Barcia, Alek

Cajefe, Renzo

Nool, Jeremy
Pocot, Jemimah

Sundiam, Dindi

1. Actions to Enter Geographic Market or Product Market:

Globalization: Apples One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Hovivian, F. (2014, December 19). Globalization: Apples One-Size-Fits-All Approach.
Retrieved
July
17,
2016
from
www.brandquarterly.com:
http://www.brandquarterly.com/globalization-apples-one-size-fits-approach
December 19 2014
Did you know that by the end of October 2014, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were
available in 69 countries and territories, with a total of 115 countries planned by the
end of the 2014? Thats not the only amazing fact. Did you also know that the
iPhone is the same design regardless of region?
Apple did not customize their phone in terms of features and looks. So you might
think Apple is taking the concept of global to the purist level, using a one size fitsall approach, with a standardized design across all regions, the same range of
products for all countries, and no visible customization also called localization
except for the power source, pricing, and carriers specifics.
There are certain benefits to standardization, and this one in particular: establishing
a global brand with a strong identity,worked for Apple. However, what about raising
the idea that the standardization of Apple products may in fact precisely answer the
requirement for cultural understanding?
The secret of any global brand success is cultural understanding. What if Apple has
understood the underlying common-ness of all humans so that no-need for product
customization is actually the highest form of cultural understanding? Or, what if
Apple has found the path to that sweet-spot, where there is a common ground
among differing cultures?
The thing is, going global is not just about offering a product to several markets
around the world. Its also about finding the denominator for a particular product
that is region-blind. Apple, I believe, found this baseline purist often called
minimalist approach with expansive usability testing. Steve Jobs said, The main
thing in our design is that we have to make things intuitively obvious.
However, Apple concedes to personalization on several layers. Lets examine what
those are:
Apple has stores all around the world. For each of these stores, Apple follows a strict
customer service protocol, which is tailored to each region. That creates insane
loyalty and attachment, because the local staff uses a personalized approach to
communicate with customers.

Barcia, Alek
Cajefe, Renzo

Nool, Jeremy
Pocot, Jemimah

Sundiam, Dindi

Even the type of building matches the culture. For example, the Paris Apple Store is
housed in a Haussmann-type building that is ideally suited to Parisians tastes in
architecture. Or at least, what they have grown accustomed to. Bob Bridger, vice
president of Apple Retail Development explains what makes Apple Stores so
popular. Once a location is picked, its all a matter of working towards making sure
the store has an inviting appeal that matches its surrounding culture and
environment. Its about getting out into the street and feeling what the local feels.
Second of all, Apple chooses the countries where they are going to do business
carefully. In fact for the first time in iPhone history, Apple phones will be on track to
be available in more than 115 countries by the end of the year 2014, making this
the largest iPhone rollout ever. Talk about localization! Apple may use a one sizefits-all strategy for their products, but that strategy allows them to launch in so
many countries because they have minimal customization to subject their phones
to. But the area in which they choose personalization is their technical local
requirements.
The new iPhone 6 supports anywhere between 16 and 20 different LTE (long-term
evolution) bands, depending on the model which is the highest of any phone being
currently sold. That means you can use your US-bought iPhone 6 all over Europe
and Asia with fast download speeds. That is the epitome of a global experience
tailored to the regional standards, isnt it?
Third, the Apple ecommerce web site is also purist and standard across all 125
world regions that the sites it is translated into, and is a mirror of the brand. It has
the same look and feel, regardless of the country you are viewing the site in, but the
content is highly customized in the local language, trans-created, or reviewed by
local copywriters. You find that same high translation quality in all of Apple user
guides and documentation, even though Apples user-friendly design approach
makes the use of guides somewhat obsolete.
Did you know that Apple isnt on social media? In fact, Apple customers constitute
Apples advertising Apple isnt even involved.
How and where do they get their customer pulse? By being silent. They let others
do all the talking for them. Maybe that seeming lack of social marketing strategy is,
in fact, the strategy. Customers come to Apple. Apple creates the want and solidifies
the brand in that way. Customers adapt to Apple, Apple does not adapt to
customers. In 1998, Steve Jobs told Business Week, A lot of times, people dont
know what they want until you show it to them.
Lastly, Apple is choosing not to adapt its products to the local culture, because it
does not need to. Apple is the culture. This is the culture that people want to
embrace when they wait in line at Apple Stores when they could just buy the
product online. People want to experience being a part of Apple with its culture of

Barcia, Alek
Cajefe, Renzo

Nool, Jeremy
Pocot, Jemimah

Sundiam, Dindi

hip, fashion, creativity, personality, and design. Apple creates the culture and
customers become its embodiment.
Apple has many detractors. But in the end, a successful brand is one that elicits
powerful emotion and positive sentiment from its customers. How many
competitors of Apple wouldnt want to find the path to their customers hearts in a
similar way?

Apples Secret To Booming International Sales

Ray, R. (2010, May 03). Apples Secret To Booming International Sales. Retrieved
July 17, 2017 from www.chiefmarketer.com: http://www.chiefmarketer.com/applessecret-to-booming-international-sales/
May 3, 2010
As Apple gears up for the global launch of the iPad, its riding high on booming
international sales and net income numbers. In the second quarter alone, iPhone
sales more than doubled overall, with sales in the Asia-Pacific region surging to an
astonishing 474% year-over-year.
Based on these numbers, Apple has now gained the #2 spot as the second-largest
company on the U.S. Standard & Poor 500 Index in terms of market capitalization,
surpassing even Microsoft and trailing only Exxon Mobile. Given this success on a
global scale, international marketers might want to take one of the lessons from
Apples playbook transcreation.
As companies attempt to sell their products and services to more and more
demographics in more and more markets around the world, they are discovering
as Apple figured out quite a long time ago that they can increase their sales when
they adapt or recreate their messaging and content for specific target audiences,
rather than translating directly from original versions. The process is called
transcreation, and it allows companies the freedom to address cultural gaps by
moving beyond translation to create something that captures the essence and spirit
of a message, transforming it into one that is locally relevant and meaningful.
Images speak louder than words when it comes to explaining transcreation. Heres a
whirlwind graphical tour of how Apple successfully applied transcreation to modify
its branding and messaging across several countries and languages for its iPod
shuffle campaign. Expect to see the same process applied as the iPad goes
global.Apples International Marketing Secret Apple generally does something else

