Marketing Communications Mix: Apple vs. Samsung

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Executive Summary

The universal laptop industry is very competitive, and firms that cannot with stand the level of competition are forced to leave the market. In the upcoming years, variations in the new-fangled expertise and marketplace orders will transform the PC business standing.

The demands for low-priced laptops will increase the number of market competitors, hence forcing laptop producing companies such as Apple Inc and Samsung to change their marketing strategies and business models to be successful. The commonly used IMC mix include direct marketing and personal selling, e-marketing, sales promotion, and advertising.

This paper offers a literature review on the integrated marketing communication (IMC) mix, as well as a review of the laptop industry market. Finally, the paper compares the IMC strategies used by Samsung and Apple Inc to market their products to dominate the laptop industry.

Introduction

The universal laptop industry has become very competitive over the last few decades. To the computer manufacturers, a laptop is a moveable small mainframe that an individual can place on the lap and use. Whereas the industry for PC (personal computers) started in the fiscal 1970, Osborne 1, which was the earliest portable commercial computer, became feasible in the year 1981.

The successive full-size affair in laptops narration materialized in the fiscal 1995. After that, Intel and Microsoft were accredited as the traditional makers of Intel laptops (hardware) and Windows (software) that are still being applied in personal computer production.

In the last fifteen years, the increased hardware life, consumer mobility preference, and the escalating performance-price ratios have made laptop growth rate to surpass the number of desktops. The market value for the universal PC industry is anticipated to rise by 5.40% annually from the fiscal 2007 to 2012, and laptops are projected to be the key contributing segment for the PC industrial growth (Dalal & Shah, 2009).

While the slow economic growth might hinder the growth rate for the PC industry, the laptop sector faces stiff rivalry from technologies and novel devices (See graphs and tables in the appendix).

Laptop Industry Market Review

In the universal laptop industry, novel technologies including HVDs (hosted virtual desktops) and cloud computing have emerged and altered the laptop industry requirements. Currently, the laptop industry has moved to the less powerful wirelessly networked laptops from the powerful stand-alone laptops.

In fact, the adoption of these advanced technologies by various PC manufacturers has made the laptop sector to be controlled by five market competitors. When arranged in the ascending order, the competing top five-laptop manufacturers include Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard (HP).

Apple Inc has been attaining dominant market share when the top ten-laptop manufacturers are mutually evaluated (Dalal & Shah, 2009, p.2).

However, when other laptop manufacturers such as Samsung, Lenovo, and Windows PCs are compared to Apple Inc, it emanates that the latter company (Apple) is globally recognized and has gained a huge market share because it has an affirmative brand status.

Hewlett-Packard, with respect to the universal personal computers volume, is currently the market leader with 18.90% and Dell Corporation, which has 15.50%, closely trails it (Dalal & Shah, 2009, p.3). MSI and ASUSTek are the renowned Taiwanese corporations that produce netbook in the laptop segment.

In the last few years, these Taiwanese netbook corporations have produced and successfully marketed their products hence increasing their market shares across the globe.

To continue being the principal marketplace directors, the key five-laptop makers are notorious of contributing the major sensational qualities or features (see the diagram below and appendices for graphs and additional information).

Table 2: Percentage of users of different brands that have attained a 4-year degree or higher

Percentage of users of different brands that have attained a 4-year degree or higher

In the laptop segment, the manufacturers of PCs have continuously improved their growth rates partly because of the netbooks and global market growths. However, the laptop industry will continue to face a decline in the profitability margin.

The future demand for laptops and netbooks is uncertain thus necessitating that manufacturers should increasingly adopt the integrated marketing communication mix to focus and market their services as well as products of the laptop industry (Dalal & Shah, 2009, p.3).

The marketing communication tools commonly used by laptop manufacturers include online product placement and advertising. These marketing communication tools have helped firms in the laptop industry to build strong brand images with clients and influence stakeholders info processing.

The internet and rapid technological development have unveiled various online marketing communication opportunities for laptop market marketers. Whereas the customary approach to marketing communication was founded on the single-way client and marketer communication, marketing communication has improved due to the two-way interactive media process.

For instance, the two-way marketing communication enables marketers to receive contingent and immediate responses and actions from the consumers. In fact, the internet as an interactive medium influences the consumers’ perceptions thus changing the marketing communication process (Mahyari 2010, p.9).

As a novel marketing tool, the internet enables laptop manufacturers to communicate and distribute services and products to the global consumers. The internet has the interactivity capacity, which enables it to serve various marketing functions in comparison with conventional promotion (Belch & Belch, 2006).

