Sony's integrated marketing communications strategy and customer segmentation approach

Sony IMC

Sony: IMC Plan

In every component of its IMC marketing plan, Sony takes a customer-focused attitude. Each product is marketed in a carefully segmented fashion and designed to meet highly specific customer needs. Although one weakness of this approach is that the image of Sony is not 'integrated' as some of its competitors, in contrast to the minimalist design of Apple which is consistent throughout Apple's entire product line, Sony's marketing has the advantage of segmentation and flexibility in a diverse marketplace.

Sales promotion

Sony is a midmarket electronics company, and often offers standard discounts through retailers such as Best Buy and Costco. Currently, on its website it offers 'back-to-school' savings such as a $250 discount on the Sony PlayStation.

Direct marketing

One of Sony's most ingenious strategies has been to effectively encourage consumers to 'pay' to be marketed to, through its promotion of online courses. Sony 101 offers an "alternative to tired traditional Internet marketing methods, [Sony marketers] have found a new way to connect with consumers -- online courses" in subjects such as digital photography (Beal 2006). The marketing is fairly subtle, and other than advertising for relevant Sony products as sidebars, the information is fairly general

Personal selling

Working with corporate clients to understand what they need has been another critical component of Sony's strategy. For example, one of Sony's marketing managers noted that many hospitals had a need for a "a low-cost telemedicine" and thus "developed Sony's MD2GO Remote HD IP Camera System, which launched in 2011 and is currently being used in a pilot study in a Wisconsin nursing facility not easily accessible to the area's doctors" (Zax 2012). Sony, in contrast to some of its competitors takes a 'customer is always right' philosophy "It's important to listen to the customer, to take their ideas, and to see if we can implement them in future products. Steve Jobs was very anti- the voice of the consumer. But in the medical world, with the doctors and nurses -- I'm going to make a joke here -- you have to make something easy enough for a doctor to use" said one of its marketing managers (Zax 2012).

Publicity

To generate publicity for its products, as well as standard press releases, Sony engages in-store events. To launch its new gaming system, it encouraged fans to come to stores dressed as their favorite characters during live events to draw attention to the product and create a more interactive relationship between fans and the company (Takahashi 2012).