Barcia, Alek
Cajefe, Renzo

Nool, Jeremy
Pocot, Jemimah

Sundiam, Dindi

that is very smart with its global ad campaigns. In addition to choosing one image
that can be nuanced worldwide, it employs a minimum of text in the original
English. So, even if there is a play on words that must be transcreated to remain
relevant in other markets, the phrase usually does not require too many words in
other languages to express a similar idea.
Based on a recent survey of 380 respondents by our market research firm, it is clear
that transcreation is not only here to stay, but on the rise. Twenty-five percent of
respondents expect transcreation as a percentage of total translation activities
to grow between six and 10% during 2010, while almost 30% anticipate that it will
grow by more than 10%. (See Reaching New Markets through Transcreation,
Common Sense Advisory, March 2010).

Apples international marketing secret is that it understands that its brands must
resonate in local markets whether its a market defined by geography or one
defined by language and culture within a larger domestic market. To do so, they are
willing to go the extra mile (or kilometer!) to transcreate their messaging and
content. In order to engage more demographics within local markets, other
companies will need to learn to do the same in order to beat out strong local and
regional competitors.

Apple Strives for Global Markets

Rohwedder, C. (2010, June 8). Apple strives for global markets. Retrieved July 17,
2016 from online.wsj.com: http://online.wsj.com/article/apple-strives-for-globalmarket.html
June 8, 2010
When looking for business opportunities in global markets, there are potential risks
that each company should be aware of and consider cautiously prior to finalizing
their decisions. International trade can be profitable for a company due to the lower
costs of production in other countries, but it can also create more complexities and
involve a greater amount of risks (Kelly, & McGowen, 2011).
Apple Inc., an exceptionally successful firm has accessed the global markets
and expanded its presence in ways that maximize the companys revenues. The
strategy options that Apple Inc. utilizes most frequently for global market
development include foreign outsourcing and importing, as well as exporting.
Foreign operations of Apple Inc. are conducted in the Americas, Europe, Japan, and
Asia Pacific. Apple largely relied on foreign outsourcing in order to launch the iPod.

Barcia, Alek
Cajefe, Renzo

Nool, Jeremy
Pocot, Jemimah

Sundiam, Dindi

Firms in China and Taiwan were depended upon to produce the iPod for a fraction of
the cost of domestic production (Lo, 2008).
Most of the iPods components are low cost, and mainly produced in the Asia-Pacific
region. The assembly occurs in Chinese factories by Taiwanese firms such as
Inventee Appliances and Foxconn, the worlds largest make of electronic computers
and the largest exporter in Greater China (Lo, 2008). Six out of the ten parts that
comprise the Apple iPhone are supplied by Taiwan. Sourcing the majority of the
parts from an individual country could be a beneficial strategy or could be a
constraint in case there in any unrest in the political economy in Taiwan, which
could disrupt the material and product flow (Abilla, 2007).
Apple Inc. imports parts from different companies in order to construct their
own product. For example, IBM supplies the G5 processor that is used in the
PowerMac products and Motorola supplies for the G4 processors. There is a possible
threat to Apples differentiation strategy as the company is dependent on the
availability of certain components from certain suppliers (Lliev, Lindinger, &
Poettler, 2004). Apple only assembles a few of its products in the United States and
Europe; most of them are assembled and manufactured in Japan, Taiwan and China,
which are the countries that are focused on by Apple Inc. for reaching global
markets. These countries, especially China, manufacture and assemble products for
a much lower cost than others, have a well-educated and efficient work force, and
have prosperous economies with huge populations and potential customers. In
addition, Apple Inc. has numerous retail stores in various of these countries
including Japan, China, and the United Kingdom, which are the focus for Apple Incs
global market. It is estimated that 55% of iPhone sales are now made outside of the
U.S (Kane & Rohwedder, 2010).
The companys main competitors are Dell, Microsoft, and Hewlett Packard. These
competitors engage in global markets to a great extent and to a similar market that
Apple Inc. does worldwide. These companies make use of foreign outsourcing and
importing, and exporting as well. They have many retail stores worldwide similar to
Apple Inc. with a focus especially in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region (Lo, 2008).
Apple Inc. has a competitive advantage from these three companies because of the
creativity in innovation that they portray and the amount of consumer demand for
their products. Apple Inc. has been extremely successful in making their brand
popular and known worldwide as a premier company that offers exceptional
products and has been successful in providing a lot of value and customer
satisfaction.
Apple Inc. may be experiencing sociolcultural differences when interacting
with global markets especially in the countries that they are focused on. The
countries in the Asia-Pacific region are different in terms of attitude, values, and
language so communication could be a problem. Apple Inc. can overcome this
barrier by conducting research, and if the individuals leading the firm can make

Barcia, Alek
Cajefe, Renzo

Nool, Jeremy
Pocot, Jemimah

Sundiam, Dindi

themselves aware about the market and that can result in a competitive advantage
because they will understand the market that they are targeting. Economic and
legal differences are something each company that is entering global markets
should be familiar with and conduct research to get over such barriers and be
knowledgeable about each country that they are interacting with (Kelly, &
McGowen, 2011).