iPad: Advertising and marketing Apple's 'next new thing' iPad: The advertising campaign strategy
What exactly is an iPad? One of the initial challenges of marketing this new device from Apple was explaining to consumers precisely what the iPad offered in terms of value and functionality. It was neither a laptop or a mobile phone, or strictly an e-reader. Apple called the device an iPod Touch on steroids: a touch-screen e-reader and Web tablet that was smaller than a laptop yet larger than a mobile phone. With a price tag of $499-$829, the product seemed clearly targeted at a high-end market, given that most of the features of the iPad were already offered by other, existing devices such as phones and computers. The uses for the product were not new and cutting edge, rather it was the integrated nature of the design that was unique, much like the iPhone. It was designed for the person who already has everything Apple -- but wants more.
The challenge of the iPad marketing campaign can be summed up as follows: "Will they [the target consumers] be willing to type on a full-size virtual keyboard? And will they be satisfied buying their books (and magazines and newspapers) in electronic form? Or, more importantly, spend money on something that essentially combines the capability of devices they probably already possess?" (Ogg 2010). It was assumed by many industry analysts that Apple would focus upon likely users who wanted new technology for technology's sake, and would use Apple's newest device as an accessory to promote their trendiness. "Apple marketing tends to focus on the low-hanging fruit, people who already believe in the Apple religion. They get those people to buy products first, and then market by word of mouth" observed one marketing analyst (Ogg 2010).
It seemed that Apple was going to initially market the iPad as a 'revolutionary' device in a manner that was likely to attract such 'low-hanging' marketing fruit, Apple's actual advertising campaign for the iPad cast a wider net than young hipsters. When marketing the iPad, Apple stressed its utility in business...
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