1) Publicity.
Lets first define what publicity is.
A basic tool of the publicist is the press release, but other techniques include telephone press conferences, in-studio media tours, multi-component video news releases (VNR's), newswire stories, and internet releases. For this to occur, the information needs to be "newsworthy" - this might not always be the case, therefore, publicist can try to create their own news. Some examples of such include:
·Contests
·Art exhibitions
·Event sponsorship
·Arrange a speech or talk
·Conduct a poll or survey
·Issue a report
·Celebrate an anniversary

So in this case, we can do many things to promote the ipod via publicity. We can hold a contest "who has the coolest mix of songs in their ipod". We can hold an art exhibit and show all of the ipod holders that were created. Perhaps, ipod can have a 3-year birthday party, where people can come, eat cake, and pay homage to the ipod. There is many creative ways that it can be promoted via publicity.

2) Television: There are actually 2 ways to promote the ipod on tv- one way can be commercials. This is not really the best option now a days because of technology such as TVO and PVR where people can fast forward and even skip commercials entirely. The second one is more powerful, and this could be by showcasing the ipod in a tv show - a product placement. You can have one of the wives from desperate housewives jogging while listening to the newest ipod. This is a nice way to promote the product on TV.

3) Internet - the typical way would be to have a cool, interactive, dynamic website which is dedicated to the ipod. It should be different then the one where people could buy them - there should be no purchasing element to it. The web page is all based on promotion. It could include cool accessories, user suggested playlists... it can include contestes where users can try to win the latest ipod. There can be a chat where people can talk about music, lifestyles... the website should be very bold, bright colors, filled with interactivity (so the site feels very high teck, but is very high touch)...

- Identifying promotional messages and describe how these messages are being conveyed via the three selected communication channels.

Using publicity, the promotional message we are trying to show is how integrated the ipod is in daily activities, and how it enhances a person's life. The ipod is a fun-filled device which not only has a utility factor, but is also cool, hip and current.
This is being conveyed by the fact that there are contest directed around it - people will try to win it. Art shows demonstrate how cool and hip the ipod is. Both and these show how mainstream the product is, and how is really integrated in every day life.

Using Tv - specifically product placement, the message we are sending out is that everyone has one. If the person on desperate housewives has one, then viewers will feel that they need one also to keep up with current trends, and to assert that they know what is popular.
The promotional message of the commercials would be how cool the product is, how much the person enjoys their product, and it will persuade viewers to purchase one so that they can feel the same joy as the dancers in the commercials.
On the internet, the promotional message sent out to users would be that it is hip and cool to have an ipod, you can then join the community and be a part of the website. If you have an ipod, you can post your playlists, have discussions about your usage of the ipod - but people who do not own the ipod will feel left out and that might influence them to purchase one.

- Explain how these messages position the "iPod" to appeal to its target audience.

Who would be the target audience:
-young males or female (no segregation on gender)
-very computer savvy
-likes to keep up with trends, and be on top of things
-wears latest brands of clothing and shoes
-likes to show off their purchases, they like to flaunt their name brand items
-very into new technologies, like to be ahead of the crowd, and like to upgrade what they have for newer versions
-they have some disposable income, and like to spend it all
-get very competitive if a friend has something that they want

We can now look and see how these messages position the ipod:

The messages all show the coolness and "in" factor of the ipod. They all show people using the ipod, and this will influence our target. The messages all show how integrated the ipod is within society, and how it is a necessity for anyone young and hip. It will give a sense of community to those who own the ipod. Our target audience has an urge to belong to this hip community. Thus, the messages position the ipod as a necessity for anyone young, computer savvy who want to belong. The ipod no longer becomes a mere gadget, but it becomes part of their lives. You can't jog without an ipod. You can't join the website without being an owner. You wont be invited to parties if you don't have one. You can't share your creativity or opinions if you do not own one. You can't be hip and participate in shows without owning one.

- Identify where the "iPod" is in its product life cycle.

The ipod was first launched in 2001, and started out at 399$. This was at the beginning of the lifecycle, and could be seen as the introduction phase. At first, it was only for Macintosh users. In 2002, they launched a version that worked with PC versions as well. Since then, there has been many advances, and many new product launched. The devices get smaller, have more memory, and are cheaper.
I would say that the ipod is now officially a mainstream devise, and is still in the growth phase.
In the growth stage, the firm seeks to build brand preference and increase market share. Apple is doing this by constantly launching new brands and new sleeker products.
·Product quality is maintained and additional features and support services have been added.
·Pricing becomes lower as more and more ipods are on the market
·Distribution channels are added as demand increases and customers accept the product.
·Promotion is aimed at a broader audience.

- Explain how this life cycle stage affects the pricing strategy. If you can provide any examples in this regard, that would be helpful as well.

When a product is first launched, the price is high, and the specifications are low. The first iPod has a 5 GB storage capacity - enough for over 1,000 songs - and works only on Macs, using iTunes as a music organization and CD-to-iPod conversion tool. As the product gained recognition, more and more people purchased it. By the end of 2001, Apple has sold a total of 125,000 iPods.

In 2002, Apple announces a 10GB / 2,000 song update to the iPod for $499. This is a substantial increase in storage capacity - the new ipod now has 2X the storage, and only costs 50% more. After only a short period of time, Apple releases a third generation of ipods in 2003. Each new iPod has a higher capacity than the previous generation model it replaces by price point: new 10GB is now $299, 15GB is now $399 and 30GB is $499. After one 1 short year, for the same $499, you can now get 30 GB instead of 10.

Prices drastically decrease as the product moves through the life cycle, as you can very well see in this example. Why does this happen?
-In the introduction phase, sales may be slow as the company builds awareness of its product among potential customers, so they have to spend money on advertising. As awarness increased, less money must be spent on promotions, which will reduce the price of the product
-it becomes cheaper to product the product
-materials and memory chips becomes cheaper
-the product has less prestige as more and more of them come onto the market.

The next stage of the product life cycle shows (maturity) that the market is saturated. Everyone who wants an ipod will already have one, and demand starts to fall. At this point, advertising will need to be increased again, to try to convince people to buy the product. There is also a lot of competition by now, and a lot of competitors have cheaper products with better features. This could spark a price war, which will mean that the prices of the product will be reduced even more.

A company can stay in this phase of the life cycle for a long time - even decades. A savvy company will seek to lower unit costs as much as possible at the maturity stage so that profits can be maximized. The money earned from the mature products should then be used in research and development to come up with new product ideas to replace the maturing products. Operations should be streamlined, cost efficiencies sought, and hard decisions made.