Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Executive summary
Introduction
Results
Conclusion
Appendix A (questionnaire)
References
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report analyses the different concepts of brand management of PlayStation 3 Slim.
The primary data was collected from randomly selected individuals over a period of 2
weeks while the secondary data was collected through diverse sources such as books,
journals, newspapers and internet pages. The analysis reveals that consumers are very
satisfied about the value of the console, furthermore, according to the questionnaire
analysis, it shows that the brand Sony has a great and recognized position in the market
place. Moreover PlayStation 3 Slim has strong brand awareness; however this
awareness has been thanks to its previous versions such as PlayStation, PlayStation 2
and PlayStation 3.
INTRODUCTION
PlayStation 3 Slim is a game console from Sony Company which was released on the
first of September 2009 and is the expansion of PlayStation 3. PlayStation 3 Slim is
slimmer, lighter and cheaper and has better hardware than PlayStation 3. However,
PlayStation 3 Slim is more than a game console and has many features like games,
movies, songs, photos, networks, internet, video camera, PlayTV™ and videos. (Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe 2010)
Sony Company has the brand message of “Make. Believe” in 2010 which means Sony has
the power of creativity and turn ideas into actions. This brand message is the atttitude
which Sony is trying to promote and applies to PlayStation 3 Slim too. Furthermore,
from the branding perspectives, PlayStation 3 Slim has unique logo and design. The
name “PlayStation” also suggested what it is and therefore gives strong impression of
the brand. (Sony 2010)
The brand identity is how the business desires the brand to be perceived by the
customers (Aaker, 2000). It is important to construct a message in how to clearly show
the identity of the brand to the consumers. To be able to communicate the identity to
the consumers it is of great significance that the understanding of the brand identity,
within the company, is clear (Kapferer, 1998). Aperia and Back (2004) explain the
difference between brand identity and brand image in a concise way “brand identity is
thus the sum of signals sent by the company, while brand image is the picture of the
brand that emerges in the consumers' minds” (Aperia & Back, 2004).
Despite most Western cultures being regarded as materialist, they are not the only ones
subjected to this way of thinking. Wallendorf and Arnould (1988) demonstrate this by
arguing that “in both Western and non-western cultures, attachment to particular
favourite objects as symbols need not be viewed as something that is evil or bad,” as the
“adoption of alien objects was merely viewed as inevitable, if regrettable”
As part of the launch of the PlayStation 3 slim, the logo was changed from a notorious
Spider-Man font and capitalised PlayStation 3 to a more conventional
PlayStation and PlayStation 2 similar to PlayStation 3 logo with just PS3 stamped on the
console. Along with the console and logo redesign, the boot screen of all consoles
changed from Sony Computer Entertainment to "PS3 PlayStation 3". The cover art and
packaging of games has also been changed to reflect the redesign. PlayStation 3 Slim
logo is registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights are
reserved to their perspective owners.
BRAND IMAGE
According to Aaker (1991) brand images creates value for manufacturers in at least five
ways. First, brand images help consumers retrieve and process information. For
example, according to questionnaire we did, 23% gamers decided to purchase the PS3s
due to previous experience with other Sony console. It is clear that previous experience
gives people better information about new generation of PS3s. Second, brand images
provide a basis for differentiation and positioning of a product (Aaker, 1991). For
example, one of the leading products of Sony entertainment is PS3s which helps for
sales of products through free online gaming from its PS store. From the questionnaire
result, there are 34% gamers answered that good reputation of the brand strongly
differentiate the PS3s.
Third, brand images involve product attributes and customer benefits that give
consumers a reason to buy and use the brand (Aaker, 1991). For example, one clear
proof is the increase of millions of registered accounts on the PSN website, and ongoing
sales number of PS3s. Fourth, brand images create associations that produce positive
attitudes and feelings that are transferred to the brands (Aaker, 1991). For example,
Sony’s ads which used in PS3 Slim console shows the very interesting features to create
positive feelings toward target customers. Finally, brand images provide the basis for
product extensions, by creating a sense of fit between the brand and the new product,
or by giving consumers a reason to buy the new product. For example, the PS3s has got
worth having dualshock 3 wireless as standard, inbuilt wifi and free online gaming. The
gamer’s attitudes towards the PS3s extension and lower price than previous version has
been affected positively on sales number.
Prior studies show that when there is a fit between the extension and the parent brand,
the customers evaluate the extension more positively (Aaker and Keller, 1990).
BRAND LOYALTY
Every brand has strategy to keep the consumers loyal. Keeping up consumer taste is one
thing not to be forgotten far back, but in order to attract consumers all the time; brand
should be innovative as well. Sustaining the value is as important as being innovative
too. This is all brands look for.
