Sony is a Japanese conglomerate founded in 1946 that operates in various industries including consumer electronics and gaming. In 2008, Sony introduced its Xperia smartphone line known for sleek design and advanced technology. Sony targets young, urban, educated customers seeking quality and innovation through premium pricing, retail distribution, and promotional campaigns emphasizing its technology and entertainment strengths. However, Sony struggled in smartphones due to high prices, slow innovation, and lack of targeted segments, though it saw some success through product placement in films like James Bond. Recommendations include mid-range phones, aggressive marketing, on-time launches, and meaningful partnerships.
2. INTRODUCTION
Sony Corporation:
Founded in 1946, a leading multinational conglomerate headquartered in Japan
Diverse Industries:
Operates in consumer electronics, gaming, entertainment, and more
One of the sectors in which Sony has made a significant impact is the smartphone market
Xperia Smartphone Line:
Introduced in 2008, known for sleek design and advanced tech
3. SONY 4PS OF MARKETING
PRODUCT
Sony offers a range of smartphones under the Xperia brand, which are
differentiated by their features.
Sony also integrates its smartphones with other products and services, such as
PlayStation, Bravia, Music Unlimited, and Video Unlimited
PRICE
Sony adopts a premium pricing strategy for its smartphones, as it targets high-
end customers who value quality, performance, and exclusivity. Sony also uses
price skimming, which means launching new models at high prices and then
gradually lowering them over time to attract different segments of customers.
PLACE
Sony distributes its smartphones through various channels, such as online
platforms, retail stores, authorized dealers, and mobile network operators.
PROMOTION
Sony uses a mix of promotional tools to communicate its brand message and
value proposition to its target customers. These include advertising, public
relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, and social media. Sony also
leverages its brand ambassadors, such as celebrities and influencers, to
endorse its products and create positive word-of-mouth.
4. SEGMENTATION , TARGETING AND POSITIONING
Demographic: Sony targets customers who are young, urban, educated, and affluent. Sony's smartphones are
designed for customers who have high disposable income and are willing to pay a premium price for quality and
innovation.
Psychographic: Sony targets customers who are tech-savvy, creative, adventurous, and aspirational. Sony's
smartphones appeal to customers who value performance, design, and functionality, and who seek to express their
individuality and lifestyle through their choice of products.
Behavioral: Sony targets customers who are loyal, frequent, and heavy users of smartphones and other digital
devices. Sony's smartphones cater to customers who use their phones for various purposes, such as
communication, entertainment, gaming, photography, and productivity.
Sony's positioning strategy for its smartphones is to differentiate itself from its competitors by emphasizing its core
competencies in technology and entertainment. Sony's positioning strategy helps it to attract and retain high-end
customers who value quality, innovation, design, and customer satisfaction.
5. CONSUMER DECISION MAKING AND INVOLVEMENT
Sony’s marketing strategy addresses consumer decision making processes and involvement by
o Creating awareness and interest
o Providing information and education
o Product differentiation
o Influencing purchase decisions
o Enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty
6. -
PERCEPTIONS AND BRAND PERSONALITY
Sony shapes customer perceptions and personality associations by:
o Creating a distinctive and desirable brand image for its smartphones that reflects its core competencies
in technology and entertainment
o Positioning its smartphones as premium devices that offer superior quality, innovation, design, and
customer experience
o Using the slogan "Make.Believe" and the tagline "Xperia - The best of Sony in a smartphone" to convey its
brand promise and integration
o Having an exciting, competent, and sophisticated brand personality that appeals to customers who value
performance, design, functionality, and individuality.
o Attracting customers who have a high self-esteem and a high public self-awareness who have a self-
congruity or a brand personality congruence with Sony.
7. LEARNING THEORIES
Classical conditioning: Sony associates its products with positive stimuli,
such as music, celebrities, or social status, to create favourable attitudes
and emotions in consumers. For example, Sony's Xperia Z5 smartphone
was featured in the James Bond movie Spectre, which created a link
between the brand and the spy genre.
Operant conditioning: Sony rewards its customers for purchasing its
products or engaging with its marketing campaigns. For example, Sony
offers discounts, coupons, loyalty points, free trials, or warranties to
encourage repeat purchases and referrals
Observational learning: Sony leverages the power of social influence and
word-of-mouth to shape consumer behaviour. Sony encourages its
customers to share their experiences and opinions on social media
platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or on online review
sites, such as Amazon or CNET. Sony also uses influencer marketing, where
it partners with popular bloggers, vloggers, or celebrities who endorse its
products and demonstrate how to use them effectively
8. WHY SONY FAILED IN THE SMARTPHONE
MARKET?
o High Prices
o Slowdown in innovation
o No Targeted Market Segments
o Slow in Adopting Trends
o No Meaningful Partnerships
SMARTPHONES
9. RECOMMENDATION
• Make midrange phones: They already launched Xperia 5 and Xperia 10 || as their midrange. But
not according to countries like Pakistan and India. Even in developed countries, their phones are
considered expensive.
• Aggressive Marketing: People don't know that their phones exist. By executing aggressive
marketing strategies, people will notice their phones as their other products
• Proper Execution: iPhone, Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus. They all sell their phones before the hype
dies out. IPhone launches a phone, then a week before people pre-order the phone. After sometime,
it is on the streets. Making sure the customer gets their phone without delays and non-availability.
• On-time Launching: The launching delays that much that these phones are available in the market
when their successor is launched.
So make sure that after they are launched, the phones should be available on the market.
