SONY AIBO

THE WORLD’S FIRST

ENTERTAINEMENT ROBOT
 SONY AIBO : THE PRODUCT
2

ENTERTAINEM TRAINABLE
ENT

HASSLE FREE PET SONY COMMUNICATION

AIBO
VOICE PERSONALITY
RECOGNITION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1ST GEN AIBO SALE 2ND GEN AIBO
BEGAN AS A SKUNK MASSIVE RESPONSE IN PRICE LOWERED TO
WORKS PROJECT JAPAN AND USA EVEN $1500 . UPGRADATION
THOUGH SOLD THROUGH LIKE MATURITY . COLORS
INTERNET . POSITIONED AS AND SOFTWARES.
A FRIEND AND COMPANION
1994 1999 2000

2001

PERFORMANCE
PROFIT AT THE CURRENT
1999 2000 PRODUCTION LEVEL IS
ALMOST ZERO .
1ST GEN AIBO 2ND GEN AIBO MANAGEMENT
5 YEAR, 6 NEW SERIES OF AIBO BRAINSTORMING FOR
PROTOTYPES AND A ERS 210. AVAILABLE FURTHER PRICING
MILLION YENS LATER, IN STORES APART STRATEGY .
THE PRODUCT WAS FROM INTERNET.
CREATED ,PRICED AT
$2500
 Consumer profile and distribution channel
Japan

United states of America

▪ Younger age groups

▪ The distribution for 1st and 2nd generation AIBO was ▪ All age groups young and old alike
done wholly through internet ▪ Internet for the 1st generation AIBO
▪ Internet and retail stores for 2nd generation
AIBO
 Major cultural differences
Major cultural differences and marketing of AIBO
JAPAN
● Passionate about AIBO both young and
old alike
● Robots are regarded as heroes in
Japanese pop culture
● Pitched as a replacement for pets since
pets were not allowed in many Japanese
apartments
● Not worried about the utility
● Emotional attachment and life partner
USA
● Mainly younger generation was
passionate was AIBO
● Robots are mainly seen as villains
in US culture
● Sceptical older generation about a
lifelike robot
● Customer confusion over utility?
● Viewed as an entertainment product
 Positioning
Sony knew that marketing an unreliable, . Positioning as an intelligent
humanlike household robot that couldn’t companion rather than a robot helped
handle even simple chores was sure to Sony cross demographic barriers in its
backfire  potential audience

INTELIIGENT LIFE
COMPANION PARTNE
R

Positioning was a thorough understanding Sony’s AIBO never competed with any
of the needs of the home market Japan. of its competitors. It carved out a niche
People needed an affectionate companion category for itself in the Robotics
and was open to the idea of robots. industry .
 Positioning Strategy

AFFECTIONATE PRODUCT UTILITY PRODUCT

● All of the fulfillment of owning a pet
without any hassle
● Elderly people need companionship for a
healthy lifestyle
● Fulfills the innate need for affection
towards creatures
● Has higher level of customer engagement
● Taking pictures
● Notification reminder for emails
● Read messages aloud
● HOWEVER,
AIBO created confused reactions for
many customers. People didn’t
understand the utility of the product
 Value Proposition

Fun of a living creature Love, healing, and relaxation

Content Here
Entertainment Experience
You can simply impress your audience and
add a unique zing and appeal to your
Presentations. Easy to change colors, photos

Companionship
and Text. Get a modern PowerPoint
Presentation that is beautifully designed.
Communication
possible
 Short term strategy
POSITIONING PROMOTIONAL PRICING TARGET DISTRIBUTION

EDUCATIONAL NICHE PREMIUM 24-40 RICH NICHE STORES

TOY PRICING PARENTS
 Long term strategy
POSITIONING PROMOTIONAL PRICING TARGET DISTRIBUTION

EDUCATIONAL MASS CAPTIVE TYPICAL TOY SUPERSTORES

TOY MARKETING PRICING CUSTOMER
 Case study questions
● Who are customers of Sony AIBO? Do a demographic &
psychographic profiling of the customer bases ?
The customer profile of Sony AIBO –
 DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
Japan – All age groups young and old alike
USA - Younger age groups
 PSYCHOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
Japan - Passionate about AIBO both young and old alike. Robots are regarded as heroes in Japanese pop culture . That
explains their treatment of AIBO as a companion
USA- Mainly younger generation was passionate was AIBO . Robots are mainly seen as villains in US culture. Sceptical
older generation about a lifelike robot. Customer confusion over utility could be seen in USA.
What value proposition is offered by the product?
The value proposition offered by the product - :
a)  Hassle free pet (Pet with a desired personality needs without having an actual one)
b) True companion with real emotions and instincts 
c) Entertainment (providing fun of a live creature)  
d) Intelligent companion ( Mimics the actions of a dog , Can be trained , Communication is possible , can be trained ) 

