The Effects of Branding Strategy on the Smart Phone Market – A Case Study of Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone in the UK and Indian Markets (2013)
Smart Phone Market and Branding Strategy Dissertation – Branding strategy plays a big role in the success of an MNC in overseas markets. This is because there is intense competition in the market and especially in the mobile phone/smart phone market in which several new players are adding day by day. In order to remain competitive and on the top of the local brands, MNCs need to do a lot more than branding and marketing. They need to properly study, research and evaluate the market in which they are going to commence business as market research id very important for finding the real market scenario.
But the main task for these companies lies in formulating and executing a proper branding strategy as it requires a lot of thought and planning. The branding strategies depend on the type of the product(s) or service(s) to be offered and the area where the company plans to commence its business. This is due to the fact that different products have different kinds of markets and user segments and hence the branding strategy also needs to be specific for each market rather than just following a general standard for all the markets.
Several companies follow a standard model approach in their branding and marketing exercises for reaching scale of economies. However in doing so, the company risks of loosing the market share to its rivals and competitors even if they are of lesser quality in products or services. So adapting to local cultures and practices is one way of shaping the branding strategy of some product(s) or service(s) for an MNC. However certain branding characteristics undertaken by both Apple and Blackberry are still the same in almost all the places including Indian and UK market. Investigating the branding strategy of Apple and iPhone in the UK and Indian market is the main purpose of this dissertation.
The main research question that was addressed here was: the impact of the branding strategies of Apple and Blackberry on the smartphone market of India and UK. Two quantitative cases in the form of case studies of the two smartphone giants – Apple and Blackberry were conducted. The difference in the marketing strategies can be easily as the iPhone is an example of Product brand strategy while Blackberry follows corporate brand strategy. It was found that the factors that govern the branding strategy of these companies in the UK and Indian markets mainly consist of corporate image, reputation of the brand, the interests of the shareholders, the complexity of the market and also the cost of marketing in these places.
- 18,000 words – 68 pages in length
- Excellent use of literature
- Good analysis of subject area
- Well written throughout
- Ideal for business and marketing students
1 – Introduction
Conceptual background
Research questions and objectives
Focus of the research
Importance of the research
Structure of the research
2 – Literature Review
Literature Related to Branding
Concepts and definitions of branding
Ways and benefits of branding
Value Proposition to the Brand
Corporate Branding: Definitions and concepts
Corporate Branding of Apple
Corporate Branding of Blackberry
3 – Methodology
Research Method
Exploratory
Descriptive
Explanatory
Research Approach: Qualitative Research
Research Approach: Quantitative Research
Identifying the problem
Research Objectives
The Sampling Process
Data Collection
4 – Data Analysis and Findings
5 – Conclusion
References
Appendix Section
Questionnaire