Playstation_3

Every American is subjected to marketing every day, and it is the marketing structure that makes the products and services we purchase appealing to us. The marketing firms use the four P’s when dealing with various products and services: Price, Product, Place, and Promotion. Each of these items plays an important part in the marketing structure and how consumers make their purchases. The first P of the marketing mix, Price, is part of the company’s marketing strategy that determines the price of the product or service being offered based on the cost of the materials needed and cost of labor that make the product. Pricing can determine the company’s image in addition to the image of the product. The company’s marketing team need to have a good understanding of the effect the price of the product will have on the demand quantities and should perform market research that supports certain tolerances in pricing within the target market for this will help set the right pricing for the product or service being offered. If the product offers a choice of bundling with accessories, the price should reflect the discount of the bundle in relation to purchasing the product and accessories individually. The Next P in the marketing mix, Product, is the physical product or service being offered. The marketing team should be focused on the product’s brand name, how the product functions, the safety of the product or service, how the product is styled, and the quality of the product being offered. The product should also be viewed by its warranty options in regards to repair and support, and its accessories and services. Consumers are more likely to purchase a product from a “name brand” company than from a company that no one has ever heard of. In addition, a product that has an appealing design and packaging that catches the eye will sell more products than if the product came in a plain, boring box. The third P of the marketing mix, Place, or distribution is the company’s way of getting the products to the consumers. The distribution of the product and how it is displayed are crucial factors in this marketing mix. The manufacturers of the product need to choose the right wholesalers, a group that sells the products to other businesses for resale, and retailers, a group that sells the products directly to the consumers, to ensure that the company has the proper image and branding of the product. Once the retailers, stores like Target and Kmart, receive the products, they need are sure to place the items in an area that will maximize exposure of the product and raise the profitability. You probably would not buy a flat screen television if it was placed in Home Bedding or Bathroom Accessories. Instead, the retailers place theses items in the electronics area, usually mounted on the back wall to give consumers the choice of size and style to choose from. The last P in the marketing mix, Promotion, is the company’s way of promoting a certain message or goal, and can usually include advertising, direct marketing to consumers, coupons, and discounts on the product. A set of initiatives that are focused around this message or goal is called a campaign. Promotion also represents various parts of the marketing communication, which is the communication of information about the product with the goal of creating and keeping a positive customer response to the product. In 2007, Sony introduced a powerful piece of hardware that has quickly become the cutting edge of gaming entertainment, the Playstation 3 (PS3). Out now for a little over four years, the PS3 has become the hardcore gamers dream. The original Playstation (PS1) was released in 1994 when the joint partnership with Nintendo fell through due to unsatisfactory contracts. Since the release of the PS1, Sony has sought to drive out the completion by releasing newer gaming consoles, the Playstation 2 (PS2), Playstation Portable (PSP), and the Playstation 3 (PS3), competing with the likes of Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Wii. Using the newest and greatest technology to appeal to the consumers, Sony’s target demographic is usually men between the ages of 16-30, making games that are attractive to the men of these ages. These types of games are usually first person shooters, like the Call of Duty series, and high action games, like God of War. Sony also targets younger kids with games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Jak & Dexter. Reaching out to the movie lovers, Sony uses high definition Blu-ray technology, which is the latest advancement in movie entertainment. Sony PS3 offers the consumers the most advanced visual and audio of any of the other gaming consoles and most computers out on the market. Even though Sony’s technology has improved the gaming console itself, they have opted to make small changes to the control set ups, making game play for the PS3 the same as the previous systems. They did, however, add motion sensitivity (Playstation Motion) to the controls after seeing the consumer response to Nintendo’s Wii motion feature. PS3 consumers are able to play classic games that Sony offers for a small price, easily downloaded from the Playstation Network (PSN), and consumers are able to play their PS1 and PS2 games with Sony’s backwards compatibility, meaning consumers do not have to get rid of their old favorites. Enticing consumers to purchase a PS3, Sony has included the Blu-ray playback feature in its console, allowing the consumer to purchase one machine that plays games and movies instead of having multiple pieces of hardware. Hoping to make back the money Sony had put into the PS3 in a quick amount of time, the PS3 was originally offered at a whopping $600, with games being in the $60-$70 range. When the numbers came back lower than what was expected, Sony lowered the price hoping to increase its sales. In addition to lowering the price, Sony offers the consumers bundling packages that combine the PS3 and two games for only a little extra money. Since Sony is a name brand, they are able to maximize their financial gain by utilizing the consumer response to the brand name. Sony’s main selling point, besides the great graphics and familiar game play that consumers expect, is the Blu-ray playback feature, giving the consumers the simplicity of having one piece of hardware to play games and watch movies on, instead of having to purchase multiple machines to do the same things. Sony also offers to consumers’ downloadable games and game add-ons through the Playstation Network (PSN). Using point cards, similar to calling cards, consumers are allowed to use points to download classic PS1 games and game add-ons, like additional map packs for games like Call of Duty, and extra songs for games like Rockband and Guitar Hero. These point cards also allow players in two different countries to play multiplayer games against each other using the Wi-Fi feature imbedded in the PS3. Just when you think you know all that PS3 has to offer, there is more. PS3 also offers consumers games that have link support for using their PSP, and allows the PSP to be used as an additional controller. Whatever Sony has been doing over the past few years, you can only expect them to deliver excellence in technology to its consumers. Microsoft and Nintendo who' References The 4 P’s of Marketing; Retrieved May 14, 2011 http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix Phase 3 Individual Project Notes; Retrieved May 14, 2011 Marketing Plan: Sony Playstation 3; Moats, Brian; April 13, 2008; Retrieved May 14, 2011 http://brianmoats.com/Portfolio/Playstation_3_marketing_plan.pdf