Professional Documents
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Sony Blu-Ray Campaign
Sony Blu-Ray Campaign
Bryan Dickey
Summer 2007
Table of Contents
Page
Introduction
Innovation Analysis
Campaign Analysis
Competition
Conclusion
Bibliography
2
Introduction
video, communications, video games and information technology products for the
and is based in Japan. They have annual sales of over $70 billion with over $18
billion being in the United States. They also view themselves as innovators in
the consumer electronics industry. They were the first company to make
portable music players popular with their Walkman line. They also were co-
developers of the Compact Disc (CD) and the Digital Video Disc (DVD).
Sony Corporation has recently rolled out their newest and perhaps most
important product innovation in the last few years. This innovation is a successor
to the DVD. The Blu-Ray Disc will allow high definition media to be placed on a
disc and played back through the help of a Blu-Ray Disc player. Both of these
products are tied together to be successors to the huge DVD market which is
currently the standard for consumers watching movies at home. Sony has
created a very large scale campaign to help Blu-Ray to become the industry and
consumer standard.
This paper will set out to analyze and critique Sony’s campaign strategies
to put Blu-Ray on top. This will be done in regard to Rogers’ Four Main Elements
in the Diffusion of Innovations. This paper will analyze the Blu-ray technology
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many channels), when each element of the campaign will roll out (over time) and
Sony’s target audience (the members of the social system) (Rogers p.11)
. The competition that Sony’s Blu-ray technology will face in the form of HD DVD
and how that plays into their campaign will also be addressed.
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Innovation Analysis
Blu-ray disc technology. This includes the discs themselves as well as any
optical disc format, similar to a DVD, for the storage of digital media. The main
function of the technology is the ability of the format to store and play high-
definition video. High definition video and audio content is the new wave
technology for home audio and video. High Definition televisions (HDTVs), which
are capable of showing content in the high definition format, are growing in
households will have at least one high definition television, and fewer and fewer
non-HD televisions are being sold. This type of technology will be the standard
Blu-ray players can play Blu-ray discs on the HDTVs at full resolution in
full high definition video and sound. These discs are made up of a high density
format optical disc used for the storage of digital media, most notably high
definition video. The name of the disc comes from the blue-violet laser that is
used to read and write the discs. The innovation is intended to replace DVD
technology. The Blu-ray discs can hold a substantial amount more data than that
of a DVD. For example, a dual layer DVD can hold about 8.5 gigabytes while a
Blu-ray disc can hold about 50 gigabytes. This large amount of extra storage on
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a similar sized disc is what allows the high definition media to be placed on it and
the future technology will give consumers access to discs with more layers
allowing up to 250 gigabytes on a single disc. These discs have been created
but can currently only be utilized using players not intended for release.
To utilize this new high definition technology, consumers must also have a
Blu-ray disc player. It will allow them to watch Blu-ray disc movies and record
onto the Blu-ray discs. The Blu-ray Disc Association has also recommends to
technology so that consumers DVD’s can still be utilized on their new players,
albeit, in standard definition. The last use of Blu-ray discs is for Sony’s gaming
console, the Playstation 3. All games on the Playstation 3 utilize the Blu-ray
technology and also allow the gaming console to serve as a Blu-ray movie
player. More will be discussed about the influence of the Playstation 3 in the
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Target Audience Analysis
Sony has a target audience for the Blu-ray disc technology. The target
audience for this technology is actually everyone who currently owns a DVD
player. The technology is the next step in the evolution of the home theater
experience and it is akin to the complete transfer from VHS technology to DVD
players. This number has grown from the number of households that had DVD
players in 1999, at 6.7%. Sony is hoping to take over this market with a
The campaign that Sony has planned for Blu-ray must take into account
Innovators
individuals and families that pay attention to the technology market. They want
to always have the newest technology available and are able and willing to pay
(p.282). They then become people of a more cosmopolite nature. The have a
large enough set of funds that they may comfortably take risk on new technology
and they often have a flair for things that others may seem as risky. This group
will already have the HDTV that Blu-ray requires for functionality.