It is very likely that customers will chose a brand that is similar to their personality. To
have a strong brand personality is important as it can increase the personal meaning of
a brand for an individual.
A brand can have positive or negative brand equity depending on whether consumers
react more or less positive to the marketing mix for a brand. The effect of brand equity
exist when a consumer is familiar with the brand and hold a unique and strong brand
associations in memory. A brand image consists of three features which are the
physical attributes, functional characteristics and characterisation. The last of these
three features are also reffered to as personality. Therefore it can be said that brand
personality is an essential part of brand image (Diamantopolus, Smith, and Grime,
2005). Consumers image of a brand can be affected by name, tradition, packaging,
advertising, promotion posture, pricing, customer satisfaction and repurchases
patterns. Strong brand equity makes it possible for companies to gain loyal customers
and provide them with the services they demand as well as increase their profit. By
offering value to customers and listening to their needs companies can increase the
brand equity.
BRAND VALUE
Brands are unique because they create value for both buyers and sellers. When brand
have high value that means it regarded as considerable assets to the organisation. The
value of a brand provides important equity to manufacturer. Brand value presents how
an organisation name or products name is perceived by the customer or target audience
in the market place. ‘Brand value is created by the relationships an organisation forms
throughout it enterprise, which includes many other stakeholders in addition to
customer, (Hatch, M and Schultz, M 2008). Firms can create brand value in many ways
such as through advertisements, quality and customer satisfaction, technology and
innovation. In Sony’s case, innovation and quality are the hallmarks of their
achievement. ‘Sony marketing executive T. Scott Edwards noted that the Sony value
proportion is innovation’ (Aaker, D 2004). According to Haberberg and Rieple (2008),
‘Sony has probably retained a lot of goodwill from gamers who loved their previous play
stations and who are strong believers in its innovative capabilities.’
Sony play Station 3 slim is a new innovative game console which more slimmer, lighter
and consume less power than other game console. It also has latest games with stunning
visual and audio quality and also displaying the latest movies with picture perfect
presentation. Sony play station slim 3 offer a world of online possibilities where user
can get multi player game, text and video message, voice chat and browsing the internet.
The survey shows that 73% users are very satisfied about the value of the play station
slim 3 and 77% users are very pleased about the quality of the product. The survey also
shows that most of the user bought it because it has latest game than the other game
consol. However, it assumes that Sony play station slim has a great brand value in the
market place.
BRAND PERCEPTION
Brand is essentially the sum of all experiences related to the product, service and
companies that make and deliver the product. Brand perceptions are shaped by
functional experiences (i.e. speed, quality, reliability, case of use) as well as emotional
experiences (i.e. make me feel better, improving my performance, make my life life/job
more gratifying or easier) the customer associates with the product and company.
Much has been written about the importance of usability and the user experience to
customer’s perception of an organization’s brand. “Branding and Usability” correctly
identifies the importance of brand experience has a direct correlation to positive brand
perception. To assess the current position of PS3 Slim brand among the consumers, it is
crucial to analyze how the brand is perceived, how the brand is evaluated and to what
extent consumers are committed to the brand. Perceive quality and emotional value
have been viewed as crucial factors in product perceptions (Batra and Ahtola).
Perceived quality is the consumer’s subjective evaluation of the product (Zeithaml,
1988). Perceived quality also provide value to consumers by providing them with a
reason to buy and differentiating the brand from competing brands. Emotional value is
defined as the benefit derived from the feelings or affective states (i.e. enjoyment or
pleasure) that a product generates (Sweeney and Soutar, 2001).
BRAND AWARENESS
Brand awareness is the key stage in branding. It is the starting point for consumers to
reach the brand. Consumers are unlikely to buy the product if they are not aware of the
brand. (Riezebos 2003) Therefore, this part of the analysis will focus on the brand
awareness of PlayStation 3 Slim.
According to Forrester's report in 2006, the survey which is based on mail and has
10,000 respondents found that 72% of consumers in North America have heard of
PlayStation 3 Slim and 6 % planned to buy it. However, the final feature set, release date
and price was not released when Forrester conducted this survey. ( Forrester Research
2010) Hence, this shows that PlayStation 3 Slim had strong brand awareness for North
America in 2006. On the other hand, there are some issue of the survey. Firstly, the
survey is not updated as it was conducted in 2006. Also, mail survey might have the
disadvantage of sending the survey only to people with high literacy levels or with
specific interest and therefore might have biased result. Furthermore, PlayStation 3
Slim has certain ways to raise the awareness of it. First of all, consumers can see the
commercial advertisement on the TV.
