Apple, Inc.’s Public Relations
Apple, Inc. is a multinational
corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics and computers. They are well known for many of their
products such as Macintosh computers or the iMac, the iPod, the iPad, and
services such as iTunes. They also
create and market software such as the Mac operating system and the iTunes browser
and offer iLife and iWork which are types of creative multimedia
software suites. Other products include Aperture and Final Cut Studio and photography and video
software products. Logic Studio is a
suite of music production tools. Safari
internet browser is
used on the Mac computers and iPhone.
Apple has retail stores in at least ten countries and they sell their products on an online
store as well.
According to CNBC Apple is the most
valuable company on the planet and is one of the few corporations that has eclipsed the $500 billion
mark. Apple was established in April of 1976 in Cupertino, California. They were originally known as Apple Computer
until 2007 when the corporation dropped the word “Computer” because of their
expansion into other areas of consumer electronics. Apple has established a unique reputation in
the business world. They are well-known for various reasons
including their comprehensive aesthetic designs and their distinctive
advertising campaigns.
According to the article “How Many U.S. Jobs Does Apple Really Create”
by C. Arnold, “Apple has about 47,000 workers in the U.S.” (2012). They
also create jobs for support services such as glass manufacturers, FedEx, UPS,
and application creators. Apple
employees must go through an intensive training program before they are
hired. They train their employees uniquely in an
intensive two week training program.
They train employees how to talk and how not to talk to customers. Certain words are key words for
employees and certain words are taboo. They are taught to use empathy and make
customers feel good. They are trained to read body language and to
notice how their body language is viewed by potential customers. Employee’s actions have a direct reflection on
a company. According to Green, “No matter how well-crafted or superbly
presented your message, its communications value is defined by its context. The
spread of information and ideas is dependent on the conditions and
circumstances of the times and places in which they occur” (2006,
p. 167).” Hence, Apple employees are trained to effectively communicate with
customers and enhance the company’s public image. According
to their sales they are certainly doing something right.
Apple has long promoted the
anti-corporate image. Rothman notes
about Apple, “Its introductory commercial, one of the most famous
advertisements ever made, was designed to definitively drive the
computer-buying public into either Apple or IBM camps. And its message remains
as obvious today as it did on that 1984 Super Bowl Sunday, when the gritty
vision of a monotheistic future— a blatant warning against a Big Blue-dominated
computer world— was bashed by a freedom-loving young woman with a sledge hammer”(2001,
Pg.30). Steve Jobs one of the founders of Apple even flew the Jolly Rogers that
promoted his rebel attitude.
Apple portrays an aura of innovation and
that is one of the core
values defined by Steve Jobs for Apple and its products. The company also uses empathy
as one of its key selling points. In
Apple retail stores,
employees are helpful and not pushy.
Customer service is a key point in selling their products. In fact, Apple has built its core around commitment to their users.
Apple’s branding strategy focused
largely on the emotions of its customers. They have tried to create an “Apple” personality that
emphasizes creativity. The theme that is
created by Apple is based on dreams, passions, and aspirations achieved through
technology. They focus on making their
customers lives simpler with the use of their products. Our text states that “A symbol should be unique, memorable, widely
recognized, and appropriate. Organizations spend significant time and energy
searching for unique symbols that convey the essence of what they are or what
they hope to be. Considerable amounts of money are then spent on publicizing
the symbols and creating meanings for them” (Cameron, 2008, Pg. 150). Apple promotes an image of
freedom and an attitude of “power
to the people,” and those attributes appeal to the freedom-loving patriotic
public. Apple prides itself on being a
heartfelt company that has a connection to their customers. They have created a symbol that their consumers
relate to. Apple has an almost cult following and a definite air of
community among its consumers.
The Apple brand is recognized
throughout the world. They have used the simplicity of their products to
promote their brand. Philip Kolter says
“Brand missions do not have to be complicated and sophisticated. In fact, they
should be simple to allow for flexible business scoping. Look how visionary
leaders pursue different strategies to fulfill their mission. Steve Jobs did it
with the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone, each influencing a different industry”
(2010, Pg. 59). Apple has long been
known for making their products easy to use for the technologically challenged
and for new users of new technology. It
seems as if Apple’s strategy has worked.
As pointed out earlier in this paper Apple is one of the most valuable,
if not the most valuable, company on the planet. Their stock prices passed
$500.00 per share in 2012.
Since 2006 Apple has used the Mac
vs. PC ad campaign. The campaign is very simple.
