Apple's Place on the Corporate Citizenship Ladder & How Their Marketing Strategies React to the ...

111 Pages·2011·11.05 MB·English

by  Kimberlee Jones

Apple’s Place on the Corporate Citizenship Ladder & How Their Marketing Strategies React to
the Millennial Generation

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Advertising Design Department in Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts

at
Savannah College of Art and Design

by
Kimberlee Leonia Bandoo

Atlanta, Georgia
March, 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ABSTRACT…………………………………………….……………………..Page 1 – 2

INTRODUCTION……………………….……………………….…………..Page 3 – 4

CHAPTER ONE……………………………………………………….……..Page 5 – 17

APPLE’S PLACE ON THE CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP LADDER
How Far Have They Climbed?

CHAPTER TWO………………………………………………………...….Page 18 – 22

APPLE: A TALE OF PHENOMENAL EVOLUTION
Understanding Their Journey | Relating To Their Experience

CHAPTER THREE……………………………………………………...….Page 23 – 30

CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY & MARKETING TACTICS
Why do Companies Participate in Cause Related Marketing?

CHAPTER FOUR…………………………………………………..…...….Page 31 – 36

UNDERSTANDING THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION
Who Are The Millennials and How Do We Connect With Them?

CHAPTER FIVE…………………………………………………...……….Page 37 – 42

A LOOK INTO THE MILLENNIAL BUYING CULTURE
Why They Buy What They Buy and How They Are Often Misunderstood

CHAPTER SIX…………………………………………………………..….Page 43 – 46

MARKETING THROUGH SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
How Cause-Related Marketing Influences Millennial Buying Decisions

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CHAPTER SEVEN………………….…………………..………………….Page 47 – 50

THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION, INFLUENCING CHANGE
How They Affect Society | Taking Part in Public Discourse

CHAPTER EIGHT……………………………………..…………..……….Page 51 – 55

MARKETING STRATEGIES THROUGH PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS
Corporate CRM Campaigns and the Role of Generation Y in Achieving Them

CHAPTER NINE………………………………………………….……..….Page 56 – 58

CONCLUSION
Summary and Recommendations

CHAPTER TEN………………………………………………………….….Page 59 – 68

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
A Deeper Analysis

BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………..…….Page 69 – 73

ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN…………………………………………….Page 74 – 108

VISUAL COMPONENTS
Apple’s Ambassadors of Education & the Earth

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ABSTRACT
CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY THROUGH GENERATION Y: APPLE MISSING
OUT ON THE "NEXT" BIG BITE
Apple's Place on the Corporate Citizenship Ladder and How their Marketing Strategies React
to the Millennial Generation
Apple’s evolution through the years is a phenomenon, and behind the success lie two
people, one dream, a near bankruptcy and a very secretive culture that has revolutionized the
way personal computers and mobile devices are used. Playing computer hobbyist by night and
working for a calculator manufacturer by day soon evolved into a prodigious collaboration: the
forming of the duo Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, co-founders of the Apple computer in 1976.
Today, Apple has become more than just a computer and a product, but a global empire, a
movement, and a culture.
Similarly, Generation Y also known as the Millennials have altered the shape of the
societal construct through their trends and ideals. Ultimately, this segment is steering the
direction of advertising modules at the heart of today’s marketplace and a center of attraction for
many businesses, especially new technology. (The term “Generation Y” and the “Millennials”
will be used throughout this paper alternatively.)
This thesis seeks to investigate, analyze and solicit findings about Apple’s advertising
and marketing strategies used to target Generation Y. A deeper look into Apple’s Corporate
Citizenship will be explored, not only for their prior and current involvement in Social
Awareness Programs, but also their inability to speak openly to their main consumer group—
Generation Y—through philanthropic efforts.

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While Social Awareness Programs have embraced the Millennial Generation as the
perfect market for its strategies, Apple has yet to make a significant step in that direction. The
grand leap would require building a relationship with the direct community and proving their
Global Citizenship. A marketing initiative for Apple to connect with a generation of people who
are most fascinated with their products will be formed. This thesis will be supported through a
system of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) with the objective of creating and
strengthening the success of a Social Awareness campaign via Apple and developing a plan to
offer an ongoing philanthropic program geared towards the Millennial consumers.
Significant attention needs to be paid to the way products have changed our everyday
lives. A prominent example is the way portable music devices have continued to evolve both
aesthetically and functionally, and we have followed suit with the way we exercise, due to this
changing technology. Before the iPod or leading MP3 players became the companion for the
avid gymnast, there were portable CD players popularly known as Disc-mans, but the average
person did not carry them to the gym because of their physical size. Those who attempt to visit
the gym at least three or more times a week own the more practical, easy-to-tote MP3 player of
some kind produced by either Microsoft or Apple. This smaller apparatus changes the way we
listen to music and work out, but evidently the most common item is Apple’s iPod. Another
example of the way we have quickly moved from the “Push” revolution to the “Touch”
pandemonium of PDA and mobile devices has defined how we separate essential and relevant
technology from luxurious add-ons and state-of-the-art features.

