...Blu-Ray and HD-DVD: Betamax-VHS Format Wars Redux Contrast the strategies adopted for Betamax (vs. VHS) in the 80’s and Blu-Ray (vs. HD-DVD)? I. Strategies adopted for Betamax (vs. VHS) in the 80’s: Customers Large Retailers High end Stores Wealthier segment market Substitutors Sony Betamax Complementors U-Matic – JVC (VHS) Video rental - TVs Movie Studios Firms Suppliers Few electronic manufacturing companies Customers Mass Market Supermarkets Substitutors JVC VHS Complementors U-Matic – Betamax Video Rental - TVs Movie Studios Firms Suppliers Many electronic manufacturing companies (Hitachi, Matsushita…) II. Blu-Ray (vs. HD-DVD) nowadays: Customers HD TV Owner Follow Technology Substitutors Sony Blu-Ray Complementors Xbox – Toshiba – HD DVD – DVDs Hollywood Studios Websites with HD contents Gaming development ...
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...Question 1: In the case study Blu-ray versus HD-DVD: A standards battle in high-definition video (Schilling, 2013,pp 65-66), what factors do you think influenced whether (1) consumers, (2) retailers, and (3) movie producers supported Blu-ray versus HD-DVD? Discuss and justify your answer using the theory behind the selection of dominant designs. Intro; In the early 2000’s Toshiba and Sony, two tech giants went head to head to provide homes with the next generation of high definition video. Toshiba’s new technology was called HD-DVD and was compatible with the old technology, DVD. Sony released Blu-Ray which required a new playing system altogether. After both companies had secured major contracts in the entertainment industry there was one moment that helped Sony to become the dominant product. Time Warner, formerly in alliance with Toshiba, switched to Sony prompting other undecided companies, including Walmart and Netflix, to follow suite. After this the tech war was effectively over and Toshiba ceased production of HD-DVD’s and components. Although at the same time an alternative product for watching movies was growing; online streaming. This provided a similar experience, depending on how fast the internet was in the area, but at a cheaper cost of being digital media. Consumers; in the fight for supremacy the early adopters of the technology are very influential because they will be more likely to have researched about which product was better based on technical factors...
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...Paradigm Shift: The Format War CD to DVD to Blu-ray Compact discs used to be the standard format for stored media that can be accessed or played through a CD player or a PC that has a CD-ROM drive. Maximum storage capacity is about 750 to 800MBs or megabytes. Who can remember the stacks upon countless stacks of CD cases (and the discs themselves) either stashed around the house or scattered all over the floor? CDs proved very essential for storing backup files just in case the original files were to be corrupted or deleted accidentally. And what about those CD holders strapped around your car’s sun visor carrying about 10 to 20 of your favorite CDs? Who can forget those days when music came in the form of MP3s that were “burned” to a disc to be played in car CD players? For a time, even VCDs which stand for Video Compact Discs were very popular in the third world market. Illegal copies of movies that were not yet released were sold all over the world through this format not to mention having such poor video and audio quality that VCDs provide. Also, who can ever forget the annoying whirring and clicking of a CD player trying to make sense of a scratched-up disc? Late 90s to mid-2000s saw the potential of the new DVD format which stands for Digital Video Disc. It proudly boasts high quality graphics and supports Dolby Digital surround sound technology to name a few. Data capacity ranges from approximately 4.3 to about 15GB or gigabytes depending on how many sides and...