The association and interactions amid marketers and consumers become rather complex when the internet is used as a marketing communication. To most laptop-producing corporations, the promotional mix incorporates online marketing communication.

The use of internet to market products has increased to 305.50% in the last 8 years. In the global space, Web advertising rapidly grew to accumulate over 5.80 billion in the financial year 2008 (Mahyari 2010, p.9).

Advertising via media channels such as newspapers, TVs, radios, and online is a major way to communicate products and services to the consumers. In fact, advertising is a recognized marketing tool that can be used to build a strong brand image with potential clients, and it is equally cost effective.

Advertising assists in building brand image as well as differentiating the company’s brands from those of other market competitors hence creating brand awareness. The short commercial messages used in advertising generate interests and attention of the consumers by interrupting their activities.

The messages are entertaining, informative, and brief (Mahyari 2010, p.9). Advertising may include advert-gaming, poster promotion, online, TV, radio, and newspaper brand placement.

Entertainment marketing or product placement is another marketing communication mix use to promote products (Mahyari 2010, p.9). This marketing communication tool helps the marketers to change the consumers brand attitudes by enhancing their brand awareness. Product placement makes the consumers to be familiar with a particular brand and be able to remember the product.

Literature Review

Integrated marketing communication (IMC) has been conceptualized as the business process that is consultative (Kliatchko 2008, p.142). In other words, it purposefully deals with the stakeholders’ interest or contribution, channels and the results of the brand communication programs. This conceptualized framework of IMC is more encompassing and provides a broader understanding of the concept of the IMC.

Essentially, IMC approach to business planning is characterized by the vitality it offers to various audiences or simply the public for instance the customers and business prospects (Kliatchko 2008, p.142). The clientele or the projections are the central dynamic strengths for every judgment that an industry formulates.

The IMC concept is to be considered customer oriented and demand driven (Kliatchko 2008, p.142). That is, IMC is a business process that has an outward-looking orientation. It has moved away from the inward-looking mindset that traditional organizations used to apply while managing their marketing communication (Kitchen & De Pelsmacker, 2004).

As opposed to traditional approaches to marketing communications, IMC applies the one-to-one marketing strategies as well as the relational model. In addition, IMCs applies business and marketing strategies that are consumer focused.

The IMC mix enables organizations market their products based on the consumer benefits and customer relations (De Pelsmacker et al., 2004). Thus, IMC business process focuses on customer retention and fact based marketing.

These are not the only attributes of IMC. In fact, IMC put into consideration the consumers, convenience, consumer cost and communication while marketing products and services. The principle of IMC is based on consumer dialogue, targeted communications, and mindset to the multiple, interactive, relevant, digital contact points, and media neutrality (Kliatchko 2008, p.144).

Instead of chocking the audiences with the advertising messages as seen in the conventional communication mindset, IMC focuses on building strong brand and customer relationships. IMC focuses on the extra value proposition, behavioral, and accountable measures (De Pelsmacker et al., 2004).

As can be observed, IMC is data driven and customer-centric (Fill, 1999). The IMC business process approach should be understood from the development of its target audience as the guiding principle in determining the marketing and branding objectives as well as strategies.

In other words, the business process of IMC is the demand driven business model. IMC understands and manages the whole customers experience including their needs, desires, wants, and behavior in the market (Kliatchko 2008, p.143). Therefore, it aligns the entire organization to meet the customer requirements.

Regardless of the fact that IMC concept has received much criticism, the IMC initiative is welcomed and acknowledged by most leading writers and theorists in the field of marketing. The scholars dedicate most of their writings to IMC avowing that the concept has replaced the phrase marketing communication.

This derivative theory or IMC is currently diffused making it to be generally executed by various firms and global marketing agencies. Despite the approaches of IMC being widely developed, it is apparent that the concept is still in its premature development phases (Pickton & Broderick, 2005).

Critical Analysis and Discussion

Apple Inc and Samsung have been the budding and the most competing firms in the laptop industry. Manufacturing quality, modernized, and inexpensive laptops provide both the companies with podiums through which their values are shared among customers.

Samsung and Apple Inc embrace the values of one’s abilities, pursuit of excellence, competitive spirit, sense of fair play, as well as the building of a more-peaceful and better world. The marketing strategies for these companies are founded on these values.

The companies have adopted various marketing communication tactics aimed at beating other market competitors. Apple and Samsung use various promotional, advertising, and public relations strategies to continuous build their brand images.