The PC is represented by a suit and tie type character. The PC image portrays a frazzled corporate
image. The Mac is portrayed by a young,
hip laid back character. The Mac
character is always dressed casually usually in jeans and sneakers. This ad has contributed to the brand image of
Apple. It portrays the Mac as an easy to use computer
versus the frazzled PC user who is having problems and not such an easy time.
Apple also pushes the fun parts of its Mac such as iLife, iPhoto, and iTunes. They further show the failings of the PC’s
operating systems through their commercials.
Apple’s public relations team maximizes their
opportunities for publicity on television programs and movies wisely. Our text notes that “Television’s drama and
comedy shows, as well as the film industry, are good vehicles for promoting a
company’s products and services” (Cameron, 2008, Pg. 323). One example of product placement is when Tom
Cruise uses an Apple Computer in “Mission Impossible”. In fact, Daniel Dilger writes in the Apple
Insider “Apple product placements appeared 30 percent of the top films of 2010,
more than any other brand, including Nike, Chevrolet and Ford, which all tied
for second place with placement in 24 percent of the top movies” (2011). Apple
has long used product placement even as far back as 1986.
Strangely, Apple Inc. does not use the
current social media trends for public relations. They do have a Twitter and Facebook account
for some of their sub-brands. They never reply to customers but mainly show
marketing messages. That being said fans
of Apple have a very large presence on social media sites and blogs. Ironically, much of Apple’s marketing takes
place on social media as its fans create buzz around new product launches on
blogs and Twitter, yet Apple apparently does nothing to get involved with or
influence the discussion.
Apple’s presence on the social media
scene was supposed to be Ping. Ping is connected to Apple’s iTunes. According
to Ian Paul’s article in PC World, “Ping was supposed to be Apple's big push
into social with a music-based network built into iTunes on the desktop and iOS
devices. Ping allowed you to follow updates from your favorite artists,
broadcast your iTunes purchases to friends, share samples of songs you like,
and find concert information about artists you follow” (2012). Ping was not the success that Apple hoped it
would be.
Apple has added apps to their iPhone,
iPad, and iMac to allow for ease of use with the social media sites such as
Facebook and Twitter. However, the
company is still not interactive with their followers. There is also talk that Apple is considering
purchasing The Fancy. The Fancy is much
like Pinterest in that
users can flag things they like. (Paul,
2012)
Apple has had their share of ups and
downs as a company. Steve Jobs was ousted from the company in 1985. A former Pepsi executive came into the
company to try and change their image on Wall Street. Apple changed executives
several times but continued to falter in their growth until 1997 when Steve
Jobs was brought back into the company (Rothman, 2001, Pg. 30). During this time Apple did not flourish well
as a company. When Steve Jobs came back
to Apple one of the first things that happened was the release of the
iMac. Our text says “Most public
relations personnel rarely find themselves framing the issues of an
international conflict, but they do exercise framing or positioning strategies
for any number of products and services. For example, when Edelman was
considering strategy for the launch of Apple’s iMac computer, one of the strong
themes (or frames) they developed was that Apple was on the way back to
prosperity after several years of massive losses and erosion of customer
support. Indeed, one headline in a daily newspaper proclaimed, “Apple Regains
Its Stride.” Such framing obviously bolsters investor and consumer confidence
in the company” (Cameron, 2008, Pg. 180). Apple used the return of Steve Jobs
and the release of the iMac to bolster public relations.
Apple has faced some public relations
crisis along the way. One such crisis
was with the antenna issues on their iPhone 4.
The crisis could have damaged Apple’s reputation in a big way. If you held the iPhone in a certain way then
the signal strength would lesson causing dropped calls. It was a big issue for several weeks but
Apple actually handled this crisis by breaking some of the tried and true
public relations rules. First Apple did
not apologize or admit to making any kind of mistake. They told iPhone users to get cases or hold
the phone differently. They went on to
hold a press conference and admitted that phones were not perfect and offered
free cases to users although they would not admit there was a problem.
Apple also faced another crisis not
long after the Antenna crisis: The iPhone tracking issue. Apple did not follow the rules of public relations and release a
statement at the very beginning of a crisis.
Instead they remained
silent until they had gathered the necessary data to offer a full
explanation and solution. In both of these cases Apple broke other PR rules in
that it involved other competitors in the phone industry into the fray. Apple showed videos of how other cell phones
dropped calls due to antenna issues as well as tracking issues.
