Advertisement Of The Urban Decay Advertisement Essay

Introduction: Due to its colorful, attention-grabbing images of lipstick and the text that appeals to ethos and the desire for attention, the Urban Decay advertisement is successfully persuading women to purchase the company’s Vice Lipstick. What makes this advertisement so persuasive is that they offer and show you the different shades the lipsticks comes in and they have Ruby Rose modeling it. Visual Aesthetics: What caught my attention first was shady dark green eyeshadow,which made the model green eye pop out more. The ad is of Ruby Rose and she is advertising Urban Decay Vice lipstick. She is wearing the Pondemonium shade, which is similar to a dark purple or plum shade. What caught my attention next was that there are 20 shades of lipstick that catches your eyes starting from nude or natural colors, to vibrant colors as in bright orange or hot pink, which ends with dark shades like grape purple and burgundy shade. I also noticed how her hair was pushed back from her face, which makes the reader focus on her face more. In the foreground I noticed the Vice Lipstick with the slogan â€Å"Too Much VICE Is Never Enough.† The background is a light gray with a hint of light shinning on her face to draw more attention to her lips. The information that is listed on this advertisement is at the bottom left hand corner is the Urban Decay Vice Lipstick app, which lets the r eader experiment shades of lipstick on themselves. At the bottom right hand corner is a list of the storesShow MoreRelatedUrban Decay : A New Standard Of Beauty1517 Words   |  7 PagesAnother Vice Urban Decay, not only a makeup line but a new standard of beauty. Well known for their show stopping makeup and worldwide fame, Urban Decay is known for setting themselves to be above and beyond competitors. The literal definition of beauty is; â€Å"the quality of being physically attractive. The qualities in a person or a thing that give pleasure to the senses or the mind.† Urban Decay’s products are the definition of beauty, their products are outstanding and one of a kind, and bringsRead MoreThe Cosmetics Industry Essay915 Words   |  4 Pages2015). Since benefit was founded in 1976 by twin’s jean and Jane ford, it has grown to become a household name. Benefit faces competition from larger brands such as MAC Cosmetics, L’Orà ©al and Urban Decay amongst other major brands; benefit is at times overshadowed due to its not always publicised advertisements. Within this report I am aiming to target the five key areas that will disassemble the points behind the success of Benefit Cosmetics, these areas include; the macro-environment, target customerRead MoreEssay on Creating Suckers for Consumption: MTV and Pop Culture1393 Words   |  6 Pagessocially silenced prior to MTVs ability to market urban music. Thus, MTVs ability to bring the unheard minoritys voice to an international level has helped to break down some of the cultural barriers that have stood in humanitys way for centuries. Rappers such as Ice T and Public (E)enemy raised eyebrows around the world with their lyrics protesting Government hippocracies and other social issues. In turn, these artists contributions help make rap/urban music an important and influential cultural movementRead MoreHuman Civilization And Its Effects On Women1362 Words   |  6 Pages Canadians spend 1.4 Billion Dollars on beauty products ,ranking them first globally (NDP group).The huge customer demand and the amount of money in this industry have resulted in a rapidly growing number of brands .Brands rely heavily on advertisement and the English language within it to not only grab the potential customer s attention but to have them feel like their survival in this world relies on this makeup item . George Orwell chastises the use of English language by politiciansRead MoreAnalysis Of The Film Amores Perros 848 Words   |  4 PagesAmores Perros is characterized by a depiction of contemporary urban life dominated by violence, social decay and the corruption of both traditional and modern morality and political values. Yet, according to some critics, the film suggests the possibility of human and social redemption. Discuss. Amore Perros is a film about society where life is dominated by pain, violence, social decay and corruption. In this scenario love is the only tool through which the characters can find redemption andRead MoreBlade Runner Analysis1228 Words   |  5 Pagesin the  styles of forty years ago.  The film has a Cyber Punk genre, cyber being all the electronic things  and gizmos and punk being the disruptive, rebellious street level.  This subgenre was very popular in the early 1980’s. It emphasises on  the urban decay, anger of global corporations and also Disopia (equal  society) from the word Utopia.  In the opening scene of Blade Runner, they show Los Angeles as a place  of dirt, a falling city, with industry but also explosions. It was  inspired by Port TalbotRead MoreSignals and Signs of Community Health1110 Words   |  4 Pagesthird largest city in the United States. It is the largest city in the midwest. Chicago is a very diverse city and has many differe nt ethnic and socioeconomic populations scattered throughout the city and surrounding areas. Chicago is an extremely urban environment located adjacent to Lake Michigan. Chicago is known for its contributions to the arts, social justice and civil rights issues and its Midwestern values. The size of the city and its geographical and social standings allow for great challengesRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Nissan Leaf1730 Words   |  7 Pagestrying to research this commercial, I learned that it’s a real bear – the only professional acting polar bear (autotrader.com). } III. Purpose and stance; Here’s where we â€Å"read† the ad and describe it – visual rhetoric Clearly, the purpose of the advertisement is to sell the new Nissan Leaf. The company’s stance reveals a commitment to saving the environment through technology; they seem to be admitting that global warming is real and that the automobile industry is one of the primary culprits. WithRead MoreMarketing Strategy Pepsodent1518 Words   |  7 Pagesmarket by increasing the usage of the product. Thus came the Bhoot campaign that is currently on TV. Pepsodent aims to teach the kids to brush at night ( with Pepsodent ofcourse) .Research shows that brushing teeth at night can reduce chances of tooth decay by 30%. If HLL to be believed, 12 lakhs kids are brushing teeth at night now and mothers are happy Pepsodent is a brand that has been carefully crafted although it struggled to find its soul, now the brand is all set to take off. Shahrukh Khan asRead MoreMtvs Influence on Popular Culture938 Words   |  4 Pagessocially silenced prior to MTV’s ability to market urban music. Thus, MTV’s ability to bring the unheard minority’s voice to an international level has helped break down some of the cultural barriers that have stood in humanity’s way for centuries. Rappers such as Ice T and Public Enemy raised eyebrows around the world with their lyrics protesting Government hypocrisy and other social issues. In turn, these artists’ contributions help make rap/urban music an important and influential cultural movement

America Faces the Cold War Essay - 1504 Words

America Faces the Cold War From 1941-1945, the United States, along with numerous other countries throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, was engaged in World War II. The allied powers bitterly fought against the axis powers on European land and over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. After the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan, which caused the axis powers to succumb to the allied powers, Americans were very relieved that the many years of fierce conflict had finally come to a halt. It was a good time for American citizens to celebrate the return of the soldiers and to enjoy the peace that had spread throughout the world. The United States was starting to rebuild its standard economy and was ready for everyday life to†¦show more content†¦The United States, as part of a UN police action, sent troops to help South Korea fight off the communist troops of North Korea. Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, and with aid from Australia, Great Britain, and Turkey, the UN forces were of great assistance in the fight against not only North Korea, but also troops from the Soviet Union and China. The Korean War lasted from 1950-1953. The Korean War had major impacts on the autonomy and responsibility of the United States as a nation, as well as the people of America. Many powerful political authorities of the United States, thought not wanting communism to spread, argued that their nation was not allied to South Korea, and therefore had no responsibility of protecting them. On the contrary, other political figures felt that to ensure freedom as a democratic society, the United States had to assure that communism would not dominate in Asia and other foreign lands. These people believed that it was the duty of the United States to protect South Korea from communist rule. Meanwhile the American citizens were facing the same types of dilemmas, whether they owed allegiance to a foreign country. Their lives were once again in transition, going from living in a peaceful cou ntry to living in a country at war. The most obvious change in responsibility would be the military draft. Many American adult males were shipped to the far-east Asian country to put their lives on the line to stop the spreadShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1139 Words   |  5 PagesThe Cold War is a period following world war II which was marked by political conflict between former allies; the United States and the Soviet Union. It is considered â€Å"a state of conflict that stops just ever so short of direct military combat. Instead, the fighting mainly takes the form of economic competition, political maneuvers, propaganda and, at times, proxy wars between nations allied to one of the more powerful nations.† (Pelz 171). Once allies, the United States and Soviet Union experiencedRead MoreNuclear Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki981 Words   |  4 PagesTowards the end of World War II, in Hiroshima, Japan, thousands died. The â€Å"Enola Gay dropped a 9, 000 lb TNT bomb called â€Å"Little Boy.† Approximately 78,150 people died after one death count, but radiation was still lethal. Three days later, another bomb was dropped. â€Å"Fat Man,† dropped by â€Å"Bock’s Car,† was a Uranium-235 bomb, even though it did less damage than Hiroshima, the seaport of Nagasaki still was torn to pieces. Overall, there were approximately 23,753 lives taken by â€Å"Fat Man.† The NuclearRead MoreAt The End Of World War 2, America Faced An Even Greater1234 Words   |  5 Pagesof World War 2, America faced an even greater dilemma than whether or not it should enter the war in the first place. World War 2 was being fought on multiple fronts; in fact, World War 2 was fought on six of the seven continents, with the lone survivor being Antarctica. And in all likeliness, if Antarctica wasn’t surrounded by ice that blocked ships from passing, it’s reasonable to believe the war would have spilled onto a seventh. With resources being spread thin, far, and wide, America did notRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet War845 Words   |  4 PagesThe reason the Cold War was called the Cold War is because there were no physical battles with weapons, tanks, or even artillery, it was a war between capitalism vs. communism, democracy vs. dictatorship. This War actually started when Stalin of the USSR had a conference during the end of WWII who promised the American president, FDR, that he would allow there to be elections, democratic elections, in the Eastern part of Europe which had the soviet dominance. But in the year of 1945, in the PotsdamRead MoreThe Cold War as the Result of Fear of Soviet Expansion Essay example1472 Words   |  6 PagesThe Cold War as the Result of Fear of Soviet Expansion At the end of the Second World War only two out of the all the great powers were left standing. Germany and Japan had been crushed in the war and Britain and France were weakened economically and politically. The United States, who had not seen much fighting on her shores, emerged from the war economically and politically intact as a great nuclear power and Russia, although weakened economically, had the largestRead MoreNuclear War : Power Versus Peace Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesNuclear War: Power Versus Peace In today’s society people must consider the possible devastation a major war could bring to the world and society as a whole. Throughout history the US has successfully avenged threats made to our nation, homes, and citizens but, what if the menace becomes mass destruction? According to Johan Galtung, the author of On the Social and Cultural Implications of Nuclear War, a war with such ambivalent outcomes would produce a more broken world, stating, â€Å"We live alreadyRead MoreThe Geopolitical Challenges Of America1616 Words   |  7 PagesOur Geopolitical Challenges America is a country that stands out from all the other countries. We have a strong system of government that listens to the people and is ran by the people. This does not however mean that we are without geopolitical challenges. We face many challenges such as immigration, human rights abuses, and terrorism. Each of these are issues that we, the people must face. However, two of the largest challenges our nation faces today is our dependency on foreign oil and our relationsRead MoreCold War Vs. Soviet Union1465 Words   |  6 Pages Cold War Argumentative Paper The cold war lasted from 1947 to 1991 and was the closest that the United State had ever come to total destruction and nuclear war. In this paper I will analyze the main moments leading to the close of the Cold War. The moments leading up to the decision that would end the Cold War are full of tension and uncertainty. In Adzhubei’s account of his visit to America and his meeting with John F.Kennedy and other officials and journalists you can tell that there isRead MoreThe Cold War: The Iron Curtain Essay780 Words   |  4 PagesThe â€Å"Cold War† was a unique time period were paranoia ran high and the world was at a stalemate as it watch the competition between the two world superpowers,(U.S. and the U.S.S.R.). In the United States the main concern of the government was maintain the loyalty of their citizens. This was made even more evident by the second red scare that happened post WWII. The reason behind this scare was that information was leaked that there was espionage going on in the US and this caused Americans to fearRead MoreHow Did the Cold War Affect Domestic Policy and American Society?608 Words   |  3 PagesHow did the Cold War affect domestic policy and American Society? The late 1940†²s were a time when much change happened to the American society. As a result to the expanding threat of the Soviet Union, or its Communistic ideals, America took a stand that lead it to the Cold War.   Although the war didn’t involve fighting directly with Russia, it still affected the American society and domestic policy. The war affected America so much that it lead to a fear of livelihood; precisely when Joseph McCarthy

