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Transcribed Image Text: CASE 1-3
Apple versus Samsung: The Battle for Smartphone
Supremacy Heats Up
Steve Jobs died in October 2011, the world lost one of the
towering figures of the modern business era (see Exhibit 1-14).
Apple, the company Jobs cofounded, was a pioneer in the consumer
electronics world; its key product introductions included the Apple II
(1977), the Macintosh (1984), the iPod and iTunes (2001), the Apple
Store (2001), the iPhone (2007), and the iPad (2009). At the time of
Jobs's death, Apple was the most valuable tech company in the world.
By September 2012, Apple stock had soared to record levels, with
its price briefly rising above $700 per share. In addition, Apple had
amassed more than $100 billion in cash, most of it held abroad as
foreign earnings. Meanwhile, once-dominant tech industry giants such
as Nokia, Sony, Dell, and BlackBerry were struggling.
Despite strong 2012 sales for the iPhone 5, industry observers
egan to wonder whether Apple's hot streak of hit product introduc-
tions was starting to cool. Apple's reputation was based on its proven
ability to disrupt existing markets (e.g., the music and telecommunica-
tions industries) and to create new markets through the introduction
of technical and design innovations. However, some viewed the 2012
launch of the iPhone 5 as an evolutionary step rather than a revolution-
ary breakthrough. In fact, many consumers opted to buy the slower,
cheaper iPhone 4 or 45 rather than upgrade to the iPhone 5. Without
Jobs, who was considered by many to be the heart and soul of the
company, were Apple's best days behind it?
The Competitive Threat
As growth in the key smartphone sector began to slow, Apple's most
formidable competitor was Samsung Electronics, a division of Korean
industrial giant Samsung Group, whose products range from semicon-
ductors to household appliances to smartphones. Samsung's popular
Galaxy series of phones are powered by Android, an operating system
developed by Google. Some Galaxy models, including the Galaxy Note
(also known as a "phablet"), have larger screens than the iPhone-a
point of difference that has helped drive sales of those devices. The
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL MARKETING 35
Exhibit 1-14 Apple cofounder Steve Jobs wore many hats during his illustri-
ous career, including inventor, entrepreneur, CEO, and visionary technolo-
gist. He was also a master showman, a storyteller, and marketing genius.
His appearances at product launches are the stuff of legend, and under his
guidance Apple's must-have products including the iPod, the iPhone, and the
iPad-were, simply put, the epitome of "cool."
Source: Paul Sakuma/Associated Press.
rivalry between Apple and Samsung has been heated, with the two
sides squaring off in court over alleged patent infringement.
China and Europe are two of Samsung's key markets; in 2012,
the company launched the Galaxy S III in Europe. In 2013, however,
Samsung staged a lavish event at Radio City Music Hall in New York to
launch the Galaxy S4. Why the change? As J. K. Shin, the executive in
charge of Samsung's mobile business, noted, "We're a global player in
the smartphone market and a global company, and the U.S. is an impor-
tant market for us.... I'm not satisfied with our U.S. market share."
In many developing countries, there is strong demand for inexpen-
sive mobile phones. Some Android-based models from Samsung and
other companies sell for much less than Apple's cheapest models. For
many years, Apple did not offer a lower-cost version of the iPhone. In
the United States, wireless carriers such as Verizon and AT&T subsidized
the price of the iPhone for consumers who signed multiyear service
contracts-a factor that explained why an American iPhone 5 sold for
$199. By contrast, in other countries consumers paid the full, unsubsi-
dized price of the iPhone but were not tied to a contract. Moreover, the
iPhone 5 was the same in every world market. By contrast, Samsung
made several versions of the Galaxy S4-using different processors, for
example-to suit the needs of different regions.
Not surprisingly, smartphone makers are setting their sights on
China, India, and other emerging markets. For example, Greater China,
which includes China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, is now Apple's second-
largest market. In 2013, Cook announced that China Mobile, the larg-
est carrier in the region and the world's largest carrier overall, would
begin selling the iPhone. Apple faces strong competition from local
competitors such as Oppo and Xiaomi; Oppo's R9 bested the iPhone
6 as the top-selling smartphone in 2016. Distribution is critical, and
Cook is aggressively expanding the number of outlets in China that
sell iPhones.
