Abstract
Because of a tough competition with the Xbox, Microsoft’s brainchild, Playstation is trying desperately to attract more customers with new services, and the recent launch of the Sony PlayStation TV micro-console is an obvious proof for that.
Though the console clearly deserves to be viewed as a decent product for the target market, it is still obvious that the company’s goal was not to attract new customers, but to reclaim its position within the global market and be able to compete with Microsoft once again. The lack of concern for the quality of the product gives a lot of reasons for concern; for the company to regain its position within the global market, an introduction of a new brand of an outstandingly high quality is required.
Introduction
Despite the fact that the new product launched by Sony was supposed to become the key tool in its problem-solving strategy, the TV Micro-Console does not seem to help the current situation. This occurs not only because the new product does not suit the standards for global orientation, but also because the company is clearly using the launch and the excitement around it in order to distract the target audience from its obvious financial problems, which may fail as a marketing plan for the company.
Problem Solving and Global Orientation: The Failed Attempt
One of the most peculiar things about Sony’s marketing plan is that it can be viewed as both a success (though admittedly a dubious one) and a major failure. Though Sony’s new product is by no means a breakthrough, it cannot be called a complete marketing flop. The great irony of the situation, however, concerns the fact that Sony may have actually succeeded in their marketing plan, as long as the plan was to distract the target customers from the current problems within the organisation (Crossley, 2014).
Nevertheless, from the perspective of problem solving, the marketing plan developed by the organisation and presupposing the launch of a new product as the key strategy does nothing. The recent reviews define the product as mediocre and rather half-baked, which means that the company only managed to stress the problems that it is fighting with now.
The marketing plan developed by the company also seems to have failed at creating the premises for making the company financially stable within the realm of the global market. Competing in the global environment is not an easy task, especially when having to face such competitors as Microsoft, which has recently updated its Xbox brand to meet the new requirements of the target audience (Vincent, 2014).
The product and the marketing plan discussed above can also be viewed as a rather graphic example of a more or less successful global orientation. Indeed, much to the surprise of the critics, the product itself seems to be quite fit for the global market, with the interface that allows for the users from all over the world to understand the principles of its operation easily, and the price that can be considered affordable in most countries of the world where the company’s customers are located.
It should be noted that the introduction of the product was followed by a major issue concerning the worldwide connection (Phillips, 2014); therefore, the organisation needed to regain its status as a company providing impeccable services quickly.
The launch of the TV Micro-Console did address the problem in a very efficient manner; on the one hand, Sony has shown that it still had the potential for being in the industry, yet, on the other hand, the quality of the product clearly does not hold up to Sony’s standards (PlayStation TV: A microconsole with big ambitions, 2014).
Therefore, although the marketing plan that Sony adopted in 2014 could have worked for an organisation of a smaller scale, the lack of cohesion and the quality of the console disclosed the organisation’s actual intentions and, thus, devalued the product.
Conclusion
There is no need to stress the fact that the marketing plan developed by Sony, which is desperate for recovering from the recent financial shock, is far from being efficient. The issues discussed above have a direct link to module marketing, as they revolve around the dubious marketing strategy that Sony has chosen in order to promote its new device and retain its popularity among the target audience.
Although the new product did get the attention of the target customers for a moment, the flaws of the product made the financial situation of the company even more desperate. Sony’s case is a graphic example of a marketing plan done wrong; every single detail starting with the goal of the plan is flawed from the bottom to the top.
Focusing on the distraction strategy instead of delivering a truly impressive product was the key mistake of the organisation and the decision that led the firm to a temporary defeat. While there are still chances that, by revising the marketing plan, Sony will be able to reach its objectives, the shock that the organisation has suffered is still by far too huge to be trying to regain the company’s competitiveness any time soon.
Reference List
Crossley, R. (2014). Sony warns investors of grim $2.1bn loss. Gamespot.
Phillips, T. (2014). PlayStation Network returns online after worldwide connection issues. Eurogamer.
PlayStation TV: A microconsole with big ambitions. (2014). CNet.
Vincent, J. (2014). Microsoft’s Xbox One is now out-selling the PS4. The Independent.