What Makes Panasonic Successful - Essay Example

?Panasonic Introduction- Panasonic Brand History The history of Panasonic can be traced back to the foundation of Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works in 1918 (Panasonic Corporation, 2013a). Panasonic’s founder, Konosuke Matsushita, was born in 1894. With constant struggle and suffering throughout his life, he was able to found his own business in 1917. Thus, on March 7, 1918, Panasonic got its start when Matsushita set up Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works with only three employees (Panasonic Corporation, 2013b). In 1920, Hoichi Kai was formed after WWI to ensure that all the employees, who had grown in number with the passage of time, worked together in healthy collaboration. The company had grown into a big business by 1922. It was in May 2003 that the officials decided that “Panasonic” would be the global brand name for all products of the company, with brand slogan as “Panasonic ideas for life” (Panasonic, 2013c). Panasonic was already the brand name for the companies’ loud speakers back in 1955, and that is why it was named “pan” and “sonic”. Panasonic became the national brand name in the last decade, and all outdoor signs were also altered correspondingly. Now, Panasonic has become a corporate brand that offers a wide variety of spectacular products and services. With hard work, dedication and innovation as the founding principles of the company, Panasonic has become one of the giant companies that offer a myriad of products that are present in the households of common people all around the world. This paper sheds light on important aspects of this extravagant brand name while focusing on important branding theories. What makes Panasonic Successful? With its head office located in Osaka, Japan, and under current presidency of Kazuhiro Tsuga, Panasonic has been able to outshine many of its competitors with constant struggle, hard work and innovation as its base message. Panasonic has been able to emerge into the world of electronics to offer excellent green products. According to Panasonic Corporation of North America (2013a, par,1): “Panasonic's eco activities are led by over 300,000 people in 342 sites around the world, through various programs and movements, aimed at goals such as saving energy and resources, planting trees, conducting cleanup activities and providing eco-based promotion and education.” It is one of the basic management principles of Panasonic’s to care for and synchronize with the ecosystem; and, that is why, Panasonic products can be termed as green products, since they help save energy while maintaining the vitality of the environment. Panasonic products are energy efficient, and are manufactured in sites under environment friendly conditions, like reduction of emission of CO2 and other toxic gases. Eco-friendly behavior of Panasonic has made it popular among people all over the globe. Panasonic works in collaboration with consumers, suppliers, vendors, and experts to make green innovations possible on a worldwide level. Supply chain and logistic partners have made it possible for Panasonic to reduce environmental impacts during the manufacture process. Panasonic also believes in maintaining and highlighting biodiversity in areas where Panasonic sites are located. Since ecosystem-friendliness or greenness of Panasonic products is what makes Panasonic successful, we shall probe further into the same idea. Panasonic aims to become the leading Green Innovation Company on its 100th anniversary in 2018 (Panasonic Corporation of North America, 2013b). Green Innovation Company will have two main goals: Green Life Innovation, and Green Business Innovation. Green Life Innovation will make people’s lives eco-friendly by introducing more energy-efficient products; and, Green Business Innovation will improve organizational performance through modernization. Panasonic works under the principle that manufacturing impacts should be minimized in the manufacturing process. For example, products are manufactured with lead-free soldering and minimized use of plastic resins to make recycling easy. Efficient recycling of products, through dropping the quantity of waste matter during manufacture and using limited number of resources, makes environment sustainable. There is a proper product assessment system that evaluates what impact Panasonic products create on the ecosystem during stages as early as planning and design. Specific initiatives are taken to conserve energy during manufacture. For example, the company uses tilted-drum design that helps to reduce water usage during washing processes (Panasonic Corporation, 2012). Chemical substances that are used in manufacture of products are specifically identified by proper communication with suppliers. The environment-friendliness and sustainability of Panasonic products arises from the basic idea of the founder, Matsushita, who believed in putting people as the first priority and the product the second. Hence, the facts mentioned above make it easy to understand why people prefer Panasonic products to products of other companies, and why Panasonic is so successful in today’s world of electronics. Panasonic’s Brand Concept The brand concept of Panasonic is 'Panasonic ideas for life'. Panasonic is not only a brand name, but an epitome of in-depth research and utilization of expertise and advanced problem-solving and decision-making. It makes all kinds of products that are present in domestic households, medical centers, industries, factories, educational institutes, and many other fields of life. Examples of Panasonic products include digital AV, mobile phones, home communication systems, car AV and navigation systems, home appliances and batteries, beauty and healthcare products, and industrial