Apple Case Study (Marketing)

Apple Case Study (Marketing) 
-Steve Jobs (the founder of Apple) passed away on Oct 5, 2011. His successor is Tim Cook and
his teams. Steve is the God in Apple and everybody ha to respect his management principle –
“STEVE JOBS SAID APPLE’S SUCCESS CAME THE DISCIPLINE OF REFUSING TO INVEST
IN 1000 GREAT PROJECTS TO INSURE THAT THE COMPANY STAYED FOCUSED ON THE
GOOD PROJECTS.” –
-Hints: Apple adopts Miles and Snow – Prospector (Business Strategy)
-STEVE ‘S MAJOR PRINCIPLE – EXTENDING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE INTO NEW
DOMAINS.
Q.1 Assess Apple’s strategy for Project 1 – Apple Watch. What were the Pros ? Cons ? Will it be
the next home run ?
Model Answers: 5 Pros – 1 Mark for each, totally: 5 Marks; 4 Cons – 1 Mark for each, totally: 4
Marks and Yes or No for the next home run – 1 mark
Therefore: Total Marks in Q. 1 = 10 Marks
Q. 2 If the Apple Watch is NOT a home run project, should Apple focus their attention on Apple
TV ? Is this a better option for Apple (Hints: Read Steve’s Principle again before you make any
decision) Or is it a distraction ?
Model Answers: 1 Mark is allocated to ” Should Apple focus their attention on Apple TV” – Yes or
No, totally: 1 Mark. 5 Marks are allocated to Good choice for Apple to go into Apple TV and we
have 5 points to support. 1 point for each explanation. 4 Marks are allocated to Distraction and
there are 4 points on Distraction, each point carries 1 Mark. Totally: 4 Marks.
Therefore: Total Marks in Q.2 = 10 Marks
Q. 3 – The most important question and it is totally: 25 Marks. Pay more attention to answer as it
is tricky.
Q.3a – Should Apple make a Big bet on cars? – I need you to tell me the opportunities – 5
Opportunities in my model answers – 1 Mark for each opportunity and therefore, totally: 5 Marks.
Q.3b What are the challenges ? – 5 challenges in my model answers – 1 Mark for each challenge
and therefore, totally: 5 Marks.
Q. 3c – Or should Apple focus on getting CarPlay, their User Interface (UI) into all cars – into ALL
cars (Go to B2B Market) – you need to write an essay to support this argument – Totally: 7.5
Marks
Q. 3d – Should they become a hardware company or focus on being a software/platform (iOS)
company (Also Go to Business to Business(B2B) Market) – you need to write an essay to support
this argument – Total: 7.5 Marks