Sunday, April 11, 2010

Sony's 3DTVs my first draft (Marketing)

(I removed the TOC)

Introduction:

  Sony has always been known as a brand which delivers the best quality for the best prices so now they are proud to announce the release of 3DTVs in the coming summer 2010 to coincide with the FIFA2010. So in the following project we will discuss how we will advertise Sony’s 3DTVs to achieve proper marketing covering various strategies it will implement and as well as its weaknesses and strengths in a quiet jammed consumer electronics market.

History:

3D imaging dates to the beginning of photography. In 1844, Scottish inventor and writer David Brewster introduced the Stereoscope, a device that could take photographic pictures in 3D. It was then improved by Louis Jules Duboscq and a famous picture of Queen Victoria was displayed at The Great Exhibition in 1851. By the Second World War, stereoscopic (3D) cameras for personal use were already fairly common.
3D movie development was parallel to that of 3D pictures and images. Already in 1855 the Kinematoscope was invented, i.e., the Stereo Animation Camera. The first anaglyph movie was produced in 1915 and in 1922 the first public 3D movie was displayed - The Power of Love. In 1935 the first 3D color movie was produced.
In the fifties, when TV became popular in the United States, many 3D movies were produced. The first such movie was Bwana Devil from United Artists that could be seen all across the US in 1952. One year later, in 1953, came the 3D movie House of Wax which also featured 2D sound. Alfred Hitchcock originally made his film Dial M for Murder in 3D, but for the purpose of maximizing profits the movie was released in 2D because not all cinemas were able to display 3D films. The Soviet Union also developed 3D films, with Robinson Crusoe being their first full-length movie in 1947.
Subsequently, television stations started airing 3D serials based on the same technology as 3D movies.

Body:

4P’s: 

 3D-ready TV sets are those that can operate in 3D mode (in addition to regular 2D mode), in conjunction with LCD shutter glasses, where the TV tells the glasses which eye should see the image being exhibited at the moment, creating a stereoscopic image. These TV sets usually support HDMI 1.4 and a minimum (input and output) refresh rate of 120Hz; glasses may be sold separately.
 As of January 2010, Sony all had plans to introduce 3D capabilities (mostly in higher-end models) in TVs available sometime in 2010. 3D Blu-Ray players and DirecTV broadcasts are also expected in 2010. Sony intends to increase their 3D TV offering with plans to make 3D TV sales account for over 50% of their respective TV distribution offering by 2012. It is expected that the screens will use a mixture of technologies until there is standardizations across the industry.
Sony has revealed pricing and shipping information for its new televisions and related accessories in Japan. The new sets share that sweet/ominous monolithic style of the already available NX800 series with the edge-lit LED LX900 bringing the entire 3D package. With IR emitter built in and two pairs of RealD active shutter glasses, all you'll need to add is a source to the 60-, 51-, 46- and 40-inch models, ranging in price from ¥580,000 ($6,444) to ¥290,000 ($3,222.) Even if the TDG-BR100 / TDG-BR50 3D glasses (also available as an accessory for ¥12,000 ($133) or so) aren't on your face this WiFi-connected abyss of entertainment will look back into you, using face tracking to detect if someone is sitting too close and warn them to move back, as well as dimming and eventually turning off the screen if you leave the room or simply looked away from the TV for an extended period.

Want to get the full 3D effect with the LED backlit HX900 and edge-lit HX800? Expect to purchase the glasses and TMR-BR100 IR emitter (¥5,000 or $55) separately, or just live a 2D lifestyle and know the 3D is there if you ever want to upgrade.

It was at CES(Consumer Electronics Show) that Sony Corporation’s CEO and president Sir Howard Stringer unveiled the 3DTV line-up officially that will be released with the 3D broadcasted FIFA2010 using Sony’s own hardware.
Lebanon will also have these TVs in summer but at a relatively high price but with good bundles which will come with 1 or 2 3D glasses and the price in Lebanon is going to vary from $1500 to $8000.

Segmentation, Target Market, Differentiation and Positioning:


Generally we are going to segment our consumers based on their income and upon that the targeted market is going to range from $20000/year and up because this is still going to be considered as a luxury product.
But what will position our product in the people’s minds is that Sony is a brand and entity by itself in the worldwide market and it is known Sony is known to be not only a quantitative statement but also a qualitative one.
So basically we have fans in Lebanon and a lot of them anticipate our products a lot with no regret in the other hand we have the tech people who always want the best of what’s available and they know that Sony delivers that. As we all know PlayStation is a well known brand of its own in the world and Lebanon and with the PlayStation 3 a simple update via the internet will enable you to enjoy 3D contents whether they are games or movies directly on our 3D-ready TV sets. Sony’s 3D-ready TVs will include 3D glasses and also a proximity sensor for your children so that the wont come nearer than 2meters to the TV.
The current slogan for Sony is Make.Believe means that we believe in what we invent and this will make our consumers believe in us.


SWOT analysis:

One of the main strengths is the name that we have in our market in Lebanon and covered by our PlayStation brand will surely deserve their trust. Because of its relatively high price compared to the Lebanese market we will at launch address the high income people and tech addicts later in about a year we expect that the prices will decrease drastically to reach the normal 2D LCD TV prices. Another thing is the need to wear 3D glasses to watch 3D content which is a must but in the future we may see new technology to enable it without the need of 3D glasses but on a limited range of view.
The current main competitors are LG and Samsung which we will battle through our name and image, bundles and features while leaving the after sale services to our retailers in Lebanon. But this doesn’t mean we will neglect their position in the market because we think such market is ok with 3 main consumer electronics companies driving its TV industry.
 The most powerful weapons we own are the PlayStation brand and its future 3D capabilities as well as being the official sponsors of the FIFA world cup 2010 and delivering 3D broadcasting exclusively for the FIFA from our top-notch hardware. Also 3DTVs will have special Twitter and Facebook application integrated to them so that you can access your accounts easily considering the high number of Facebook users in Lebanon.