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Early Adopters
The early adopters in the technology market also pay close attention to
new things in the technology market. They will likely already own HDTVs and
have the funds to purchase the Blu-ray player when they come out in stores.
They are also likely to be well respected in their local communities and are often
opinion leaders for their peers. This group can help trigger the critical mass by
Sony’s side when they have to deal with any competition as will be discussed
later.
Early Majority
technology market but wants to wait a bit to see how things are going. They are
the group of people who adopt just before the average member of the group
does. This group interacts with their peers in the group but is rarely an opinion
leader (Rogers, p.283). This group also is very important to address for Sony’s
Blu-ray campaign. They make up a third of all members in the group and
therefore the key in getting greater adoption of the system as a whole, which is
Late Majority
states, “The late majority adopt new ideas just after the average member of a
system (p.284).” When it comes to the Blu-ray technology, members of the late
majority will likely wait until a large number of their friends have had the players,
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they have been able to see them in action, and/or the price has come down to
Laggards
The laggards are the last to take on a new technology. They are the most
traditional group and they possess no opinion leadership in this group (Rogers,
284). They will likely wait to take on the technology until the price has come
down significantly, availability is high, and bugs are completely worked out. They
are also likely to wait until they have no choice but to adopt. Laggards in this
target audience are likely to be currently moving from VHS technology to DVD
and will not likely think about Blu-ray for quite some time. This group will need to
The target audience is so large that there is a large difference between the
innovators and the laggards. This difference will denote a campaign that has
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Campaign Analysis
Sony has put together a large and well planned marketing campaign to
move Blu-ray to the forefront of High Definition technology. Mike Fasulo is the
Chief Marketing Officer at Sony and has responsibility for making the campaign a
comprehensive campaign that informs consumers without confusing them with all
of the technology changes that are currently on the cusp for audio and video
digital signal, High Definition televisions are taking their place in homes, HD
Sony wants to have HDTV be the "umbrella" under which all of Sony's
marketing efforts will fall. Fasulo said the company's diffusion campaign will
encompass all of their HD-related products. They hope that one campaign for all
related HD products will be more clear and easy for the consumer to relate to.
Fasulo also stated last June that Sony's marketing efforts will extend across all
media, including print, billboards, television, "live" events and the internet. These
segments are what make up the public advertising part of their campaign. To
truly reach their target audience there is much more to the campaign than just
advertising. There is effort in timing, partners, and movies that are extremely
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Timing
This campaign by Sony for its Blu-ray technology started long ago when it
was developed in 2002 as a successor to DVD. The early version of Blu-ray was
not intended to home video used and instead for business archiving and storage.
It was not long before Sony realized it could be turned into a successor to DVD.
One of the important parts of being a successful innovator in the technology field
is being first to the market with the technology. This is where Sony had the first
major misstep in their campaign. On March 31, 2006 in Japan and April 18, 2006
in the United States, the first high definition movie player hit the market in the
Partners
needed to have movie studios on board so that movies will be released in the
new format. They also need hardware producers to want to build players so that
there is more access for customers in the market. Sony has made good
The movie studios that are partners with Sony are MGM, 20th Century
Fox, Disney, and Lionsgate. All of these companies have agreed to release
their movies exclusively in Blu-ray format for the next generation of technology.
Warner Brothers and Paramount are also producing movies in Blu-ray format
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although not exclusively. With these companies combined seven of the eight
major movie studios are producing movies on Blu-ray discs. This is a good
measure by Sony to increase the level of diffusion in the market. The more
access to the movies that the target audience wants to see that are available in
Samsung, Apple Inc, Panasonic, Dell, and HP amongst many other are
partners with Sony in the hardware department. Samsung was the first to have a
Sony should have had the first player available since it is their name that is most
associated with Blu-ray. It seems strange to the target audience that the
developer of the technology cannot get a player out quickly with few bugs. It
would have been better if Sony had put out the first Blu-ray player with Samsung
and others following shortly or even on the same day. Since they had already
been beaten to market in timing by their competitor, a more solid official rollout
Retailers are another group of partners that are difficult to secure but can
had been renting both HD DVD and Blu-ray in 250 stores until recently.
