International Marketing Plan of Sony PlayStation - Case Study Example

International Marketing Plan al Affiliation International Marketing Plan The current business environment requires that anycompany willing to expand its income and coverage to explore international markets. In this kind of exploration, a company has so much to consider in making a viable and sustainable marketing plan. This essay is focused on exploration of marketing plan for Sony PlayStation Portable in India. The paper will entail a detailed description of the product, an exploration of the goals and strategies of the marketing plan, the target market analysis, competition analysis and the pricing strategy (Athreye, 2009). The Product In marketing, a product is a tangible commodity or service or idea that is the output of a process aimed at creating value to the producer while also satisfying the desires of the intended consumer. PlayStation Portable is a product of Sony that lies fourth in the computer entertainment series started in 2004 by Sony Computer Entertainment. In general PSP allows consumers to play downloaded as well as online games from their computers. In addition, it also has features to access and enjoy movies online. PSP also links the user to PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 (Athreye, 2009). In addition to the internal connectivity offered by PlayStation Portable, the product also has W-Fi connectivity through which the users can access the web. Being an entertainment machine, the product is designed to fit home playing as well as on-the-go entertainment and entertainment businesses. Using PlayStation allows the used to enjoy high definition digital computer and video games and movies through the inbuilt Universal Media Disks compatibility. PlayStation is fitted with external speakers and stereos sound system, which is a development from the previous available versions of PlayStation. This in addition to the vibration and sensation of the buttons gives the user a unique gaming sensation that is incomparable to that of any of the competitors (Yu, 2013). The PlayStation Portable costs about US$140.00 which makes one of the most affordable modern software when considering all the specification, durability and inclusion in the pack. This price includes a PSP console, AC adaptor with a power cord, a free game card, headphones, audio/video cable and a 2GB memory card. This means that the buyer will obtain all he, or she needs in one pack without the need to look for other accessories that might not be compatible with the device. The price of gaming for the PSP, even with the enhanced experience is more or less the same as that of other gaming consoles available. However, the experience with PSP is incomparable. In a measure to promote this product, Sony uses online advertisement in various sites, televised advertisements to persuade buyers to buy the product, displays and posters in major stores where consumers can easily see the product as well as allowing hands-on testing of the product in authorized stores. Sony uses Sony Shops, electronic wholesale and retail stores in many parts of the world to distribute the product. Currently, the company has also embraced online marketing through eBay, amazon and other sites. The major competitors of Sony PSP are Nintendo DSi, Microsoft and Game Boy Advance Sp. However, the latter does not support web browsing, has no games for mature users and does not have video processing. The only advantage it offers to users is low process of purchase and use. The other two are worthier competitors, but PSP has additional unique experience especially with enhanced stereos, Wi-Fi and video processing (Shukla & Thampy, 2011). Goals and Strategy The main objectives of the company s to design and deliver innovative and quality products that benefit the target consumers. In line with this, the company operates under a well-defined marketing objective of increasing the sales of the products in a way that delivers value of product and service to the Sony consumers worldwide. To reach this objective especially in the new market, the company will make use of a strategy that will involve the provision of moderately priced and quality products. The company will have to involve a wider range of customers and partners. By exploring more of the online market, the product will be easily accessible to many users because internet use in India has been on the increase. Further, the product will be advertised over the internet, in the media and also to the users of other Sony PlayStation versions. The product is expected to take up to 25% of the market share for Sony in the region with the main target being the Indian market. This gives an estimated annual sale of $1.2 million from the PSP alone in the first year alone. With enhanced advertisements and promotions, the sales are expected to increase by 13% in the second year and at least by 8% in the following 2 or three years. This gives an annual sale of more than $2.3 million by the fourth years in the market. Target Market The Product targets the Indian market. The global spending on technology last year was $2200, a 6.3% growth from that experienced in 2012. The Indian spending in the same period increased by over 10%. The IT industry in India is significantly divided into five main categories; software products, information technology services, engineering services, IT-enabled business services and hardware. Application development and maintenance has continued to be the main focus of the IT industry in the country, and the IT companies have contributed to more than half of the total revenue in the last two consecutive years (Kushner, 2006). Since the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century, the Indian IT market has experienced substantial growth rate. With a growth rate of 24% in the domestic market, the software industry is expected to boom in a few years. According to market reports, between 7 and 8 million Indians play console games regularly. This means that the entry of PSP will give the market a superior option, and it is expected to be absorbed well in the already established software market. However, it is expected that the PSP launch price in India will be a bit lower than the general price. This is because many of the Indians interviewed use price to compare console gaming. However, with such a large population, the Indian purchasing power parity can be sliced and diced into different economies altogether. This makes the market viable even with a lower