...Intro In August 2006, Vertu, a maker of premium mobile phones and a subsidiary of Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, announced that it was unable to meet the demand for its luxury phones and would increase its production capacity in the near future. The mobile phones, or personal communication instruments, as they were referred to in the company's communications, were priced between US$ 4,900 and US$ 50,000 (as of 2006). The phones were handcrafted with high quality components including precious stones. The more expensive models were made of platinum Vertu had invested considerable money as well as time in conceptualizing and creating its range of luxury phones. These extremely expensive phones were primarily targeted at young and successful businessmen. Vertu realized early that mobile phones, far from being just a communication device, would also come to reflect the personality of their owners. While the Vertu phones evoked a good response, some analysts doubted whether the interest would be sustained. As the product proved successful, the number of imitators was expected to grow quickly. And sure enough, companies like Mobiado3 and mainstream players like Motorola4, Samsung5, and LG6 launched high-end mobile models in the mid-2000s. Even as Vertu phones won praise for their design and build, they were criticized for being technological laggards. However, company officials did not see this as a drawback, explaining that a typical Vertu customer did not place...
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...Unit 2 Vertu Case Study Analysis Kaplan University School of Business MT460 Management Policy and Strategy Author: Professor: Dr. Dennis Strouble Date: September 30, 2014 Vertu: Nokia’s Luxury Mobile Phone for the Urban Rich Case Study Introduction Finland-headquartered Nokia was a global telecommunications equipment manufacturer that also operated a luxury mobile phone brand called Vertu. Vertu was founded by Frank Nuovo by using precious materials, fine jewels and exotic leathers (Kwong & Wong, 2011). Vertu was unique, luxurious and one of a kind, for a moment in time. Synopsis of the Situation Nokia has been one of if not the leader in the telecommunication equipment industry for a long time. Under the new management of Stephen Elop, he allowed Nokia’s chief designer, Frank Nuovo design and run at arm’s length in England the creation of the never-seen before luxury phone called Vertu. With the birth of the Vertu phone, it showed growth in 70 countries selling mobile phones (Kwong & Wong, 2011). Things would not stay golden forever though. Key Issues After years of being that one-of-a-kind luxury mobile phone competitors began wanting in on the niche but profitable market. Technology was also growing faster than Vertu phone were keeping up with. With this revenues began to fall. Elop made the executive decision to partner with Microsoft windows to adopt their operating system since Nokia’s was OP becoming obsolete. Define the Problem ...
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...VERTU: NOKIA’S LUXURY MOBILE PHONE FOR THE URBAN RICH Submitted by: Pathikrit Guha UID: 113850578 ENTS632 SEC: 0101 Submitted on: 10/04/2015 HONOR PLEDGE: "I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this assignment / examination.” Signature: Pathikrit Guha Date: 10/04/2015 I. Statement of Problem: Vertu is expanding its business in Asia. How to utilize Vertu’s product and promotion strategy to increase its business in the Asian market especially China, Honk Kong and Taiwan is what it’s new CEO Stephen Elop has to decide. Options available to him include either a) capitalize on the existing marketing strategy to further its growth in the Asian market or b) adopt changes to its existing marketing strategy in order to better accommodate cultural differences between Western and Asian markets. II. Summary of the SWOT: Strengths: As a pioneer in the luxury phone business Vertu catered to a niche market creating a demand for its exclusive products. Characterized by its superior craftsmanship, beautiful customizations, Vertu products offered a unique experience in terms of design, performance and service. Value added services like Vertu client suites and Concierge service further added to the overall value of their products. Moreover their promotion and distribution strategy which included famous personalities to promote the brand, exclusive product launches and flagship boutiques hit the right chords...
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...Unit 2 Vertu: Nokia’s Luxury Mobile Phone Case Study Analysis Kaplan University School of Business MT460 Management Policy and Strategy Author: Melissa Shumate Professor Dennis Strouble Date: 5/29/2015 Name of Case Study Company Name: Vertu Luxury Phone Company Topic of the Week: The Mission Statement Synopsis of the Situation: Vertu is luxury phone company that is owned by Nokia. There was a shift in operating systems for the cellphones created by Nokia by the new CEO Stephen Elop. Elop decided to create a partnership using Microsoft’s “new but unproven Windows phone as its primary smartphone operating system” (Wong, 2011). This did not go over very well as the companies share dropped by $0.14 the day that it was announced. This was just Nokia though as Vertu continued to provide the Vertu experience by not following suite with Nokia in changing operating systems. Vertu was able to stay at arm’s length from Nokia’s decisions and that is what kept them alive as a company. In all honesty, Vertu is one of the reasons that Nokia has funding. Vertu’s sales helped to support this adventure that Nokia was undertaking. Here is where the choices come into play. Vertu has markets across the world in places such as Asia and Russia which could support the much needed over haul of Nokia. This could also be the starting of letting go of Nokia as a business and focusing on Vertu. Alternative Solutions 1. Vertu has a solid market where the profits...
