media Arts Lab, USA and released under the category of Computers & Computer Accessories, Home appliances. The TV commercial with Apple have always been a great hit.The words on Apple's iPad ad were brilliantly used like - Read it, Tweet it, Be Productive, Make A Sale, Make It Movie Night, Play A Game, Or An Old Favorite, Make Some Lunch, Do It All More Beautifully, etc.Print ads: We saw print ads for iPad in The New York Times, The Economist, Time, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, etc.
Advertisers showed great interest in iPad introduction and FedEx bought advertising space on the iPad applications from Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, etc. The inevitable buzz around the iPad has always managed to live long. Advertisers such as Korean Air, Toyota Motor Fidelity and Unilever booked space on Time’s iPad.
Outdoor ads:
2. iPad 2The ad for iPad2 was released on Mar 11, 2011.
TV commercials: The iPad2 enjoyed 4 TV spots - “We’ll Always” ”We believe” ”If You Asked” ”Now”. The TV ad released by Apple three weeks after the iPad 2 hit stores, takes issue with technology. The message was simple and the customers got the message that the faster, thinner, lighter ipad2 becomes even more delightful with a simple to use technology. The ad got close to 1.5 million views.
TBWA\Media Arts Lab is the long-time Apple ad agency that is known for its consistence style. The new ad is quite similar to Apple’s first iPad ad that featured a close-up of a finger. The demand for the new product from Apple soon grew strong and Apple sold out the product on the weekend it was released.
The new iPad 2 commercial shows how the device is changing people’s lives and is improving with every version.
Outdoor ads: The phrase -Thinner. Lighter. Faster was used by apple.com to introduce the iPad 2 and promote it.
3. iPad 3
iPad 3 was released on Mar 16, 2012 and was marketed as “The new iPad”. The Retina display was the ads.
The new iPad 3 looks very impressive with new features, although we see that not much has changed in terms of designing, but the iPad 3looks impressive in the ad with its new features. There is an upgrade on speed, power, graphics, etc. The ad focuses solely on the retina display, something that sets the iPad apart from the other tablets in market.
Outdoor ads:
4. Apple iPad mini
Apple iPad mini was launched in a number of countries. In order to stimulate the lukewarm response the new Apple iPad mini got, Apple released a television advertisement titled Piano. The ad iPad mini ad targeted middle to upper class masses and particularly the students and business people, aged 18-35, that were technological savvy. The ads were targeting existing iPad customers who want to upgrade their device and are price-sensitive too.
In the advertisement, we find the 4th generation iPad running Garage Band and then later, together with the iPad mini, we find both being used to play a two-hand duet. The song that is played in the ad is a classic called Heart and Soul.
“Two of a Kind” Apple places the iPad mini side by side with the full-size iPad in the new ads and thus highlighting that the mini tablet is every inch an iPad.
The two new ads are titled “Photos” and “Books,” after the two forms of media that are used in the ads to highlight the sameness of function concurrent with the difference in size between the iPad and the iPad mini.
“I’ll Be Home” One can always be home, no matter where they are with Face Time on the iPad Mini.
Print ads:
Print ads for Apple’s iPad Mini appeared on the back covers of five different national magazines like the New Yorker, Wallpaper, Surfer, Time, and Wired. The ad campaign by TBWA Media Arts Lab won the Grand Prix in press.
Apple’s great iPad mini print ad campaign won the Grand Prix in the press category.
Outdoor ads:
Apple's ad agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab placed outdoor ads around the country that highlighted several suites of artistic and niche apps, including Pinterest, iTunes and national magazines like Rolling Stone.
Overview of the Ad Campaigns
We find Apple has introducing a new billboard ad campaign flaunting not just the iPad and iPad mini, but also pulling attention to their shared library of 300,000 apps. The headline differs on each billboard and uses different words and images for the apps. Apple's top marketing person, Phil Schiller emphasizes on the difference between an app optimized for the Apple iPad and the same app on an Android tablet.
As per Magazine Radar, Apple has not run a single advertisement in magazine for the iPad since July 2011. However, Apple has aggressively insisted magazine publishers to use the iPad as a publishing platform. We find many winning campaigns of iPad surfacing in the magazines, print media, TV and billboard. Responsive design is great and many advertisers identify iPad owners as an exclusive segment of population now, with different spending habits. Enhanced Campaigns only lead the iPad user segment to be romanced.
