American comedian Jimmy Kimmel goes on the streets with an iPhone 4s, tricking people to believe that it’s the latest iPhone 5 and getting their opinions on it. Many of them fell for it and claimed that the new “iPhone 5” was lighter, faster and better when in actual fact, it’s the same phone.
This clearly shows the cult-like following that Apple has. Consumers are willing to spend huge bucks and queue for hours just want to get their hands on the latest Apple products. Is this a result of Apple’s effective marketing strategies? Let’s take a look at the concepts we’ve learnt so far.
In terms of positioning, I believe consumers associate Apple products with innovation- the latest and hottest gadget out there. The blackberry is more suited for businessmen, having the sleek, palm-sized look. The Samsung galaxy models are perhaps more catered for youngsters with the huge retina display and high-quality camera.
Apple, I believe, encompasses all. It oozes class, appealing to businessmen. It fits snugly into your palm and it’s easy to use as well which caters to all-age groups because who wouldn’t like a user-friendly phone?
The Apple webpage right now shows this tagline for the new iPhone 5:
“The biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone”
I guess the value proposition of Apple is PERFORMANCE. The iPhone being bigger, faster and better than all the other smart phones out in the market. And people like that sense of superiority.
There has been much controversy over legalizing organ sales all around the world in recent times.
More and more people are succumbing to organ failure, however, the number of donors are few. Will monetary incentives entice people to donate their organs? This begs many ethical issues.
This may lead to the exploitation of the poor and less educated. Just think about it. Why would anyone want to sell their body parts to a stranger? The rich won’t do it, and neither will the middle-class. Only the poor will and that’s definitely out of desperation. The poor may be so desperate for money that they’ll be willing to sell their organs at any price and they might not even be informed of the adverse health risks and complications that may arise from the surgery. Also, the rich patients may have the means to pay more for the organ required, but not the poor, thus leaving the poor at the losing end and probably decrease their chances of survival.
Next, why are organs being treated like commodities? This brings about ethical issues in the religious aspect, that God made us a whole person with all our organs intact, so who gave us the permission to treat our body parts like commodities and sell them as and when we want?
Even though the government may have certain regulations and policies put in place to minimize exploitation and keep the black market for organ sales at bay, I still don’t think it is ethical. If anything, organs should be donated instead for pure altruistic purposes and not for the sake of earning quick bucks.
Where am I?
You are currently viewing the archives for September, 2012 at elyssa.