Apple also faced a public relations crisis when
allegations were made about unfair and unsafe working condition in a Chinese
manufacturer. They allowed
investigators inside of the facility to interview workers. Apple enlisted the Fair Labor Association
(FLA) to conduct an audit of the Foxconn facilities. Apple has countered this with positive PR and
is continuing to list their practices on their website.
Certainly Apple has its own unique
style of public relations crisis management.
They are slow to respond and take their time to make sure they have all
of the information before responding.
Although this may be considered a risky public relations tactic, there
is something to be said for being well-informed
and well-armed with information and plans before confronting a crisis.
It has worked for Apple in the past and seems to still be working in the
present situations.
Apple, Inc. is a for profit company.
It has been said even, the most profitable company on the planet right
now. Their advertising and PR are
effective however, their public relations and advertising tactics would not
work well in a non-profit organization such as the SPCA. Although both organizations appeal to
emotions with their advertising, the SPCA appeals to different emotions.
The Society for Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a highly successful non-profit organization. Like Apple they utilize television as their
media for commercials to solicit donations.
Their commercials are also widely known as well. Unlike Apple’s advertisements that people
like to watch because they are witty and fun,
the SPCA’s spots tend to be heartfelt and sad.
In fact, many people have a hard time watching them because of the
emotions they elicit. The images of
puppies coming from horribly abusive situations and puppy mills will break
hearts. The hope is that the commercials will induce emotion that will cause
people to give donations to stop this abuse.
Unlike Apple, Inc. the SPCA is very
active in the social media venue. They
have a huge social media campaign. Local
chapters of the SPCA have set up individual Facebook and Twitter pages with
huge followings. More of the agonizing
tear jerker videos can be seen on YouTube.
One example of a public relations
crisis encountered by the British Columbia chapter of the SPCA was when they
responded to the brutal killings of 100 sled dogs. Unlike Apple, Inc.’s crisis management style
they did respond right away. They were
however, unprepared for the entire backlash they received from the crisis. They were honest and admitted to the public
that the dogs would have likely been euthanized anyway. Although the BC SPCA admitted that they knew
about the situation, like
Apple Inc. has done in round about ways with some of their situations, they hurt themselves by the
tone they responded in. They were
defensive and blamed others.
The SPCA has lost many of its supporters because of recent public
relations crises. Most people who
donate to the SPCA do so to save animals.
However, consumers are much smarter than some agencies give them credit
for. The recent articles about Houston
SPCA being awarded by the BBB for excellence in service raised a huge uprising
because of the Houston SPCA’s policy of killing pit bulls. Many people who were not aware that the SPCA
euthanizes animals are now realizing that the ad campaigns are phony.
Although Apple, Inc.’s public
relations crisis management is not the mainstream variety they still adhere to many of the public relation
guidelines when marketing their products.
They also use smart public relation tactics with their customer base and
advertising campaigns. Apple has always
been outside the box and not considered mainstream. Although some of the rules that Apple breaks
works for Apple, does not mean
those tactics will work for other companies. It may be in the best interest of an
organization to study what Apple does and realize that it may not work for that
organization because their brand image is not Apple.
References:
Arnold, C., March 2012, “How Many U.S. Jobs Does Apple
Really Create?”
Rothman, H. 50 Companies That Changed
the World : Incisive Profiles of the 50 Organizations - Large and Small - That
Have Shaped the Course of Modern Business. Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA: Career
Press, Incorporated, 2001. p 30. Retrieved from: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10006969&ppg=30
Green,
A. Effective Communication Skills for Public Relations.
London, GBR: Kogan Page Ltd., 2006. p 167.
Retrieved from:
Aaker, D. Brand
Relevance : Making Competitors Irrelevant.
Hoboken, NJ, USA: Jossey-Bass, 2010. p 28.,
Retrieved from:
Cameron, Glen T., Reber, Bryan H.,
Shin, Jae-Hwa, Wilcox, Dennis L. Public Relations Today: Managing Competition
and Conflict (2008). Pearson Education, Inc; Boston, MA. Retrieved from: Retrieved
from:
Kotler, P. Marketing 3.0 : From Products
to Customers to the Human Spirit. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley, 2010. p 59.
Retrieved from: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10381059&ppg=77
Paul, I. PCWorld, “Apple's
Ping Social Network to Shutter, Report”. Jun 13, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.pcworld.com/article/257520/apples_ping_social_network_to_shutter_report.html
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