Process of Planning and Executing Marketing Activities

Running head: MARKETING MIX
MARKETING MIX
Student’s Name
University Name
Author note

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Introduction
The process of planning and executing all the marketing activities of a business
organization including pricing, promotion and distribution of products and services to the
target consumers in exchange of a price and to meet the needs and demands of the consumers
in called as marketing. It is considered to be a management process which analyzes the needs
of the consumers and takes actions to meet their needs. The purpose of this report is to
evaluate the effectiveness of marketing mix and STP of the brands Apple and Fitbit.
Discussion and analysis
Comparison of Target Markets – STP (segmentation, targeting and positioning)
Apple watch series 4
Segmentation (Andrews 2014)
Type of segmentation Target segment
Geographic segmentation  Targets the people in United States as
well as the international market.
 It mainly focuses on urban
population.
Demographic segmentation  Age group – 20 -50 years of age
 Gender – Focuses on both Male and

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Female
 Life cycle stage – Bachelors \ Married
couples
 Income – High income earners
 Occupation – Professional workers /
Students / executives
Behavioral segmentation  High degree of loyal customers
 Switchers
Psychographic segmentation  Upper class consumers
 Tech savvy consumers
Targeting
Apple targets the regular watch users and enhances the product with specific characteristics.
The product is mainly directed to the people preferring innovation and latest technology.
Considering the special characteristics of the product, only well informed brand driven
technology consumer with high income are target (Nuss et al. 2019). Consumers preferring
innovation and technological devices with elegant and trendy devices are targeted.
Positioning
The positioning of Apple watch series 4 is related with the simple designing of the product
with easy view screen, technological advancements and differentiated appearance such as
easy view screen and designing (Bai et al. 2018).
USP of Apple watch series 4 – “An ultimate device for a healthy life” (Apple 2020)

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Fitbit2
Segmentation (Batat 2019)
Type of segmentation Target segment
Geographic segmentation  Targets the people in United States as
well as the international market.
 It mainly focuses on urban
population.
Demographic segmentation  Age group – 25-44years of age
 Gender – Focuses on both Male and
Female
 Income – Middle to High income
earners
 Occupation – Professional workers /
Students / executives
Behavioral segmentation  “fitness freaks”
 Well educated consumers
 Health conscious consumers
 Sporty and energetic consumers
Psychographic segmentation  Upper- middle class consumers
 Tech savvy consumers

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Targeting
The current target markets are the males and females between the age of 25-45 years old with
high and middle income consumers (Fan, Lau and Zhao 2015). It targets the tech-savvy
consumers and the fitness conscious consumers as well as the sporty and highly energetic
consumers (Braun Eshuis and Klijn 2014). The consumers are targeted mainly by fitness
conscious consumers, age group, gender and income of the consumers.
Positioning statement
Fitbit2 competes on pricing with Chinese competitors Xiaomi. However, Xiaomi have
limited features. Fitbit competes on the basis of wide features, benefits and product designing
(Batat 2019). It provides additional features such as heart rate monitoring, sleep tracker,
integration with computer or Smartphone devices and product designing (Nuss et al. 2019).
The pricing of the product is affordable.
USP of Fitbit2: “Active Fitness”, “performance fitness”, “Every beat counts” and “Everyday
fitness” (Fitbit.com. 2020)
Marketing Mix -
Product - Evaluation of the Products and their Brand Values
Apple watch series 4
The wearable device is highly innovative and customized watch that is equipped with
high resolution touch screen and is powered by IOS (iPhone operating system). The device
enables the consumers to install thousands of third party applications which strengthen the

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user personality style (Apple 2020). Apple smart watch series 4 comes with various health
related applications which is easily available to the consumers from the Apple App store. The
ultimate aim of the product is to provide access to various Smartphone applications and
features without them carrying the Smartphone device all the time (Steenkamp 2017). This
suggests the usefulness and utility of the product.
Fitbit2
Fitbit aims to replace the traditional watch which only shows the time of the day.
Fitbit provides special features apart from time and date (Steenkamp 2017). It provides
additional features such as heart rate monitoring, sleep tracker, calories burned, distanced
travelled integration with computer or Smartphone devices and product designing. Its
alignment with the Smartphone devices enables the users to access notifications, calls and
other alerts from the watch itself (Fitbit.com. 2020).
Price - Evaluation of the Pricing Strategies Used
Apple watch series 4
Apple focuses on product differentiation with premium based pricing strategy with a
‘skim the cream’ policy (Išoraitė 2016). Only the high income earners are targeted. The
pricing of the product reflects the value and capability of the product (Wilmott, Fraser and
Lammes 2018). The brand is not a brand leader in this aspect. The price of Apple Watch
series 4 is priced $399 (UK). The product is categorized as a luxury item in the market.
Fitbit2
Fitbit has a competitive pricing policy to make it affordable to the wide range of
consumers. The price of Fitbit 2 is set as $149.99 – $179.95. However, the price of Fitbit 2 is

