Apple's iPhone marketing strategy in the Middle East

Apple's Mid-East Marketing Mix

There are few American retail products that have had both the economic and cultural impact of Apple's iPhone. As Apple has unrolled the product in various markets throughout the global economy, it has proven adept at facilitating market adaptation. Indeed, with its momentously popular product achieving a highly intuitive, user friendly, sleek and integrated smartphone template, the iPhone continues to set the pace in the global marketplace. Still, it must weather distinct marketing challenges as it penetrates the mobile media device sector in the Middle East. Owing to the region's considerable cultural, political and commercial differences, the western firm must adapt to context such as Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia accordingly.

Brand:

The iPhone has, since its unveiling in 2007, achieved enormous growth and profitability. In just five years, comScore (2012) reports, Apple used its innovative device launch itself into the heart of a competitive telecom industry. As of the 2012 report, "Apple continued to gain ground in the OEM market with 12.4% share of total mobile subscribers (up 2.2 percentage points)." (comScore, p. 1) This achievement is driven by both the product's considerable and permeating appeal and by the savvy marketing and promotional instruments used by the Apple company. This will be demonstrated in its weathering of the new markets explored here.

Comparison:

Product

One of the interesting realities with which Apple has come face-to-face is the differentials in product expectation among target buyers in different countries and cultures. In markets such as Israel, where the population is uniquely situated in sympathy to western ideals and cultural interests, the device itself remains largely unchanged. Indeed, Apple's contract with the country's trio of mega-carriers, Cellcom, Orange and Bezeq Israel Telecom, suggest that penetration will occur quickly in this market with little product adaptation. (Paczkowski, p. 1)

Such opportunities are less immediately apparent where Egypt is concerned. Apple's initial failure to produce a more functional digital camera in its first model became a consistently cited grievance among young Egyptians. According to Inskeep (2012), "the need for a good camera is something that comes up again and again when talking with younger Egyptians about their phones. Easy internet access, which is one of the features of the iPhone, isn't as important for them as the camera." (Inskeep, p. 1) This underscores the danger in prioritizing technology according to a singular cultural understanding.

For such markets as Saudi Arabia, notable for its dictatorial form of theocratic government, the device's security vulnerability has been a point of contention. In 2011, Saudi Arabia announced, for instance, that the product would be banned from high-security buildings and public spaces. According to Kee (2011), "this ban was declared due to the security concern that these high-tech telecommunication gadgets can be infiltrated easily via hacking, according to London-based Asharq Al Awsat." (Kee, p.1)

Price

Egyptians will pay a rate of 3800 EGP for the iPhone 4S 16GB which calculates to roughly $627. This is a considerable difference from the price structure in Israel where, "they'll be asking 800 shekels for it, about $210." (Paczkowski, p. 1) This is possible because Merril Lynch will pay a subsidy of an additional 1200 shekels per handset in order to help initiate penetration of telecom service plans. In Saudi Arabia, iPhones start at roughly SAR 3499, a staggering $933.

Promotion

With respect to promotion, Apple's Israel strategy has centered on its contractual relationship with the top carriers in the market, a position which Apple projects will allow it to make fast penetration without overburdening any single carrier with the marketing demands. (Paczkowski, p. 1) With respect to Egypt, product shortages have actually marked an opportunity for Apple. In spite of some complaints over the nature of the product and the limitations applied in Egypt such as the government restriction on GPS functions, the product is frequently on back order in Egypt. This has stoked interest. However, in Egypt and Saudi Arabia alike, one significant hurdle must be overcome with respect to the promotion of Apple's related service package. According to Farivar (2009), "iPhone's support for Arabic, the official language of both countries, remains practically non-existent." (Farivar, p. 1)

Conclusion:

In spite of these variances impacting the marketing mix for each of the above-noted countries, Apple's ability to adapt with the unrolling of future models and service plans suggests that the product will achieve a level of success in each context commensurate to its global performance.

Works Cited:

comScore. (2012). omScore Reports December 2011 U.S Mobile Subscriber Market Share. comScore.com.