The Hunters Moonsong Epilogue Free Essays

Ethan gasped, sucking in a long breath of air, and coughed his way awake, his whole body shaking. Everything hurt. Gingerly, he patted himself down, finding that he was sticky with half-dried blood, covered with a score of smal injuries. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hunters: Moonsong Epilogue or any similar topic only for you Order Now Reaching up, he felt the already healing indentation in his back with delicate fingers. The stave the girl had thrust into him had brushed his heart, but it hadn’t pierced it. A half centimeter to one side, and he would have been dead. Real y dead, this time, not undead. Grabbing hold of a velvet-covered chair with one hand, Ethan pul ed himself to his feet and looked around. His lieutenants in the Vitale Society, his friends, lay dead on the floor. The Salvatore brothers, and the girls who were with them, had escaped. Nervously, he felt in one pocket and sighed in relief as his hand closed on a smal vial. Pul ing it out, he looked at the thick red liquid within. Stefan Salvatore’s blood. He fished in the same pocket and drew out a cloth bearing a long reddish-brown stain. Damon Salvatore’s blood. He had what he needed. Klaus would rise again. How to cite The Hunters: Moonsong Epilogue, Essay examples

COMPARISON OF WEST SIDE STORY AND ROMEO free essay sample

AND JULIET Essay, Research Paper A Comparison of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. There is a batch in common between the two dramas Romeo And Juliet and West Side Story. The chief male characters have many things in common. In fact, Toni and Romeo both miss the beginning battle at the beginning of the dramas, they both fall in love and stop up acquiring killed. The difference between the two is that Toni takes topographic point in the 1950s # 8221 ; , while Romeo happens in Elizabethan times ( the tardily 1500s ) . The two chief female characters besides have many things in common. Juliet and Maria both come from households that hate each other # 8217 ; s boyfriend # 8217 ; s households. Something that makes Juliet different from Maria is that Juliet dies and Maria lives. In both of these dramas the chief male character kills a relation of their lover. In Romeo And Juliet, Romeo kills Tybalta, Juliet # 8217 ; s cousin. We will write a custom essay sample on COMPARISON OF WEST SIDE STORY AND ROMEO or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In West Side Story, Toni kills Bernardo, Maria # 8217 ; s brother. There was a individual in both drama # 8217 ; s that tried to do peace. These people were the Prince and the Lieutenant. The Prince, from Romeo And Juliet, had told Romeo and Juliet # 8217 ; s households that if there was another public violence that the caputs of each household will be killed. The Lieutenant, from West Side Story, had told the Puerto Rican # 8217 ; s and the American’s that if they get into another battle they all will hold to travel to gaol. The difference between the two peace-makers is that the Prince has more power than the Lieutenant. In the narrative of Romeo and Juliet, Paris wants to get married Juliet against her wants. Her male parent wants Paris West Side Story to get married Juliet. Juliet goes away and marries Romeo without stating anyone. In Chino wants to get married Maria against her wants, merely like Paris in Romeo and Juliet. Maria and Toni do non acquire married, which is in contrast to Romeo and Juliet. Marcucio in Romeo and Juliet, is killed while combating Tybalta. In West Side Story Riff is killed in a knife battle with Bernardo. Both deceases are inadvertent and do the hero’s ( Romeo and Toni ) to kill the close relation of their lovers ( Tybalta and Bernardo ) . Both narratives conclude in the sad rapprochement of two contending cabals at the cost of the lives of the two immature lovers. After comparing and contrasting the two dramas I # 8217 ; ve come the decision that Romeo and Juliet is better than West Side Story. It is better because the linguistic communication and the narrative moves in a more interesting mode. # 8220 ; A preparing peace this forenoon with it brings. The Sun for sorrow will non demo his caput. For neer was there a narrative of more suffering, than this of Juliet and her Romeo # 8221 ; .

My Tuesdays With Morrie Essays (1015 words) - Self-help Books

My Tuesdays With Morrie My Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, is flipping through his TV stations one night and he heard these words come from his TV set, Who is Morrie Schwartz? And Mitch went numb. Mitch found out through the TV show Nightline that his life long friend and teacher is dying and Mitch knows that he has to go and see him. Mitch goes to see his old college professor and what starts out as a one-day meeting turns into a four-month class. The class is conducted in Morries house in the suburb or Boston, there are no books or any other students, just Mitch and Morrie. Throughout this class Morrie teaches Mitch the lessons of life; lessons such as death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness, and a meaningful life. As Morries conditions worsen, Mitchs condition is getting better; Mitch is becoming a better person. Finally Morries life comes to an end, and Mitch graduates from Life 101. I felt the seeds of death inside his shriveling frame, and as I laid him in his chair, adjusting his head on the pillow, I had the coldest realization that our time was running out (59). That is what Mitch, a journal writer for the Detroit Free Press, said as he lifted his old college teacher from his wheelchair to his recliner. Morrie Schwartz is dying from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig disease. As the book goes on, Morrie reaches out to people who want to talk and he teaches them about the real lessons of life, while he is lying on his deathbed. Tuesdays With Morrie is an excellent book because Morrie teaches Mitch lessons about marriage, greed, and family that young adults can learn from. Love each other or perish(149). This quote sums up all of Morries views and beliefs on the topic of marriage and love. I feel that young adults can learn a very big lesson from this short quote. Love and marriage are very important because we all need someone to love and to love back, if we dont we are going to live a very lonely and unhappy life. There is a set of rules that Morrie stated in this book that I feel young adults could learn a lot from. Morrie said that, your going to have a lot of trouble if you dont respect the other person if you dont now how to compromise if you cant talk openly about what goes on between you if you dont have a common set of values in life(149). And the biggest one of those values is your belief in the importance of your marriage. I think that everything that Morrie says in that passage is very true. When he talks about if you dont know how to compromise then you are going to have a lot of trouble. If you cant work and give up some things to make th ings succeed with the person that you love then you are going to have a lot of problems. I really feel that young adults can learn a lot from that passage as well as throughout the book about marriage. Another issue that Morrie talks to Mitch about that I feel young adults can learn from is greed, and how we as people put our values in the wrong things. I also feel that this is true in todays society. We do put our values in the wrong things, we put our values in money, cars, cloths, and many others, but we all know that that is the wrong place to put our heart. Im sure that we have all heard the quote, When we die, you cant take it with you (124). Since this has been mentioned so much I dont need to go in depth about it, but I really feel that this is true, we need to realize that we cant take our material things with us when we die. What I learned from this chapter is that a person doesnt go through their whole life putting their values in the wrong things and then when you get older realize that they where wrong and should have put their values in something