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...stores Slogan: "The Movie Store at Your Door" PRODUCTS: Retailing and renting of DVD Blu-ray Video games. SIGNIFICANCE: Easily available Unlimited selection Wide variety of movies from different genre Small stores cannot compete Changes: 2004: launched online rental service Gain market share No late fees Video rental stores Important change was hiring a new CEO, James W. Keyes. CEO: James W. Keyes(since july 2007) former CEO of 7-Eleven(2000-2005) Vise president and chief operating officer of 7-Eleven DOWN FALL: unable to determine profitable goods missed sales opportunities financial difficulties Lost customer to Netflix REVIVAL: Quantitative approach JAMES W. KEYESQUANTITATIVE APPROACH: 1) computer models to figure out the best way by saving both money and time. 2) Inventory model 3) Queuing theory 4) Capital budgeting 5) Production scheduling 6) Planning for manpower development programs. 7) Transportation and aircraft scheduling 8) Preventive control and replacement problems 9) Competitive problems BLOCKBUSTER VS NETFLIX: Monthly pricing: Netflix: $7.99 (one DVD) $9.99 (one DVD or Blu-ray) $43.99 for eight DVDs ($52.99 for Blu-ray). Blockbuster: $9.99 (one DVD, Blu-ray, or video game disc )$14.99 (two discs) Number and type of titles available: Netflix: More than 100,000 movies TV shows on DVD and Blu-ray Blockbuster: More than 100,000 movies and TV...
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...when Netflix first began their DVD by mail service. Netflix rentals allowed viewers and movie watchers to rent movies from the comfort of their own home. Additionally, the customer wasn’t penalized for returning the movie late. The years that followed produced a long, protracted battle that Netflix appears to have survived on top. That being said, both companies made significant mistakes and have lost millions of potential customers in the process. In this paper, a brief history of each of the company will be presented, a diagnosis of the major problems, analysis into these problems, an evaluation of potential solutions and finally, recommendations for Blockbuster and Netflix to be able to address their problems. ANALYSIS Scott Cook founded Blockbuster Video and opened the first store in Dallas, Texas on October 26, 1985. Later bought by entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga, Blockbuster Video grew to over 4,000 stores in the mid-2000’s and earned the spot as the number one video rental store in the country. Blockbuster made frequent changes to their business model, by first adding video games; later music was added. In 1993, Viacom purchased Blockbuster for $8.4 billion dollars but by 2006, they were only worth $500 million dollars. In 2004, Blockbuster launched their online DVD rental store, primarily to compete with Netflix, which was founded in 1998 and had built a solid customer base along the way. Blockbuster later began offering Blu-ray discs in their rental stores in...
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...Discuss this product or service in terms of its current target market demographics using U.S. Census Data. The product/service I chose is in store movie rental and purchase. I.e. Blockbuster Videos. While DVD sales declined for a third straight year in 2009, consumer appetite for viewing movies at home remains very healthy as new physical and digital services for buying and renting movies gain in popularity. The proliferation of movie rental kiosk machines over the last year was probably the most visible sign of consumer interest in viewing movies at home. To understand the impact of rental kiosks and other movie services on household disc purchasing (DVD and Blu-ray), a survey was fielded to panelists who were identified as disc buyers and asked them to report their movie transactions from channels not tracked by scanning. This included rental transactions (both physical and digital rentals) and downloads. One finding from the study was that average disc purchasing (buy rate) among households who also rented movies on physical DVD or Blu-ray declined in 2009 at a steeper rate compared to the average for all disc buying households. The buy rate among households renting a movie on DVD or Blu-ray declined by -11% in 2009 vs. -7% among all disc buying households. Survey results indicated that 34% of these renting households had rented a movie from a kiosk. In addition, households renting from a kiosk are increasingly turning to kiosks to rent movies with 63% reporting that...
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...I n t r o d u c t i o n t o M a r k e t i n g B u s i n e s s 1 2 0 4 / 1 3 / 2 0 0 8 A marketing plan focusing on Sony’s Playstation 3. Marketing Plan: Sony Playstation 3 2 Executive Summary This marketing plan is looking at Sony’s Playstation 3 (PS3). This powerful piece of hardware is the cutting edge of gaming entertainment. The PS3 has been out for a little over a year, and in that time, it has proved to be a hardcore gamers dream. Sony got into the console gaming market in late 1994. The concept for the original Playstation (it was under a different name, SNES CD) was actually brought up in a joint partnership with Sony and Nintendo in the late 80’s; however, when the time came to announce their new hardware, Nintendo re-read over their earlier contract and found the agreement to no longer be satisfactory. As a result, Sony took all the research they had done and began work on the Sony Playstation. 3 Table of Contents Situation Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Internal Environment ............................................................................................................................... 4 Key Executives ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Board of Directors ............................................................
