Apple’s Top 2 iPhone 5 Marketing Challenges

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It can’t be easy following in Steve Jobs‘ footsteps. Next month marks both the one year anniversary of Steve Jobs’ passing and Tim Cook‘s time as CEO of Apple… without being under Steve’s wing.

Although Tim Cook has certainly done an amazing job as CEO (the stock has basically doubled this year), the few times that he’s taken the stage for big Apple announcements have been criticized for their lack of flare. Steve Jobs was great at creating marketing hype around new Apple products and Tim Cook has been struggling to fill that void.

The iPhone 5 expected to be announced on Wednesday this week. Although there has been a ton of excitement on the Interwebs around the next generation iPhone, compared to previous models, Apple will have a tougher time marketing the iPhone 5 for two reasons:

The Popularity Of Android Phones

The latest round of Android phones to hit the market not only have impressive features but are priced lower that the iPhone. Even though Apple recently won their lawsuit against Samsung, many iPhone competitors have built products that are so close to the iPhone, that many consumers are switching away from Apple… including MethodShop contributor Jeffrey Powers. He recently switched to a Nokia Lumina 900 and he’s not alone. The iPhone is starting to lose market share to Android. Tim Cook needs to fix this problem fast.

iPhone Sales On Secondary Markets

Another issue that Apple faces is the current level of iPhone saturation in the secondary markets. When someone buys a new iPhone, they typically sell their old phone. As a result, consumers who were thinking about buying a new iPhone will often change their minds and buy an older cheaper model. Apple recently launched an old iPhone buy-back program in an effort to get older model iPhones off the market.

Tim Cook Takes The Stage

Due to increased competition from competitors as well as themselves, Tim Cook may need another presence on stage at Wednesday’s media event. One trick he might want to consider is getting a little help from some celebrities. Steve Jobs successfully brought notable personalities on stage, including John Mayer, to help endorse new products.

All eyes will be on Apple, and especially Tim Cook, at this week’s media event. The good news is that great Apple products usually sell themselves. If the iPhone 5 includes a mix of both new features that dazzle fans (like Gorilla Glass) as well as fixes that satisfy critics (yeah I’m talking about you iCloud and Siri), then Tim Cook will be in a good spot. His only concern will be bringing some energy and showmanship to the event.

So will Tim Cook pull it off? Guess we’ll find out in a couple days on September 12, 2012.