Rachel Krebs

11/17/2014
MKT/571
Sony Corporation
 Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in
Japan
 Global company specializing in consumer electronics
and video games
 PlayStation (1991), PlayStation 2 (2000), PlayStation 3
(2006), PlayStation 4 (2013)
 Music industry and film industry (Amazing Spiderman)
 At a glance
 One of the largest Japanese corporations
 Shares valued at $15 billion
 Excellent environmental record
Product: PlayStation 4
 Introduced in 2013
 Home video game console
 Direct competition with
Xbox One and Wii U
 Focus on social integration
with gameplay
 Dynamic user interface
with app compatibility
 PlayStation Network and
PlayStation Plus
IMC Plan Objectives
1. Identify target audience
2. Determine communications objectives
3. Design communications
4. Select communications channels
5. Establish communications budget
6. Choose communications mix
7. Measure results
8. Manage IMC process
Communications: Steps 1-4
 Target Audience:
 Depends on available games
 Wide market, appeals to a lot of consumers
 Communications Objectives:
 Brand awareness and need for the product
 Extremely popular  Hyperlink
 Communications Design:
 Message, Creative, and Message Source Strategies
 Communications Channels:
 Focus on television and online ads
 Reviews by top gaming critics
 Attachment to games available on system
Budgeting: Step 5
 Four common methods:
 Affordable method,
percentage-of-sales method,
competitive-parity method,
and the objective-and-task
method
 Objective-and-Task
 Rumored $100 million total
communications budget for
PlayStation 4 on launch
 2014 advertising budget for
early 2014
 Huge market penetration
online and on television
 Sales
Communications Mix (Step 6) & Establishing
Customer Loyalty
 What communications types will be utilized and in what
amounts?
 Advertising: $100 million budget
 Sales Promotions: Coupon and Promotion codes
 PR and Publicity: Press releases
 Events/Experiences: E3, My Road to Greatness Tour
 Direct/Interactive: Paid reviewers
 Word-of-Mouth: Unpaid reviewers and fans
 Personal Selling: Not utilized
 Brand equity and customer loyalty
 Established via quality, quantity of games, and customer value
Print Ad Example
Video Ads
Perfect Day 4 The Players Since 1995

Click us, we are hyperlinks!

References
 Allen, S. (2013, January 1). 81% Of IGN Viewers Say Sony Won E3 - IGN. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/15/who-is-winning-e3
 IGN. (2013, October 14). Official PlayStation 4 Perfect Day Commercial. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK03aVJekGg
 IGN. (2014, January 16). Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4 - The Results - IGN Versus. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz2HxC2wAsA
 Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upple Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
 Makuch, E. (2014, October 30). PS4 Dominates Xbox One in Ubisoft Platform Sales Charts. Retrieved November 17,
2014, from http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-dominates-xbox-one-in-ubisoft-platform-sales-c/1100-6423280/
 Moriarty, C. (2014, April 24). Sony Reveals PlayStation 4's 'Road to Greatness' Tour - IGN. Retrieved November 17, 2014,
from http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/24/sony-reveals-playstation-4s-road-to-greatness-tour
 Peckham, M. (2015, August 15). Microsoft Silent On Xbox One Sales as PlayStation 4 Wins July. Retrieved November 17,
2014, from http://time.com/3116454/npd-july-console-sales/
 Sony Global - History. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 17, 2014, from
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/
 ThePlayStationN4tion. (2013, October 21). PlayStation - Official "4 The Players since 1995" Commercial. Retrieved
November 17, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7vaMAtGSFM
 Usher, W. (2014, July 28). Sony Has Spent $59 Million On PS4 Ads In Five Months. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Sony-Has-Spent-59-Million-PS4-Ads-Five-Months-64964.html