Beginning in July 2007, Blockbuster Video will carry only Blu-ray in 1,450 of its
stores. The original 250 will still carry both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Their online
delivery service will also carry both formats. While renting movies online is
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growing, the more traditional segment of the market starting with the early
majority and then moving to the late majority will likely see the ability to rent Blu-
ray movies from Blockbuster as positive sign. It would likely take Blockbuster to
fully switch to Blu-ray from DVD for the laggards to change. Target, while not a
partner, has picked up Sony’s Blu-ray player as the sole standalone HD movie
player to be currently sold in stores. This means if you want to buy a HD player
and you go to Target your only choice will be Blu-ray. This will be long with
Movie Campaign
This point in the campaign Sony is beginning to court the early majority.
At this point many of their opinion leaders have Blu-ray players at home and now
they themselves are deliberating on a purchase of one. They just need to know
that it is truly right for them. This is where the next phase of Sony’s campaign
comes in to sway them the final bit they need as the innovation is already set to
hugely popular DVD technology. Movies that can be watched in the comfort of
the consumer’s home are very popular. This must be a major part to Sony’s
campaign for them to be successful and it appears that this is well integrated into
their plan. The early majority of the target audience wants to get the player but
they also want to know that they watch most of their favorite movies on it. Some
of last summer’s as well as this summer’s most popular movies will be released
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solely on Blu-ray including the Spiderman franchise, the James Bond Franchise,
Pirates of the Caribbean, all Disney/Pixar films, and the Da Vinci Code. This is
where the partnerships with the movie studios and Blockbuster are so important.
Another aspect to the campaign that is just beginning in July 2007 is free
movies. Sony is giving away 5 free Blu-ray movies with the purchase of a Blu-
ray player between July and September 2007. The consumers will be able to
choose which movies they would like from about 20 films. While the limitation of
Another tactic of the movie campaign is to have the most movies available
in Blu-ray format. Sony may have been beaten to the market but they have been
are 302 movies available on Blu-ray disc. As of July 3, 2007 there had been 241
consumers will factor in the number of available titles into their purchasing
decisions.
Media Events
showcase it latest innovation to the public and Sony tried to take advantage of
this type of opportunity. In June of 2006, Sony set up a series of media events at
the company’s high-end Sony Style boutique stores in the top 10 U.S. markets.
These events were invitation only. Invitations went out to members of the press,
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their target audience to Blu-ray for the first time. The members were primarily
people who are on the cutting edge and want to try any new technology they
begin the diffusion process. By having these events in the top ten U.S. markets
they are catching more of the early adopted group and not just solely the
innovators. These localites will be more likely to be the opinion leaders that will
eventually lead to Blu-ray reaching critical mass, which is “the point in which
These media events also serve to inform greater parts of target group
such as the rest of early adopters and the early majority. The members of the
press that were present went home to write about the new Blu-ray product line in
information to the public informs them of the new technologies existence even if
they are not ready to even consider the purchase of it. Knowledge plays a very
Internet Campaign
Association, which includes more than 170 of Sony’s partners, has set up an
extensive information site at blu-raydisc.com. This site can provide anyone who
visits with all the information that they would need to become very informed
about what Blu-ray technology has to offer. It has information about movies and
music available and coming soon, information about all available players,
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technical information, industry information, press and event information, and
source for consumers to go to. It is also very easy to navigate. One of the few
flaws that I saw with the website was that in the upcoming events page, there
way an event listed that happened more than two month prior to my accessing
the site. This may give consumers the feeling that Blu-ray Disc Association is not
consumers can create their own ads for Sony Blu-ray products. This puts the
consumers into a creative control position and will further spread interest
innovator and early adopter groups who are most likely to create these ads. The
opportunities for prizes such as free Blu-ray players will serve to further
web. Some of these ads are similar to their print ads and are on the companion
sites to the magazines they are featured in. There are also internet video ads
that have been developed for popular sites such as YouTube.com. Each way
that they access new technology to advertise the brand, Sony is more likely to
gain interest from the target market that is interested in new technology.