Interview Example

Report/Interview Example Report/Interview – Book Report/Review Example Report Interview Report Interview I interviewed a professional nurse that holds a BSN and could be my mentor. There are various elements that make this nursing role ideal for me. To start with, it is in line with my field of study and therefore, I will be able to apply what I have learnt over the years while pursuing my degree. Secondly, the position is requires nurses to work towards patient satisfaction and delivery of quality health care to the patients (Masters, 2005). The role requires management of a give schedule as well as focus on the daily clinical duties and patient education. This role also requires application of the budgetary control and accountability skills learnt during the study (Lugton and McIntyre, 2008). The role will necessitate the important lessons that I have learnt about cultural diversity as well as challenge me to be a better nurse. The nurse believes in offering quality health care and helping parents make informed health decisions. Nursing is a stressful career that calls for emotional stability mainly when dealing with stressful events (Watson, 2008). The nurse has learnt to deal with such situations without getting personally involved. The nurse shows great empathy towards patients in pain and this reassures them. The nurse demonstrates excellent interpersonal communication with the patients as well as members of staff. The nurse also demonstrates attention to detail which ensures accuracy in administering medication. The nurse exemplifies respect of individuals from various cultural and religious backgrounds. The nurse also shows timely response to emergencies and excellent problem-solving. All these aspects relate to my long-term objectives in nursing that are to become a culturally competent and highly efficient nurse. ReferencesLugton, J., & McIntyre, R. (2005). Palliative care: The nursing role. Edinburgh: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone.Masters, K. (2005). Role development in professional nursing practice. Sudbury, Mass.: J ones and Bartlett.Watson, J. (2008). Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring (Rev. ed.). Boulder, Colo.: University Press of Colorado.

Swot Analysis of Elderly Phones Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Swot Analysis of Elderly Phones - Coursework Example The company will also have a wider market to sell these phones. Many companies in the modern world are keen in making products that satisfy the demand of the young generation. The company specializing with the manufacture of phones for elderly people will thus enjoy a large untapped market (Hm 2009, p.156). Though the company will have all the above mentioned competitive advantages, it will also face an enormous barrier in its attempt to advertise it new product. Most companies now days are using social media to advertise their product. It will be an ineffective channel to be used by a company dealing with products demanded by customers of +55 years and above. This is because the majority of curly users are youths (Lesley & Wing 2003, p. 189). It only a small proportion of the old generation that uses curly. In case the companies unknowingly select prices viewed as unfavorable by the customers, then their products will almost lose all its customers. Old people are price sensitive. In case they feel that the price set for a commodity is high, they will shift to other cheaper commodities (Lesley & Wing, 2003, p. 225).Elderly people are also too rigid. In case the company happens to make a mistake in its process of Being the first company to identify such a unique market gap, it will create a large market share. This is due to the fact that the company will gain customers trust before other companies’ entry. The trust created will give the company a cutting edge in the market (Lesley & Wing 2003, p. 421). This may scare away other companies willing to enter the market thus giving the initial company room to be the sole supplier of the brand to the market. The company also has a chance to expand its product to other technology. After capturing it initial target market, the company has a chance to develop other product line to serve

The Problems and Challenges in Developing Teams Research Paper

The Problems and Challenges in Developing Teams - Research Paper Example This requires extensive group activities and teamwork. Moreover, multinational organizations also require collaborating efforts of people located in a wide variety of geographic locations. Thus teamwork may also constitute people belonging to different nations. Thus it is seen that the overall performance and productivity of organizations fall short in the absence of proper management and development of teams. The present project discusses the situation and condition of teamwork and development at British Airways which is one of the largest airlines in England. The organization has confronted with challenging situations on account of the varying environmental and business conditions but has successfully overcome hurdles through proper and effective teamwork and development. Organizational Analysis- Context and Scenario leading to the problems of Team Roles and Team Development in the organization British Airways demonstrated tremendous failures in its self managed teams during the 19 90s. This is because of the fact that its team members lacked proper people management skills (McCann, â€Å"Introduction†). Following are the details of the context and scenario in British Airways which group work and team development failed. Person Sex Age Position Character AB M 35 Project Manager Autocratic leadership style that reinforces decisions and choices. Sociable, Extrovert. Pays little heed to people’s concerns, issues, views or suggestions CD M 32 Software Developer Highly knowledgeable and skilled worker, friendly yet introverted, conscientious; prefers to interact with computers rather than with people EF M 30 Software Developer Medium level of knowledge of technical aspects, people oriented, quick learner, extrovert and bubbly. Good listener and puts work first and self-aspects later GH M 28 Software Developer Unsociable, prefers to work on his own terms without being guided or directed; Concerned with his won work objectives and individual task accomp lishments rather than the tasks of the group at large. The above table mentions the characteristics of the different team members working under a single project manager. The main implication on the manager is the fact the members differ distinctly from one another in terms of their nature and behaviors. On the other hand, the manager himself displays an authoritarian autocratic style of leadership which members find difficult to handle. The fact that he imposes his own decisions and choices with regards to work activities and strategies is crucial for the team which comprises of members who are adequately knowledgeable and prefers to work as per their own understanding and decisions. Here, arises another problem.  Ã‚  

Final Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Reflection - Essay Example The summary of â€Å"Is Facebook making us Lonely† helped us a lot in understanding audience awareness. The article helped us how to write keeping the dispositions of audience towards the writer. The authors discussed the topic in an excellent way keeping their audience in mind. The summary of the article also informed us about the details involved in responding to audience. The article itself served as a role model for us as to how to communicate with audience using facts and rhetoric together. The subject of the article was very interesting and authors were successful in keeping the interests of the readers at all times. The summary of the article also helped us to learn about summarizing and paraphrasing. It helped us understand how to read and summarize a particular work without ignoring every small detail. I personally learned how to concisely summarize a long article in a few pages. This course has also helped me recognize the importance of rhetorical stance especially through the class discussions. In the class discussions we learnt how to maintain a clear stance throughout the discussion without changing sides. It was more about building a whole case around a central thesis. This helped my writing a lot because previously there was less coherence in my work. I used to discuss many things in a single paper and did not focus too much on a central theme or purpose. Class discussion made me understand how important it is to think about a purpose when writing about a topic. Research paper probably helped me the most as it made my research skills better. I learned how to use search engines and other sources to get the relevant information in a less amount of time. There is loads of information now at our disposal but it is very difficult to extract the right kind of information in a short time. I believe that research paper writing helped me research in a better way. When I was doing the paper I had to analyze other people’s work and

