Introduction
Marketing is a business’s procedure to encourage purchasing or selling merchandise or offerings. Promotion involves advertising, selling, and delivering goods to consumers or other businesses. Advertising has been essential to Sony Company because it raised customer awareness of its 1944 original PlayStation, connected them, and assisted them in purchasing decisions. To explain the importance of Sony’s 1994 original PlayStation marketing activity for its success, this paper provides a SWOT analysis of the console, uses SMART to define the gaming’s objectives, and offers its segmentation, targeting, and positioning techniques. In addition, the essay provides Sony’s marketing mix, promotional strategy, and value proposition.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
- Strong brand. Sony’s PlayStation 1 well-renowned and highly-prized trademark is one of its best attributes. Customers who purchased the Sony PlayStation 1 were confident they would receive a solution that functioned as advertised and could proudly display it to their peers.
- History of innovation. Sony was highly regarded in the gaming sector for its breakthrough PlayStation systems, which shaped the videogame experiences of many youngsters (Niu, 2021). The formidable original PlayStation was not created overnight and is widely esteemed due to its history of inventiveness.
Weaknesses
- The high price of games. Due to the exorbitant cost of games, a growing number of PC gamers have abandoned their consoles in favor of PC gaming. Compared to Xbox, the PlayStation 1’s game prices are greater, and the skimming price approach is employed.
- Frequent upgrades. Due to the restricted nature of PlayStation 1’s console versions of Windows, periodic hardware updates need console upgrades. Once a game was modified, the accompanying games were only available on the most recent console, not its predecessor. As a result, players were forced to compromise by purchasing a new system every few years, which was both costly and problematic.
Opportunities
- Virtual reality (VR). VR was not only useful for gaming, but it served as a social platform. As a result, the console market leader could rapidly expand if it releases its VR platform. Later, the VR game battle commenced; however, Sony PlayStation had the advantage due to its robust distribution channels.
- Rise in gaming worldwide. Gaming was becoming increasingly popular globally, particularly in developing countries and emerging marketplaces. Consequently, this increase in gaming benefited a market-leading business like PlayStation, which also enjoyed good distribution.
Threats
- Mobile gaming. Cell phones were PlayStation’s 1 largest indirect competition. Mobile phones were becoming increasingly capable of delivering graphically superior games. In reality, smartphones were able to broadcast games to televisions, and individuals could pair the mobile and television to play games. The portable gaming sector posed the greatest indirect danger to the console market and PlayStation.
- Decreasing sales of consoles. The annual decline in console sales since 2010 posed a significant threat to the original PlayStation. This decline in revenue was a strong indication that people were losing confidence in console games and increasingly embraced mobile games.
Objectives
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely are the meanings of the abbreviation SMART. The objectives were to be a Multimedia and Versatile Recreation System and the Entertainment Market Leader. These objectives were specific in that they were precise by highlighting what they intended to influence: the multimedia and multifunctional entertainment system. The aims were measurable because they provided the company’s desired level. Sony produced only 200 units of the original PlayStation that supported Super Nintendo game cartridges (Murphy, 2021). Moreover, they were attainable as Sony had the means and expertise to accomplish the goal. Other gaming systems, such as the Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64, were already functioning effectively.
Attainability was enhanced by selling at lower prices than its competitors. Consequently, the objectives were realistic as they aligned with the company’s mission statement of being a firm that stimulates and satisfies people’s inquisitive and recreational needs (Murphy, 2021). Lastly, the goals were timely because they had a start and end date; the PlayStation was terminated on March 23, 2006, more than eleven years after its first debut (Murphy, 2021). Consequently, the original PlayStation was the multimedia industry leader due to its cheaper price, 3-Dimensional (3-D) graphics, and military application utilization.
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Segmentation
Customers in the Audio and Video Equipment business have diverse requirements, preferences, expectations, resources, geographies, technology access, cultural variations, purchasing dispositions, and end uses for the goods and services. Through market segmentation, Sony decided to partition the whole market into segments with comparable characteristics, purchasing habits, and social class. As Sony’s PlayStation 1 offered a stronger value proposition, the company classified its clients based on two key demographic factors: the potential client’s affluence and life cycle.