Television Campaign
program the ad is paired with. Sony began its television campaign correctly by
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again first going for innovators, early adopters, and some of the early majority of
the similar HDTV market. On November 17th, 2006, Sony began airing
channels. These commercials also showed scenes from popular movies that are
On July 3, 2007, Sony aired its first regular television commercial for Blu-
interest rather than sell a product. This is the start of the public marketing
campaign for the majority of the market. They are taking the first step for these
sectors by trying to peak interest in the new technology and let consumers know
Earnhardt Jr. will begin appearing in television ad campaigns for Blu-ray, HDTVs,
and Playstation 3 (5). This move can be good and bad for Sony. It is bad
because they are not really in the point in their campaign where this tactic will
necessarily help. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not likely to be the opinion leader for
many people in this high tech focused market. Earnhardt Jr. is the most popular
driver in the most watched sport NASCAR, not necessarily the most tied to high
technology and advancement. This can be a good move for Sony however, as
he may be an opinion leader in a cosmopolite sense to the late majority and the
laggards.
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Print Campaign
campaign for Blu-ray. Even though print readership has been in a considerable
decline for sometime, Sony has not ruled it out. Advertisements have been taken
out in major magazines and newspapers. This includes mostly popular lifestyle
such as Home Theater, Home Entertainment, and Wired (3). This will target
those that are of a higher income level as well as those who are early adopters of
new technology. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will also begin appearing in the print ads for
Blu-ray and Playstation 3 as he does in the television ads mentioned above (5).
Playstation 3 Campaign
Sony also makes a line of very successful gaming consoles known as the
console ever having sold almost 120 million units worldwide (4). Playstation 3
drive and ensure that all games would utilize the new Blu-ray technology. All
2 discs, and DVDs. Sony felt that a big opportunity to get more Blu-ray units out
to the consumers would be to tie it to Playstation 3 and tap into the huge existing
market.
Many may argue that this was a huge mistake as doing so drove the price
of Playstation 3 so high that many Playstation 2 owners were priced out of the
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market. This may have been a major mistake in terms of getting Playstation 3 to
as many people in that market as possible but not so in terms of proliferating Blu-
ray technology.
Currently there have been almost 4.5 million units of Playstation 3 sold
world wide. This number is very small compared to the number of units of
Playstation 2 but it means that there are 4.5 million additional Blu-ray players in
Where is Sony going in the future of this campaign? No one can be sure.
This information is top secret insider information that they are keeping from their
Sony and the Blu-ray Disc Association have planned next it is more clear the
For Blu-ray to take hold indefinitely, Sony is on the right path. All of their
efforts in the different areas of their campaign are heading in the right direction.
They need to keep getting studios to release their libraries in Blu-ray. The
greater the gap between the number of titles for HD DVD and Blu-ray the better.
The Blu-ray Disc Association needs to better update its site and keep it
monitored.
There are some things Sony should do that they are not currently doing.
Sony should invest in a large and dynamic website experience that shows the
excitement of watching movies with superior picture and sound. Currently, the
website is informative but boring. They should also do all they can to work with
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the Blu-ray Disc Association members to be the first to market the high definition
player for under $200. This is the magic number for many consumers in the
target audience of the early and late majority. Once the price dips below this
important to get to this price point before the competition as it puts the
technology in the range of affordability for most consumers. Prices of the Blu-ray
discs should also come down as more consumers purchase the players. Over
years the price of Blu-ray needs to come down to the level of DVD on discs and
players. This will help bring the more traditional laggards into the fold.
both HD and normal channels. As the number of household with HDTVs rises,
the number of people who will consider Blu-ray will rise. People currently watch
much of their television on normal channels on their HDTVs. These people need
to be targeted. Another reason that this campaign still has a long uphill battle is
the lack of compatibility with current televisions and the need for the target
Another thing that they should consider is lowering the price of Playstation
3 to the level of its primary competitor, the X-Box 360. This will make it easier for
that system to compete in its market and therefore get more Blu-ray players into
homes.