Development and Future of the Apple iPod

Development and Future of the Apple iPod The iPod is perhaps the most talked about technological product in recent times. It has set sales records that have lave literally destroyed the predictions of all analysts by superseding everyone’s expectations. The interesting issues concerning this topic is how the iPod impacted not only the digital music electronics industry, but was also responsible for the turnaround of a company on the brink of bankruptcy. It is this very fact that makes the growth and life cycle of iPod an experience in itself and one that creates a sense of wonder at its success. But how did all this come about and just why did the iPod do so well? These are questions that we look to find answers towards whilst shedding light on the internal pressures faced by the parent company Apple. The paper takes the reader through the history of the parent company Apple and its declining fortunes until the introduction of the iPod. This revolutionary innovation then dictated the pace at which the organisation was able to turn itself around to become one of the more successful computer companies in the world today. The report also looks at how Apple as a company defines itself with the onset of the iPod boom – can it still call itself a computer company in the literal sense of the word or does it now see itself entering a diversified phase of business operations and hence, would need to re-think it’s overall business strategy and core competencies. The views of different writers expressed through the paper help in building an understanding of the pressures the company has undergone over the last decade and why it has taken the decisions that it has. The paper revolves around the growth of the iPod as the key driving force for all major business and technical decisions, it understand how it had to be re-modelled and adapted to the market needs and demands. The paper also paints the competitive landscape at different stages of the growth cycle and how this impacted or did not impact the iPod. Finally, the paper looks at the varying consumer tastes, the positives drawn from the product itself and what lies in store for the future of the product and the company. The methods used to create a deeper understanding of the iPod environment were through a variety of primary and secondary sources. Some of this is discussed in greater detail in different section of the paper. However, for the purpose of this report, the researcher took great care in trying to put together different pieces of work by various writers so as to be able to provide more holistic and all-encompassing view of the real scenario that surrounded the iPod boom. On a more generic note, most writers and experts within the industry agreed that the success of this product was unrivalled by others of its kind in recent times. Introduction Background Success stories always find their way to centre-stage. But what makes a journey even more interesting is when accompany that finds itself in some level of difficulty turns the tide and jump starts its engines to climb to the top of the success ladder. Apple’s is one such story. Whilst the problems that affect it lie in the background, the phenomenal success of its iPod has people fascinated. Marketing gurus swear by the growth of this innovative product that provided the perfect solution to a generation that was technologically familiar and defied competition to control every conceivable bit of the market that it entered – the digital music space, and made it its own. How and why is what we attempt to discover. History The history of the iPod dates back to the January of 2001. Apple had just introduced ‘iTunes’ – a programme that enabled Accusers to burn music off audio CD’s and convert them into music files on their computer systems as digital audio files. This provided users with the flexibility of creating libraries for their music files, clubbing favourite songs in order and in time to come, download them to portable devices. This natural extension saw the introduction of the iPod in the month of October 2001. Unlike other portable devices in the same range, the iPod was the first of its kind to store music files on a hard disk similar to a computer. Other devices used flash cards and detachable storage devices that could not hold as many bytes of data as the iPod did. Infect, the first few iPods had a 5GB storage space, which equated to the storage of approximately a 1000 songs. The question to be asked at this stage was if the software for writing music to the computer was developed keeping the iPod in mind? However, sources within the company maintain that the iPod was only conceptualised 6 months before its release date. Whatever the truth might be, the two scenarios complemented each other beautifully giving consumers the best of both worlds and a logical extension to the process of listening to music. In November 2001, the first iPods were shipped to waiting buyers and byte end of the year, 125,000 iPods had been sold for a price of $399.Within a year, other computer companies as well as large retailers were selling iPods as value-adds. Dell, Best Buy and Target were some of the more prominent names at this stage and had dedicated sites and sales teams pushing for iPod sales. By June 2003, Apple had managed to sell 1 million iPods, which could download music from both Macs as well as PCs. Interestingly, by the end of 2003, one of its largest resellers Dell; had decided not to sell anymore iPods and instead launch its own version of the iPod called the DJ(Digital Jukebox). In order to download songs from the Internet, Dell partnered with a company called Music Match that offered that service. By mid-2004, 6 months after it hit the 1 million mark, Apple crossed the 2 million mark in iPod sales but the peripheral market was just getting warmed up to the portable devices segment. In addition to thud by Dell, HP announced that it was repackaging the 4G iPod and selling it as a PC friendly device. Motorola launched its next generation phones that would be iTunes compatible. In one of the more recent statistics of the iPod wave collated in October 2004, there were some interesting findings. Apple held 82 per cent of the digital market across all music players and 92 per cent of all hard-disk based music players. The nearest competitor to the iPod was the device launched by Creative. They had a 3.7 per cent market share. In addition, 2 million iPods are being sold every 3 months. The music industry too has gained immensely through these sales. The total number of downloads have been clocked at a 150 million which equates to 4 million per week. The latest iPod has a mechanism that enables the storage of digital photographs as well as music. Today, Apple figures have registered total of 6 million iPod sales. That’s a fascinating growth path, which would make any marketing professional envious of replicating that kind of success. On careful consideration though, it took very long for iPod to really drive its sales figures to the kind that it was able to achieve in the years 2003 and 2004. Until then, the figures were good, but not something to write home about. The turning point for Apple came with the introduction of the third generation iPods. This is apparent since it took almost 2 years for iPod to register its first million in sales and soon after the launch of the 3G iPod in Tokyo less than 6months later; Apple was able to register its second million in iPod sales. Interestingly, the sales figures recorded over the 3-year period were averse to any form of competition from companies such as Creative, Dell, river etc. They sold cheaper products but not for a moment, did they encroach upon the market share that was and is still monopolised by iPod. Apple has also utilised an aggressive marketing strategy towrope in different age groups by using the draw of celebrities and song choices. For instance, in late October 2004, Apple unveiled what was called the U2 iPod. Apple conducted a promotion exercise in sync with the release of U2’s song – Vertigo. The new iPod was designed with black casing, a red wheel and a back cover that had the engravings ofU2 with the band signatures. It is little things such as these that have made the iPod such a role model for marketing strategists. The unique blend of having a great product and infusing the right level of awareness and visibility to sell it to the masses. In the chart below, the growth path of the iPod from its inception, to the end of 2004shows how sales surged in 2003 after the release of the 3G iPods as mentioned earlier. Not to mention, as the iPod sales soared, so did the number of downloads for music. Initially, the software iTunes needed tube bought in order to write songs from audio CD’s to the computer, following which they could be downloaded to the iPod. In 2003, Apple introduced an online music store that enabled iPod users to download music directly from the Internet. This worked in 2 ways – it provided users with an increase in choice of music that they would like to have downloaded as well as simplified the procurement of iTunes. No more dada user have to buy a software, install it onto the computer and then use it to burn music off a CD and finally onto the hard disk of the iPod. Simplifying this process for millions of users had its positives as can be seen from the graph above. The first big jump in sales was in October 2003 when the PC version of the music store went live. This enabled far more users to be able to download songs onto their computers and diluted the monopoly of Accusers. 2 months later, in December 2003, following a lot of media hype and attention being given to the iPod and a corresponding increase in Christmas sales, more and more people began downloading songs from iTunes. And in between July 2004 and October 2004, Apple registered growth of song sales from a 100 million to a 150 million. (http://www.ipodlounge.com/articles_more.php?id=4280_0_8_0_M) It must be noted that in many instances within the paper, the use of iPod and Apple is synonymous. After much deliberation, the researcher decided that it was important to approach the paper from the perspective of the parent company Apple. Any impact that the environment would have on Apple would be reflective in the iPod strategy. At the same time, in circumstances that would affect the company both positively and negatively, would subsequent effect the iPod and vice-versa. Aims and Objectives The aim of this paper is to understand the growth of the iPod through the years. It all began in the year 2001 and it has been a short journey to success. But how long will this be able to continue, what is the future for the product, how will it fend off competition and how will it impact Apple in the longer run. We all know that it has been apathy-breaking journey for Apple as it picks itself up from the doldrums of declining computer sales with its innovative invention that saw it spring back into the limelight. It is also the endeavour of this paper to highlight how important an impact the iPod has had on Apple alone and why can’t other company’s model the same success story. Literature Review The Success of the iPod According to Haddad, Charles (2002),the iPod is one of the most revolutionary products to hit the computer and electronics market place. He believes that the only way forward for Apple is to diversify its product range and move from being a niche computer manufacturer to providing technology that understands the gap between technology and entertainment. He quotes how the market share for Apple in 2002 had remained at 3 per cent for a number of years. In order to move it from there, it was imperative that they looked beyond the computer industry since it was reaching a saturation point in most developed markets and the level of competition from across the globe was making it extremely difficult for large computer manufacturers to survive. Digital handheld music players were a growing market in 2002. There were few players in the market place and industry experts such as ID Chad stated that demand would grow by 74 per cent over the next 3 years. In retrospect, they weren’t right – but only because the demand has recorded triple digit growth since 2002. In addition, the anticipated sales for 2002 were pegged at 12 million units of all kinds of portable digital music devices. Haddad brings up an important point about how the level of competition within the digital handheld music products industry was still at a minimalistic stage in comparison to other industries where companies such as Microsoft and Intel who had taken over the PC market. He believed that the next generation of buyers were more interested in a product that was different, satisfied their requirements and at the same time, was ‘cool’ and suave to have. Especially in the case of handheld devices where consumers would cart it around with them, this need for trendy and sophisticated gadgets was of the utmost importance. At the time of writing his article, Haddad had researched the iPod when music files were downloadable only from a Mac. The iPod sales were still consistent and looking positive during that stage but Apple had not introduced downloading files onto PC’s at that stage. Once that happened, iPod sales grew dramatically. The iPod was never intended to lift the flailing computer business of the parent company but overtime, Haddad statements would hold good, as the iPod would grow to become one of the most successful products ever launched by a computer company. (Haddad, Charles, iPod, You Pod, Will We All Pod? Business Week Online; 7/3/2002) Teething problems with Strategy? With the degree of success that the iPod has seen over the years, there have been few instances that writers have been able to find a chink in the armour of this hugely successful product. One such writer is Salk ever, Alex (2004). In the first of his articles – ‘Apple’s slow boat to China’, he discusses how the Chinese economy is one of the most lucrative investment decisions for businesses the world over and how Apple has failed to take advantage of this huge opportunity. He begins by using the views of consultants who have worked within the Chinese market place for decades now and seen it evolve over the years. He quotes Merrill Weingrod who works with a marketing consultancy – China Strategies. When Salk ever asks Weingrod how lucrative the Chinese market is for product such as the iPod, he answers saying that the market potential for men’s electric shavers is $300 million annually. Weingrod believed that the Chinese have the buying power to spend $200 to $250 on luxury shavers today which are not a necessity by any standing. This was just an indication of their mind-sets and how much they were willing to spend and for what. He reiterates this by stating that the Chinese population measures 300 million in terms of the number of cell phone subscribers across the country. They pay an average of $200 for their handsets and connectivity. In addition, the average Chinese employee earns far less than his / her American counterpart and yet, he / she is willing to pay larger proportion of their salary towards buying luxury goods. This equates to the buying potential and eagerness amongst the population and above all – a prospective consumer. One who is constantly on the lookout for the infusion of luxury goods into the market so that he /she can go ahead and purchase it, provided there is a need of course. In addition, the Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy in the world with its GDP growth rate pegged at 9 per cent annually. It has one of the largest middle-class societies in the world with disposable income that is growing as fast as their growth rate. With every factor in the book of marketing pointing towards the Chinese market, Salk ever is dismayed at Apple’s strategy to stay out of this market and not undertake an aggressive marketing strategy that would tap it’s he