Marketing principles and applications

Marketing of the Apple iPad Mini

The introduction of the Apple iPad Mini illustrates how Apple creates a highly effective, integrated marketing campaign that encompasses each aspect of the marketing mix to underscore the unique customer experience they deliver in their products. At the center of Apple's unique value proposition is their passion for delivering products that create a unique, highly differentiated customer experience compared to their many competitors (Maceli, 32). Apple's unique value proposition is predicated on its ability to quickly transform innovative new product designs into products that deliver on the promised customer experience that has become synonymous with the company's unique approach to defining usability and ergonomics in their product designs (O'Reilly, et.al.). Apple also pushes beyond the four traditional boundaries of the marketing mix, unifying product strategies, pricing, promotional strategies and distribution channels to all underscore their unique value proposition through digital and social media strategies as well.

Apple's iPad Mini -- Defining the Product and Market

The Apple iPad Mini weighs less than 1 pound and is the size of a paperback book (7.87" x 5.25" and a just .28 of an inch thick). Apple chose to use the same processor that is in the same iPad2, which is the Dual-Core A5 processor. Apple designed this specific iPad to be used for both content consumption as an e-reader and web browsing device, in addition to a digital content creation device. The iPad Mini includes a FaceTime HD camera that supports 720p HD video, Face time video calling over WiFi and cellular connections and face detection. Apple also invested heavily in making the backside illumination more effective than in other models as well. Apple chose to also include the iSight camera in the iPad Mini, as they had in the first generation iPad (O'Reilly, et.al.).

Apple has positioned the iPad Mini as a solid competitor to the Amazon Kindle HD, which is very comparable in form factor and weight, in addition to the Google Nexus 7 tablet and the over 50 different Google Android-powered devices now available as of late 2012 (O'Reilly, et.al.). Apple has differentiated the iPad Mini with an enhanced screen, a faster processor than the majority of competitors, and the unique value proposition of being a device that can be just as easily used for creating digital and written content as consuming it. Apple has concentrated on positioning this as a low-end version of the highly successful Apple iPad2, which has sold several million units since its launch (Allsopp, 28). The iPad2's unique value proposition is deliberately designed to provide customers with the experience of having an iPad2 at a significantly lower price, with greater convenience. An informal poll of friends who have this device say they appreciate the smaller size, which fits perfectly into their coat pockets for ease of use during commutes and while attending school.