Apple Computer

In the year 2004, Apple computer was at a plateau. The CEO, Steven Jobs had to deal with a problem. The problem was, "should Apple computer remain a niche, but differentiated player in an increasingly competitive computer industry, or was it possible for Apple to break out of the pack." Apple Computer was already at its highest in finance of 4.6 billion in cash and short term investments. Even though Steve Jobs tried to create new excitement for consumers with the introduction of Apple's MP3 Player, the iPod, and its online music store, iTunes. Steven Jobs still had to consider the fact of his ideas not being successful.

Apple's market share was still falling since 2002. In order to make more sales, Apple tried to go back to its' original strategy of aggressive advertising. They had one idea in June of 2002 called "Why Switch?" This was a good way to show everyone what it was like to switch from a PC to Mac. They had real people who actually made the switch and advertised them. That was a really good idea on their part. It gets people's attention when they see a change in other people's lives by switching. Their main reason however for this campaign ad was to show the successful integration between the Mac's hardware, software, and other peripherals.

The main computers for Apple that generated their income were the Power Mac and Power Book mostly geared toward business and professional markets. Other computers included the iMac and the iBook which were more for the consumer and education markets. Apple's Desktop were declining however during 2003 because consumers were buying portable models in place of desktops. Then Apple thought of making a G5 Power Mac in June 2003 and they were bragging about it being "the world's first 64-bit desktop processor, the industry's fastest frontside bus, fast memory, and the latest I/O technologies (e.g. gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800)."