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INTRODUCTION

Rachel Chong of the Washington Post recently talked about cause-related marketing as
“arguably one of the first fields that brought the nonprofit and for-profit worlds together for
mutual benefit.”1 According to the article published in January of 2010 on her blog page, she
reveals that cause-related marketing appeared concurrently with the micro-finance era. She
further explains that the first such marketing campaign was witnessed around 1976 where the
Marriott Corporation partnered with the March of Dimes, a nonprofit established to educate
women about the prevention of birth defects.
More broadly, its purpose was to increase awareness and raise money for its chapters all
over the country. The role of Marriott in this relationship was to spearhead the marketing efforts
with tactics such as educational PR and publicizing any events including fundraisers.
The campaign was highly successful and from that day on, cause marketing has been redefined
constantly, but what remains an upward constant is the number of companies and establishments
that have adopted the idea to a reported tune of $1.57 billion just in 2009 alone. But are PR
campaigns identical to advertising? In their book, Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer,
Max Sutherland and Alice Sylvester compare ads to alcohol. They say, “The more you have it
the less you remember.”2 If directly translated, in relative context, it is safe to say that after most
people are exposed to two or more competing ads, their memory for the first one starts to become
impaired.

1 Chong, Rachel. “Cause Related Marketing: Just Plain Ol’ Marketing?”
http://huffingtonpost.com/rachel-chong. 4 Jan. 2010. Internet. Accessed 15 Feb. 2011.
2 Sutherland Max, and Alice K. Sylvester. Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer. Australia:
Griffin Press, 2000. Page 87.

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In his book, Ogilvy on Advertising, Ogilvy suggests that between the times he wrote the
book and when advertising really took a foothold of American media, there has been one change
and that is the television. 3 If this is true, then how has CRM taken advantage of this? Some of
the most successful cause-marketing campaigns that have followed suit includes Susan Komen’s
race for cancer, a promotion started by the Susan G. Komen Foundation's Race for the Cure in
1991. There is also the world-class cyclist Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong campaign that
launched in 2004, and last but not least, Product Red, a campaign launched in 2006 to help fight
AIDS in Africa. These are just a few examples that create a lot of media attention whenever they
are launched.

3Ogilvy, David. Ogilvy on Advertising. New York: Random House, 1985. Page 65.

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CHAPTER ONE:
APPLE’S PLACE ON THE CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP LADDER
How Far Have They Climbed?

There is little doubt that the millennial age has favored Apple products due to their
ease of use and innovative technology. A few reasons include the bright graphics, perceived
simplicity, captivating icons and overall access to thousands of applications in iApps and
iApps stores that are populating throughout the world. In fact, the latest openings (their
new stores in Japan and England) were all well received. In sales, the Apple apps have also
soared. By the fourth quarter of 2010, Apple had already sold 14.1 million iPhones total.4
But with their success, there is an unwritten rule that states businesses should show
gratitude to their customers’ loyalty and patronage.

4Dade, Charles. “Apple Q4 2010: Record Quarter/Year, Surprises to Come”
http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-q4-2010-record-quarteryear-surprises-to-come. 18 Oct. 2010.
Internet. Accessed 16 Feb. 2011.

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Figure 01: Chart showing Apple’s fastest growing Product, the iPhone. The fourth quarter of 2010 is the highest.
Sources, Company Files.

Undoubtedly, Apple has always come under fire for not doing enough. This is especially
evident in light of the fact that they are well positioned to do more than whatever little they do
currently. With such impressive sales figures, Apple must be doing something right or others
may be doing something wrong. One thing the world knows Apple has mastered is, how to
steadily be innovative and untraditional compared to many of their competitors. Take this for
example: Apple never does any radio advertising because they figured out that this form of
promotion will never sell products but are true enforcers of principle messages. Radio is
considered cheap advertising, so why do you want to associate a differentiated product with
cheap advertising? Hence, Apple dismissed radio as part of the marketing strategy. To add,

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Millennials are less interested in radio because it is not an important part of their own peer group
subculture.

Figure 02. Shows one of Apple’s celebrated CSR projects featuring the iPod Nano.
The proceeds from the sale go towards the fight of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
Image courtesy of Joinred.com.

Some promotions have been well received while others question Apple’s dedication to
supporting charities. A recent global uproar erupted over their denial of nonprofits receiving
donations directly from their iPhone apps. This can ultimately negatively impact Apple’s niche
within the Millennials’ market from maximizing their efforts to be socially responsible. Perhaps
the recent departure of Steve Jobs could be an opportunity for Apple to gradually change their
poor standing with charities and nonprofits worldwide by slowly altering their business policies
concerning this sector. Duly noted, Apple does “give back” to communities through other
avenues, including purchasing incentives and enhancing education via various hi-tech mediums.
Their newsworthy friction with the nonprofits of the world will be addressed in the chapter to
follow as well.

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