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Home , Masaru Ibuka, Norio Ohga

THE MARKET a very small group of young peo- Corporation is a leading man- ple with the energy and passion for ufacturer of audio, video, communi- unlimited creation. cations, and information technology This passion and creativity products for the consumer and pro- eventually led to the development of fessional markets. Additionally, the Sony’s TV in 1968, which company’s music, motion picture, set the world standard for high -production, game, and quality in home theater products. online businesses make Sony one of As a proponent of global oper- the most comprehensive entertain- ations based on a local presence, ment companies in the world. Morita set up manufacturing plants all over the world. Its Trinitron® ACHIEVEMENTS color television assembly plant Today, Sony employs almost 170,000 in San Diego, California, built in people worldwide, with almost 1972, was the first consumer elec- 22,000 working in the United States. tronics manufacturing facility built For fiscal year 2001, Sony Corpor- in the United States by a Japanese- ation had total sales of more than based company. $56.9 billion, with the electronics Morita’s deep confidence in segment making up more than two- another legendary Sony product, thirds of the revenues. the personal stereo, was Sony Electronics Inc. (SEL), the key factor in its ultimate formerly known as Sony Corpor- success. While retailers were ation of America, was established in initially resistant, the Walkman 1960 to oversee Sony’s sales and stereo’s compact size and excel- marketing activities in the United lent sound quality attracted con- States. Today, Sony’s U.S. opera- sumers, ultimately igniting the tions include research and develop- personal audio revolution. ment, design, engineering, manufacturing, sales, Through Ibuka’s persistence, the magnetic Kazuo Iwama was a detail-oriented person, marketing, distribution, and customer service. tape recorder evolved into the Model P (for admired for his scientific knowledge and disci- Sony has become not just the market leader in “Portable”), which became the company’s first pline. He was made president of Sony in 1976, consumer electronics but through research and profitable product. and became thoroughly involved in developing development it has made considerable inroads in When the company obtained licensing rights the “charged coupled device” or CCD, which the areas of professional broadcasting, mobile to the from Western Electric in 1953, paved the way for the camcorder and digital still communications, personal computers, storage, Ibuka urged his engineers to improve production camera. While he was president, Sony launched media, and now, the Internet. methods with the goal of creating a transistor the ® video cassette recorder and the As a corporation, Sony has convergence at its radio. The introduction of the TR-55, ’s first player, another Sony innovation that very heart. Driven by an integrated business , in 1955 led to Sony’s 1957 launch changed the way people listened to music. model, the company is positioned to bring new of the world’s first pocket transistor radio, benefits to consumers by combining hardware, establishing a market leadership position , content, and services. for the company. was a true marketing HISTORY pioneer who was instrumental not Sony founders and Akio Morita only in making Sony a global brand complemented each other with a unique blend of but also in creating the name itself. product innovation and marketing savvy. With the firm establishing itself in In 1950, in postwar Japan, Ibuka and Morita the United States and other foreign created Sony’s first hardware device: a tape player/ markets, he suggested to Ibuka that recorder called the G-TYPE recorder. Materials the original name of Tsushin were so scarce that the first tapes were made of Kogyo be changed to one that was paper with hand-painted magnetic material. easily pronounceable and recog- Ibuka was a practical visionary who could fore- nized. “Sony” was created to evoke tell what products and technologies could be simultaneously the concepts of the applied to everyday life. He inspired a spirit of inno- Latin sonus, “sonic,” and “sonny,” vation in his engineers and fostered an exciting meaning little son. The combina- working atmosphere and an open corporate culture. tion conveyed the reality of Sony as