devices (Panasonic Corporation, 2013d). The founder of Panasonic, Matsushita, was determined to make ecosystem green and people’ lives easy, so he put his entire struggle into the branding of his company. Matsushita’s determination resulted into a brand that presented efficient devices that made people’s lives easier and manageable. With its high definition screens, Panasonic has changed the way people viewed television, and it is only a little example of its green products. Sports sector, entertainment sector, vehicles, batteries, communication systems- everything is under the influence of this strong brand. This means that Panasonic is one of those giant companies that have re-engineered the way people view the world and their lives. The basic management objective of this brand, put forward by the founder, Matsushita (as cited in Panasonic Corporation, 2013e) is: “Recognizing our responsibilities as industrialists, we will devote ourselves to the progress and development of society and the well-being of people through our business activities, thereby enhancing the quality of life throughout the world." Hence, we see that the brand promise of Panasonic is to offer such products that make people happy by making their lives easier for them. “Panasonic Ideas for Life” is the brand slogan and brand concept, which highlights the ideas that improve the overall quality of life. This means that Panasonic gives great importance to life and to making it better with its most sophisticated, modern, eco-friendly, and sustainable ways. Panasonic Ideas for Life brand concept makes sure that innovative products and services come into the markets and in the hands of the common consumers. For example, according to Medtronic Physio-Control Corporation (2004), the automated external defibrillator (AED) program implemented in 2001 aims at saving lives from sudden cardiac arrests. Now, there are around 50 AEDs that are working in the world, to save people’s lives under the governance of Panasonic. This is an example of Panasonic’s brand concept, which says that life is more important than anything else. Hence, Panasonic’s brand concept is a highly sophisticated representation of Panasonic’s management and organizational objectives, where people and their lives are given importance and are facilitated through innovative products and services. The brand concept- Panasonic Ideas for Life- is considered as “a comprehensive advertising and marketing initiative” (Secaucus, 2013, par.1) that tends to epitomize the brand’s objectives and inspirations behind the entire range of its products. Panasonic is planning to invest more than $100 million (Secaucus, 2013, par.2) in many advertising and marketing programs which will work according to its brand concept of Ideas for Life. Panasonic’s Brand Equity Brand equity is an important aspect of organizational success. It takes a lot of effort and time for an organization to build its brand equity. According to Gunelius (2013, par.7), brand equity is “The tangible and intangible value that a brand provides positively or negatively to an organization, its products, its services, and its bottom-line derived from consumer knowledge, perceptions, and experiences with the brand.” Panasonic’s brand equity has helped this brand in a wide variety of ways. First of all is the financial benefit as Panasonic has been able to charge its consumers a price that is considered premium for any product of this brand. Panasonic has such brand equity that the consumers not only accept but also expect premium price for its product line. Brand equity has been positive throughout the life of the company, and it has helped it in expansion of the company and the product line. Brand equity has increased Panasonic’s sales and revenues over time. It has also helped reduce costs since consumers’ awareness of the quality of brand omits the need for high-end awareness and marketing programs. This way, marketing budget is utilized in making products even better. Due to positive brand equity, consumers have made emotional attachments to the brand and its products; and hence, they are always willing to ignore any hitches that they may find in any of the products. Due to this brand loyalty, Panasonic has been able to increase its market shares. Panasonic satisfies all stages of brand experience. (1) Brand awareness: Consumers are aware of the quality of the products. (2) Brand recognition: Consumers know what Panasonic has to offer in comparison with its competitors. (3) Brand trial: Consumers have tried Panasonic products, and they have reported positive brand experience. (4) Brand preference: Consumers have repeatedly purchased Panasonic products, and they have connected themselves emotionally to the brand. (5) Brand loyalty: Due to emotional connections, consumers travel distances to purchase Panasonic products. One example of Panasonic maintaining and enhancing its brand equity is given by Menon (2011) in his article, in which he mentions that Panasonic is ready to grab opportunities in Indian market due to high acceptance and loyalty shown to its product line by Indian consumers. “In the Rs 26,000-crore durables market monopolized by the Korean behemoths, the Japanese company wants to enhance competition and reclaim Panasonic's brand equity”, writes Menon (par.5). This is only an example of how Panasonic has been making efforts in maintaining and enhancing its brand equity. Panasonic’s Brand Positioning Brand positioning is the place that a brand occupies in a consumer’s mind that helps him differentiate that particular brand from its competitors, states Sengupta (2005, p.2). The consumer is the main factor that decides what position a brand occupies in the market. There are no hard and fast rules that a brand utilizes to prove that it is better than the other