Ch. 1 - Overview of Marketing (Brief History and Mission Statement)

Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.  Some of it’s hardware products include the iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer and the Apple Watch smartwatch.

Apple founders in 1984 (from left to right):
Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak

          Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976, to develop and sell personal computers. It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977, but was renamed as Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007, to reflect its shifted focus toward consumer electronics.

"Apple I ", Apple's first computer

          Apple’s first computer, Apple I was single-handedly designed and hand-built by Wozniak. Sold as a motherboard, Apple I went on sale in July 1976 priced at $666.66 ($2,772 in 2016 dollars, adjusted for inflation).

Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977, without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. During the first five years of operations Apple’s revenues grew exponentially, doubling about every four months. Between September 1977 and September 1980 yearly sales grew from $775,000 to $118m, an average annual growth rate of 533%.

On December 12, 1980, Apple went public at $22 per share, generating more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956, and instantly creating more millionaires (about 300) than any company in history.

In 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh, the first personal computer to be sold without a programming language at all. Its debut was signified by "1984", a $1.5 million television commercial directed by Ridley Scott that aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. The commercial is now hailed as a watershed event for Apple's success and a "masterpiece".

In 1985, a struggle for power developed between Jobs and CEO John Sculley, who had been hired two years earlier. The Apple board of directors instructed Sculley to "contain" Jobs and limit his ability to launch expensive forays into untested products. Rather than submitting to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to oust him from his leadership role at Apple. Sculley found out that Jobs had been attempting to organize a coup and called a board meeting at which Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley and removed Jobs from his managerial duties. Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. the same year.

In 1996, the then CEO, Gil Amelio made numerous changes at Apple, including extensive layoffs and cut costs. After numerous failed attempts to improve Mac OS, Amelio chose to purchase NeXT and its NeXTSTEP operating system. The NeXT deal was finalized on February 9, 1997, bringing Jobs back to Apple as an advisor. On July 9, 1997, Amelio was ousted by the board of directors after overseeing a three-year record-low stock price and crippling financial losses. Jobs acted as the interim CEO and began restructuring the company's product line; it was during this period that he identified the design talent of Jonathan Ive, and the pair worked collaboratively to rebuild Apple's status.

Steve Jobs introducing iMac- G3 

On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer of the Macintosh family: the iMac G3. The iMac design team was led by Ive, who later designed the iPod and the iPhone. The iMac featured modern technology and a unique design, and sold almost 800,000 units in its first five months.

During his keynote speech at the Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, Jobs announced that Apple Computer, Inc. would thereafter be known as "Apple Inc.", because the company had shifted its emphasis from computers to consumer electronics. This event also saw the announcement of the iPhone and the Apple TV. The following day, Apple's shares hit $97.80, an all-time high at that point. Apple achieved widespread success with its iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad products, which introduced innovations in mobile phone, portable music players and personal computers respectively.

Apple's current mission statement is “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad."

         Apple has also used many other different catchy slogans in the past. Apple's first slogan, "Byte into an Apple", was coined in the late 1970s. From 1997 to 2002, the slogan "Think Different" was used in advertising campaigns, and is still closely associated with Apple. Apple also has slogans for specific product lines — for example, "iThink, therefore iMac" was used in 1998 to promote the iMac, and "Say hello to iPhone" has been used in iPhone advertisements. "Hello" was also used to introduce the original Macintosh, iMac ("hello again"), and iPod.