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...Prestigious and Luxury brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu represent the uppermost level and form of craftsmanship. They demand and hindercustomer loyalty that is not affected by trends. These brands set seasonal trends and are capable of generating consumers, wherever they are established.In luxury marketing, there is a delicate relationship between 4 factors that most strongly influence the purchase of the luxury consumer. They are the exclusiveness of the brand, the reputation of the brand, forms of distribution and price/value affiliation. Exclusivity cannot always be ensured due to immense competition. But by consequence, it is not the key requirement of a luxury consumer. The consumer bases their purchasing decisions mainly on the aura of the brand and completion of their ‘actualization needs’. Therefore, aura of the brand is more important than exclusivity. A luxury consumer is always looking for newer ways to satisfy their inconsistent wants and needs. Therefore, it is important for Gucci, LV and Vertu irrespective of their exclusivity and geographical presence to research and give their consumers major importance, to be successful in the fashion or high-end market. This report will aim to discuss the key success factors of Gucci, LV and Vertu that have impacted on their brand image and exclusivity. Furthermore, it gives a detailed explanation supported with examples on how they achieve their elitism. It then discusses the problems and obstacles if...
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...Executive summary Prestigious and Luxury brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu represent the uppermost level and form of craftsmanship. They demand and hindercustomer loyalty that is not affected by trends. These brands set seasonal trends and are capable of generating consumers, wherever they are established. In luxury marketing, there is a delicate relationship between 4 factors that most strongly influence the purchase of the luxury consumer. They are the exclusiveness of the brand, the reputation of the brand, forms of distribution and price/value affiliation. Exclusivity cannot always be ensured due to immense competition. But by consequence, it is not the key requirement of a luxury consumer. The consumer bases their purchasing decisions mainly on the aura of the brand and completion of their ‘actualization needs’. Therefore, aura of the brand is more important than exclusivity. A luxury consumer is always looking for newer ways to satisfy their inconsistent wants and needs. Therefore, it is important for Gucci, LV and Vertu irrespective of their exclusivity and geographical presence to research and give their consumers major importance, to be successful in the fashion or high-end market. This report will aim to discuss the key success factors of Gucci, LV and Vertu that have impacted on their brand image and exclusivity. Furthermore, it gives a detailed explanation supported with examples on how they achieve their elitism. It then discusses the problems...
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...Gucci, Louis Vuitton, & Vertu – Marketing Lessons from some of the World’s Most Exclusive Brands. By Conor Carroll, Kate Hurley & Ann Treacy, University of Limerick. Creating luxury brands is a difficult marketing exercise. It requires heavy investment in marketing communications, excellent product/service quality, but above all these brands have to try to remain fashionable, which is notoriously difficult. Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Vertu are three successful so-called luxury brands, that retail to the high-end market. Both Gucci and Louis Vuitton are well-established brands that have been around for decades, even centuries. Gucci is a well-established organisation that has being designing and retailing clothes and accessories since 1921. The Louis Vuitton brand has been around since 1850. However Vertu, a relatively new kid on the block, has only just entered the luxury communications marketplace in 2000. Vertu sells expensive mobile phones that retail for thousands of pounds. Only a handful of brands can create a high status appeal among the world’s super rich (e.g. Ferrari, Rolex, etc.). These brands have to adopt innovative marketing strategies in order to succeed in this dynamic environment. What do they do differently to create this luxury appeal? Marketers are moving from the traditional marketing mix approach towards greater use of experiential marketing. This is where customers are treated as both rational and emotional individuals that seek ‘experiences’...