Age, gender, and earnings are considered when a demographic divide is performed. According to Sony, the North American, Japanese, and European marketplaces were the three most critical geographic markets for the original PlayStation, the newest in a long line of PlayStation devices. Sony’s segmentation separated the PlayStation 1 sector into male and female, older and younger, broadening the corporation’s recreational stream. For example, most first-person action games are labeled M, meaning one must be 17 or older to acquire them (Sony, 2022). Other diversions were labeled E for all audiences, T for adolescents, and E+10 for those older than ten (Sony, 2022). When adding new applications to the interface, sexuality was also considered.
Targeting
After discovering several market customer segments, Sony targeted a certain market. Sony PlayStation 1 was designed for men aged 17 to 40. They targeted individuals who had recently left the position of guardian and now had greater freedom than youngsters and adolescents. The most famous original PlayStation 1 video games were designated M, which required a minimum age of 17 to play (Sony, 2022). In addition, Sony Corporation targeted businesses with its augmented world’s headgear PlayStation VR due to the slower-than-anticipated adoption of 3-D visualization.
Positioning
Sony’s positioning strategy was objective-driven and resulted in the more effective use of promotion tools. Strategic planning requires categorizing a company’s aim or objective; however, there has been a shift in the understanding of management in recent years. Sony had positioned the newly introduced PlayStation 1 as the system of preference for avid gamers. It was the device of the future generation, with high-quality visuals and engaging immersive gameplay. However, the relentless assault of its adversaries by releasing new variants at timed periods compelled Sony to reinvent itself and explore product consistency and commercialization concerns. It was challenging for the brand to interact with all consumers using a single voice across all contact points while maintaining consistency in an always-evolving climate.
Marketing Mix
Product
Product is a crucial element of any firm, as it is the primary factor determining organizational success. Sony is one of the globe’s foremost consumer electronics manufacturers and offers merchandise and solutions. Sony’s product marketing mix encompasses a vast array of offerings. There are consumer electronics, games consoles, equipment, and smartphones among Sony’s offerings. PlayStations are the international marketplace leader in the field of gaming systems.
Pricing
Sony PlayStation has items with low, medium, and high prices and takes a multifaceted strategy toward various types of consumers. Sony’s price-skimming approach in its promotion mix is effective as an electronics manufacturer. As the new product was introduced with cutting-edge innovation, Sony inflated the cost to grab the original good yields before gradually lowering the price. The price reduction increased the original PlayStation’s sales. Sony imposed a premium for its exceptional audio quality within the original PlayStation.
Place
Sony stores are specialized locations where only Sony items are marketed. These establishments have people specialized in answering questions about Sony products. It has robust human resources of 100,000 individuals behind the procedures at Sony (Sony, 2022). In contrast, dealer outlets carry multiple brands in addition to Sony. Depending on anticipated sales, a dealer purchases the PlayStation 1 products to promote in their store. The merchant is deemed to have made a sale when they assume the liability of possessing the merchandise. Lastly, e-commerce websites have enormous promise because ordering and delivery are simple.
Promotion
In Sony’s marketing mix branding campaign, Sony utilizes all media, including television, print, web commercials, and billboards. Sony bases its brand positioning on the effectiveness of its PlayStation 1. It targets the purchaser’s mindset to establish brand equity for their offerings. For instance, when customers think of music-related devices, Sony is the first brand that comes to mind. Furthermore, Sony frequently reduced pricing and offered discounts during holidays to stimulate sluggish sales. Sony used movie stars and other personalities to promote the elegance and functionality of the original PlayStation. Consequently, it can be determined that Sony uses many publicity stunts for its businesses.
Promotional Strategy
Promotion is essential to successfully release an item, making the target buyers conscious of its usability and influencing the business and the item. It dramatically enhances the corporation’s profit while educating consumers and increasing brand awareness. The promotional approach used by Sony for the original PlayStation is the product strategy. In doing so, the following marketing methodologies were utilized. Firstly, Sony had always believed in portraying itself as a technological leader by providing the market with highly inventive and high-quality PlayStation 1. This advertising technique aligns nicely with the firm’s organizational goal of meeting consumer expectations through technology deployment. Marketing, in certain instances, addressed the low-end marketplace through discounted rates which have also acted as a strategy for moving into new sectors. The firm felt it might develop as it grew by delivering clients a more pleasant experience. This was accomplished by increasing client contentment with a more personalized approach.