entry price (Athreye, 2009). The lower entry price will also be an important incentive to move people towards embracing the PSP and leaving the competitors who are already in the market. With the introduction of gaming in mobile phones at a cheaper price, the estimated population of Indians who game regularly has currently increased to 60 million, up from 8 million three years ago. PSP is, therefore, targeting an even larger potential market that will compensate for the low introduction price. With the current features of PSP, it is clear that most of these people will like the deal, and Sony targets an initial market population of 30 million (Yu, 2013). Besides the competition from early-risers in the market, the Indian market offers several other risky situations for PSP and another software. First, the gaming software in India attract a heavier duty than other software. The duty has been reported to go up to a maximum of 24% of the product price which is higher than that of other software that is less than 20%. The implication of this is that for a product that is not yet established in the market, most of the initial revenue will go to the government. However, PSP is being introduced in the Indian market with this already known. The company will have to lay a strategy that will increase sales to ensure that the launching cost is covered. Secondly, with the competition and the pricing issues, the product may experience delays before it peaks in the market. Competitors In 2008, the gaming market globally was estimated at USD 36 billion, this was plotted to grow by 12% in five years. In India, this industry was estimated to be USD 167 million and plotted to grow by 50 % by the year 2012 to reach USD 830 million. In India, the main competitors for PSP are Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3. Currently, Sony enjoys a relatively market share in the country with an estimate of 48% share in the console gaming market. This share is attributed to the PS3 that is cheap and very competitive in the current market. Sony has used the strategy of reduced price and massive promotion of their products in the market. The PSP will be introduced with the expectation that it will take over the established market of PS3 and with the service of linking back to both PS2 and PS2, the product is expected to be a preference for most users. If this is achieved, the PSP will take over the market share currently held by PS3 in a few years (Grooveraider, 2010). Microsoft Xbox has a market share of 23% in India. The product is cheap and readily available. The major contributor to its wide acceptance is the fact that the product works well even in remote areas where connectivity is weak. Many people, therefore, opt to use Xbox due to this factor. Being a local product, the Xbox has also had a comparably better reputation among many of the users who feel that it has been designed for a ready market. Nintendo is also a major competitor in the industry. By being a new local product, the product enjoys a market share of 17%. It is low priced and majorly targets the consumers who are young and middle to low economic status. Since most of the gamers are young, 70% being 12-17 years old, the product is popular among these populations and seems to have a good future in the market. However, the only flaw with the product is that most of their games are for the young with no mature games available. Also, the product does not offer browsing services. The connectivity with the people and its direct relation serves as the main competition strategy (Grooveraider, 2010). There are other minor competitors in the industry whose market share are lower, but still instill a level of competition that is important to consider in selected populations. These include Sega, Atari, Konami, Viacom, Namco and THQ. Pricing For a product to get fully established in the market, the pricing strategy used should encourage the adoption by the people and compel people using other products to prefer the product. To price PSP in such a way that the Indian market will adopt it, Sony requires using a strategy that has not been used by others. First, the best strategy is to acquire the market share already taken by PS3, this will involve a promotion, which should be advertised in the PS3 to target the PS3 users, these users should be the first to get the PSP at a lower price in a process that will see them leave the PS3 product. Further, during the launch, the company should give free online play hours to the users. This will encourage more users to have an experience with the product before purchase. As a result, the advanced features of the new product will be tested by the target consumers which will boost their confidence in the product. Using already established channels can also help to ensure that the product reach a wider market (Conrad & Rodriguez, 2009). Discounts should be given to the entertainment industry who make a certain level of purchase. This will encourage many of the entertainment businesses to opt using PSP due to the discounted prices with bulk purchase. It also encourages people to purchase the products in bulk and then share or sell to others. Further, gift hampers to users should be introduced to encourage more people to purchase and use the product. As part of the plan, the company should offer monetary and commodity prizes to users who purchase the product in a kind of promotion that will encourage more people to buy the PSP. In addition, the company will offer free games with each purchase of the product to encourage people to buy the product. References Athreye, S. S. (2009). The Indian software industry and its evolving service capability. Industrial and Corporate Change, 14, 393–418. doi:10.1093/icc/dth056 Conrad, S., & Rodriguez, C. (2009). Forensic Analysis of the Sony Playstation Portable. Advances in Digital …, 119–129. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-04155-6_9 Grooveraider. (2010). Sony PlayStation - E3 1995 Keynote Speech - Los Angeles,CA - Part 2 of 3. Accident Analysis & Prevention. doi:10.1016/0001-4575(96)00005-X Kushner, D. (2006). Beating Sony at its own game. IEEE Spectrum, 43, 57–59. doi:10.1109/MSPEC.2006.1584363 Shukla, U. K., & Thampy, A. (2011). Analysis of competition and market power in the wholesale electricity market in India. Energy Policy, 39, 2699–2710. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.02.039 Yu, L. (2013). The market-driven software ecosystem. IT Professional, 15, 46–50. doi:10.1109/MITP.2012.102  Read More