Marketing Mix Analysis: Apple Watch Series 6 vs Fitbit Versa 2

This report provides a comparative analysis of the Apple Watch Series 6 and the Fitbit Versa 2, focusing on their marketing mix strategies. The analysis covers the products' features, pricing strategies, distribution channels (place), and promotional activities. The report explores the target markets for each product, highlighting the differences in consumer profiles and preferences. It examines how Apple, with its premium pricing and innovative design, caters to technology enthusiasts and affluent consumers, while Fitbit targets fitness-oriented individuals with more affordable options. The report includes an in-depth discussion of the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) for both smartwatches, drawing conclusions on the strengths and weaknesses of each brand's approach. The report also provides recommendations for each product, suggesting strategies to enhance their market position and appeal to a wider audience. The report is well-structured, providing an overview of the two products. It provides a good analysis of the marketing mix. Overall, the report offers valuable insights into the competitive landscape of the smartwatch market.

Principles of Marketing
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Executive Summary
The aim of this project is to prepare a comparative analysis of 2 undermentioned products- the
Apple watch series 6 and the Fitbit Versa 2. This analysis is based on the marketing mix of the
two above mentioned brands. The research shows Apple is unique in its design and marketing
strategies and also has outstanding features. On the other hand, Fitbit Versa 2 is comparatively
smaller and cheaper than the Apple watch series 6 and also has overwhelming features. Although
Apple is the number one owner of the market but Fitbit Versa 2 is also not lagging. It is also
emerging and has grabbed the fitness-oriented market.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Findings...........................................................................................................................................4
Marketing Mix.................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8
Appendices......................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
The assignment comprises a comparison between the effective application of 4 P's which include
Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The 6th series of Apple watches were announced on 15th
September 2020. Its shipping starts from 18th September. Its principal feature is that it comes
with a blood oxygen saturation monitor. The other features include It possesses S6 chip system
in package processor (SiP), has ultra-wideband antennas and watch IS 7 operating system. Its
dimensions are 40mm in width and 44mm in length. Its battery life is 18 hours and has a water
resistance of up to 50 meters. It also has a music storage capacity of 36 GB. Sleep monitoring
and GPS are other important features. In the year 2020 itself, there were 9.5 million units
shipments of the watch (appleinsider.com, 2021).
The Fitbit Versa 2 was released in September 2019. It comes with some amazing features which
include Amazon Alexa, heart rate tracking 24/7, sleep tracking. It also shows daily readiness
score, all-day activity tracker, provides sleep score, stress management score, guided breathing
sessions, oxygen saturation monitoring, breathing rate monitoring, skin temperature variation,
smart track automatic exercise recognition,20+ exercise mode recognition, swim-proof mode up
to 50 M, workout intensity map, personalized reminders. It also has 6 days battery life, storage
for 300+ songs.
Findings
Comparison of target Market
The target buyers of the Apple watch series 6 are technology lovers who have a passion for
knowing and using new technology. Moreover, the target buyers are from elite and economically
rich backgrounds as the price of the watch are quite high. Specifically, the watch is designed to
attract the buyers (both male and female) of the age group 20-45 who are technology freaks or
brand freaks and style statement conscious. They come under the office goers, college-goers and
business persons, newly married couples, families with children and grandchildren (sun et al.
2021).
The target market of the Fitbit Versa 2 is the fitness freaks and the people who try to live a
healthier lifestyle at a pocket friendly and affordable range. It also targets obese people who try
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to be healthier. The age range of target buyers is 20-40 (science direct.com, 2021). This brand
generally targets high school students, college students, gym freaks, business people and also
motivates them to be healthy.
Marketing Mix
Product
Product of Apple watch series 6
This product is very sophisticated and innovative which makes it one of the best gadgets of 2020.
It has some mind-blowing features which are as follows- text sending, notifications, calling,
sleep tracking, ECG reading, heart rate monitoring and one of the newest and most attractive
features is the blood oxygen level monitoring by electrocardiogram due to the presence of blood
oxygen monitoring sensor (essay.utwente.nl, 2021). It also can track swimming, jogging, and
gym workouts due to the presence of an Always-on retina display. It is waterproof up to 50
meters, has 18 hours of battery life and has 36 GB internal storage. Its band design is very
convenient because of the presence of wideband antennas [Referred to Appendix 1].
Product of Fitbit Versa 2
This watch is comparatively smaller than Apple. Its dimensions are 24mm in width, 24 mm in
length. Being smaller is appreciated by many women and also by small waisted people. The
different stunning features of this watch are as follows- the blood oxygen level measurement
SpO2 monitor and sensor also has a very long battery life of 4 days which is much more than
Apple (nature.com, 2020). It is also waterproof up to 50 meters. Moreover, the 20+ exercise
mode recognition, automatic exercise recognition and showing of exercise intensity map are the
features that attract the fitness freaks the most [Referred to Appendix 2].
Place
Place of Apple watch series 6
It is available in almost all countries like India, Canada, U.S., U.K., Argentina, Bahamas,
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and so on. The company follows a marketing strategy of diversified
network distribution in order to reach out to diversified customers irrespective of their age,
gender, class and nationality. The watches are available both in online and offline stores
(support.apple.com, 2021). Being one of the topmost selling brands, the Apple watch series 6 is
always the most desirable product all over the world. Thus the company has many outlets all
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over the world in order to reach out to the buyers of different countries [Referred to Appendix
3].
