How does Apple do marketing after 12 years in China?

The post "22-year-old Bilibili UP host He Tongxue talks with Cook" went viral. Most people see this as a dialogue between the technology community, but we believe that this reflects Apple's emphasis on the Chinese market and its further influence on young Chinese people. In essence, it is a marketing move by Apple in the Chinese market.

Looking back, 2021 marks the 12th year of Apple's entry into China. At this time, the Chinese mobile phone market has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Apple is no longer the same Apple. The growth of its mobile phone business has reached its peak, so it has embarked on a new journey of making cars. Except for Apple, domestic mobile phone brands have swept away foreign brands, with Huawei, Xiaomi, and OV competing for domestic and international markets.

In today's Chinese market, Apple seems to be the only overseas mobile phone brand that can still gain a foothold.

In the 12 years since entering China, Apple's marketing methods in the Chinese market have been constantly changing, from indifference in the "Jobs" era to increasing attention in the "Cook era". So, what changes have actually taken place in Apple's marketing strategy in the Chinese market? Morketing is a brief summary of this article.

Figure: Steve Jobs releases new iPhone

01. Entering the Chinese market

In 2009, Apple chose to join hands with China Unicom, and the iPhone officially entered the Chinese market. At that time, the iPhone had become a geek product in the eyes of digital consumers all over the world. If you owned an iPhone, you would be the most popular person on the street.

Looking back at a set of statistics from that year: In 2008, global sales of iPhones exceeded 13 million units. At that time, Apple had no sales channels in China and had not cooperated with any operators. If Chinese consumers wanted to use iPhones, they could only purchase parallel imported products from abroad.

Later, through cooperation with China Unicom, Apple caused a buying frenzy in China. According to media reports on Apple's official website, Chinese buyers once accounted for more than 60% of iPhone 4 sales.

People queuing up for the new iPhone sales

The culture of queuing to buy mobile phones started with Apple. Many people have been mocking Xiaomi's "hunger marketing". In fact, every time Apple releases a new product, it takes this atmosphere to the extreme. When you get a new iPhone, all the employees in the Apple store will cheer and applaud for you. This sense of ritual still exists today.

On January 13, 2012, iPhone 4S was released in Apple retail stores in China. A large number of fans flocked to the scene. In order to get the new product as soon as possible, Apple fans even set up tents outdoors. You can always see such news reports after Apple's press conference.

At that time, scalpers were prevalent in the Apple sales field and price increases were frequent. Apple's products do not have to worry about sales in China. In the minds of consumers, using an iPhone is, to a certain extent, a status symbol. There was even a real case where a young man in Guangdong sold his kidney and used the money to buy the latest iPhone 4S, so the iPhone is also known as the "kidney machine."

On October 6, 2012, the first day after the release of iPhone 4S, Apple's official website posted the news of Steve Jobs' death. The head of Apple has never been to China. China is too far away for him. During the "Jobs era", the enthusiasm of consumers in the Chinese market was ignored.

Every time Apple releases a new product, China is always excluded from the first market. In the list of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S sales, mainland China is ranked after the United States, Europe, Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

02. Start to pay attention to the Chinese market and consumers

After Cook took over from Jobs, as a shrewd entrepreneur, Cook will not lose the world's second largest consumer market. How important is the Chinese market to Apple? In the early days of entering the Chinese market, Apple’s fourth quarter 2011 financial report showed that the Chinese market contributed $4.5 billion in revenue, accounting for 16% of Apple’s total revenue.

Moreover, Cook himself is very concerned about the Chinese market. Almost every year, we can see news about Cook's visits to China. For example, in recent years, in October 2018, he visited the photography art exhibition taken by artists with iPhones held at the Shanghai Yicang Art Museum; in March 2019, he came to Beijing to visit the Forbidden City. In total, he has visited China 15 times.

Apple in the "Cook era" has paid more and more attention to Chinese consumers. The most typical example of this is the iPhone 5C, Apple's small-screen flagship product. Its birth was interpreted as a mid-range machine specially customized for consumers in the Chinese market.

When it comes to product color, Apple has indeed put a lot of effort into it and started using "color marketing." Cook once said: "Apple launched the gold version of iPhone to a certain extent to cater to the preferences of Chinese users, because in China, gold is a symbol of wealth." Judging from the actual sales volume, the gold version of iPhone is indeed very popular in the Chinese market.

In addition to gold, red has also become one of Apple's "color marketing" targets. Bright red represents joy in China. The iPhone 7 has the most colors in the history of Apple products, but the special edition "China Red" is the most shining.

iPhone7 special red version

Apple also gives "Chinese Red" a special meaning. All revenue from the RED version (meaning red) of Apple's official website will be donated to the Global Fund, a charity organization, mainly for AIDS research, treatment, prevention and other projects.

During the Chinese New Year in 2021, Apple also launched a limited edition AirPods Pro for the Year of the Ox, which is engraved with a limited edition ox graphic.

2015 Apple commercial "Old Records"

03. Apple’s New Year ads that dominate the screen every year

In addition to catering to Chinese users at the product design level, Apple also attaches great importance to the Chinese New Year every year, as a marketing node that major brands cannot miss. Since 2015, Apple has gradually formed an annual Spring Festival "Advertising Film Awards".

Looking back, in 2015, Apple invited film director Ann Hui, art director William Chang and others to make the short film "Old Records", which tells the story of a grandparent and grandchild living together. While cleaning, she found her grandmother's vinyl record, so she used the Apple product in her hand to cover the content of the vinyl record, and then used iPad mini to enjoy it with her grandmother.

In 2016, Apple invited Jonathan Lee and his disciples Li Jianqing and Bai An to perform the classic ballad "Congratulations" in a new way, sending New Year greetings with the gift of music.

For its 2017 Spring Festival advertising, Apple launched the “Made in China” series, which consists of six advertisements, each focusing on a different promotional point.

In 2018, Apple invited Hong Kong director Peter Chan to use iPhone X to shoot the short film Three Minutes, which tells the story of a train conductor who is unable to spend time with his children every Spring Festival due to work, and reunites with his children on the platform for just three minutes.

In 2019, Apple released the short film "A Bucket", which tells the story of a boy who works hard in a big city and returns home for the New Year, and his mother prepares a bucket of eggs for him.

Zhou Xun stars in short film "Daughter"

In 2020, Apple once again filmed a film based on a true story, with Zhou Xun starring in the story of a divorced woman who drove a taxi with her daughter despite her mother's opposition.

Looking at Apple’s new product marketing in recent years, the topics have always revolved around the New Year, family, love, reunion, etc. A high-quality and touching story is the starting point of Apple’s commercial marketing. There is no product preaching, but it always conveys a brand value.

Apple has been in China for 12 years, and its marketing strategy has been constantly evolving. From the initial "Jobs" era, when the Chinese market was no different from other overseas markets, to the "Cook era", when the Chinese consumer market played a supporting role for Apple.

Author: Toby Lu

Source: "Morketing" (ID:Morketing)