As growth in China and Europe slows, India, the number 2 smart-
phone market, is becoming increasingly important. Here, however,
Apple's 3 percent market share means that it lags far behind Samsung
and Chinese producers in terms of smartphone shipments. Two-thirds
of the phones sold in India cost less than $180. By contrast, Indian con-
sumers pay about $300 for an iPhone 5S, the older model that Apple
launched in 2013. These devices are sold through small, independent
retailers; for entry-level buyers, Apple's Web site offers only the iPhone
SE and iPhone 6. In May 2017, Apple began manufacturing the SE in
India, bringing the price down to approximately $325. Local manufac-
turing will also allow Apple to open its own flagship stores in India.
Famously, Steve Jobs downplayed the importance of formal mar-
ket research, saying that consumers don't know what they want. By
contrast, Samsung Electronics relies heavily market research; it has
60,000 staff members working in dozens of research centers in China,
Great Britain, India, Japan, the United States, and elsewhere. Samsung
designers have backgrounds in such diverse disciplines as psychology,
sociology, and engineering. Researchers track trends in fashion and
interior design. Also, Samsung spends more advertising and promo-
tion than does Apple.
The Post-Jobs Era Begins
In the months following Jobs's death, Cook made a number of key stra-
tegic decisions. For example, he authorized the introduction of the iPad
mini, a product that Jobs had opposed. It quickly became a bestseller.
Transcribed Image Text: 36 PART 1. INTRODUCTION
In fall 2013, in conjunction with the launch of the iPhone 5s and iOS 7,
a long-rumored lower-priced iPhone model was unveiled. The iPhone
5c featured a plastic case and was available in several colors, the price
was approximately $100 lower than that of the new iPhone 5s. The 5c
was designed to appeal especially to consumers in emerging markets
who could not afford a top-of-the-line smartphone.
China represented a major opportunity, with a catch: Estimates of
the market's potential were tempered by the rapid emergence of low-cost
handsets from Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi. As Cook noted in
an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, "We never had an objective
to sell a low-cost phone. Our primary objective is to sell a great phone and
a great experience, and we figured out a way to do it at a lower cost."
Cook made key personnel decisions as well. Scott Forstall, the
executive in charge of iOS mobile software, was fired. In his place,
Cook named chief designer Jonathan Ive and software executive Craig
Federighi. Going forward, Ive, who had been senior vice president for
industrial design, will be responsible for the "look and feel"-in other
words, the user interface-for the iPhone and iPad. When Cook, Ive,
and Federighi appeared together on the cover of Bloomberg Business-
week in fall 2013, commentators noted that Steve Jobs would have
never shared the spotlight in this manner. In another key appoint-
ment, Angela Ahrendts, the highly regarded CEO of Burberry PLC,
was recruited to take over Apple's retail operations.
Apple's Marketing Communications Problem
Cook and his team also addressed the issue of Apple's marketing com-
munications. It was widely reported that Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice
president for global marketing, was concerned that Apple's advertising
had lost its edge. Apple had a long-standing relationship with a single
agency: Los Angeles-based Chiat/Day, which had created the legend-
ary "1984" television spot that launched the original Macintosh. In
the 1990s, that agency, now known as TBWA/Chiat/Day, created the
iconic "Think Different" campaign. However, a "Genius Bar" campaign
timed to coincide with the 2012 Olympics was deemed a failure. In a
subsequent e-mail to TBWA, Schiller admitted that he was impressed
by arch-rival Samsung's 2013 Super Bowl ad; by contrast, he noted,
Apple was "struggling to nail a compelling [creative] brief on iPhone."
The marketing issue was pushed to the forefront during the Acad-
emy Awards broadcast in spring 2014. Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres took
a star-studded selfie (featuring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and
Brad Pitt, among others) with a Samsung Galaxy phone and posted it on
Twitter. The post then made social media history after being retweeted
more than 3.5 million times. It turns out that DeGeneres is an iPhone
owner; however, Samsung had paid $20 million to sponsor the broad-
cast. Although there was some disagreement among industry insiders
about the monetary value the publicity the stunt generated, most agreed
that Samsung had gotten the better of Apple. Writing in Advertising Age,
Mark Bergen summed up the situation bluntly when he noted, "Samsung
is simply out-innovating its archrival when it comes to marketing."
