Month: September 2010

Recently, Skype, one of the world’s most popular messenger applications, has announced their partnership with Avaya Inc. one of the largest suppliers and makers of corporate phone equipments. The reason being that Skype would want to its services to be used more by corporations and increase its credibility among businesses. As of the beginning of next month, Avaya will be letting customers route their calls through the call services provided by Skype (1).

One advantage of this partnership is that it will help boost Skype’s reputation to major corporations as Avaya is one of the biggest call providers used in the business world. This, will therefore increase the brand loyalty of Skype throughout the market. Furthermore, it provides both companies more stability, in that if one company is having financial trouble, they can lean on their partner to aid them overcome the situation. In relation to Skype and Avaya, this is a significant advantage because the share a common goal of effective communication between people. Nonetheless, a disadvantage of a partnership is that it could create conflict between the two companies, such as the share of profit. Skype will definitely have an advantage in this partnership as it allows them to further expand and become more known to the corporate world. However, Avaya won’t gain as much as Skype in the partnership as Skype is the main company that will be affected.

In my opinion, this partnership could change Skype’s position in a market, in that it’s also now a messenger application for corporations, increasing the company’s professional position in a market. However, both companies should both look at the financial and non-financial factors to see if this partnership will be successful in the long term. Whether they succeed, depends on the corporate stakeholders interest in Skype, and most importantly how the two companies will work together.

(1) Galante, Joseph. “Skype Teams With Avaya to Boost Its Business With Corporations – Bloomberg.” Bloomberg – Business & Financial News, Breaking News Headlines. 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-29/skype-teams-with-avaya-to-boost-its-business-with-corporations.html>.

Apple. One simple word which stimulates various perceptions into people’s mind; “sheek,” “awesome,” “the best,” etc. Why? Because of their marketing strategy. Apple is one of the most popular computer brand around the world, and their success have been mainly influenced by the way they advertise and promote each product. In fact, several of Apple’s product have been positioned effectively in people’s mind because of their marketing mix. Let us now evaluate some of Apple’s marketing mix and how their mix have been effective in their product development in the market, and able to position themselves as a brand leader in the customer’s mind.

Apple has been known for creating innovative products and to ensure that each one has a Unique Selling Point, such as the scrolly wheel in the i-pods, and the mouse pads in their MacBooks. Evidently, this invention helped increase Apple’s market share, catapulting apple to become the lead brand in people’s minds. In terms of pricing their goods. Apple products are known to be very expensive as a result of their high demands for their goods and for their high research and development costs. Nonetheless, this cost is not too significant to the company due to their rapid increase of sales as a result of their high quality products. To further boost their market share, not only did they create the iPhone but have extended it further by developing newer models such as the iPhone 3G and 4, also known as extension strategies to further develop their product portfolio and market share.

In promotion, the company mainly utilizes above the line promotion, advertising using various media tools such as the TV, magazines and billboards. Their ads are simple yet stands out, and as Rise and Trout state, it should be consistent with their brand (1). Apple’s brand personality is about lifestyle, freedom, simplicity, and thus their simple ads as well as simple packaging of their products are cohesive with their brand image.

The ad shown above is an example as to how Apple manages to make itself a brand leader in people’s mind. Emotions are associated with the slogan “touching is believing,” and consumers are drawn to the simple yet powerful image, which stands out against the black background. Thus, it creates a a strong impact in people’s mind. Personally, because of Apple’s reputation, its designs and simplicity, it will remain to be the brand leader in my mind for quite a long time.

(1) “Product Positioning.” QuickMBA: Accounting, Business Law, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Management, Marketing, Operations, Statistics, Strategy. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/ries-trout/positioning/>.