PRODUCT AND BRANDING STRATEGY

Product and Branding Strategies of MacBook Pro



Product and Branding Strategies of MacBook Pro

Introduction

Apple Inc. uses the Apple brand to compete across several highly competitive markets, including the personal computer industry with its Macintosh line of computers and related software, the consumer electronics industry with products such as the MacBook Pro, digital music distribution through its iTunes Music Store, the smart phone market with the Apple iPhone, and more recently magazine, book, games and applications publishing via the AppsStore for iPhone and the MacBook Pro computing device. For marketers, the company is also establishing a very strong presence to rival Google in the advertising market, via its Apps business and iAd network (Haeckel, 2009).

Product positioning map

This part analyzes the Apple product strategy with a specific emphasis on the Macintosh.

It favors Apple to continue down a path that not only maintains premium positioning but also enhances it. Apple is clearly doing this at the research and development (R&D) level. The introduction of a new portable manufacturing process (the unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro) and a relatively fast-paced operating system release cycle are clearly a function of Apple's ever-evolving differentiated positioning. The upcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard (successor to Mac OS X Leopard) and iPhone OS 3.0 will continue to push the envelope and set the groundwork for continued innovation in the years to come. Apple has never shied away from starting over. It did this with the transition to Mac OS X, the transition to Intel processors, and the re-design of their portable Macs. Each enhancement widens the differentiation gap that competitors must narrow or copy in order to compete with Apple. Windows Vista is a prime example.

Apple is preventing the commoditization of their business by integrating hardware and software. PCs that run Windows or Linux are simply commodities that offer no true differentiation against a competitor's offering. Apple on the other hand has undertaken an end-to-end integrated approach to both hardware and software design. The resulting products are differentiated from competitor products in that Apple controls the entire stack that in turn results in a better user experience. The end result is the ability to price their products at a premium.

A ) Primary Attributes on which business competes

Differentiation - taking it to the next level

It is widely understood that new product development entails significant costs. These costs are not only sunk but also fixed (once put into production via a product rollout). At the production side, marginal costs are the primary concern as they have a direct impact on unit contribution margin (price less variable cost) (Riesenbeck, 2001). So what has Apple done with respect to Mac hardware design in an effort to enhance contribution margin? The revolutionary step was a transition to the unibody aluminum enclosure on the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

When Apple announced the new manufacturing process it called out that prior generation portables used discrete components that each add size, weight, and the opportunity for ...