potential. The only real steps that Apple has taken towards entering this economy is to ensure that iTunes Music software is downloaded onto every Manufactured by China’s second largest computer manufacturer – Founder Technology. It is an ironical decision considering the consumer who would purchase the machine would have little access to the iPod on which he could have downloaded his / her music. Besides this decision with the Chinese industry, Apple hasn’t taken any more steps towards making any investment decisions in this region. There was one instance when they almost toyed with the idea of opening an iTunes Music Store but then retracted any steps made in that direction. The figures that Salk ever quotes are astounding to the reader. According to him, at least .3 present of the population of China has disposable income that equates to that of an individual in the US who would earn approximately $25000 to $30000 annually. That figure translates to approximately 60 million people today and will grow to 3to 4 times that number over the next decade. With the increasing middleclass and the ability to buy products that others around the world can afford, very soon the Chinese middle class would equal the entire population of the United States. So what do the Chinese see these new gadgets in the market place as? According to market analysts Bryan Mama company that tracks the buying of cell phones in Asia, but based in Singapore, the number of cell phones that are replaced are astounding. The Chinese people like to replace their cell phones 6 to 12 months earlier than consumers in North America and Western Europe. Gadgets are seen as a status symbol of sorts. Owning the latest models makes individuals feel like they are popular and wanted, according to the company. Chinese consumers also tend to go for gadgets that are sleek, suave and trendy. According to Salk ever those are the kinds of words that would define the iPod but they don’t find any place in the market. He tries to look at the picture from Apple’s perspective. As a company, Apple’s strategy is to consolidate and preserve its position in the markets that it is strong in. In the bargain, it would not look to invest in new markets such as China. In fact, Apple has a miniscule presence across the entire length and breadth of Asia. If Japan is taken out of the equation, Apple draws less than 10 per cent of total sales from this region. Naturally, it is not an area of too much interest for the moment. Whilst Apple takes a back seat to proceedings in this region, competition in the form of Sony, Motorola and Creative have made inroads into the Chinese market. As an example, Motorola entered the Chinese handset market early and in the first quarter of2004, it was proud to declare that it has achieved a market share of 40per cent. It had the first mover’s advantage introducing a technology that few others were brave enough to take into this country many years back and today it has paid off. The Chinese market is known for its penetration problems. The researcher agrees with the insights that Salk ever has provided into this untapped region and understand the problems that Apple faces in the future lest it not take steps in this direction. The level of investment required at a later date where the market is abuzz with competition would be significantly higher. It makes completes sense for companies to invest in C hina at this stage and there is no reason why Apple should not be one of them. (Salk ever, Alex, Business Week Online; 7/22/2004) In another article by Salk ever albeit on a different issue, he adopts similar stand on the problems that will plague Apple. In his article, ‘iPod: Leader, but Not Ruler’, he states that the sales figures by Apple are either over-exaggerated or are inaccurate since there isn’t enough evidence that the data being collated is validated. Apparently, data in countries in Latin America, India, South Korea, Eastern European Taiwan are difficult to validate and not easy to obtain. There are also other areas across Asia, including China where data retrieval and collation is not as accurate as it is made out to be. So when Apple boasts of global sales and achieving market shares across the world in excess of 50 per cent across the electronic market (MP3 players), they may very well be over the top. To evidence his findings, Salk ever looks at the various methods that companies use to collate market data that can be passed onto consumers and other business prospects. On one hand, they can utilise the services of US market research companies such as the NPD group that solely dedicates its efforts to the US retail economy. On the other hand, companies such as Apple can resort to asking OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and component manufacturers how many pieces they are taking to the market place. Whatever may the case be, according to Salk ever, Apple doesn’t quite have accurate information omits global market share. He confirms that Apple is certainly a global leader but not dominant. This could have been a very interesting report but the only flaw with his research is that he fails to document enough evidence either through statistics or through credible sources that can allow him to judge with some level of certainty that Apple’s iPods are infect facing tough times ahead. To be fair to Salk ever though, he does introduce the subject of the growing competition of iPods outside the borders of the US from Asian electronics companies. In the coming years, cheaper labour costs of the Asian companies will allow them to create inexpensive models of the iPod and compete on price aggressively. In addition, Salk ever states that the Asian consumers who are growing to the largest consumers of entertainment products, prefer smaller sized iPods. This is not in sync with Apple’s strategy since they plan to introduce larger and heavier models of the iPod in the coming few months. And even if iPod does take the cue and invests in smaller models in time, it would have lost outing comparison to other digital music manufacturers. But Salk ever does summarise his studies by admitting the dominance of iPod within the digital market place, yet cautions against rising competition and price sensitive market in the near future. (Salk ever, Alex (2004) Business Week On line; 5/27/2004) Curzon (2005) has an equally interesting point of view. He believes that the iPod boom would not be able to sustain the success that it has experienced for much longer. His rationale is based around stock prices and other statistics that he discovers about Apple which point towards changing tide in the coming years. Curzon promotes the concept that Apple as a company is on the decline once again and encourages people to sell their shares now since they would lose money in the coming few months lest they hang onto them. He begins by mentioning the usual success stories of the company – the last 2 years have seen iPod sales rise more than twenty times from 219,000 units towards the end of 2002 to over 4 million units at the end of last year. In fact, Lehman Brothers had initially projected iPod sales to be approximately 3million units at the end of 2004. They had to revise their figures closer to the end of the year and pegged it again at 4 million units for the year 2004. Apple on the other hand clocked 4.5 million units for the year ending 2004, ahead of anybody’s expectations. Another indication of the progressive rate of success is how the number of downloads from the iTunes rose from 50 million to 200 million. Finally, the biggest turnaround statistic lies in how the company almost went bankrupt after the dotcom era a decade ago and last year, recorded sales figures in excess of $3 billion with no debt on their financial statements. What makes very interesting reading is how Ken Curzon describes the decline in the demand of iPods and correspondingly, with the parent company as well. He states that after the Christmas rush for buying iPods, in all probability consumers will not be willing to spend as much money on it. As he puts it – â€Å"Holiday shoppers are more enthusiastic about higher prices, but once the holiday season ends, they usually don’t like to spend money on products that are priced at a premium†. In keeping with the same, Curzon predicts that in the first few months of 2005, the rate at which consumers buy iPods would drop gradually at first and then, more drastically later in the year. Lehman Brothers too have declared that they expect a 14 per cent drop in sales figures over the course of the year. In another case, Curzon talks about how on one hand, the sales of iPods have certainly been increasing in conjunction with an increase in market share, but the parent company Apple has seen a decline in its market share from 2 per cent to 1.9 per cent. The ‘Apple Stores’ are an over-riding success because of the iPod and its driving consumers tithe stores. But although the number of footfalls across these stores has doubled, the number of consumers buying Apple PC’s has remained constant. Additionally, Apple’s revenue figures in comparison to other computer companies are very average. For a company that is on the biggest ride of its business life, it records a growth rate of 33 present in comparison to HP’s 29 per cent. And what makes this look more dismal according to Curzon is that the operating margins for the previous year were declared at 3.94 per cent. This was far lower in comparison to HP’s 5.2 per cent and Dell’s 8.56 per cent. (Curzon, Ken, Esquire; Mar 2005, Vol. 143 Issue 3, p112) Somehow, Curzon does shed light on certain statistics that project Apple’s performance in a questionable light but on closer observation, it appears that the facts have been manipulated to project a negative perspective to the progress of Apple. The researcher believes this tube the case since there are many individuals who constantly try and influence the market forces through published writing such as this to ultimately try and manipulate the performance of the stocks. For every negative statement that Curzon was able to highlight, there appears tube an equally positive explanation for the same. For instance, decline in market share by .1 per cent is not necessarily a negative impact on the company. It depends on the marketing strategy of the company – is it trying to move out of certain markets and invest in others. Additionally, in saturated market places such as the US, any form of product diversification would have an impact on the market share as well. So there are considerations that need to be taken before any conclusions can be made. At the same time, the researcher believed it important to include Curzon’s work since it was one of the most recent articles on the iPod that sounded warning bells and tries to get the reader to see the success story from a different perspective. So where exactly is Apple headed towards now? According to Murphy(2004), a significant contribution of Apple’s success can be attributed to the iPod and hence, any future success parameters would also be defined by the iPod. The competition amongst the computer industry is very intense with players such as Microsoft for software, Dell, HP undim for hardware and a host of other system integrators and competitive channel partners. Due to a diminishing market share as mentioned earlier of under 2 per cent, the total business worth of the company has fallen to half that of its sales revenue. The only light in this dark tunnel is the fact that the stock price at Apple has almost doubled over the past 2 years. But can the parent company depend on single product offering and expect to piggyback ride it all the way tithe bank? It’s not possible says Murphy. There will come a time in the near future when sales of iPods begin to decline, competitive forces take over with lower priced products and existing markets begin to get saturated. Some of these products would come from companies such as HP,Dell, Sony, Creative, Gateway and Rio, each offering a product that is significantly cheaper and has greater memory storage in comparison tithe iPod. For instance, Creative has launched a new product that also has a longer battery life and also has white earplugs similar to those of Apple, taking a leaf out of Apple’s trendy design. At the same time, it has been seen that consumers have complained about the lack of availability of iPods in the stores. And to make matters worse, Apple hasn’t been able to confirm a deadline by when they would be made available. Times will change gradually. As Murphy mentions – the pricing of the iPods over time will fall significantly and Apple would need to sell more and more iPods just to maintain the revenue figures. For instance, there is an assumption based on pricing that Apple would need to sell at least 20 per cent more iPods in the coming year to be able to sustain the same level of growth over the year. This should not be a problem currently considering growth is predicted to rise to 70 per cent but in time, this could certainly become an issue. If looked at differently, Murphy argues that falling prices of products are fine as long as business efficiencies were rising. 4 years ago, when the sales figures of Apple were 4 per cent higher than they are today, the operating profits of the company were at 9 per cent of total sales. Today, that figure has come down to 3 per cent. In addition, the number of employees added over the past 4 years has gone up by 32 per cent and the sale per employee has significantly decreased from $930,000 to$674,000. For apple to be able to sustain its growth and maintain a leading position in the market place, it cannot depend wholly on the iPod revolution. Its notebooks and desktop products account for 64 per cent of its current sales as a company. But except for the month of June that recorded a 14 per cent increase in revenues, the rest of the year remained much the same in terms of sales. This is worrying for Apple since it doesn’t have too many back up measures to fall on should they land in trouble. To tackle some of this problem, Apple had introduced a series of Apple stores across the US, UK and parts of Western Europe. These stores hosted the latest introductions by the company including all models of the iPod and its peripherals. The rationale lay in ensuring that consumers would walk into these stores with the excuse of looking at the iPods and at the same time, browse around and take look at the range of other Apple products as well. Unfortunately though, this move didn’t bring in the kind of sales that Apple management had predicted. When Apple was asked about this stagnancy that was creeping into their product lines, they said that 50 per cent of all buyers at their new stores that they have introduced are new consumers and they propose to build relationships through their product quality and peripherals and increase their market share of repeat buyers. Interestingly, Murphy is one of the only writers on this subject who believes that the main fault of Apple’s moderate performance lies with its CEO Steve Jobs. Over the course of its business history, Apple has always ensured that its software configures only with its hardware and no others. For instance, the Mac operating system can only be run on Mac computers. In comparison, the Windows Operating systems can be used on a variety of different hardware systems making it a more universally accepted operating system. The time for niche solutions in not the way forward. Apple must realise that the money lies in the numbers and they can in no way get to those numbers by limiting access to their software. It really is a Catch-22 situation for them. In much the same way, the iPod can only play music that has been downloaded from iTunes. What happens when the iTunes faces intense competition from other music download software companies in the near future? Are we saying that the iPod would only have limited access to music and perhaps, not the entire range of mus