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higher than the competitor’s products in the market due to additional features (Wilmott,
Fraser and Lammes 2018). The pricing of the products is depending on the channels of
distribution.
Place - Distribution of the Brands
Apple watch series 4
The product is distributed direct to the customers through the Apple stores. The
company has a store location is major malls and cities all across the globe. It has a global
presence (Wu and Li 2018). The product is also made available to the consumers through
registered retail stores by the sales person who guides and informs the consumers regarding
the product functionality.
Fitbit2
There are mainly two marketing channels that is direct selling through online sites and
through wholesalers and retailers (Braun Eshuis and Klijn 2014). There are more than 500
retailers in UK. It implements Omni channels of distribution where online and offline stores
are integrated enabling the consumers to easily access the product (Blut, Teller and Floh
2018).
Promotion – Communication of the Brands
Apple watch series 4
Promotion is done through online and offline mediums such as specialized magazines,
television, mobile advertisements, social media marketing and ads on YouTube as well as
personalized websites (Išoraitė 2016).

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Fitbit2
Multiple communication channels are implemented to promote the product, both
traditional and digital media is used for communication (Braun Eshuis and Klijn 2014).
Traditional media includes advertisements on radio and television, while digital marketing
channels include social media platforms like Face book and Twitter (Batat 2019). Other sales
promotion tactics such as trade exhibitions in used throughout the year to promote the
product.
Effectiveness of the marketing mix of both the brands
Considering the marketing mix of both the brands, each brand has detailed product
description which suggests the utility and benefits of the product to the consumers. The
pricing policy of Apple is premium priced and only high income earners are targeted (Batat
2019). However, this strategy reduces the affordability rate and only few market segment
consumers can afford the product. On the other hand, Fitbit 2 is affordable, which ensures
higher sales. The pricing strategy of both the brands differs greatly (Fan, Lau and Zhao
2015). Apple focuses on the value of the product while Fitbit ensures greater sales and
affordability of the consumers. Considering the distribution strategies, Apple provides its
products direct through its Apple Stores and other retail stores, which is suitable for the
brand. On the other hand, Fitbit implements Omni channels of distribution, which is highly
effective as compared to Apple (Bai et al. 2018). Considering the promotion strategy both the
brands effectively utilized the traditional and digital media to communicate and increase
product awareness among the consumers.

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Conclusion and Recommendations
Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be concluded that both the brands
effectively integrates all the marketing mix strategies and STP strategies to compete in the
markets and reach out to the potential customers. However, the pricing strategy of Apple is
not affordable to all consumer segments, only the high income earners are targeted. Fitbit
effectively positions itself in the market focusing on health conscious consumers. However,
both the brands can enhance their promotion strategies by initiating advertising campaigns on
all media platforms to influence more consumers and improve website traffic. The brands can
enhance their online websites, as consumers mainly prefer searching for the products online.
It is recommended to make the websites more user friendly for the ease of the consumers.
Apple can introduce more discounts and allowance to boost sales of the product and reduce
the certain price cut offers to the consumers. This will enable the company to gain more
market share and gain new consumers, while retaining the old consumers in the market.

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References
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Bai, Y., Hibbing, P., Mantis, C. and Welk, G.J., 2018. Comparative evaluation of heart rate-
based monitors: Apple Watch vs Fitbit Charge HR. Journal of sports sciences, 36(15),
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Batat, W., 2019. Experiential Marketing: Consumer Behavior, Customer Experience and The
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Blut, M., Teller, C. and Floh, A., 2018. Testing retail marketing-mix effects on patronage: A
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Braun, E., Eshuis, J. and Klijn, E.H., 2014. The effectiveness of place brand
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Fan, S., Lau, R.Y. and Zhao, J.L., 2015. Demystifying big data analytics for business
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Fitbit.com. 2020. Fitbit Versa 2 | Health & Fitness Smartwatch. [online] Available at:
<https://www.fitbit.com/in/versa> [Accessed 22 March 2020].
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Steenkamp, J.B., 2017. Global Marketing Mix Decisions: Global Integration, Not
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Wilmott, C., Fraser, E. and Lammes, S., 2018. ‘I am he. I am he. Siri rules’: Work and play
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