Principles of Marketing - Report on the Uk Marketing Environment for the Iphone

Principles of Marketing

Report on the UK marketing environment for the iPhone

Executive Summary

This report will analyze and discuss the most important elements of the marketing environment for the launch of the iPhone, that is to say the main three levels of the marketing environment: the micro-environment through the customers, competitors and distributors, the macro-environment through technological, economical, social, political and environmental forces and finally the internal environment through the relation of Apple with its employees and its marketing philosophy. The analysis for the micro-environment is based on Porter’s 5 forces model and the one on the macro-environment is based on PEST analysis. The report will also give an interpretation for each of these aspects, a conclusion with a rating of the attractiveness of the UK current marketing environment in which the iPhone is launched.

The principal conclusions of this report show that the iPhone is a successful product that combines interesting features: iPod, internet browser and mobile phone, which satisfy the customer’s needs moreover it is also exceeding their expectations thanks to its fashionable design. However the UK current mobile market is very competitive, so Apple will have to deal with tough competition against established mobile phone manufacturers. The report finally comes up with some recommendations that can help improving Apple’s performance and the marketing environment for the iPhone, these are mainly:

• To give customers more flexibility through decreasing the price of its handset, changing the length of the O2 contract and offering customers more options

• Unlocking the Iphone

• Improving some of the iPhone features

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 4

2. Methodology 4

3. Analysis and interpretation 4-8

 The micro-environment

 The macro-environment

 The Internal environment

4. Conclusion 8

5. Recommendations 8-9

6. Appendix 9-11

7. References 11-13

1. Introduction

After the success of the iPod, the Apple Company is launching now its first and “revolutionary” phone: the iPhone. The “invention of the year” as named by Time magazine mainly features a mobile phone, internet and a media player (iPod). It has already been launched in the United States in the summer 2007 and now it is being launched in the European market (the UK, Germany and France) in November. This report will focus on the UK market, and it will analyze the marketing environment and its attractiveness for this product.

2. Methodology

The analysis of the three levels of the marketing environment for the Iphone is mainly based on marketing textbooks. The Porter’s 5 forces model is used to analyze the micro-environment and a PEST analysis shows the main aspects of the iPhone’s macro-environment. The analysis of Apple’s internal marketing environment was mainly based on Chazin’s ebook. Further information was also collect through websites and reports to help understand