If we look at the recent head to head ad campaigns between Apple and its competitors, we find that the ads carries their strengths and weaknesses. Their ability to influence to varies. We find these ad campaigns certainly grabbing the interest of their customers and worth remembering. You have to show your superiority over your competitors and redefine your positioning.
Apple certainly knows its competitors and its lacks the value proposition advantages. This is the reason why we find the ads talking about comparison to the original Apple iPad, thus targeting the original customers. An excellent and smart move! Apple ad campaigns are relevant to its target market that is connected technology users. This is an advantage it has over the other competitors like Kindle market. Apple ads have always managed to hold viewer interest, be it in TV, print or out on the Bill boards. People like to watch Apple ads as it interests them. In terms of innovation and legacy experience, Apple certainly has advantages over its competitors in those areas. This helps it to create a unique selling position that truly discriminates its products from the competition.
Apple ads are also known for their simple, short messages that makes it easier for the people to understand. The simplicity of messages and great visuals do a great job here. Apple has the advantage with the market of users that already own an Apple product, but may fail to inspire yet to get an experience with Apple. These commercials do appeal to the emotional to a degree and this is one of the key secrets of Apple’s commercial success.
One should remember that it is not what advertising does with the consumer; rather, what the consumer does after seeing the advertisement. We find that Apple ads and commercials have been very effective for different target audiences.
Conclusion
Apple is facing tough competition from its competitors and is likely to expand its marketing efforts to take on the growing competition. With the addition of four new ad agencies, the new groups will focus on digital strategy and user experience. However, TBWA/Media Arts Lab still works for Apple. The creative staff will try to strengthen its internal marketing team as Apple tries to catch up to Samsung, its main rival that dominates it in media strategy with those edgy ads as well as in ad spending (iPhone Hacks, 2014). The television commercial and billboards and the print media have always been a favorite with Apple. The latest episode in this rivalry is the Samsung’s Grad Pool Party ad another dig at Apple; to promote their latest smartphone in May 2013. Apple has not been quick to respond with an ad campaign and was probably hinting that they were not too bothered with Samsung’s tactics.
Apple began its stint with advertising way back with the most successful campaigns- Think different. It has many notable advertisements and have maintained a certain contemporary style of focusing on the art of telling the customers about its products. Other well-known ad campaigns include the 2000s "iPod People", etc.
Apple's advertising though did come under criticism for supposedly copying creative works or making inaccurate depictions of product. For example, 2005 iPod campaign -"Detroit" was condemned for its similarity to Lugz boots. In July 2007, Louie Psihoyos, the Colorado-based photographer filed suit against Apple for using his videos" imagery to advertise Apple TV. More recently, the techno giant has been criticized for depicting its iPhone ads for much faster network speeds than us realistically possible on current network infrastructure. In 2012 Apple risked paying millions of dollars in fine in Australia, for branding its 2012 iPad to be 4G capable, when ti wasn’t with Australia's 4G network.
Apple still carries the most important metric and that is its market share. There are 41.3 percent of Apple users in U.S. as compared to 27 percent for Samsung. The Holy Grail for advertising today is to become part of culture and meaningful. The best brands like Apple sure get that right and try to aim even higher.
Reference List:
Think Marketing Magazine. “Apple Airs New iPad Air Commercial”. 2014. Available at: http://thinkmarketingmagazine.com/index.php/apple-airs-new-ipad-air-commercial-your-verse-anthem/
Apple Insider. “Apple's new iPad ad campaign promotes 300,000 apps "for everything you love"”. 2013. Available at: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/02/16/new-apple-ad-campaign-promotes-300000-apps-for-everything-you-love.
iPhone Hacks. “Apple hiring new ad agencies to battle Samsung’s marketing campaigns”.Available at: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/02/16/new-apple-ad-campaign-promotes-300000-apps-for-everything-you-love.
GOYER, R. 2013. We Fly the iPad Mini. New York: Bonnier Corporation.
JEREMY, B. 2012. On the Campaign couch with Jeremy Bullmore. Campaign Asia - Pacific, p.Newspaper Article.
KEN, K. 2010. Anatomy Of An Ad Campaign. Willoughby: Meister Media Worldwide.
MATTHEW, C. 2012. Who will win the tablet ad wars this Christmas? Teddington: Haymarket Business Publications Ltd.
