MKTG1101 Report: Strategic Marketing Plan for Apple iPhone 8 Plus

This report details a marketing strategy for the iPhone 8 Plus, focusing on positioning, marketing objectives, and the marketing mix (product, price, placement, promotion). It emphasizes differentiating the iPhone 8 Plus in a competitive market by leveraging Apple's brand image and customer loyalty. The strategy aims to increase product desirability through innovative advertising, raise awareness via various marketing channels, sustain brand trustworthiness, and ultimately boost sales. The report also discusses pricing strategy, placement tactics, and promotional activities designed to appeal to younger, affluent consumers who prioritize features, security, and performance. The goal is to create a comprehensive marketing approach that reinforces Apple's position and attracts new customers.

University
MKTG1101
Name

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Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Positioning Statement 3
Marketing Objectives 4
Marketing Mix 4
Product: 4
Price: 5
Placement: 5
Promotion: 6
Conclusion 6
References 7

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Introduction
With reference to Assignment 1 the various aspects related to the development of a marketing
strategy for the iPhone 8 plus shall be explored in the present project. The modern market which
is flooded by goods and services of various kinds, it becomes especially relevant for
organizations to manufacture products that stand out from the rest and engage with consumers in
innovative ways. Therefore, the marketing efforts of the organization should be directed towards
positioning the product in an appropriate position that shall differentiate it from other similar
kinds of products available in the market. The iPhone 8 plus has to offer something that exceeds
the existing value proposition offered by other phones available in the market. Even though the
iPhone falls within the category of premium smartphones and thereby, it comes with a
comparatively high price (Dovleac, 2014). Therefore, in order to ensure that the product has a
devoted group of customers, Apple shall have to devise an appealing marketing strategy that
shall facilitate better positioning. The following sections shall deal with the various nuances
related to the specific marketing program that shall be adopted for the iPhone 8 plus.
Positioning Statement
Apple’s name is associated with the delivering of exceptional experience to customers.
Customers who are once used to using products from Apple shall be reluctant to switch over to
other brands. Apple provides a singularly pleasing and convenient user interface in its devices
that ease of use would be unmatched by competing brands. While it is true that Apple sets high
prices for its products, its unparalleled set of features has helped it to attain a devoted group of
customers who are loyal to the organization. The Apple brand image invokes several ideas like
that of passion, dreams and imagination and therefore, customers can develop a bond with their
devices which would be impossible to forge with any other brand (Kotabe & Helsen, 2014). One
of the primary reasons behind the creation of such a strong relationship with the customer is that
Apple offers an incomparable degree of customer engagement and after-sales service. ITunes has
the most diverse and varied collection of music which people with every kind of taste in music
shall find interesting. Moreover, Apple is known to promptly replace products if any error is
discovered in the product (de Oliveira & dos Santos, 2017).
The iPhone 8 plus is another powerful addition to the existing range of products offered by
Apple Inc. The device seeks not only to fulfil all the expectations that customers already have
from it but also to deliver a pleasant excess that they shall find difficult to get over. It is not just

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another smartphone that one can choose from. It is unique as it offers features that are not
available elsewhere (Jackson, 2016). Apparently, it is a smartphone but it packs in itself features
and specialties that exceed its utility for the consumer. It has the best in class camera and boasts
of the smooth interface and lightning fast performance. It has an ergonomic feel and its build
quality betrays the fact that it is a premium product.
Marketing Objectives
Apple seeks to devise a multi-pronged marketing campaign that lets customers think about the
product in different ways invoke desire for the product. Apple’s uses its products to symbolize
various ideas and emotions that the consumers can identify with so that they shall wish to buy
the product. The marketing objectives for iPhone 8 plus are as follows:
 Developing a suitable positioning strategy that help in countering the existing
competition in the market.
 Increase the desirability of the products by the creation of innovative and intriguing
advertising.
 Raise awareness about the product by engaging in several kinds of marketing mediums
like television, social media and offline means as well.
 Sustain the trustworthiness and reliability of the organization (Sarstedt & Mooi, 2019).
 Finally, increasing the sales of the product through the fulfilment of the above conditions.
Marketing Mix
Product:
The product here is the iPhone 8 plus. The product is the most unique kind of product and it shall
bear different kind of features which are absolutely unique in consideration to the other phones at
the same or near the price segment. The phone shall consist of different kind of features and shall
possess the best in class camera and speakers in the price segment to which it will belong (Nagle
& Müller, 2017). The product shall be launched with proper testing related to its quality and
durability as it has been promised by the company in their previous pre-launching programme of
the phone. It will have a metallic body in order to make the phones more durable. Further, the
cameras shall have a shatterproof and scratch proof glass covering at their back. This shall be
enabled so that the phones do not get scratch or shattered if the phones fall out from the user’s
hands (MacLaren, Farrington & O'Gorman, 2017). The phone shall feature modern cooling