Marketing communication mix

During global business operations, Apple Inc and Samsung use various marketing communication mix to inform, convince, remind, and motivate their consumers about their respective brands (Keller 2001, p.821).

The advertising communication mix drawn on by both the corporations denotes the say-so of the brand name and the mode in which the business can launch a discourse with its clientele with reference to merchandise offerings.

Marketing communication mix used by Samsung Laptop Company provides comprehensive products information to the consumers and the reason why the company is identified with such products (Keller 2001, p.821).

Advertising

Advertising is used directly by both Samsung and Apple Inc to persuade the target prospects with the least cost possible selling message. Samsung has used a variety of media channels in its advert campaigns that are selected according to the frequency, reach, and the impact on the target audience.

Two of the advertising campaign slogans that the Samsung Company launched to market its laptop are, “No It Doesn’t Take a Genius,” and “The Next Big Thing is Already Here” (WeKnowMemes, 2012).

The slogans have been included in all TV adverts, newspapers, and online marketing campaigns to target both younger and older generations. Unlike Apple Inc, Samsung adverts are designed to connect each generation to quality, modernized and inexpensive laptops. The slogan hit holds the young adulthood through a blending of the two main imperative universal teens’ zeal, melody, and games.

It is estimated that the “The Next Big Thing is Already Here” advert has attracted most Samsung laptop consumers. This has actually positioned Samsung to be amongst the leading laptop manufacturers in the industry.

The essence of the “No It Doesn’t Take a Genius” reflects the positivity, optimism, and inspiration to the younger and older laptop consumer generations that have direct connections to Samsung. The company uses multi-million pounds on TV, posters, and other forms of media adverts to markets Samsung laptops compared to Apple Inc. The main aim is to increase its brand positioning.

Apple Inc on the other hand uses marketing slogans and messages such as “iMac was three steps to the internet”, iPod was a thousand songs in your pocket”, and Mac was the Laptop for the all of us” (Chazin 2007, p.6). All the marketing messages and slogan used by Apple Inc and Samsung are meant to create positive brand images and attract global customers to buy their products.

The “Mac was the Laptop for the all of us” and “The Next Big Thing is Already Here” bring in the strong social element in the advertising campaigns and the help these companies to market their products. The advertisements run in various markets across the world.

Sales promotion

Sales promotions are tactical marketing techniques, which Samsung and Apple Inc use to add value to their products or services to dominate the laptop market (Brassington 2006, p.720). Samsung and Apple Inc have been using various sales promotions to market their laptops to achieve certain marketing targets.

The most prominent promotion that Samsung Company uses is the design of the Samsung laptop replica with simple and easy to use buttons. The aim of the promotion is to bring closer the relationships between the brand, and product consumers.

With younger generation being the prominent laptop consumers, this form of sales promotion inspires the younger generation to greater heights and achievements.

It also increases Samsung Company brand positioning within the laptop industry. Other promotional techniques used by Samsung includes donating T-shirts labeled Samsung, associating Samsung products with global sporting activities, and sponsoring most of social related events.

Similarly, Apple Inc uses similar promotional campaigns strategies for its classic laptop. Apple Inc positions its products at strategic points during global marketing, and offers product discounts to its laptop consumers.

The main aim of this promotion is to offer stiff competition to the other laptop-producing firms in the industry including Samsung. Compared to its market competitors, Apple Inc focuses most of its marketing strategies towards sales promotion. Although the sales promotions depend on each company, the use of mobile and internet to market their laptop products varies (Tapp 2008, p.9).

Direct marketing and personal selling

Samsung and Apple Inc engage in personal selling and direct marketing in various platforms across the globe. Both companies currently target various markets around the globe, but they encounter difficulties because it is expensive to do direct marketing and personal selling (Kant & Heerden 2008, p.3). The companies launched websites for customers to register, view, leave feedbacks, and purchase Samsung and Apple laptop products.

The companies are also running mobile laptop campaigns aimed at generating enthusiasm and attract both the old and young people towards buying their products while increasing associations with the company products.

Samsung and Apple Inc have well developed loyalty databases, which are used to offer loyalty visa cards to their customers for participation in various social activities. They use well-developed database to boost the sales of laptop products (Shimp, 2008).

E-marketing strategy

Companies achieve their marketing objectives through utilizing electronic communication technology (Chaffey 2007, p. 339). Samsung and Apple Inc are effective in their global e-marketing laptop campaigns. The companies effectively use new media namely the internet and social networking sites like face book and twitter. The company has successfully utilized the mobile technology to reaching out to core customers.

