Chapter 2: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Apple Inc. is one of the world's most successful and most recognizable companies for strategic marketing and competitive advantages because they know how to innovate and adapt to the current market and satisfy peoples needs. In over its 37 years in existence, the company had seen a lot of changes in the electronic industry and has also made big changes itself that has revolutionize the computer, mobile phone, music, and movie industries. When Apple stepped into the phone industry it was slowly transforming into the smartphone revolution.

At first Apple attempted to create a phone with Motorola called the "Motorola Rokr" released in 2005 which was a complete failure. It was slow, glitchy and did not live up to the standards that Apple had already created with the iPod's. Which is why they went on to create the "iPhone" which was released in 2007, which at the time was the worlds greatest phone ever which blew everything out of the water. Everything about it was exactly what people needed and always wanted in a phone, since it combined a music player, camera, phone, internet browser, and computer all into this one little device that fit sleekly into your pocket. So since the "Motorola Rokr" failed they went back to the drawing boards and created an even better, more sophisticated device, which is now to date one of the world's most respectable phones.

In recent years Apple was faced with competition with the "iPad" from other companies like Google and Amazon which were encouraging consumers to defect from the Apple's ecosystem, because of the size and price of the iPad. Which is why Apple created the "iPad Mini", to enter the small tablet market and face the competition head on. 


This is both a defensive and offensive move for Apple. Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7 are handsome small tablets which use Android's OS, and have a friendly $200 price tag. Apple has had no small tablet offering to date, which left them vulnerable to Amazon and Google to steal consumers in this new category. Apple no doubt sees the iPad Mini as an opportunity to attract more consumers to a broader range of tablets and further enjoy the benefits of its ecosystem. The iPad Mini is another product from Apple that will further attract and lock consumers into its growing ecosystem of products, services, and content.

Apple tends to stay ahead of the game by innovating these new ideas and wowing people. They give the people what they need and want. A device that is efficient, smooth, reliable, fast, and extremely cool.