This would be the fundamental message in the introduction and growth promotions and the explanation for this is simple, being connected with something mentioned in the introduction: besides exceptional individual features, such as the touch screen, the most important asset of the iPhone is its capacity to integrate different instruments from different areas of our every day activity. The iPhone is at the same time a camera, an accessible way to navigate the Internet, to communicate with one's friends or colleagues through different environments (email, text messages, voice) and so on. Emphasizing this during the introduction stage of the product encouraged this idea to be carried on into the other stages as well.

The month of the introduction of the new product was specifically chosen to be June, with the college students ending their academic year at that point. As such, the promotion was targeted, foremost of all, on this group of consumers identified as the most likely clients. The TV campaign went on throughout the month of June, with exactly the goal specified in the theoretical discussion: creating awareness. Nevertheless, the procedure was not one that encouraged bombarding the public with the new product, but rather a gradual awareness campaign in which the public became familiarized with the iPhone. As previously mentioned, the framework had been set by the rumors campaign encouraged in the previous years.

Once in the growth stage of the iPhone, Apple began using targeted ads designed especially for the group of consumers that had been identified as the most likely clients. This group included young, active and social users and the ads were less designed to emphasize the differentiated, comparative better technology over the competitors, but rather the capacity to communicate unlimitedly with the iPhone, as the primary positive characteristics in the targeted group of consumers' evaluation.

At the same time, throughout both the introduction and growth stages, the iPhone was linked with other Apple products so as to create brand awareness as well, not only product awareness. One of the TV ads in June alluded to the 1984 Apple ad during the Super Bowl. With the early 2008, still in the growth stage of the iPhone, Apple was keen to "build buzz" for future developments in the iPhone product portfolio. These would include the future iPhone 3G and other more technically sophisticated versions, with higher storage capacities and greater interconnectivity.

The Beijing Olympics in 2008 proved an excellent event during which the promotion of the iPhone by Apple to re-emphasize its international and global presence. With the entire world watching the Olympics, the objective of this promotional campaign was to make iPhone one of the key players in the communication industry.

For 2010, the plan for Apple is most likely to consolidate and increase the market share for the iPhone portfolio of products as much as possible. The shift will probably move the emphasis away from the promotion element and towards other elements of the marketing mix, including the pricing and product elements. The promotional campaigns will most likely focus on the brand itself and some of its defining characteristics.

It is interesting to anticipate what will happen in the decline stage from a promotion perspective. First of all, the iPhone can still be transferred to some of the developing countries, where new markets can be formed (especially if the pricing strategy is properly adapted for these new markets). Second, the promotion element will probably focus on developing the brand and on anticipating the next generation of iPhone products, probably linked to the existing one. Similarly to how the 1984 ad from the launch of the Apple Mac was somewhat used in introducing the iPhone, the iPhone could also be used to create the right framework and environment for the next Apple products.

Conclusion & Recommendations

The first obvious conclusion of this report is that the promotion part of a marketing mix for a new product varies across the different stages of the product life cycle. In the case of Apple and its iPhone, this was also the case, with the promotion element taking the particularity of pre-introduction rumors, to continue with...

We have also anticipated that the iPhone will be similar to other product in its decline stage and the promotion then will set the trend and prepare the market for the next generation of iPhone products or other Apple products.
At the same time, there is also a strong interrelation between the different elements of the promotion for a certain product. The promotional campaigns depend on the resources and the financial resources tend to be more generous in the introduction and growth phases rather than in the final stages. This is probably going to be the case with Apple as well: the Beijing Olympics, for example, were used as an excellent moment for an aggressive and very costly campaign, exactly because the product was still in its growth stages and awareness was needed in other countries than the U.S. And Western Europe. Nevertheless, with the iPhone and Apple, given the observations made about the final stage of the product, the financial resources allocated to promotion may decrease, but they will still be significant, so as to properly prepare the market for the next generation of phones.

Bibliography

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2. Grossman, Lev (October 31, 2007). "Invention of the Year: The iPhone." On the Internet at http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1678581,00.html. Retrievedon February 19, 2009

3. Yeshin, Tony. Sales Promotion. International Thomson Business Press. April 2006. Page 56.

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8. Colleen Maxwell, Bryan Lee, Anthony Suen, James Hofmann. iPhone marketing plan. On the Internet at http://www.iphonefans.com/general-iPhone-discussion/268-iPhone-marketing-plan.htmlLastretrieved on February 19, 2009

Honan, Matthew (January 9, 2007). "Apple unveils iPhone." Macworld. On the Internet at http://www.macworld.com/article/54769/2007/01/iPhone.html. Retrievedon February 19, 2009

Grossman, Lev (October 31, 2007). "Invention of the Year: The iPhone." On the Internet at http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1678581,00.html. Retrievedon February 19, 2009

Yeshin, Tony. Sales Promotion. International Thomson Business Press. April 2006. Page 56.

Ibid

2002-2007. The Product Life Cycle. Internet Center for Management and Business Administration Inc. On the Internet at http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/.Lastretrieved on February 19, 2009

McDonald, Malcolm. Marketing Plans, Sixth Edition: How to prepare them, how to use them. Butterworth-Heinemann. 2007

Komninos, Ioannis. Product Life Cycle Management. 2002. On the Internet at http://www.urenio.org/tools/en/Product_Life_Cycle_Management.pdf.Lastretrieved on February 19, 2009

2002-2007. The Product Life Cycle. Internet Center for Management and Business Administration Inc. On the Internet at http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/.Lastretrieved on February 19, 2009

Dolan, Brian. "Timeline of Apple "iPhone" Rumors (1999-Present)." 2006. http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/timeline-apple-iPhone-rumors-1999-present.Retrievedon February 19, 2009

Colleen Maxwell, Bryan Lee, Anthony Suen, James Hofmann. iPhone marketing plan. On the Internet at http://www.iphonefans.com/general-iPhone-discussion/268-iPhone-marketing-plan.htmlLastretrieved on February 19, 2009