Secondly, according to PlayStation.Blog, it gives the information about the release date
of new games and their illustrations and description, news and updates of the game
console for PlayStation series game console. In addition, the users of the website are
able to ask questions and give comments and reviews to the post which they are
interested in. (PlayStation Blog 2010) Therefore, this also a way to increase the
awareness. Thirdly, T3.com is an online magazine which provides information about
gadgets and their features, news and reviews. Thus, customers can obtain information
from T3.com and lead to brand awareness. (T3 magazine Online 2010) However, based
on our primary data, 15% of the respondents bought the PlayStation 3 Slim because of
popularity. Therefore, this shows that the method they use to increase the awareness of
PlayStation 3 Slim is not very effective. Moreover, this might be stemmed from the fact
that the channels of communication PlayStation 3 Slim has such as PlayStation.Blog and
Online gadgets magazine are mainly focused on the hardcore gamer segment.
Additionally, 97% of the users in the survey will recommend their friends to play
PlayStation 3 Slim. This indicates that this is a significant way to increase the awareness
of PlayStation 3 Slim.
BRAND ASSOCIATION
Brand association is not the reason in which consumers buy the PlayStation 3 Slim but it
gives identity and differentiates PlayStation 3 Slim from other game consoles. (Heding
et al. 2009)
There are three general types of brand association which are attributes, benefits and
attitudes. In the category of attributes, there are product related and non-product
related attributes. Product related attributes is like some food are healthy, pure and
natural. On the other hand, some products are associated with adult or child and this is
non-product related. Secondly, there are three category under the benefit type of brand
association and they are functional, experimental and symbolic. Lastly, attitudes type of
association is like the lifestyle which the brand is promoting. For example, PlayStation 3
Slim has the brand message of Make.Believe. (Heding et al. 2009)
From the survey, 100% of the respondents agreed that PlayStation 3 Slim is more
expensive than it should be. This means that PlayStation 3 Slim is associated with
expensive price and this is a negative brand association. Thus, Sony company might
need to alter the pricing strategy in order to satisfy the customers.
Moreover, 44% of the users in the survey thought that the good quality of PlayStation 3
Slim has differentiated it from other game consoles. Therefore, PlayStation 3 Slim is
associated with good quality. Furthermore, it is supposed to be associated with slim but
only 20% of the users in the survey agreed that it is differentiated from other game
consoles because it is slimmer.
RESULTS
Figure 1
AGE
31 to 35 Under 20
26% 10%
20 to 30
64%
Figure 2
Gender
Female Male
33%
67%
Figure 3
Ocupation
Student employee
39%
61%
Figure 4
YES
80%
Figure 4.1
44%
38%
Figure 5
relevance
17%
Quality of the games
31%
Price
9%
diversity of games
10%
The remaining graphs only applied for to those who own a PlayStation 3 Slim.
BRAND IMAGE
Figure 6
Other
1%
Other
6% The types of the games
19%
The price
2% The popularity of the brand
20%
BRAND LOYALTY
Figure 8
YES
70%
Figure 8.1
Don't know
30%
Xbox 360
44%
Nintendo Wii
26%
Figure 9
No satisfied
10%
Satisfied
30% Very satisfied
60%
Figure 10
YES
97%
Figure 11
Around 5
48%
BRAND POSITION
Figure 12
Satisfied No satisfied
20% 3%
Very satisfied
77%
BRAND VALUE
Figure 13
Very satisfied
73%
Figure 12
Very satisfied
64%
Figure 13
No satisfied
8%
Satisfied
27%
Very satisfied
65%
Figure 14
Satisfied
46%
Figure 15
Types of games
28%
Popularity
28%
CONCLUSIONS
Sony Playstation 3 should try to use the components of corporate visual identity in
order to communicate their personality to their potential customers. Slogans will help
associate the brand to techno innovation. Through the use of webpage Sony PlayStation
3 Slim can communicate the desired features more effectively. Hence Sony PlayStation
3 must identify the personality of the brand, see that the company objectives are hand
in hand with the dimensions and lastly use the elements of corporate visual identity
system to communicate the personality to both customers and employees.
Appendix A
QUESTIONNAIRE
PlayStation 3 Slim
Age
o Under 20
o 20 to 30
o 31 to 35
o 36-40
o Over 40
Gender
o female
o Male
Occupation
o Student
o Employee
If you own any game console, why did you purchase that
particular one?
o Brand image
o Relevance
o Price
o Other ______________________
BRAND IMAGE
BRAND LOYALTY
BRAND POSITION