Development and Future of the Apple iPod Development and Future of the Apple iPod The iPod is perhaps the most talked about technological product in recent times. It has set sales records that have lave literally destroyed the predictions of all analysts by superseding everyone’s expectations. The interesting issues concerning this topic is how the iPod impacted not only the digital music electronics industry, but was also responsible for the turnaround of a company on the brink of bankruptcy. It is this very fact that makes the growth and life cycle of iPod an experience in itself and one that creates a sense of wonder at its success. But how did all this come about and just why did the iPod do so well? These are questions that we look to find answers towards whilst shedding light on the internal pressures faced by the parent company Apple. The paper takes the reader through the history of the parent company Apple and its declining fortunes until the introduction of the iPod. This revolutionary innovation then dictated the pace at which the organisation was able to turn itself around to become one of the more successful computer companies in the world today. The report also looks at how Apple as a company defines itself with the onset of the iPod boom – can it still call itself a computer company in the literal sense of the word or does it now see itself entering a diversified phase of business operations and hence, would need to re-think it’s overall business strategy and core competencies. The views of different writers expressed through the paper help in building an understanding of the pressures the company has undergone over the last decade and why it has taken the decisions that it has. The paper revolves around the growth of the iPod as the key driving force for all major business and technical decisions, it understand how it had to be re-modelled and adapted to the market needs and demands. The paper also paints the competitive landscape at different stages of the growth cycle and how this impacted or did not impact the iPod. Finally, the paper looks at the varying consumer tastes, the positives drawn from the product itself and what lies in store for the future of the product and the company. The methods used to create a deeper understanding of the iPod environment were through a variety of primary and secondary sources. Some of this is discussed in greater detail in different section of the paper. However, for the purpose of this report, the researcher took great care in trying to put together different pieces of work by various writers so as to be able to provide more holistic and all-encompassing view of the real scenario that surrounded the iPod boom. On a more generic note, most writers and experts within the industry agreed that the success of this product was unrivalled by others of its kind in recent times. Introduction Background Success stories always find their way to centre-stage. But what makes a journey even more interesting is when accompany that finds itself in some level of difficulty turns the tide and jump starts its engines to climb to the top of the success ladder. Apple’s is one such story. Whilst the problems that affect it lie in the background, the phenomenal success of its iPod has people fascinated. Marketing gurus swear by the growth of this innovative product that provided the perfect solution to a generation that was technologically familiar and defied competition to control every conceivable bit of the market that it entered – the digital music space, and made it its own. How and why is what we attempt to discover. History The history of the iPod dates back to the January of 2001. Apple had just introduced ‘iTunes’ – a programme that enabled Accusers to burn music off audio CD’s and convert them into music files on their computer systems as digital audio files. This provided users with the flexibility of creating libraries for their music files, clubbing favourite songs in order and in time to come, download them to portable devices. This natural extension saw the introduction of the iPod in the month of October 2001. Unlike other portable devices in the same range, the iPod was the first of its kind to store music files on a hard disk similar to a computer. Other devices used flash cards and detachable storage devices that could not hold as many bytes of data as the iPod did. Infect, the first few iPods had a 5GB storage space, which equated to the storage of approximately a 1000 songs. The question to be asked at this stage was if the software for writing music to the computer was developed keeping the iPod in mind? However, sources within the company maintain that the iPod was only conceptualised 6 months before its release date. Whatever the truth might be, the two scenarios complemented each other beautifully giving consumers the best of both worlds and a logical extension to the process of listening to music. In November 2001, the first iPods were shipped to waiting buyers and byte end of the year, 125,000 iPods had been sold for a price of $399.Within a year, other computer companies as well as large retailers were selling iPods as value-adds. Dell, Best Buy and Target were some of the more prominent names at this stage and had dedicated sites and sales teams pushing for iPod sales. By June 2003, Apple had managed to sell 1 million iPods, which could download music from both Macs as well as PCs. Interestingly, by the end of 2003, one of its largest resellers Dell; had decided not to sell anymore iPods and instead launch its own version of the iPod called the DJ(Digital Jukebox). In order to download songs from the Internet, Dell partnered with a company called Music Match that offered that service. By mid-2004, 6 months after it hit the 1 million mark, Apple crossed the 2 million mark in iPod sales but the peripheral market was just getting warmed up to the portable devices segment. In addition to thud by Dell, HP announced that it was repackaging the 4G iPod and selling it as a PC friendly device. Motorola launched its next generation phones that would be iTunes compatible. In one of the more recent statistics of the iPod wave collated in October 2004, there were some interesting findings. Apple held 82 per cent of the digital market across all music players and 92 per cent of all hard-disk based music players. The nearest competitor to the iPod was the device launched by Creative. They had a 3.7 per cent market share. In addition, 2 million iPods are being sold every 3 months. The music industry too has gained immensely through these sales. The total number of downloads have been clocked at a 150 million which equates to 4 million per week. The latest iPod has a mechanism that enables the storage of digital photographs as well as music. Today, Apple figures have registered total of 6 million iPod sales. That’s a fascinating growth path, which would make any marketing professional envious of replicating that kind of success. On careful consideration though, it took very long for iPod to really drive its sales figures to the kind that it was able to achieve in the years 2003 and 2004. Until then, the figures were good, but not something to write home about. The turning point for Apple came with the introduction of the third generation iPods. This is apparent since it took almost 2 years for iPod to register its first million in sales and soon after the launch of the 3G iPod in Tokyo less than 6months later; Apple was able to register its second million in iPod sales. Interestingly, the sales figures recorded over the 3-year period were averse to any form of competition from companies such as Creative, Dell, river etc. They sold cheaper products but not for a moment, did they encroach upon the market share that was and is still monopolised by iPod. Apple has also utilised an aggressive marketing strategy towrope in different age groups by using the draw of celebrities and song choices. For instance, in late October 2004, Apple unveiled what was called the U2 iPod. Apple conducted a promotion exercise in sync with the release of U2’s song – Vertigo. The new iPod was designed with black casing, a red wheel and a back cover that had the engravings ofU2 with the band signatures. It is little things such as these that have made the iPod such a role model for marketing strategists. The unique blend of having a great product and infusing the right level of awareness and visibility to sell it to the masses. In the chart below, the growth path of the iPod from its inception, to the end of 2004shows how sales surged in 2003 after the release of the 3G iPods as mentioned earlier. Not to mention, as the iPod sales soared, so did the number of downloads for music. Initially, the software iTunes needed tube bought in order to write songs from audio CD’s to the computer, following which they could be downloaded to the iPod. In 2003, Apple introduced an online music store that enabled iPod users to download music directly from the Internet. This worked in 2 ways – it provided users with an increase in choice of music that they would like to have downloaded as well as simplified the procurement of iTunes. No more dada user have to buy a software, install it onto the computer and then use it to burn music off a CD and finally onto the hard disk of the iPod. Simplifying this process for millions of users had its positives as can be seen from the graph above. The first big jump in sales was in October 2003 when the PC version of the music store went live. This enabled far more users to be able to download songs onto their computers and diluted the monopoly of Accusers. 2 months later, in December 2003, following a lot of media hype and attention being given to the iPod and a corresponding increase in Christmas sales, more and more people began downloading songs from iTunes. And in between July 2004 and October 2004, Apple registered growth of song sales from a 100 million to a 150 million. (http://www.ipodlounge.com/articles_more.php?id=4280_0_8_0_M) It must be noted that in many instances within the paper, the use of iPod and Apple is synonymous. After much deliberation, the researcher decided that it was important to approach the paper from the perspective of the parent company Apple. Any impact that the environment would have on Apple would be reflective in the iPod strategy. At the same time, in circumstances that would affect the company both positively and negatively, would subsequent effect the iPod and vice-versa. Aims and Objectives The aim of this paper is to understand the growth of the iPod through the years. It all began in the year 2001 and it has been a short journey to success. But how long will this be able to continue, what is the future for the product, how will it fend off competition and how will it impact Apple in the longer run. We all know that it has been apathy-breaking journey for Apple as it picks itself up from the doldrums of declining computer sales with its innovative invention that saw it spring back into the limelight. It is also the endeavour of this paper to highlight how important an impact the iPod has had on Apple alone and why can’t other company’s model the same success story. Literature Review The Success of the iPod According to Haddad, Charles (2002),the iPod is one of the most revolutionary products to hit the computer and electronics market place. He believes that the only way forward for Apple is to diversify its product range and move from being a niche computer manufacturer to providing technology that understands the gap between technology and entertainment. He quotes how the market share for Apple in 2002 had remained at 3 per cent for a number of years. In order to move it from there, it was imperative that they looked beyond the computer industry since it was reaching a saturation point in most developed markets and the level of competition from across the globe was making it extremely difficult for large computer manufacturers to survive. Digital handheld music players were a growing market in 2002. There were few players in the market place and industry experts such as ID Chad stated that demand would grow by 74 per cent over the next 3 years. In retrospect, they weren’t right – but only because the demand has recorded triple digit growth since 2002. In addition, the anticipated sales for 2002 were pegged at 12 million units of all kinds of portable digital music devices. Haddad brings up an important point about how the level of competition within the digital handheld music products industry was still at a minimalistic stage in comparison to other industries where companies such as Microsoft and Intel who had taken over the PC market. He believed that the next generation of buyers were more interested in a product that was different, satisfied their requirements and at the same time, was ‘cool’ and suave to have. Especially in the case of handheld devices where consumers would cart it around with them, this need for trendy and sophisticated gadgets was of the utmost importance. At the time of writing his article, Haddad had researched the iPod when music files were downloadable only from a Mac. The iPod sales were still consistent and looking positive during that stage but Apple had not introduced downloading files onto PC’s at that stage. Once that happened, iPod sales grew dramatically. The iPod was never intended to lift the flailing computer business of the parent company but overtime, Haddad statements would hold good, as the iPod would grow to become one of the most successful products ever launched by a computer company. (Haddad, Charles, iPod, You Pod, Will We All Pod? Business Week Online; 7/3/2002) Teething problems with Strategy? With the degree of success that the iPod has seen over the years, there have been few instances that writers have been able to find a chink in the armour of this hugely successful product. One such writer is Salk ever, Alex (2004). In the first of his articles – ‘Apple’s slow boat to China’, he discusses how the Chinese economy is one of the most lucrative investment decisions for businesses the world over and how Apple has failed to take advantage of this huge opportunity. He begins by using the views of consultants who have worked within the Chinese market place for decades now and seen it evolve over the years. He quotes Merrill Weingrod who works with a marketing consultancy – China Strategies. When Salk ever asks Weingrod how lucrative the Chinese market is for product such as the iPod, he answers saying that the market potential for men’s electric shavers is $300 million annually. Weingrod believed that the Chinese have the buying power to spend $200 to $250 on luxury shavers today which are not a necessity by any standing. This was just an indication of their mind-sets and how much they were willing to spend and for what. He reiterates this by stating that the Chinese population measures 300 million in terms of the number of cell phone subscribers across the country. They pay an average of $200 for their handsets and connectivity. In addition, the average Chinese employee earns far less than his / her American counterpart and yet, he / she is willing to pay larger proportion of their salary towards buying luxury goods. This equates to the buying potential and eagerness amongst the population and above all – a prospective consumer. One who is constantly on the lookout for the infusion of luxury goods into the market so that he /she can go ahead and purchase it, provided there is a need of course. In addition, the Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy in the world with its GDP growth rate pegged at 9 per cent annually. It has one of the largest middle-class societies in the world with disposable income that is growing as fast as their growth rate. With every factor in the book of marketing pointing towards the Chinese market, Salk ever is dismayed at Apple’s strategy to stay out of this market and not undertake an aggressive marketing strategy that would tap it’s he