Developing Effective Public Relations And Public Communication Strategies For Apple Inc. Essay.

You are required to develop a PR strategy for either:

A hypothetical client and prepare a public relations and public communication campaign for this client. Students need to show the purposes and reasons of the selected PR strategy and campaign; or,

You may, if they wish, choose a real company and a real PR issue (but not one of the companies or issues in Assessment 1 – David Jones, Malaysia Airlines, BP), undertaking the same analysis as outlined in a)

Company Background, Products, and Services

Public relations and public communication is a process the aids in building mutual relationships that are beneficial to companies, organizations, and the general public. The public relations and communication have evolved over a long time to become what it is today (Protess, and McCombs, 2016). It suffices to point that changes have occurred in the business environment that have prompted enhanced public relation and communication activities. These changes include globalization and technological innovations. Public relations and public communication are paramount because they aid in developing a relationship which is essential in improving, promoting, and advancing the image of individuals, organization and companies (Stacks, 2016).

Public relation and communication is useful in marketing for the corporate and other organization because there is strong global competition for the limited markets and resources. The business environment is very competitive nowadays and all companies and organizations are working hard to influence the public to have trust in their goods and services. (Smith, and Lasswell, 2015; Stacks, 2016). Therefore, the contributions of public relations and communication cannot be understated. This report is seeking to delineate the company’s public relations and public communication.

Apple, Inc. was established in 1976. The headquarters of the company is Cupertino, California. The company and its subsidiaries carry out designing, manufacturing, and marketing of computers (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). Additionally, the company develops computer software, peripherals, network working solutions, and services, peripherals, and networking solutions to various consumers across the world (Hennessy, Hennessy, Najjar, and Najjar, 2017). The company is engaged in the production of numerous portable digital players and online marketing and sale of third-party video and audio products. The company provides a broad range of products and services for educational purposes. These products include the MacBook and iMac (Hennessy et al., 2017; Protess, and McCombs, 2016).

Further, the company offers services such creating and editing videos (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). Apple has established online stores and retail stores marketing framework to sell its products and services. It suffices to mention that the company also sells its products and services through its direct sales team. There are also third-party wholesalers who are used to market the products (Hennessy et al., 2017). Apple also markets its products and services through the value-added resellers worldwide. The company has invested a lot of resources in publication relations and public communication so as to gain the competitive advantage (Hennessy et al., 2017).

The public relation department ran a publication in which it delineated how the company began the revolution of the personal computers in the 1970s. The company later began the reinvention of the personal computer with the manufacturer of Macintosh (Hennessy et al., 2017). It is worth noting that today; the company’s public relation department is intending to take the lead in the industry through continued innovations (Gandy Jr, 2013; McQuail, and Windahl, 2015; Protess, and McCombs, 2016). The company has produced award-winning computers, operating systems, and other products. The company through efficient and effective strategies has developed successful products such as iPod and video players (Hennessy et al., 2017). All these have made the company to be the leader in the digital media revolution. Other than personal computers, digital music players, and videos products, the company has introduced new mobile products into the market.

The Company's Goals, Objectives, and Agenda

The Company’s vision is to extend its cutting-edge innovation that ensures a total multimedia connection capacity (Hennessy et al., 2017). Apple is implementing various innovations that include entertainment, information on demand, and real-time communication (Dodge, 2015; McQuail, and Windahl, 2015). The company is striving to bring all the aspects of consumers’ lives into a single place. To achieve this continued success, the company has introduced the concept of “generation i.” This generation has several new products and services and aims at integrating of the existing product and service lines into an all-in-one entertainment, information, and communication connection (Hennessy et al., 2017).

The development of “generation i” concept has been influenced by ideas, inspirations, and innovation, inspiration and ideas are all of the “generation i” concept (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The company is working towards the synchronization of its products such as personal computers and the iPhones (Hennessy et al., 2017). This synchronization is meant to provide security through the use of voice recognition and biometric identification capabilities (Culbertson, and Chen, 2013).

The company has laid down plans to broaden its business globally (Protess, and McCombs, 2016). This expansion focuses on enhanced retail stores, engineering facilities and the manufacturing plants all over the world (Edwards, 2014). The expansion will allow Apple to widen its customer base, expand its language base, and assist in the hiring talented employees (Hennessy et al., 2017). Additionally, this expansion will enable the company to manufacture products and services that suit different cultures (Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016). It is imperative to note that when customers can access products and services over the Internet globally, the company will be in a position to meet real-time customer demands.