Place of Fitbit Versa 2
It is available in different online stores and also on the official website of Fitbit. It is available in
different countries of the world like Canada, the U.S., Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Denmark,
the U.K., Australia, India, New Zealand and so on. In 86 countries over 39000 retail stores are
present. The company is focused on the B- to -B system and health care system (fitbit.com,
2021). The Fitbit is also flourishing and presently having an apportionable craze among the
fitness freaks.
Price of Apple watch series 6
The price of this watch is quite expensive because of its superior value, incredible features and
sophisticated design. This is the reason for which the product can be availed by the elite class of
the society only. Presently, the price of the watch on different online platforms is 611 USD and
the price is decreasing due to the launch of the Apple watch series 7 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm, 2017).
Many buyers also wait for the price drop in order to pursue their passion for having Apple
products [Referred to Appendix 4].
Price of Fitbit Versa 2
The price of this watch is affordable and customer friendly along with impressive features like
blood glucose monitoring, heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen level monitoring, tracking and
monitoring women's health. Presently, the price of the watch on different online platforms is 180
USD and the price is decreasing due to the launch of the Fitbit Versa 3 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm, 2021).
This product is much appreciated by fitness freaks.
Product A Product B
Name Apple Watch Series 6 Fitbit versa 2
Price 611 USD 180 USD
Pricing strategy Premium pricing strategy Lowest price, best value pricing strategy
Promotion
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Promotion of Apple watch series 6
It has excellent promotional strategies. They promote their products in magazines and electronic
media and also by hoardings and banners. High-end journalistic publications like The Atlantic
also promote the product by writing endlessly about the product (neilpatel.com, 2021). The
company also take the help of brand ambassador policy which means many renowned and public
icons are given the post of brand ambassador of Apple to promote their products. The market
analysis and surveys are done by the company to know the market demands and changing
priorities of the customers. Most popular T.V shows and gaming channels are also hired for their
advertisement which results in better selling of the product.
Promotion of Fitbit Versa 2
The promotional strategies of the company are quite impressive. It uses television
advertisements, short clip videos, newspaper and magazine advertisements for its promotion. It
also organizes trial sessions of the product in corporate sectors, hospitals authorities, fitness
centres for enhancing the selling of the product (ieeexplore.ieee.org, 2019). The market analysis
and surveys are done by the company in order to know the market demands and changing
priorities of the customers. Since this is more renowned to be a fitness tracker so the company
give the brand ambassadorship to fitness icons and personalities who are involved in different
kinds of sports like cricket, football, hockey, golf and so on [Referred to Appendix 5].
Conclusion
Recommendation and conclusion of Apple watch series 6- Though the watch is quite renowned
and is highly desirable by many people due to its overwhelming features, all of them cannot
afford it. So if the price of the product can be made a little lower and affordable then the
common people also can avail of it (nlm.nih.gov, 2021). Moreover, a little bit more attention is
to be given to increase the battery life of the product in order to make the product more
attractive.
Recommendation and conclusion of the Fitbit Versa 2 - The price of the product is pretty
affordable but in order to increase the sale innovative promotional techniques can be used like
giving a handsome discount for a particular period of time. Moreover, some more health
beneficial features can be incorporated into the product to make it more attractive.
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References
appleinsider.com, 2021, about. Available at: https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/08/28/apple-
watch-series-6-is-worlds-most-popular-smartwatch-model-research-suggests [Accessed on:
16.11.2021]
essay.utwente.nl, 2021, product. Available at: https://essay.utwente.nl/76647/ [Accessed on:
16.11.2021]
fitbit.com, 2021, product. Available at: https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/countries [Accessed on:
26.11.2021]
ieeexplore.ieee.org, 2019, product promotion. Available
at:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8763834 [Accessed on: 26.11.2021]
nature.com, 2020, product. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-020-0226-6
[Accessed on: 16.11.2021]
neilpatel.com, 2021, product promotion. Available at:https://neilpatel.com/blog/7-key-strategies-
that-you-must-learn-from-apples-marketing/ [Accessed on: 26.11.2021]
nlm.nih.gov, 2021, about. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34784580/about.
[Accessed on: 16.11.2021]
pubmed.ncbi.nlm, 2017, product price. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28709155/
[Accessed on: 26.11.2021]
pubmed.ncbi.nlm, 2021, product price. Available at:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33864306/
[Accessed on: 26.11.2021]
science direct.com, 2021, findings. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563221001217 [Accessed on:
16.11.2021]
Sun, X., Adams, S.A., Li, C., Booth, J.N., Robertson, J. and Fawkner, S., 2021. Validity of the
Fitbit Ace and Miki Devices for Assessing Steps During Different Walking Conditions in Young
Adolescents. Pediatric Exercise Science, 1(aop),pp.1-5.
support.apple.com, 2021, product. Available at: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204411
[Accessed on:16.11.2021]
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Appendices
Appendix 1
Fig 1: Product of Apple watch series 6
[Source: https://9to5mac.com/2020/11/24/apple-watch-series-6-vs-apple-watch-se/]
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Appendix 2
Fig 2: Product of Fitbit Versa 2
[Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/fitbit-versa-2-review-1023127/]
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Appendix 3
Fig 3: Marketing strategies and targeting of customers by Apple watch series
[Source: https://blog.brandtotal.com/apple-now-sells-an-ecg-monitor.-how-will-that-affect-
their-marketing]
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Appendix 4
Fig 4: Pricing of Apple Watch Series
[Source: https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/news/apple-watch-pricing-strategy/]
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