Spurred into action, Cook and Schiller authorized the formation
of an in-house advertising agency at Apple. The company is hiring top
talent from some of the ad industry's best agencies to staff it. The in-
house team has been tasked with creating new ads, it will compete
against TBWA/Media Arts Lab, as TBWA is now known, in a process
known as a "creative shootout." Schiller has also beefed up Apple's
roster of agencies that specialize in digital marketing.
CEO Tim Cook Asserts Himself
By mid-2014, it was clear that CEO Tim Cook was stepping out of
the shadow of his legendary predecessor (see Exhibit 1-15). In a move
designed to make Apple's common stock more affordable to investors,
Cook authorized a seven-for-one stock split. Simply put, if an investor
held 50 shares of the stock at a price of, say $500 per share before the
split, after the split the investor would have 350 shares of stock priced
at $71.43 per share.
In May 2014, Cook announced that Apple was acquiring Beats
Electronics for $3 billion. The deal brought two more key personnel
into the Apple fold-namely, hip-hop star Dr. Dre and music mogul
Jimmy lovine. The two had founded Beats in 2006 to market premium
headphones; by the time the deal was announced in May 2014, the
duo had also launched an online music streaming service, Beats Radio.
Both Dre and lovine were added to the roster of Apple executives, and
it was expected that their close ties to the music industry would be an
asset. Moreover, the deal reflected the growing importance of wear-
able technology; many believed that "fashion electronics" products
such as Beats' $399 headphones were poised for explosive growth.
In September 2014, CEO Cook and his team introduced the iPhone
6 and iPhone 6 Plus, both of which featured larger screens than earlier
iPhones. Apple Pay, a key feature of the new devices, promised to
usher in a new era of secure mobile payments. Cook also presided
over the launch f a new wearable device, the Apple Watch, in 2015.
In 2016, the iPhone 7 and the larger iPhone 7 Plus went on sale.
Their launch coincided with the recall of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7,
a situation that helped drive sales and revenues at Apple. Even so,
trouble spots were apparent. In China, for example, Apple's handsets
were losing ground to local brands including Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo.
Even as the iPhone continued to generate significant profits, Cook
set the strategic goal of doubling revenues from Apple's services busi-
ness, including the App Store and Apple Music, to $50 billion by 2020.
To help achieve that goal, Apple began to experiment with original
video programming. As Apple Music chief Jimmy lovine said, "A music
service needs to be more than a bunch of songs and a few playlists. I'm
trying to help Apple Music be an overall movement in popular culture."
Among its projects: Carpool Karaoke, based on talk show host James
Corden's popular feature, and Planet of the Apps from will.i.am.
Apple and Autonomous Cars
In 2014, word began to circulate that Apple was developing autono-
mous-driving technology for a new generation of automobiles. Project
Titan, as the initiative was known, involved machine learning, artificial
intelligence (AI), and other advanced technologies. Established auto-
makers, including Ford and GM, were also speeding up their devel-
opment efforts in this area in order to catch industry pioneer Tesla.
For example, GM acquired Cruise Automation, an autonomous-car
startup; GM has also deployed more than 300 Chevrolet Bolt EVs. Ford
invested $1 billion in Argo Al. Meanwhile, other tech companies were
jumping into the fray. Waymo, a division of Google, has been working
on driverless-car technology since 2009. In 2016, Waymo launched a
partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Ride-sharing pioneer
Uber also has projects in development.
The iPhone Turns 10
In 2017, anticipation was running high for the 10th-anniversary edi-
tion of Apple's iconic iPhone. At Apple's Worldwide Developers confer-
ence in June 2017, Apple launched ARKit, a technology platform that
enables developers to create new apps for the next-generation iOS 11.
LEGO and IKEA are two of the first companies to develop augmented-
reality (AR) apps. The IKEA app, for example, allows furniture shoppers
to use the iPhone's camera to visualize 3D images of IKEA furniture
superimposed on different rooms in their homes and apartments. Some
industry observers also predict that Apple will build AR technology and
sensors into eyeglasses, in which case users would not need to have