potential. The only real steps that Apple has taken towards entering this economy is to ensure that iTunes Music software is downloaded onto every Manufactured by China’s second largest computer manufacturer – Founder Technology. It is an ironical decision considering the consumer who would purchase the machine would have little access to the iPod on which he could have downloaded his / her music. Besides this decision with the Chinese industry, Apple hasn’t taken any more steps towards making any investment decisions in this region. There was one instance when they almost toyed with the idea of opening an iTunes Music Store but then retracted any steps made in that direction. The figures that Salk ever quotes are astounding to the reader. According to him, at least .3 present of the population of China has disposable income that equates to that of an individual in the US who would earn approximately $25000 to $30000 annually. That figure translates to approximately 60 million people today and will grow to 3to 4 times that number over the next decade. With the increasing middleclass and the ability to buy products that others around the world can afford, very soon the Chinese middle class would equal the entire population of the United States. So what do the Chinese see these new gadgets in the market place as? According to market analysts Bryan Mama company that tracks the buying of cell phones in Asia, but based in Singapore, the number of cell phones that are replaced are astounding. The Chinese people like to replace their cell phones 6 to 12 months earlier than consumers in North America and Western Europe. Gadgets are seen as a status symbol of sorts. Owning the latest models makes individuals feel like they are popular and wanted, according to the company. Chinese consumers also tend to go for gadgets that are sleek, suave and trendy. According to Salk ever those are the kinds of words that would define the iPod but they don’t find any place in the market. He tries to look at the picture from Apple’s perspective. As a company, Apple’s strategy is to consolidate and preserve its position in the markets that it is strong in. In the bargain, it would not look to invest in new markets such as China. In fact, Apple has a miniscule presence across the entire length and breadth of Asia. If Japan is taken out of the equation, Apple draws less than 10 per cent of total sales from this region. Naturally, it is not an area of too much interest for the moment. Whilst Apple takes a back seat to proceedings in this region, competition in the form of Sony, Motorola and Creative have made inroads into the Chinese market. As an example, Motorola entered the Chinese handset market early and in the first quarter of2004, it was proud to declare that it has achieved a market share of 40per cent. It had the first mover’s advantage introducing a technology that few others were brave enough to take into this country many years back and today it has paid off. The Chinese market is known for its penetration problems. The researcher agrees with the insights that Salk ever has provided into this untapped region and understand the problems that Apple faces in the future lest it not take steps in this direction. The level of investment required at a later date where the market is abuzz with competition would be significantly higher. It makes completes sense for companies to invest in C hina at this stage and there is no reason why Apple should not be one of them. (Salk ever, Alex, Business Week Online; 7/22/2004) In another article by Salk ever albeit on a different issue, he adopts similar stand on the problems that will plague Apple. In his article, ‘iPod: Leader, but Not Ruler’, he states that the sales figures by Apple are either over-exaggerated or are inaccurate since there isn’t enough evidence that the data being collated is validated. Apparently, data in countries in Latin America, India, South Korea, Eastern European Taiwan are difficult to validate and not easy to obtain. There are also other areas across Asia, including China where data retrieval and collation is not as accurate as it is made out to be. So when Apple boasts of global sales and achieving market shares across the world in excess of 50 per cent across the electronic market (MP3 players), they may very well be over the top. To evidence his findings, Salk ever looks at the various methods that companies use to collate market data that can be passed onto consumers and other business prospects. On one hand, they can utilise the services of US market research companies such as the NPD group that solely dedicates its efforts to the US retail economy. On the other hand, companies such as Apple can resort to asking OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and component manufacturers how many pieces they are taking to the market place. Whatever may the case be, according to Salk ever, Apple doesn’t quite have accurate information omits global market share. He confirms that Apple is certainly a global leader but not dominant. This could have been a very interesting report but the only flaw with his research is that he fails to document enough evidence either through statistics or through credible sources that can allow him to judge with some level of certainty that Apple’s iPods are infect facing tough times ahead. To be fair to Salk ever though, he does introduce the subject of the growing competition of iPods outside the borders of the US from Asian electronics companies. In the coming years, cheaper labour costs of the Asian companies will allow them to create inexpensive models of the iPod and compete on price aggressively. In addition, Salk ever states that the Asian consumers who are growing to the largest consumers of entertainment products, prefer smaller sized iPods. This is not in sync with Apple’s strategy since they plan to introduce larger and heavier models of the iPod in the coming few months. And even if iPod does take the cue and invests in smaller models in time, it would have lost outing comparison to other digital music manufacturers. But Salk ever does summarise his studies by admitting the dominance of iPod within the digital market place, yet cautions against rising competition and price sensitive market in the near future. (Salk ever, Alex (2004) Business Week On line; 5/27/2004) Curzon (2005) has an equally interesting point of view. He believes that the iPod boom would not be able to sustain the success that it has experienced for much longer. His rationale is based around stock prices and other statistics that he discovers about Apple which point towards changing tide in the coming years. Curzon promotes the concept that Apple as a company is on the decline once again and encourages people to sell their shares now since they would lose money in the coming few months lest they hang onto them. He begins by mentioning the usual success stories of the company – the last 2 years have seen iPod sales rise more than twenty times from 219,000 units towards the end of 2002 to over 4 million units at the end of last year. In fact, Lehman Brothers had initially projected iPod sales to be approximately 3million units at the end of 2004. They had to revise their figures closer to the end of the year and pegged it again at 4 million units for the year 2004. Apple on the other hand clocked 4.5 million units for the year ending 2004, ahead of anybody’s expectations. Another indication of the progressive rate of success is how the number of downloads from the iTunes rose from 50 million to 200 million. Finally, the biggest turnaround statistic lies in how the company almost went bankrupt after the dotcom era a decade ago and last year, recorded sales figures in excess of $3 billion with no debt on their financial statements. What makes very interesting reading is how Ken Curzon describes the decline in the demand of iPods and correspondingly, with the parent company as well. He states that after the Christmas rush for buying iPods, in all probability consumers will not be willing to spend as much money on it. As he puts it – â€Å"Holiday shoppers are more enthusiastic about higher prices, but once the holiday season ends, they usually don’t like to spend money on products that are priced at a premium†. In keeping with the same, Curzon predicts that in the first few months of 2005, the rate at which consumers buy iPods would drop gradually at first and then, more drastically later in the year. Lehman Brothers too have declared that they expect a 14 per cent drop in sales figures over the course of the year. In another case, Curzon talks about how on one hand, the sales of iPods have certainly been increasing in conjunction with an increase in market share, but the parent company Apple has seen a decline in its market share from 2 per cent to 1.9 per cent. The ‘Apple Stores’ are an over-riding success because of the iPod and its driving consumers tithe stores. But although the number of footfalls across these stores has doubled, the number of consumers buying Apple PC’s has remained constant. Additionally, Apple’s revenue figures in comparison to other computer companies are very average. For a company that is on the biggest ride of its business life, it records a growth rate of 33 present in comparison to HP’s 29 per cent. And what makes this look more dismal according to Curzon is that the operating margins for the previous year were declared at 3.94 per cent. This was far lower in comparison to HP’s 5.2 per cent and Dell’s 8.56 per cent. (Curzon, Ken, Esquire; Mar 2005, Vol. 143 Issue 3, p112) Somehow, Curzon does shed light on certain statistics that project Apple’s performance in a questionable light but on closer observation, it appears that the facts have been manipulated to project a negative perspective to the progress of Apple. The researcher believes this tube the case since there are many individuals who constantly try and influence the market forces through published writing such as this to ultimately try and manipulate the performance of the stocks. For every negative statement that Curzon was able to highlight, there appears tube an equally positive explanation for the same. For instance, decline in market share by .1 per cent is not necessarily a negative impact on the company. It depends on the marketing strategy of the company – is it trying to move out of certain markets and invest in others. Additionally, in saturated market places such as the US, any form of product diversification would have an impact on the market share as well. So there are considerations that need to be taken before any conclusions can be made. At the same time, the researcher believed it important to include Curzon’s work since it was one of the most recent articles on the iPod that sounded warning bells and tries to get the reader to see the success story from a different perspective. So where exactly is Apple headed towards now? According to Murphy(2004), a significant contribution of Apple’s success can be attributed to the iPod and hence, any future success parameters would also be defined by the iPod. The competition amongst the computer industry is very intense with players such as Microsoft for software, Dell, HP undim for hardware and a host of other system integrators and competitive channel partners. Due to a diminishing market share as mentioned earlier of under 2 per cent, the total business worth of the company has fallen to half that of its sales revenue. The only light in this dark tunnel is the fact that the stock price at Apple has almost doubled over the past 2 years. But can the parent company depend on single product offering and expect to piggyback ride it all the way tithe bank? It’s not possible says Murphy. There will come a time in the near future when sales of iPods begin to decline, competitive forces take over with lower priced products and existing markets begin to get saturated. Some of these products would come from companies such as HP,Dell, Sony, Creative, Gateway and Rio, each offering a product that is significantly cheaper and has greater memory storage in comparison tithe iPod. For instance, Creative has launched a new product that also has a longer battery life and also has white earplugs similar to those of Apple, taking a leaf out of Apple’s trendy design. At the same time, it has been seen that consumers have complained about the lack of availability of iPods in the stores. And to make matters worse, Apple hasn’t been able to confirm a deadline by when they would be made available. Times will change gradually. As Murphy mentions – the pricing of the iPods over time will fall significantly and Apple would need to sell more and more iPods just to maintain the revenue figures. For instance, there is an assumption based on pricing that Apple would need to sell at least 20 per cent more iPods in the coming year to be able to sustain the same level of growth over the year. This should not be a problem currently considering growth is predicted to rise to 70 per cent but in time, this could certainly become an issue. If looked at differently, Murphy argues that falling prices of products are fine as long as business efficiencies were rising. 4 years ago, when the sales figures of Apple were 4 per cent higher than they are today, the operating profits of the company were at 9 per cent of total sales. Today, that figure has come down to 3 per cent. In addition, the number of employees added over the past 4 years has gone up by 32 per cent and the sale per employee has significantly decreased from $930,000 to$674,000. For apple to be able to sustain its growth and maintain a leading position in the market place, it cannot depend wholly on the iPod revolution. Its notebooks and desktop products account for 64 per cent of its current sales as a company. But except for the month of June that recorded a 14 per cent increase in revenues, the rest of the year remained much the same in terms of sales. This is worrying for Apple since it doesn’t have too many back up measures to fall on should they land in trouble. To tackle some of this problem, Apple had introduced a series of Apple stores across the US, UK and parts of Western Europe. These stores hosted the latest introductions by the company including all models of the iPod and its peripherals. The rationale lay in ensuring that consumers would walk into these stores with the excuse of looking at the iPods and at the same time, browse around and take look at the range of other Apple products as well. Unfortunately though, this move didn’t bring in the kind of sales that Apple management had predicted. When Apple was asked about this stagnancy that was creeping into their product lines, they said that 50 per cent of all buyers at their new stores that they have introduced are new consumers and they propose to build relationships through their product quality and peripherals and increase their market share of repeat buyers. Interestingly, Murphy is one of the only writers on this subject who believes that the main fault of Apple’s moderate performance lies with its CEO Steve Jobs. Over the course of its business history, Apple has always ensured that its software configures only with its hardware and no others. For instance, the Mac operating system can only be run on Mac computers. In comparison, the Windows Operating systems can be used on a variety of different hardware systems making it a more universally accepted operating system. The time for niche solutions in not the way forward. Apple must realise that the money lies in the numbers and they can in no way get to those numbers by limiting access to their software. It really is a Catch-22 situation for them. In much the same way, the iPod can only play music that has been downloaded from iTunes. What happens when the iTunes faces intense competition from other music download software companies in the near future? Are we saying that the iPod would only have limited access to music and perhaps, not the entire range of mus

