Do you use iPhone? Do you have an iPod or an iPad? Have you ever heard that every time when there is a new Apple product coming out, a lot of people complain about its unsuccessful design or some features but few of them actually refuse to buy it? Apple is one of the most successful brands all over the world.
Take the third quarter of 2015 as an example, the revenue of this quarter was 49.6 billions dollars, which increased 33% compared with the corresponding period of 2014. Notably in China, the revenue of third quarter of 2015 was 13.2 billions dollars, which increased 112% compared with the same period of 2014. Why is Apple so popular? There is no doubt that the characters of sleek design, user friendly system, fast browsing speeds, simple but elegant appearance can explain the popularity of Apple devices. However, besides those characters, the effective Public Relations strategies Apple applied can also account for its incredible sales.
One of the successful Public Relations tactics Apple adopted is its distinctive advertisements. As Dan Moren (2011) stated that Apple’s ads let products speak for themselves (Macworld). There are a lot of brands that are willing to spend a big sum of money inviting a celebrity to endorse their products. What these brands want is using the influence of the celebrities to attract customers and improve the sales. On the other hand, however, in Apple’s ads, it is hard to find celebrities. Products themselves are the leading roles of the ads. What the company wants to emphasize is the functions of the products. Through the ads, customers can conclude themselves that iPhone can truly make the life easier. The commercials ensure that when customers eventually do pick up an iPhone, they already know how to use it (Moren, 2011).
Second, Apple’s ads, although with no celebrities, are always filled with common people and impressive stories. In the ad named New Beginnings (2016), several people from different fields talked about their experiences of creating an app with Apple products. In the commercial, a teenager coded and created an app which could be downloaded on Apple Store and she received a letter from Barack Obama. A Beirut youngster created Beirut Electricity, an app that could provide the electricity cut off time every day in Beirut. Beirut is in Lebanon and every day the city cut off the electricity. A volunteer doctor in Africa created Safe Delivery app which could teach millions of women the knowledge of safe birth through small videos. Everyone in the commercial did something good for the society using Apple products. Their tears after the success are touchable and it conveys that use Apple and you can do something to change the world like them.
Another commercial called The Old Record (2015), which is special for Chinese sale territory, also tells a warm story. A girl found an old record in grandma’s house. She listened to the music and re-composed it with guitar and Macbook secretly. After grandma listened to the “new” song, grandma teared and recalled her young age. Tens of thousands of people were touched by this warm story in that cold winter. They remembered their own grandmothers and realized that they should do something special to express their love to their families. Customers would like to choose Apple because it carries those impressive stories and what customers pay for, in this sense, is not the products but the empathy.
Hi Elsie, I saw this commercial before. I was so touched and cried a lot. Since our Chinese people value families a lot, this ad can really give audiences a message that Apple is a brand who has emotions. The way how Apple told stories was also an attractive tactic. Thank you for sharing.
Do you use iPhone? Do you have an iPod or an iPad? Have you ever heard that every time when there is a new Apple product coming out, a lot of people complain about its unsuccessful design or some features but few of them actually refuse to buy it? Apple is one of the most successful brands all over the world.
Take the third quarter of 2015 as an example, the revenue of this quarter was 49.6 billions dollars, which increased 33% compared with the corresponding period of 2014. Notably in China, the revenue of third quarter of 2015 was 13.2 billions dollars, which increased 112% compared with the same period of 2014. Why is Apple so popular? There is no doubt that the characters of sleek design, user friendly system, fast browsing speeds, simple but elegant appearance can explain the popularity of Apple devices. However, besides those characters, the effective Public Relations strategies Apple applied can also account for its incredible sales. 
One of the successful Public Relations tactics Apple adopted is its distinctive advertisements. As Dan Moren (2011) stated that Apple’s ads let products speak for themselves (Macworld). There are a lot of brands that are willing to spend a big sum of money inviting a celebrity to endorse their products. What these brands want is using the influence of the celebrities to attract customers and improve the sales. On the other hand, however, in Apple’s ads, it is hard to find celebrities. Products themselves are the leading roles of the ads. What the company wants to emphasize is the functions of the products. Through the ads, customers can conclude themselves that iPhone can truly make the life easier. The commercials ensure that when customers eventually do pick up an iPhone, they already know how to use it (Moren, 2011). 
Second, Apple’s ads, although with no celebrities, are always filled with common people and impressive stories. In the ad named New Beginnings (2016), several people from different fields talked about their experiences of creating an app with Apple products. In the commercial, a teenager coded and created an app which could be downloaded on Apple Store and she received a letter from Barack Obama. A Beirut youngster created Beirut Electricity, an app that could provide the electricity cut off time every day in Beirut. Beirut is in Lebanon and every day the city cut off the electricity. A volunteer doctor in Africa created Safe Delivery app which could teach millions of women the knowledge of safe birth through small videos. Everyone in the commercial did something good for the society using Apple products. Their tears after the success are touchable and it conveys that use Apple and you can do something to change the world like them. 
Another commercial called The Old Record (2015), which is special for Chinese sale territory, also tells a warm story. A girl found an old record in grandma’s house. She listened to the music and re-composed it with guitar and Macbook secretly. After grandma listened to the “new” song, grandma teared and recalled her young age. Tens of thousands of people were touched by this warm story in that cold winter. They remembered their own grandmothers and realized that they should do something special to express their love to their families. Customers would like to choose Apple because it carries those impressive stories and what customers pay for, in this sense, is not the products but the empathy. 
Hi Elsie, I saw this commercial before. I was so touched and cried a lot. Since our Chinese people value families a lot, this ad can really give audiences a message that Apple is a brand who has emotions. The way how Apple told stories was also an attractive tactic.
回复删除Thank you for sharing.