Secondly, the firm utilized a promotional mechanism encompassing expansion into other countries. The company anticipates selling 500,000 PlayStation 1 units in the first year before entering the worldwide market entirely (Aurègan & Tellier, 2019). To commercialize the merchandise, the business required $1 million. Given that this is an enlargement initiative, it will be fully funded by rights offering to the company’s creditors. This will cover all further expenses, including design, manufacturing, and dissemination. This was anticipated to be successful because it would ultimately benefit the stockholders. Based on the data provided, the initiative appears profitable, as the enterprise has a probability of breaking even within the first year.
Table 1: Anticipated Earnings from DiversificationÂ
Lastly, Sony has not been left adrift because it has included e-business in promoting the original PlayStation. Here, it has provided customers with what they want to see when conducting digital marketing. It invites recommendations regarding consumer expectations for fulfillment. The business established the trust required for expansion by providing clients with what they desired. Internet-based e-business aims to achieve all predetermined objectives without any inconsistencies. This allowed the corporation to distribute its services and merchandise worldwide as it expanded.
Value
Customer value is an essential component for the success of a business. Sony is a well-regarded brand among digital manufacturers, with only Samsung and LG able to compete (Goetzenberger et al., 2022). The Sony brand is connected with the firm’s capacity to generate innovative and high-quality products. Each of the entity’s products can engage with its client. For the PlayStation 1, the business made the product accessible and user-friendly, enabling consumers to utilize complex technology without technical knowledge (Dathe et al., 2022). Among the many groundbreaking aspects of the Sony PlayStation, the console’s dedication to 3-D games that use polygons for its architecture rather than flat cells stands out among adversaries.
The PlayStation’s 1 gamepad would also set a new standard by making it simple for clients to traverse the function keys. The initial PlayStation gamepad was a decent progression of what had been pioneered by the Super Nintendo, with additional shoulder controls and a more 3-D layout that people could comfortably use while gaming. From the $299 introduction of the original PlayStation, the famous console has generated multiple next-generation variants, including the all-time greatest system, PS2 (Dathe et al., 2022). The original PlayStation was less expensive than its contemporaries, such as Super Nintendo, but had superior performance, providing buyers with excellent value.
Conclusion
In regaining its market share and being competitive, Sony had to diversify. Sony sought to refocus on its key capabilities and directed its efforts towards globalization to enhance its positioning and distinguish its luxury PlayStation 1 from rivals. The firm had been involved in various sectors for some time. This differentiation made the corporation concentrate on the market while consuming many of its resources. The concentration that had been neglected for some time was recovered, as the sector was rapidly saturated with adversaries from around the globe. The above recommendation would then take the company 1year to implement.
In conclusion, Sony is one of the world’s most recognized firms. Sony’s original PlayStation trademark remained to resonate throughout the electronics industry due to the leadership’s initiatives, but only for a limited time as it was phased out after several years of outstanding performance. As described in the suggestion, Sony’s administration must refocus their thoughts and efforts on developing innovative items that will boost the company’s brand while discarding those that do not help this endeavor. As can be observed, the original PlayStation product was marketed over the years owing to the board’s efforts and tactics. With intense competition, Sony must be creative with the subsequent release of newer models of the PlayStation.
References
Aurègan, P., & Tellier, A. (2019). Nintendo in the pursuit of the blue ocean. Innovation in the Cultural and Creative Industries, 8, 1-28. Web.
Dathe, T., Dathe, R., Dathe, I., & Helmold, M. (2022). CSR in marketing management. In Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability and Environmental Social Governance (pp. 77-85). Springer.
Goetzenberger, S., Mooney, G., & Riefler, B. (2022). Partnering with Smart TV platforms: The content providers’ dilemma. International Journal on Media Management, 24(1), 45-64. Web.
Murphy, D. (2021). Cracking technocultural memory: Scenes and stories of origin in the PlayStation portable forensic imaginary. In Game History and the Local (pp. 141-157). Palgrave Macmillan.
Sony | Company Overview & News. (2022). Forbes. Web.
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