Ch. 7 - Business Marketing

Apple products have not traditionally been aggressively marketed toward business and enterprise. Thus so far the thought and convention has been that Apple computers were more for the "creative types" and Microsoft was for business, this is all changing though. Apple is in much higher demand and growing in popularity and finally sees a market in enterprise and a chance to possibly compete with such titans as Microsoft, specially after the explosive popularity of the iPad.

According to a 2008 cover article in Businessweek, "The Mac in the Gray Flannel Suit," "In time, more and more office work will be done using Web-based applications, as opposed to programs stored on a hard drive. That trend erodes Microsoft's dominance in office applications and reduces the need for Windows hardware. (And Windows runs well on Macs with Intel chips.)" The article also says, "The Mac's popularity on campuses is soaring, according to Student Monitor. Of students that want a laptop, 42% say they want a Mac (up from 8% in 2003). They're especially popular with creative types companies want to recruit, and Mac fanboys may not put up with PCs at work." This was an article written in 2008. It was true then and even more true now.

With the iPad we can definitely start seeing the shift of Apple trying to appeal to business as much as the consumer, whereas in before the target was mostly the end consumer, as that was the core of Apple market. The business market has been one that Apple can no longer ignore, as it can bring enormous revenue.

The "If You Asked" iPad ad (one of the latest ads for the iPad) mentions the many ways the iPad is being used by parents, musicians, doctors, CEOS, teachers, and children.

The apps market has also proven itself incredibly profitable. Apps are not only made being marketed to appeal to the consumer, but also to the businesses. Apple wants businesses to make apps for the iPhone and iPad and to attract as many of these business to make apps for them rather then other competing platforms, such as android. This ad "The Story Behind the Apps" is clearly made to appeal to businesses that develop games and apps or for businesses to develop apps for Apple, and in true Apple fashion in the end displaying these big companies that work to develop Apps for Apple appeals to the consumer as well.