Sony Brand Set To Be Splattered

Sony is attempting preserve its brand value by mounting a major marketing campaign in Australia for its Bravia LCD TV range. The campaign depicts 70,000 litres of paint exploding from and through apartment blocks.

 The move comes as leading analysts claim that Sony has lost its way and that consumers should not have to pay a premium for Sony products. (See seperate story http://www.smarthouse.com.au/?Article=/_Home%20Page%20Feature/S4C7A4R3)

 Consumers buying the Sony Bravia TV range in Australia are not only being asked to pay a premium but buy a product that could well be an old generation LCD TV by early next year following the announcement that Sony is now launching six new 1080p Bravia LCD TV to replace the 1080 HD models currently on sale in Australia. Also set to impact Sony is predictions by research Company Display Search that LCD TV prices are set to drop in the New Year as a new generation of HD models are launched.

Among the new Sony 1080p range which are not on sale in Australia are three 40-inch and three 46-inch LCD TVs, The models all feature resolution of 1,920×1,080 and high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) inputs, according to Sony. In addition to the full HDTV segment, Sony will also increase its large-size LCD TV shipments in 2006.  The company, quoted in an August report from Reuters, said it aims to boost the ratio of 40-inch-and-larger models of its total LCD TVs sales to 50% in terms of value by year end, up from about 30% at present.

 With the operation of an eighth-generation (8G) plant through S-LCD, a joint venture with Samsung Electronics, to kick off soon, Sony may shift its focus to 46-inch-and-above TVs in the second half of 2007, sources noted.

Rival Sharp also began selling full HD 46″ and 52″ LCD TVs this month in Japan with the models expected in Australia during the next few weeks. Sharp said all its new LCD TVs will fully support HDTV signals, compared to about half of its LCD TVs released in the fourth quarter of 2005.

 In the global 1080p TV market, Sharp overtook Sony with strong shipments of 37- and 45-inch LCD TVs and captured a 27% share in the second quarter of this year while Sony only had 17% of the segment. However, on a revenue basis, Sony led with a 27% to 19% advantage as a result of its focus on larger sizes, according to DisplaySearch.

 The penetration of full HDTV segments in the LCD TV market is expected to reach 14.7% in 2007, up from 7.5% this year, Displaybank stated in July.  Sony and Sharp have been competing for the crown in worldwide LCD TV market. The Japan-based giants each expects to ship six million LCD TVs in fiscal year 2006 (the year ended March 31, 2007), according to the companies.

The Sony X range in Australia is spearheaded by the Bravia KDL-46X2000. The new campaign is based around a ‘Paint’ concept. This according to Sony is to emphasise the vibrancy of HD TV and to also market the series’ unique selling point: the fact that the bezel comes in either red, blue, black, brown, silver or white.

 The campaign will commence on October 18 with a television commercial that depicts 70,000 litres of paint exploding from and through apartment blocks, bringing ‘full on’ colour to those inside. The commercial will be screened nationally from October until January across the three national networks and pay TV channels. Omitted from the schedule are print media and specialist publications. The TV campaign will be supported by outdoor, promotions and POS executions based on the ‘full on colour’ concept. Window displays will appear at retail stores and in-store there will be wobblers, llamas, floor stickers and banners.