Apple is fully committed and has laid down strategies to achieve the goals, agenda, and objectives of its operations. To this end, the company is fully aware that by creating or developing successful media release is paramount (Coombs, and Holladay, 2015). The media release is an essential element because it provides the platform on which the company can effectively communicate with its stakeholders (Hennessy et al., 2017). Through a successful media release, the communicated event will have a positive and remarkable impact on the company.

The company targets both the domestic and internal audiences who form the market base (Backer, 2013). For instance, when the company devised the “generation i” concept, the primary focus was hinged on the media release (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). A successful media release is often synonymous with a concise purpose that has the characteristic of conveying substantial news and message to the customers and the community in general (Hennessy et al., 2017). Further, the inclusion of relevant facts is imperative to popularize the products and services offered by the company (Austin, and Pinkleton, 2015).

Apple’s public relations and communication are guided by ethics so as to ensure that it carves a positive image in the mind of stakeholders (Hennessy et al., 2017). The company runs a public relations and communication that emphasizes on honesty, accountability, and true to the culture of the company (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014; Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016). To strengthen the public trust, Apple Inc. has devised accountability mechanisms to see to it that there are no activities that are carried out contrary to the company’s vision, mission, core values, and objectives. The company is working hard to ensure the image of the company is satisfactory in the public realm. The company’s public relation and communication is guided by established ethical standards (Hennessy et al., 2017). Public relations professionals must purpose to advise their clients to make favorable decisions, and they must always remain objective to the subject matter.

Expanding Global Presence

It suffices to point out that company has strong leadership that manages its public relations and communication. Visionary leadership is crucial because sound decision-making is anchored on it (Hennessy et al., 2017; Protess, and McCombs, 2016). The leadership within the company tasked with public relations, and communication is central to the implementation of the communication strategies geared towards enhanced productivity (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The code of ethics is important in that it guides companies on how they can build mutual relationships with other stakeholders without undue exploitation (Macnamara, 2014). The code of ethics outlines six values that are supposed to be observed in carrying out public relation and public communication initiatives. These values include fairness, expertise, independence, honesty, and loyalty (Hennessy et al., 2017).

It is imperative to note that Apple has enhanced its public relations and public communication through building trust with various stakeholders (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). Apple has been engaged in several corporate and social responsibility activities so as to develop the society in which they operate (Kluge, and Negt, 2016). Apple has been involved in several corporate social responsibility activities to connect with the public (Hennessy et al., 2017). To achieve this, they ought to establish to come up with norms that guide their employees in relating with other stakeholders (Ki, Kim, and Ledingham, 2015; Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016; Hennessy et al., 2017).

Apple Inc. desires to be the leading producer of personal computers and mobile phones among other products now and into the future (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). Ideally, for the company to achieve this, it must create a tactical plan that utilizes numerous public relation tools (McQuail, and Windahl, 2015). These public relation tools are used by the company to share vital information with all the stakeholders (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The company has been working hard to ensure that there is always smooth transition and succession whenever it happens. The public relations department in the company has deployed several tactical tools to foster communication and promoting relations with various stakeholders (Nolte, 2016; Kluge, and Negt, 2016). The company has a well-established infrastructure for anchoring effective public relations and communication. The company uses its high-tech public relations to speed up its uptake of innovative products and services.

The company’s public relations and the public communication plans are designed to ward off any competition from its competitors (McQuail, and Windahl, 2015). The design of the public relations and communication is tailored to meet the needs of various classes of customers. Some of the public relations tools that are used by the company include corporate newsletters, promotions, direct mails, and internet or intranet (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014; McQuail, and Windahl, 2015).

A press conference is one of the public relations tools used by Apple Inc (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The company has communicating important messages to its stakeholders there organized press conferences. An appointed public relations personnel is tasked with relaying the company’s ideas, innovations, products, and services to the general public (Halkier, 2015). The primary driving force adopting the press conference is to reach many people and share company’s intentions on the future of personal computers and mobile phones (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). Most of the company’s messages are often transmitted through the press conference. This public relations and communication tool is appropriate because it helps the company to gain exposure both nationally and globally (McQuail, and Windahl, 2015; Guth, and Marsh, 2016).

Creating the Media Release

Many studies have revealed that through press conferences, organizations are provided with the rare opportunity and wonderful chances to obtain positive press from various outlets simultaneously (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The public relations team at the company is striving to ensure that the public is adequately informed of the company’s plans (Grunig, 2013; Protess, and McCombs, 2016; Kluge, and Negt, 2016). The company is focused and committed to ensuring that the public continues getting the products and services with the best quality (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). Through press conferences, the public relations and communication team provide the public with information that relates to improved products and software in the communication, technology, and multimedia industry (Parsons, 2016; McQuail, and Windahl, 2015). Further, for the company to continue to be a powerhouse in modern technology, it has to attract and recruit talented employees from all over the world (Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016).