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Competition
lived that most consumers do not even notice. An example that is along the
subject of this paper is that of the MultiMedia Compact Disc. This product was
created at the same time as the Super Density Disc that went on to become what
we know as the DVD. No one remembers the competition that occurred shortly
between two formats of the same type of technology, they just remember DVD
replacing VHS. It was a smooth transition for consumers. There are also times
when the competition is much fiercer. Most people over the age of 25 remember
VHS versus Betamax in the 1980’s. There was a proprietary battle between two
formats of video cassette tape that would allow consumers to watch movies as
well as record them. Consumers were faced with a tough choice of either risking
picking the losing format or waiting until one format was the winner. In this case,
going on with the new high definition video disc technology. Sony has created
different access to the same innovation of high definition movies and recording
capabilities at home.
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Toshiba has created a similar technology for use of playing and recording
high definition media. It is called High Definition Digital Video Disc or HD DVD.
gigabytes per layer or about 30 GB on a dual layer disc. This is compared to the
50 GB on a dual layer Blu-ray disc. Also similar to Blu-ray, all HD DVD players
are backward compatible with DVDs as well as the same size. Both companies
seem to have come up with their own ways to achieve the same innovation in
technology.
Toshiba began its campaign to make their technology the industry and
with their technology. This HD DVD Promotion Group Member List, as they are
called, includes Toshiba, Microsoft, NEC, RCA, Kenwood, Intel, Sanyo, and
releasing their movies solely on HD DVD are Universal Studios, The Weinstein
Company, and First Look Studios. There are other companies and studios that
produce movies in both formats and have yet to determine if they will offer
One of the major differences between the two formats is that the
Playstation 3’s main competitor the X-Box 360 does not utilize the HD DVD
technology for its games although an extra cost add-on will allow it to play HD
DVD movies. Microsoft has said this was because the addition of HD DVD to the
X-Box 360 would have pushed back development time, increased consumer
cost, and created more issues with game developers. This has lead to a
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substantial advantage for X-Box 360 over Playstation 3 in that market. This may
pan out better for Sony in the long run if Blu-ray does “win.” Playstation 3 may
then reach its critical mass much slower than X-Box 360 and in the end take
over.
Although simple and not likely to play a big factor in the proliferation of
either technology, naming does play a role in the acceptance of consumers. The
successor to televisions as we have known them since the color TV is the High
Definition television or HDTV. Even though most consumers do not yet have one
of these they are familiar with the name. Toshiba has a big win in this area with
the name of their high definition movie technology. In the minds of the average
consumer the name HD DVD is a simple as self explanatory name for the
successor of DVD technology. The average consumer who has not yet been
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Conclusion
Sony has created a large innovation to the home audio and video market
with their Blu-ray technology. They have followed Rogers’ model and taken into
account the Four Main Elements in the Diffusion of Innovations, creating the
Sony and the Blu-ray Disc Association would like Blu-ray to completely
replace DVD technology and be the sole format in the next generation. This may
not happen however. There are currently manufacturers working on making cost
effective dual format players that can play both the Blu-ray format as well as HD
DVD. As of right now there is only one dual format player on the market that
lacks some of the functionality of each format and costs more than the price of a
technology becomes cheap enough Bly-ray and HD DVD may have to compete
solely on movie library which is another reason for Blu-ray to continue to focus on
that area.
Sony’s campaign may have some flaws but overall their campaign has a
solid plan that seems to point in the direction of success. They face heavy
call a format “winner” either way, although Blu-ray has pulled ahead in the United
States. Their campaign is set to diffuse the innovation but only time will tell when
consumers in the large target market will be ready to take on the innovation.
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(Jun 26, 2007). Sony signs Earnhardt, Jr. for new Blu-ray marketing push.
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/High-Def_Disc_Marketing/High-
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