Sony Ericsson Xperia Launch
When Sony Ericsson came out with the new Xperia X10 model, they launched a series of commercial advertisement under the title “Product Testing Institute.” In every advertisement under this line, they interviewed a different set of segment group – toddlers, seniors, glam rockers, guidos, surfers, and models. In each advertisement, they ask the participants to do something with the phone – such as turning it on, taking a picture/video, finding a specific application like facebook or text message inbox, etc, and they compare the Xperia X10 with other competitors such as Iphone, Blackberry, HTC, etc. Different advertisement with different segment group help outline and support the advantage of using the Xperia compared with other potential competitors. For example, in the Seniors commercial, they were asked to take a picture with their phones, and only the man with the Xperia x10 was able to do so in a shorter amount of time as the application button was easier to find. Other example such as in the toddlers video, only the little girl with the Xperia phone knew how to function it as other models were too complicated for them. I think what Sony Ericsson is trying to do is to position themselves within this industry as a more simplified and easy to use smart phone while still containing all the qualities other smartphone has. Here are two of my favourite ones out of the Produt Testing Institute commercials:
toddlers
seniors
you can access the other ads here: Sony Ericsson Product Testing Institute Commercials
The smartphone industry can be classified as a monopolistic competition, it is important that they ensure their company present a different value to its consumers than their fellow competitors. Because of the strong competition out there, especially with big time brands with large market share and well established brand recognition and loyalty (Black berry and Iphone), Sony Ericsson has tried to enter this industry using a strategy of penetration pricing. The Xperia X10 is priced at around 2-3 hundred dollars, compared to 6-7 hundred dollars (for Iphone or Blackberry), this may attract the customers that would like to own a smartphone but not willing to pay at a prestige price.