Splash Pages can be a Good Addition to Your Website :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Splash Pages can be a Good Addition to Your Website The first question a beginning web developer should ask him or herself when designing a splash page for the website is not what image to use, but should a splash page be created in the first place. A splash page is â€Å"a branding page before the home page of your Web site† (O’Rourke). While this page can be good and serve as â€Å"gateways into web content† (â€Å"Internet Marketing Glossary†), one may choose not to use a splash page. Such a page can detract from the professionalism of the site; if a person or company wants to appear professional and wants the website to portray this, a splash page can ruin this desire. To seem professional, the rule in most cases is the simpler, the better, and a splash page does not simplify websites. In fact, these pages can be slow and add an additional step in the viewer’s process of arriving at the actual homepage. Designers of websites must keep in mind that viewers often decide in a matter of seconds wheth er they will stay at that site or not, and splash pages, if done incorrectly, can waste this time (Kyrnin). However, splash pages can be a good addition to a website. They gain immediate responses from the viewer, which can entice the viewer to enter the site. Also, if the designer is particularly proud of some graphic, animation, or other object that he/she has created, the splash page can be a good method to display this work. Similarly, it shows the designer’s skills with technology – a splash page that includes an original animated graphic tells the viewer that the designer not only can create websites, but can create animation. If the web developer does in fact want a splash page for the website, there are several issues to be discussed. First and foremost should be relevance. If the splash page shows a design of a political cartoon, the viewer would assume that the page is a political satire page, or at least a page related to politics. So if a viewer decides that, based on the splash page, he/she will continue on to view a site about politics, he/she would be upset and confused to see a site about guitars. The splash page sets the mood for the rest of the website, so designers should make sure that the appropriate mood is set.