In fact, both Samsung and Apple Inc have online marketing campaigns each with its own websites offering different products and handouts for their users. They have also taken the advantage of the larger and young internet population with the passion to use quality modern laptops.

Social networkings are amongst the largest sites where both the companies meet their target customers. For Samsung to market itself in the global laptop market, it has improved its brand awareness athwart various e-marketing outlets and channels. Samsung laptop marketing website uses a combination of commercial flair and creativity.

The company’s communication and media team has yearned to maintain the positive image of Samsung across the internet, online TV, online magazines, newspapers, and via internal online communications.

Most online marketing strategies adopted by Samsung and Apple Inc focus on improving their customers after sales experience. Amongst the ‘strap line’ messages available in Samsung and Apple Inc marketing sites include “The Next Big Thing is Already Here” and Mac was the Laptop for the all of us” (Chazin, 2007).

Conclusions

The laptop and personal computer industry is very competitive. There are entrenched firms that dominate the market and enjoy economies of scale. However, these have not deterred other new market entrants that are focussed on attaining dominant market share in the laptop market from joining the PC industry.

In fact, Samsung and Apple Inc, which appear to be posing dismal threats to the established firms like Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer, Dell, and HP, are currently using different IMC strategies to market their products and create a positive brand image. Indeed, Samsung and Apple Inc have managed to position their product brands through various marketing and media campaigns.

They project positive and appealing brand image to the clients and the promotional strategies seem to be working very well. The commonly used IMC mix include direct marketing and personal selling, e-marketing, sales promotion, and advertising.

Recommendations

Samsung and Apple Inc use key marketing communication mix elements effectively when fighting marketing competition battles. Direct marketing strategy is similarly used in attracting clients albeit it appears to be costly, yet supportive for any company that might want to use it.

When implementing this marketing strategy, it is important for Samsung and Apple Inc to engage both the operational and corporate levels of an organization. Each of these levels should emphasize on the vital managerial and strategic issues that are vital in the implementation of this marketing mix strategy.

At corporate level, managers are expected to have a holistic view of the business, define the extent of business operations, and determine the business mission, vision, goals, and objectives. The managers are also supposed to focus on strategies that are driven towards building corporate brand and promote a solid customer point of reference in the management of business processes.

Conversely, Samsung and Apple are of great significance to the global laptop consumers given that they have well-developed databases to ensure that the corporations incur the least cost to reach the targeted market (Tapp 2008, p.9).

Thus, Samsung and Apple Inc should effectively use the key marketing communication mix strategic elements to position their brands strategically in the market.

Since the marketing communication strategies used by these companies are unheard-of, the companies need to adopt this strategy to have high valued messages that are cost effective. This will ensure that their marketing communication mixes extensively hit the target audience.

References

Belch, GE & Belch, MA 2006, Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective, McGraw-Hill, Boston.

Brassington, F 2006, Principles of marketing, Pitman Publishing, London.

Chaffey, D 2007, E-business and e-commerce management: strategy, implementation, and practice, Pearson Education Limited, Essex.

Chazin, SM 2007, Marketing Apple: 5 secrets of the world’s best marketing machine. Web.

Dalal, A & Shah, A 2009, The global laptop industry. Web.

De Pelsmacker, P, Geuens, M & Van den Bergh, J 2004, Marketing communications: A European perspective, Prentice Hall, Harlow.

Fill, C 1999, Marketing communications: contexts, contents and strategies, Prentice Hall, London.

Kant, C & Heerden, C 2008, Personal selling, Berne Convention, Lansdowne.

Keller, KL 2001, “Mastering the marketing communications mix: Micro and macro perspectives on integrated marketing communication programs”, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 17 no.7, pp.819-847.

Kitchen, P & De Pelsmacker, 2004, Integrated marketing communications: A primer, Routledge, New York.

Kliatchko, J 2008, “Revisiting the IMC construct”, International Journal of Advertising, pp.133-160.

Mahyari, P 2010, The effectiveness of marketing communication within the immersive environment. Web.

Pickton, D & Broderick, A 2005, Integrated marketing communications, Pearson Education, England.

Shimp, TA 2008, Integrated marketing communications: Advertising and promotion, Thomson South Western, USA.

Tapp, A 2008, Principles of direct and database marketing, Pearson education limited, Essex.

WeKnowMemes, LLC 2012, No it doesn’t take a genius. Web.

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