Apple's i-Pod, new marketing strategy in Korea

Résumé du document

Apple's iPod is the hottest, most innovative and sought-after MP3 player in the world. In Europe, iPod takes 80% in MP3 player market, and it is the most powerful item for Europeans. Same situation is happening in north-America. For almost all of American, when they think of MP3 player, they definitely choose Apple's iPod. iPod provides a lot of customers with brand loyalty by constructing strong relationship with them.

However, it is different in Korean market compared to Europe and America. In South Korea, iPod accounts for only 7% in sales charts, according to a recent report by market analyst GfK AG. iPod ranked 13th in this market. Reigncom, better known as iRiver, was ranked first with 30.8% in the market.(Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. with 14.4 percent, and Cowon, known as iAudio with 11.8 percent.)

The reason why we chose this topic is that we thought it would be an interesting challenge to find a proper marketing strategy. And it would be a good way to apply what we learned in the class. Nowadays, iPod is getting trendier to Korean young consumers, and also in the world, and it could be appropriate to apply a stronger marketing strategy.
It is obvious that the iPod product is less successful in Korea than in the USA, then we will analyze the marketing strategies of Apple in both countries.

Extraits

[...] Apple online music store was not launched in Korea. By the way, Apple doesn't provide all its services to Korean consumers. In general electronic products store, iPod is less represented than other brands. The main competitor, iriver has its own shop to provide its products (iriver zone) and also a specialized service for after purchase. Some competitors like yepp' are branches of major Korean brands (Samsung in this particular case). By the way Korean consumers already have a strong attitude toward these brands. [...]

[...] Apple's i-Pod, new marketing strategy in Korea I. Introduction II. Development 1. Market analysis The product U.S. market Korean market 2. Consumer analysis U.S. market Korean market 3. Suggestions Advertising strategy Attitude change Post-purchase strategy III. Conclusion I. Introduction Apple's iPod is the hottest, most innovative and sought-after MP3 player in the world. In Europe, iPod takes 80% in MP3 player market, and it is the most powerful item for Europeans. Same situation is happening in north-America. For almost all of American, when they think of MP3 player, they definitely choose Apple's iPod. [...]

[...] Concerning the iPod the website also provide an interesting micro-marketing service. You can ask to engrave a short personal message on you iPod, and, by the way, make it unique. The second one is Apple stores. These places are designed to vehiculate Apple image of innovation, imagination and love of technology. The apparent purpose is not commerce but trial and experience of products. Compared to its competitors in United States Apple engaged in a high price policy. They have the same variety of products (based on technical attributes) but the price range of Apple is between $74 and $399. [...]

[...] Some can be found on the web but there's also recognition among iPod's users and the feeling of belonging to a group. As the product is sold with high price, obtaining one is perceived as a mark of wealth. All these reasons can explain the success of iPod to seduce the American consumers. b. Korean market Some characteristics of the Korean consumers are important for this kind of study. First one is that Korean consumers tend to buy Korean brands if they provide the same product and services than foreign brands. [...]

[...] By the way if consumers tend to evaluate the product as utilitarian, iPod is in a worst position than competitors products in terms of sound quality (which is the most important). On the other side if consumer purchase the product as hedonic, we don't have to worry that much about this attribute and can focus on design which is related to imagery. The men and women market are very different in Korea. Women place a high value on design and they don't think that the price is a critical factor in terms of hedonic purchase. [...]