Sony Sony Group No. 7

Jennifer Busacca, Trevor Helms, William Logan, Stephen Remillard & Stephen Giusti

SonySonyCompany BackgroundCompany Background

Sony Corporation has been a leader in motion picture, television, computer

entertainment, music and online businesses.

In the past year, annual sales in the fiscal year end of March 31, 2008 estimated $88.7 billion, and it employs 180,500 people worldwide.

With a high level of brand awareness amongst most consumers, Sony has become a widely recognized global brand.

The company operates globally in over 204 countries across Japan, North America, Europe, and Asian countries

SonySonyMarketing ObjectiveMarketing Objective

Our marketing team is focused on increasing sales for Sony’s electronic products, as well deliver corporate value to their customers and partners. Because the electronic consumer market is such a large industry, there is a great opportunity for Sony to capture a large share of this market, despite the economic down turn in the U.S.

SonySonyMarketing ChallengeMarketing Challenge

Sony has experienced declining sales in consumer electronics, which in-turn, has forced the company to respond to the declining unit price. Overall, this has resulted in size reduction of TV screens, as well as

fierce price-cutting competition.

Elimination of more than 16,000 jobs, and a shutdown of a total of six production bases.

Joint-ventures including Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications & Samsung LCD panels.

Price increases in both raw materials and parts will be a challenge to manufacture electronic devices and maintain competitive pricing.

SonySonySWOT ANALYSIS: StrengthsSWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths

SonySonySWOT ANALYSIS: WeaknessesSWOT ANALYSIS: Weaknesses

Decline in product competiveness

Inefficient manufacturing structure

Consumer Satisfaction

SonySonyOpportunitiesOpportunities

• Business Reorganization◦ Allocate management resources ◦ Divest, downsize, withdraw from

certain areas◦ Large scale, world wide layoffs

• Partnership with FIFA◦ Sponsorship includes 2010 & 2014

World Cups◦ Enhance brand awareness,

recognition, and trust

• Expand Consumer Electronics Market◦ Industry expected growth of $171

billion in 2009◦ Blu-Ray DVDs expected sales

more than $1.2 billion for 2009

SonySonyThreatsThreats

Integration of joint ventures & alliances◦ Aligned with Samsung to market S-LCD panels◦ Result was net loss of $100 million for fiscal year 2005-2006

Increasing price of raw materials◦ Unstable supply & demand conditions◦ Currency exchange risk◦ Expected increase of $350 million for 2008-2009 fiscal year

(little Sony can do about it)

Counterfeit goods

Intense competition (more on next slide)

SonySonyCompetitor AnalysisCompetitor Analysis

Huge competitors in every business at every level (consumer electronics, music industry, movies, games)

Low PBR (price-to-book ratio)

LCD TVs are Sony’s leading revenue driver◦ At a disadvantage since they don’t make LCD panels (all their

competitors do)

Toshiba and Sharp top competitors in Japan

Panasonic net income, profit, operating profit ALL increased in fiscal year 2007-2008

Sony operating income down 57.2% for same period

SonySonyProduct StrategyProduct Strategy

Sony has been a leader in motion picture, television, computer entertainment, music and online businesses.

• The product that demonstrates this leadership is Sony’s new BRAVIA XBR9 series televisions.

• Major Features:– Ethernet connection that gives the largest selections of free

and premium movies, TV shows, and sports out there. – Full HD vibrant screen– Sony’s new Motion flow 240Hz technology, which delivers

exceptionally crisp and detailed images by quadrupling the frame rate of conventional LCD TVs.

SonySonyPricing StrategyPricing Strategy

The suggested retail price will be: ◦$3,599.99 for 52”◦$3,099.99 for 46“ ◦$2,799.99 for 40”

The price of the XBR9 series is designed and priced to be competitive with Samsung and LG HDTV’s

Sony Sony Marketing StrategiesMarketing Strategies

Sony Sony Target Market Target Market

Demographics◦Sony is a diverse brand that provides products

and services for a wide variety of people.◦Sony will focus on expanding their segments in

the women’s market. Women make up over half the sales in consumer

electronics and influence over 80% of purchases.

SonySony DifferentiationDifferentiation

Quality◦Sony strives on innovative products that are

easy for consumers to use.

Market Leader◦Sony is the market leader in electronics.

In particular Sony is the number one leader in television market share.

SonySony PositioningPositioning

Sony is one of the world’s greatest brand in the eye of the consumer.

Sony products are considered to be high quality, unique, and convenient.

Mainstream culture has embraced Sony’s innovation.

Sony Sony Promotional Strategies Promotional Strategies

No interest and no payments for 24 months if the customer applies for the new Sony Financial Services Card at point of purchase.

Save up to $360 when they bundle the BRAVIA XBR9 series LCD HDTV with the new BDP-S360 Blu-ray Disc Player ($299.99 retail ◦ $360 for the 55”, $300 for the 46”, $280 for the 40”

Introduction of a new tagline created to target LG Electronics tagline “Life’s Good” ◦ “Now Life’s Better”

SonySonyManagerial Implications & Managerial Implications &

RecommendationsRecommendations

•Sony will have to retool their products, and overall marketing attitudes to suit different demographics, and capture the growth opportunities in technology developments .

•Decrease the number of materials and parts required to manufacture, and keep costs down.•Bring a strong presence to e-products & innovative devices, which will provide an opportunity to capture a large share of the electronic market.

•Computer/handhelds & Peripherals.•Digital Cameras & Camcorders•Mobile Phones•LCD Televisions•Semiconductor Innovation.