brands. It is only the consumers who decide this. If a brand is not preferred by the consumers, then there is no way that brand can enjoy good positioning. Panasonic has been enjoying wonderful brand positioning in the perception of consumers. It has been ranked among top brands. For example, according to Interbrand which is a U.S. brand consultant company (as cited in SyncForce, 2013), Panasonic ranked: 68th in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2013 4th in Best Global Green Brands 2013 28th in Global Brand Simplicity Index 2013 6th in Japan’s Best Global Brands 2013 27th in 100 Most Loved Countries 2013 65th in Best Global Green Brands 2012 6th in Best Global Green Brands 2012 21st in Best Global Websites 2012 11th in Guide to Greener Electronics Ranking 2012 6th in Japan’s Best Global Brands 2012 69th in Best Global Brands 2011 10th in Best Global Green Brands 2011 15th in Best Global Websites 2011 Above-mentioned rankings show that Panasonic has not only been maintaining its brand positioning, but has also been striving for enhancing brand positioning through strife, hard work, and innovation. Interbrand is well-known in presenting its ranking report because it uses distinctive methodology to assess a brand. This methodology evaluates a brand according to the financial performance of brand product line; the purchase decision-making of the brand; and, brand’s competency in securing earnings (Panasonic Corporation, 2013f). Panasonic has been able to fulfill all these criteria, which is why it is being ranked in top most companies of the world. Interbrand comments on Panasonic’s brand positioning in these words (as cited in Panasonic Corporation, 2013f): “Panasonic's focus on building "One Panasonic," as demonstrated by its integration of the Sanyo and Panasonic Electric Works subsidiaries is one of the drivers in their improvement in our rankings.” These comments are a proof of Panasonic’s spectacular brand positioning. Conclusion This paper comprehensively illustrates different aspects of one of the most beloved brands of consumers, Panasonic. To present a summary of the report, the paper has mentioned that Panasonic offers a wide variety of energy-efficient products that are green, sustainable, and user-friendly. The founder, Matsushita, struggled throughout his life to give rise to a brand that is supposed to improve people’s lives in a unique way. Panasonic is proud to present its brand concept of ‘Panasonic Ideas for Life’, which targets the lives of common people to make them better and joyful. Panasonic has built positive brand equity, because consumers are aware of the quality of the brand, and purchase Panasonic products repeatedly which shows their loyalty and acceptance of the brand’s product line. Panasonic’s brand positioning has been great in recent years, and Interbrand has reported it to be among the top most companies of the world. To conclude, Panasonic can be studied under branding theories as a giant company that has come up to consumers’ expectations by offering spectacular products in all walks of life. This report can serve as a great guide for those people who are new to the Panasonic’s consumer world. References Gunelius, S. (2013). Brand Equity Basics – Part 1: What Is Brand Equity? Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://aytm.com/blog/research-junction/brand-equity-basics-1/ Medtronic Physio-Control Corporation. (2004). Panasonic: Ideas for Life. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.physio-control.com/uploadedFiles/learning/heart-safe-deployment/Panasonic_Study_3203963-000.pdf Menon, B.D. (2011). Panasonic woos the Indian market. BusinessLine. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/brandline/panasonic-woos-the-indian-market/article2107019.ece Panasonic Corporation. (2012). Water conservation through products and production activities. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://panasonic.net/eco/ecoideas/#4 Panasonic Corporation. (2013a). History. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://panasonic.net/history/ Panasonic Corporation. (2013b). Panasonic launched. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://panasonic.net/history/corporate/chronicle/1918-01.html Panasonic Corporation. (2013c). Corporate History. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://panasonic.net/history/corporate/chronicle/2003-02.html Panasonic Corporation. (2013d). Products and Solutions. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://panasonic.net/products/ Panasonic Corporation. (2013e). Basic Management Objective. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://panasonic.net/corporate/philosophy/objective/ Panasonic Corporation. (2013f). Panasonic ranks in BEST GLOBAL BRANDS 2011. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://news.panasonic.net/archives/2011/1006_6900.html Panasonic Corporation of North America. (2013a). Eco. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.panasonic.com/business/projectors/why-panasonic-projectors-eco.asp Panasonic Corporation of North America. (2013b). Eco-conscious initiatives. Panasonic. Retrieved November 9, 2011, from http://www.panasonic.com/business-solutions/green-solutions.asp Secaucus, N.J. (2013). Panasonic launches comprehensive brand initiative - 'Ideas For Life' extends across all product lines. PRNewswire. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/panasonic-launches-comprehensive-brand-initiative---ideas-for-life-extends-across-all-product-lines---75834292.html Sengupta, S. (2005). Brand Positioning: Strategies for Competitive Advantage. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. SyncForce. (2013). Panasonic. Rankings per Brand. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.rankingthebrands.com/Brand-detail.aspx?brandID=284 Read More