80 THE PRODUCT Sony will utilize a more “U(ser)-centric” Throughout its history, Sony has demonstrated an marketing strategy by developing innova- ability to capture people’s imaginations and tive products that meet the needs of con- enhance their lives. The company has been at the sumers in each segment. cutting edge of technology for more than 50 Using an unprecedented approach to years, positively impacting the way we live. Sony Electronics advertising, each seg- Further, few companies are as well posi- ment created an ad campaign targeted tioned to drive the digital age into homes to their audience. Through print ads, and businesses around the world for the television commercials, direct mail, next 50 years and beyond. and the Internet, Sony educates con- Sony innovations have become sumers on how to integrate technology part of mainstream culture. Today, into their everyday lives. Sony continues to fuel industry growth with the sale of innovative products, as BRAND VALUES well as through the company’s conver- In the company’s annual welcoming gence strategy. ceremony for new employees, Chairman Sony’s approach is to make it possible for of the Board cited Sony’s consumers to enjoy various forms of content — strength in these words: “We have many both on “home networks,” consisting of connected marvelous assets here. The most valuable electronic devices, and “mobile networks” that are asset of all are the four letters, S-O-N-Y. Make accessible through mobile terminals. sure the basis of your actions is increasing the Sony’s vision is to give consumers easy, ubiq- was responsible for Sony’s image campaign, “Do value of these four letters. In other words, when uitous access to entertainment and information you dream in Sony?” and helped coin the term you consider doing something, you must consider anytime, anywhere. The concept of seamless con- “digital dream kids.” The premise of the campaign whether your action will increase the value of nectivity and interaction between products and was to provide shareholders, customers, employ- Sony, or lower its value.” the network has been termed as the “Ubiquitous ees, and business partners who come into con- Sony’s brand equity is Value Network.” This technology platform aims tact with Sony with the opportunities to rooted in product innova- to offer customers content and services that match create and fulfill their dreams. tion. To ensure the future their unique lifestyles and values. Sony has also given consumers reasons to of the brand, part of the In the future, look for Sony to create entirely visit the Internet with SonyStyle.com, a one- company’s role is to foster new forms of entertainment, blending movies, stop-Sony consumer product shop within a a common understanding computer-generated worlds, games, and music. unique, world-class Sony shopping experience. of the Sony brand among Sony has the vision, technology, and content to employees, retailers, and forge a direction in consumer entertainment that PROMOTION consumers. A well-known no other company can match. In 2002, Sony Electronics launched an phrase among Sony employ- innovative marketing strategy ees is: “The Sony brand is RECENT DEVELOPMENTS designed to educate con- central to everything we Norio Ohga was responsible for bringing Sony sumers about Sony are and everything into the modern age and injecting it with a unique products by analyzing we do.” sense of style through product planning, stylish their purchasing prefer- The com- product design, and innovative marketing. During ences. After extensive pany’s desire his tenure as president from 1982 to 1995, Sony research, Sony is focus- is to establish was transformed from an ing on the following a new Sony — electronics company into a consumer segments: a customer-centric total entertainment company Affluents, Alphas or entity centered around through the establishment early adopters, Gen Y, broadband entertainment, of the music, pictures, and Young Professionals yet driven by the venture of gaming business. (Gen X), Families, Sony’s founding days. Sony acquired CBS “Zoomers” (empty-nester Records in 1988 and Colum- baby boomers 55 years and older), and SOHO bia Pictures in 1989, which (small office, home office). Based on these tar- THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT today are Enter- get segments, products were grouped together to SONY tainment (SME) and Sony reach consumers more efficiently as they Pictures Entertainment (SPE), explore their passions and hobbies. ❍ Sony’s first product was a rice cooker. two of the world’s largest The quick evolution of digital technol- ❍ content producers. ogy has made it difficult to maintain Sony established its first major overseas Through Ohga’s persist- product differentiation in the market. operation in New York City (514 Broadway) in 1960 with a capital investment of $500,000. ence, the Sony PlayStation As Sony Electronics President and game console was launched in COO Fujio Nishida stated, “Times ❍ Sony became the first Japanese company in Japan in 1994 and worldwide in are changing and we need to the United States to make a public offering 1995 in a market dominated by change with them. We need to of 2 million shares of common stock in the Nintendo and Sega game systems. With combine our power of tech- form of American Depository Receipts the PlayStation game console and, nology with the power of (ADRs) in 1961. more recently, PlayStation2, marketing, to make Sony ❍ Before the Walkman personal stereo became Sony has become the most suc- a company that stands a worldwide brand name, it was introduced cessful game manufacturer ever. apart from the compe- under a variety of names, including the , current chairman and tition.” The market seg- Soundabout in the United States, the CEO, played a key role in moving Sony into the ment approach will shift Stowaway in the United Kingdom, and the digital network era by emphasizing the integration efforts from product- Freestyle in Australia. of audiovisual and information technology. He centric to consumer-centric.

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