Marketing led management(Apple's iphone) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing led management(Apple's iphone) - Essay Example The study will be focused upon the UK based company Telefonica,popularly known as O2.It has been in venture with Apple to promote iPhone in the UK market.The brand O2 caters the services in the telecommunication sector offering integrated mobile,fixed and broadband services in the UK,Germany,Ireland,Slovakia and Czech Republic In the year 2007, Apple launched its product iPhone with O2 in the UK market. Apple iPhone was offered in different tariffs with variety of handsets in the UK market (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2011). In order to launch iPhone in the European market, Apple needs to have a contract with the service provider. They had options in the European market. There were UK’s O2, France’s Orange and Germany’s T-Mobile. There were rumours regarding the revenue sharing percentage deal between Apple and others. After the plethora of negotiations, the UK’s O2 was finalised for the deal to market Apple’s product . Strategic Analysis The d eal was finalised between the UK’s O2 and Apple for the distribution of the Apple’s iPhone in the UK market. The deal concentrated upon the revenue sharing percentage that O2 would provide to Apple from the iPhone sales. The significance of the deal to O2 can be justified by the strategic analysis through the SWOT evaluation. SWOT Analysis Strengths O2 is known as the successful network operator in the UK market. The awareness of the brand is huge among the target customer group. There are more than 300 stores of O2 in the UK market (Franchise Development Services Ltd, 2011). Telefonica has been operating for more than 85 years in the UK telecommunication industry and has a consistency growth rate and is acquainted with their target consumers’ need and wants. By the year 2009 it had about 265 million customers operating in 25 countries. Telefonica provides integrated ICT solutions to all segments of customers that can be demonstrated in a graphical format below. Telefonica has diverse operations and generates revenue from different market operations, which build up a strong financial position of the company (Telefonica, 2010). (Telefonica, 2010). Telefonica has been able to increase its consumer base by 2009 and it is still on the rise. The company achieved a 9 % growth in the number of consumers by the end of 2009. The expansion in the consumer base will generate more revenues for the company. With the increasing number of consumers there is more possibility of increase in the sales of iPhone. This will generate more revenues for Apple (Telefonica Europe plc, 2009). Apple is one of the leading brands in the global market and is known for its iPhone. The newly launched product of Apple is the ‘iPhone 4’ in the UK market. O2 provides maximum advantage to every class of users at an affordable rate (PR Wall Street, 2010). The mobile network of Telefonica covers 99% of the UK populace. O2’s 3G network covers over 80% of the UK’s populace. The best selling device of Telefonica O2 UK is the iPhone that has more than 2 million sales (Telefonica, 2010). Weaknesses The UK consumers had the facility of 3G phones before the launch of the iPhone in the UK market. They were already using the 3G technology. There were problems related to the offering of the call rates. The call rates of the iPhone deal allowed 200 inclusive minutes for ?35 whereas the competitors provided 750 inclusive minutes with a free phone. The consumers were apprehensive about the contract related to iPhone. The main concern was regarding the up-gradation of the phone, the device itself as it has non-removable battery and limited battery life. The consumers wanted to upgrade their iPhone 3G as it faced the problem of battery life. This problem was a concern for Telefonica O2 UK against their endeavour to increase the sales and get