The company also uses internet and intranet as tools for public relations. Apple has been posting useful messages for its stakeholders on the Internet. The company has a robust website where all new products and services are posted (Hennessy et al., 2017). On the company’s website, there is significant information that keeps the public updated about the progress that the company is making technologically. It suffices to mention that the company posts a lot of information on the social media (McQuail, and Windahl, 2015). Today, many people are on the social media platforms in search of new information and connectivity. In fact, the social media is an import public relations and communication platform. For instance, the company has several blogs, a Facebook account, LinkedIn, and Twitter handles for communicating with its stakeholders (Hennessy et al., 2017).

Evidence show that majority of customers today are accustomed to seeking more information about products and services through the internet (Zerfass, and Schramm, 2014). Through the Internet, customers can access the company’s online stores for the latest goods and services (Kluge, and Negt, 2016; Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). In this regard, the internet is an important public relation and communication tool that is used by the company to share its success stories and the new merchandises (Hennessy et al., 2017). Indeed, the internet has propelled Apple to its current top-notch position as a leader in computer and mobile phone technology. The public relations team at the company has been using the internet as a tool for communication because it is a cheap medium of exchanging ideas and pieces of information (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014).

Apple Inc. has for a long time used corporate newsletters to reach out to the public and other stakeholders (Hennessy et al., 2017; Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016). The company publishes newsletters that are distributed to its employees, customers, shareholders, and the public. The corporate newsletters are essential in disseminating information and knowledge (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014; McQuail, and Windahl, 2015). Most corporate newsletters are produced both in hardcopy and electronically. In the newsletters, the company includes information relating to prudent human resource practices, mechanisms for technological improvement, new products and services. The content of the company’s newsletter is designed to take into consideration various stakeholders (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The company uses the corporate newsletters to highlight its achievements, its corporate and social responsibilities and steps that it is taking to create the best products and services for the customers worldwide.

Ethics, Public Relations, and Public Communication

As a matter of fact, the public is often attracted to companies that have valuable information about their operations, products, and services (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The public relations and communication team at the company ensures that the corporate newsletters produced are appealing to the public (Hennessy et al., 2017; Kluge, and Negt, 2016). Further, they ensure that the newsletters have relevant information about the company, its products, and services. In the newsletter, information regarding both the long-term and short-term goals is delineated (Toth, 2013; Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016). Printed newsletters are of particular importance because they can be used for reference purposes.

It is worth noting that Apple has been using promotion to enhance its public relations and public communication activities (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014). The company has over the past years run successful promotion campaigns that are intended to improve its brand image. Promotion is essential more so instances where new products and services are being introduced into the market (Kluge, and Negt, 2016). Many companies are using product promotions to attract potential customers who are willing to try such goods and services. It suffices to point out the public communication principles require the public is provided with prompt, accurate, verifiable, and reliable information upon which they can make informed decisions (Stacks, and Salwen, 2014; Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016). The company has adequate mechanisms for ensuring the public is provided with the information that they deserve.

The company has used brand ambassadors to reach out to the public. In today’s corporate world, there is high competition, and every organization and company must be creative in engaging the public (Couldry, Livingstone, and Markham, 2016). It is vital to note that the computer and mobile phone industry is very competitive and therefore, Apple works hard to keep in touch with the public. Brand ambassadors are people with high social standing in the society and someone who the public would like to associate with (Phillips-Melancon and Dalakas, 2014; Kluge, and Negt, 2016). The brand ambassador carries the company’s messages and delivers these messages to the public in a professional manner.

The company has a lot of programs broadcasted on pay televisions around the world. It suffices to point out that many people have access to television. The access to television sets means that the company can send messages to millions of individuals around the world. The television advertisements are tailored to address the needs of the public regarding knowledge and information acquisition (McQuail, and Windahl, 2015). Through television broadcasts, the company demonstrates how its products work.

In conclusion, it is essential to note that public relations and communication are crucial to any company or organization’s success. Apple Inc., a successful company that produces high-quality personal computers and mobile phones. Additionally, the company is involved in the production of digital and portable music players. From this corpus, it is clear that the company has employed various public relations and communication tools to enhance its competitive advantage. As discussed in this paper, the company has been using various instruments such as the internet, corporate newsletters, brand ambassadors, press conferences, and promotions to enhance its image and to communicate with the public effectively. Further, as noted in this paper, the company is committed to ethical considerations in its public relations and communication.

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