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...Unit 3: VERTU: Nokia’s Luxury Mobile Phone for the Urban Rich Case Study Analysis Kaplan University School of Business MT460: Management Policy and Strategy Author: Jason Thompson Professor: Dr. Tracy Bagley Date: February 16, 2013 Introduction Fineland headquartered Nokia manufactures global telecommunications equipment. Vertu is the product at hand. This is a luxury mobile device that is targeted towards the rich. There are many aspects of the phone that allow it to do so. Such as; stainless steel, diamonds, gold, ceramic, sapphires, and even stitched leather. The company has shown impressive sales growth in a market that is actually growing, with companies such as APPLE and Android. The question is, at their current stance can they survive? Synopsis of the Situation Dr. Ken Kwong-Kay Wong (2011, Pg. 1) states “On February 11, 2011, Stephen Elop, the new CEO who had been at the helm of Nokia for only five months, announced a new mobile strategy to adopt Microsoft’s new but unproven Windows Phone as its primary smartphone operating system”. The market didn’t care for this too much. This was a system that had not been proven to be worthy yet. The share price for stock took a 14 cents per share dive. Key Issues Although, Nokia was doing good, this market was getting smaller. There were some company issues as stated by Dr. Ken Kwong-Kay Wong (2011, Pg. 1) “Elop cited a lack of accountability, leadership and internal collaboration as key reasons for Nokia’s...
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...Consumer Behaviour Report for: VERTU “Life. Beautifully Arranged” 08 Fall Table of Content: 1. Summary 2. Research 3. Target DMP 3.1 Situation & influences 3.2 Information Search 3.3 Evaluation & Post-purchase 4. Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour 4.1 Store image & Service scape 4.2. Values & Behaviour 4.3 Values impact on choice & decision-making 4.4. Social class & lifestyle 4.5. Self-image & Culture 5. Conclusion 6. Recommendations 1.Brief Summary: Vertu is a subsidiary to Nokia and its most profitable unit (Sanderson, 2006). Vertu is taking a unique approach to that of the technology-obsessed mobile-telephone industry. Its concept is based on craftsmanship (i.e. uniquely customized handsets), style and service- in the same vein as luxury watch and jewellery manufacturers. Vertu Signature mobile phone is encased in metals from stainless steel to platinum and decorated with sapphires (vertu.com). The design reflects poise and stature. Hence, Vertu performs highly on the symbolic (i.e. expressive) level and giving the perception of being more a piece of art, rather than just a high technological (i.e. instrumental) mobile phone (Sanderson, 2002). Added values such as 24 hrs concierge service which can organise restaurant, travel and hotel bookings are included in the purchase. Its flagship store opened in Paris 2002, and now exists in over 70 countries worldwide. It also has a well-developed online...
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...positioning. Price: This is an extremely important factor while positioning a product especially in price sensitive markets such as developing and emerging markets. Features: This is one of the most imperative factors to be taken into account while positioning a brand or a product as it is directly linked to driving a product’s value, perceived or otherwise. Brands and their positioning: 1. Vertu: This is an iconic brand positioned at the top of the price chain due to its super premium image. In terms of features, it has very few and technologically lags far behind the other mass brands. What it provides to its user is a sense of having achieved a status that few others have. Obviously the price here is not as important or impactive in its performance. The brand has a limited audience but they are very loyal and faithful to the brand. Chances of switching to another brand are very low. 2. iPhone : Another iconic brand which changed the way mobile handsets were supposed to be designed . This is also like Vertu, positioned purely based on the image but where it differs from Vertu is in the area of features and technology. This is the brand which sets the standard of feature/technology. Due to its iconic nature it is not price sensitive but has a much bigger audience as it is packed with features supported with look, feel and excellent material. 3. Blackberry: This brand is positioned in a very special space due to its great feature, practical functionality and nearly...
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...“Pricing Techniques” Studied in- Mobile Industry Company- Nokia Background of the study: Pricing Techniques: are the methods adopted by a firm to set its selling price. It usually depends on the firm's average costs, and on the customer's perceived value of the product in comparison to his or her perceived value of the competing products. Different pricing methods place varying degree of emphasis on selection, estimation, and evaluation of costs, comparative analysis, and market situation. It takes into view factors such as a firm's overall marketing objectives, consumer demand, product attributes, competitors' pricing, and market and economic trends. The term pricing technique is also called cost plus because it attempts to secure the firm against a loss by imbedding marginal and fixed costs into the price consumers pay. The term plus refers to markup, which may ensure some strictly positive profit. If, the firm sets markup = 0, the firm breaks even because the price equals the average total cost. Objective of the study: The objective of the study is to see the different pricing strategies used by Nokia for its different products. Nokia started by making paper – the original communications technology Nokia was founded in 1865 by Fredrik Idestam in Finland as a paper manufacturing company. In 1920, Finnish Rubber Works became a part of the company, and later on in 1922, Finnish Cable Works joined them. All the three companies were merged in 1967 to form...