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features that shall help users to do different kind of activities and high definition gaming. This
kind of features can be expected at the price that are charge by the company for the phone.
Price:
The price of the product shall be around $700 for the 64GB variant and the for the 256 GB
variant for around $750. The price shall be somewhat higher as compared to the other products
of the rivals (Blendin, Bendfeldt, Poese, Koldehofe & Hohlfeld, 2018). This will be done as the
best quality of technology, parts and software shall be used in order to make the iPhone 8 plus
phones. The main segment that has been chosen for the product belong from, the younger and
more over the richer section of the society. The young people prefer better features, update
software, fast operations, excellent cameras and good music playback options. While the richer
sections have different confidential data to keep. Thus, they also want a phone that shall be safe
and secure to use and shall be less vulnerable to different kind of virus attacks and other things.
The pricing is higher in order to make the best and developed software in the phones in order to
make them able to meet all these criteria. With meeting all of the abo0ver criteria and making the
phone's unique, safe and more smooth and fast to use, it shall have more appeal to the set
segments for the customers (Teng, Tai, Yu & Chen, 2018). This shall help in boosting up the
overall sales of the iPhones and the company shall be able to properly make profits out of the
production of the iPhone 8 plus. The price of the phone shall include the headphones, Turbo
boost charger that shall be provided along with the phones in their respective boxes.
Placement:
There shall be no fixed place for selling these phones. The first launch of these phones shall be
done on the limited number of showrooms of the company. Then it shall be sold over the
different e-commerce websites and made available all over UK, US and other first world
countries. Next it shall be sold over all big shops as well as e-commerce websites across the
globe (Foutz & Rao, 2018). Every kind of details shall be furnished regarding the suitability in
each of the showrooms. Further, different temporary stalls shall be set up along the main road of
the Metro cities in across different of the countries. Through these outlets also phones shall be
sold and different offers shall be given along with them in order to increase the sales along the

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first months (this shall be applied if the demand of the phone increases immediately after the
launch).
Promotion:
Different kind of promotional strategies shall be used in order to carry on with the total sales
activity and the launch of the iPhone 8 plus in the market. In the first stage, the advertisements
regarding the launch of the phone shall be provided on the Televisions as well as the newspapers
valuing different major cities across the globe. In different of the showrooms of the company,
posters shall be fitted and ads shall be put on the display boards there (Deitel, Deitel & Deitel,
2014). In the second phase, the advertisements shall also be provided on various of the e-
commerce sites. Different big hoarding and billboards along the main roads of the cities shall be
ornamented with the advertisements of the phone sin order to attract mass attraction from the
consumers. The company shall also arrange for different contests through different “Reality
Shows” where the winners shall be given some special prizes including samples of the phones by
paying half of the price (Walet, 2017). This shall help the company to get a better reach to
different of its consumers.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be observed that there are various needs that the marketing strategy for the iPhone 8
plus has to take consideration of. The process becomes more complex for Apple because it has a
pre-existing reputation in the market and it would not be able to afford to disappoint its devoted
consumers. The consumer expectations shall have to be predicted by the organization and the
marketing strategy has to address the specific needs of the consumer. This shall increase the
credibility of the organization and also attract more new customers.

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References
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DEVELOPMENT IN BUSINESS. MIX Sustentável, 3(4), 189-189.
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Jackson, J. (2016). The Role of Marketing Activities in Commercializing Technological
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Kotabe, M., & Helsen, K. (2014). Global marketing management. The fundamental basics of
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