Resonating the value proposition with the customer needs and demand- 
A robotic pet with the capacity to have characteristics of a real pet without the inconvenience of having to
own a real pet” is what the management believed in . Thus , Sony never competed with the features of its
competitors in market . They understood that people’s real need was to have the company and affection of a
pet without owning a real one .  
How cultural difference among Japan & USA affects
the marketing of the product
• In Japanese culture, robots are heroes. In all of the famous cartoons they grew up with
in Japan – AstroBoy, Doraeamon, and so on –the hero is always the robot. 

• In America, it’s different. If we look at old American movies and books, robots are often
the enemy, fighting against humans. Because of this, older Americans have this sense
that there’s something dangerous or threatening about technology that is too lifelike:
they aren’t comfortable with the idea of loving something that isn’t alive. 

• If AIBO is marketed as a robot dog, it’ll be successful Japan but not in America.

• American were more utilitarian and could figure out what need does the product, AIBO,
fulfils. So, for the product, AIBO, to be successful in America it should be marketed as
a utilitarian product.
What are the positioning strategy of Sony? What
are Pros & Cons?
Pros:
• The AIBO simply provided “entertainment” by simulating some of the personality of a
pet without the inconvenience of a real animal.
• Most of the Japanese population is old, hence they need companionship and AIBO is the
ideal companionship partner.
• Because of high real estate prices, small apartments, and pets not being allowed in
apartments, AIBO is the equivalent of a simulated pet that can act as a substitute for a pet in
restricted spaces.

Cons:
• AIBO is not a hit in American markets because Americans have this sense that there’s
something dangerous or threatening about technology that is too lifelike.
• Doesn’t have enough features to market itself as a utility product. 
• Substitute products are easily available at a cheaper price for people who only want to use
ABIO as a utility product
What shouuld be the action plan for Sony in
terms of target market, pricing and strategy

For our understanding we divide the action plan based on two types of
strategies, one for short term and another for the long run.
• In the short run we try to understand the action plan Sony could adopt
to reach their smaller, intermediate milestones within a short time
interval.
• In the short run we try to understand the action plan Sony could adopt
to set out their major, long term goals within a large time interval.
 SHORT TERM ACTION PLAN

• TARGET MARKET: Considering the fact that AIBO was not a success in the US as compared to Japan and the existing
cultural differences between these two nation’s populations we can infer that the people of US would be more enthusiastic
towards the product if it provided some sort of utility. They could not completely digest the fact that AIBO was a just a
companion robot which had no real utility associated with it. Hence it would be logical to place our product as an educational toy
targeting the richer kids to reach our short term goals. With multiple cheaper alternatives to AIBO already selling on the shelves
in the States it would be beneficial for the company to introduce this product as a luxury premium product with little to no
competition in that sector .

• PRICING : For achieving our short term goals we would like to place this product in the luxury price segment targeting the
richer kids with affluent parents in the age group of 24-40 . By pricing our product in the premium price range we dodge the
existing competition that exists in the lower price ranges with multiple other variants of pet robots available in that range .

• STRATEGY : For our short term plans we strategize our plan to target the richer kids with affluent parents and try to make our
product exclusive to the buyers . To achieve that we target niche stores to sell our products , niche stores are stores which sells
specific exclusive products to specific customers . To summarize our strategy SONY should place the product in a premium price
segment targeting rich parents and sell through niche stores. 
 LONG TERM ACTION PLAN :

● TARGET MARKET : For achieving our long term goals of the company SONY as a company focuses more on the
future long term visions and implement the strategies accordingly . SONY in the long term would like to enter the general
toy market of the US targeting general population. Considering the intense competition SONY would have to face in the
general toy sector it must create its own distinguishable brand value to attract more customers. 

● PRICING : For our long term goals we place our product in the mid to low price segment to attract the general customer
base which constitute the major percentage of potential customers . In the longer run SONY would like to place AIBO in
the general toy segment creating its own brand value to overcome competition.

● STRATEGY : For our long term goals we strategize our action of plans to create a sustainable market share in the us toy
market . To achieve our goal we target the general toy segment in the mid to low price segment to establish AIBO in the
US toy industry as a major player.
THANK YOU
PRESENTED BY-:
ADITYAROOP
STETSON
DEBOPRIYO