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...Nokia is a Finland-headquartered telecommunications manufacturer that is known for their mobile phone brand called Vertu. Frank Nuovo founded this luxury phone that was pioneered with precious materials such as diamonds, sapphires, titanium and exotic leather in the 1990s. The company showed impressive growth in almost 70 countries until February 11, 2011, when Stephen Elop, the new CEO of Nokia announced that they would be entering into a strategic partnership with Microsoft to create a new global mobile ecosystem in which this would be there primary smartphone. Nokia was reported to have held talks with Microsoft and Google in late 2010, and the announcement didn’t come until February 11, 2011 (Kwong and Wong, 2011). Stephen Elop admitted through an internal memo that lack of responsibility, leadership and internal collaboration, Android and iPhone. Nokia also failed to get American consumers attention in regards to wireless carriers, with a 7.8% share of the handset market in the US (Kwong and Wong, 2011). Recognizing the 75% stock price drop since the fall of 2007, Finnish telecommunications equipment others, and had a limited selection of applications for download. The company also faced not being able to introduce any MeeGo-based handsets or smartphones, despite the resources exhausted on research and development. Therefore Elop was given the task of revamping Nokia’s business and saving it from the edge of death by searching for an alternative smartphone mobile operating...
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...Unit 3 Vertu Case SWOT analysis Kaplan University School of Business MT460 Management Policy and Strategy Lionel McMillon Prof. Andryce Zurick SWOT Analysis of Vertu Modern SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis undertakes an external and internal evaluation of Vertu’s business environment; it is an essential part environment, policy planning process. Strengths * Is a major player in the mobile market through its majority possession of Symbian shares? * Nokia has cost advantages compared to other mobile phone companies * The Brand status of Nokia is probably one of the top brands globally (Kwong & Wong, 2011). Weaknesses * The N-Gage is seen as a flop * Being the market principal and its high role in Symbian is giving the company a bad picture, just like Microsoft in the PC sector. * The brand is slow in adopting new ways of thinking. For example in clamshell phones which are favored by many customers. * Leverage its communications to get favor and a stronger status with carriers (Kwong & Wong, 2011). Opportunities * enhance their presence in CDMA industry, which they are * New developing markets where product adoption still has space to go, like India and other countries. * Use its infrastructure strategy to get first choice and a stronger status with carrier (Kwong & Wong, 2011). Threats * Delay in the game in 3G causes a risk to be surpassed by leaders such as Motorola, LG, NEC and others and...
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...1. Discuss the potential audiences for a marketing plan and the needs of those potential audiences. The potential audiences for a marketing plan include the top management/owners of the organization, the organizational employees including the marketing, finance, operations and HR team and potential equity investors. The owners and top management need to take strategic decisions pertaining to implementation of marketing plan, allocation of resources, delegation of tasks and duties, implementation of control mechanisms, etc. Such decisions can be made with the help of the detailed marketing plan. Further, a marketing plan provides a strong platform for marketing and other departments to execute their action plans. Similarly, potential equity investors such as venture capitalists or private equity investors could be interested in evaluating the marketing plan of the organization for making investment decisions. 2. Identify the marketing segment for the product and provide a rationale for this segment. Discuss the target market and provide a rationale for this target market. The target segment or market segment to exploit for our products include both men and women from upper segments of the society or high net-worth individuals that can afford our premium technology products. The target customers, apart from being financially sound, will also depict characteristics such as interest in owning latest technology products, flair for artistic or premium, sophisticated or one of...
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...SYSTEME DE REGLES Omniprésence de la règle. Elle consiste dans l'amour des lois, la règle de droit (code, prescription, sanction sévère édifiés par des juristes et des légistes) pour faire prévaloir l'intérêt supérieur de la collectivité, sa santé morale, sa prospérité et son bonheur (Guevara) La propriété, unique cause du mal : Tous les crimes sont les variantes de l'avarice et donc de la propriété qui a compromis définitivement l'Age d'or de l' Etat de nature, d'où un modèle de législation conforme à l' Etat de nature et un gouvernement fondé sur l'élection et la rotation qui abolissent la propriété et toute politique qui y prête, pour fonder le communisme (Morelly). La vertu dans le communisme : La nature humaine est faillible, l'ascèse utopique vouée infailliblement au relâchement. La vertu (amour fraternel, amitié, justice) fait s'étioler la propriété et 1 L’UTOPIE, ANALYSE DU CONCEPT la domination mais elle n'est que provisoire, même dans un communisme patriarcal où règnent l'égalité économique et...
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