4 Ps in Marketing. A lost art?

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They used to teach the 4 Ps in marketing classes: product, price, place and promotion.  The web and venture capital money have made place and price less important. Having worked at a start-up company for two years whose monthly revenue was about $8, received in the form of Google Adwords credits, I know.    

But Apple…Apple clearly is gets all 4 Ps and therein lies its success.  Let’s look at the iPazzle.  Apple launched this new technology last year and priced it to move.  By all accounts, the first iPad should have cost $1,199, but it retailed at more than half that. The basic iPad 2 is $499.  Samsung and Moto can’t come close (without carrier discounts). Apple is reported to be making 25% profit on the current price structure, but I suspect it is way less.  They are not only buying market share, they are creating the market and doing so with the low price point. As for place (distribution) they have stores, so margins aren’t shared with  Best Buy. iMarketing? Enough said. And product? First is first and design is king.  Money and a big war chest begets R&D, talent and more money.

The 4P are still relevant today and that is why Apple kicks azz. Google doesn’t get all 4 of the P and  though kids love that brand, but they will be let down by it at some point. The 15-27 year olds who love free operating systems and free software are the same kids being asked to work at internships for $50 a week.  Hope they live close to the office. Were I a twenty-something, I’d make sure “my employer got me some Ps? Peas!