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...Marketing Plan: Sony Playstation 3 Brian Moats A marketing plan focusing on Sony’s Playstation 3. Introduction to Marketing Business 120 4/13/2008 Executive Summary This marketing plan is looking at Sony’s Playstation 3 (PS3). This powerful piece of hardware is the cutting edge of gaming entertainment. The PS3 has been out for a little over a year, and in that time, it has proved to be a hardcore gamers dream. Sony got into the console gaming market in late 1994. The concept for the original Playstation (it was under a different name, SNES CD) was actually brought up in a joint partnership with Sony and Nintendo in the late 80’s; however, when the time came to announce their new hardware, Nintendo re-read over their earlier contract and found the agreement to no longer be satisfactory. As a result, Sony took all the research they had done and began work on the Sony Playstation. 2 Table of Contents Situation Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Internal Environment ................................................................................................................................ 4 Key Executives ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Board of Directors ........................................................................................
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...meeting the requirements of a European Directive, you can sell in any country in the European Economic Area. • Promote innovation - The shared knowledge and network benefits they afford help reduce costs and associated risks, allowing a business to: increase speed to market, create interoperability, shape and develop a new market What is Standards War? 2 or more incompatible technologies struggle to become a de facto standard What the book talks about? Classification of Standards War: 1. Rival Evolutions Technologies from both parties involved in the war are backwards compatible but mutually incompatible. E.g. Blu-ray Vs HD-DVD. Both players can play DVD format but cannot play each other. 2. Rival Revolutions Both technologies are neither backwards compatible nor mutually compatible. E.g. GSM Vs CDMA. 3. Revolution Vs Evolution (or vice versa) One of the technologies supports backward compatibility (evolution) while the other would not be backwards compatible but offers superior performance...
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...9-508-076 REV: APRIL 14, 2008 ELIE OFEK Sony PlayStation 3: Game Over? [W]hen you look at the history of the video game industry since the PlayStation was launched back in 1995, we were able to take the leadership position very quickly with the PlayStation. With PlayStation 2 we have more than 110 million gamers and consumers enjoying the PlayStation 2 on a worldwide basis. And I think we have a very loyal following for the PlayStation family of products. So with the PlayStation 3, I believe that we are going to be able to quickly take the leadership position once again and maintain that position for a very long time. — Kaz Hirai, President and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, November 17 20061 It was a picture that was reminiscent of the launch of the original PlayStation nearly a dozen years before. Some eager customers had arrived as early as 6am and from as far as New Jersey to a video game store in Manhattan with the hope of purchasing one of the newest and most sought after video game consoles. By 9am, the number of customers waiting for entrance to the store exceeded 100 and the line extended down the block. One customer in line had been searching stores across the region for two weeks in order to find a console for her brother’s twenty-fifth birthday. A twelve-year-old and his grandmother were visiting their third store in search of the new console. “I just hate what you have to do just to get one,” the boy said.2 In one sense, long...
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...A Case Study With Sony On Penetration Pricing As Global Pricing Strategy Meaning of Penetration Pricing This is a marketing strategy used by firms to attract customers to a new product or service. Penetration pricing is the practice of offering a low price for a new product or service during its initial offering in order to attract customers away from competitors. The reasoning behind this marketing strategy is that customers will buy and become aware of the new product due to its lower price in the marketplace relative to rivals. It can often increase both market share and sales volume. Additionally, the high sales volume can also lead to lower production costs and higher inventory turnover, both of which are positive for any firm with fixed overhead. The tagline “special introductory offer” is the classic sign of penetration pricing. The aim of penetration pricing is usually to increase market share of a product, providing the opportunity to increase price once this objective has been achieved. Penetration pricing is, therefore, the pricing technique of setting a relatively low initial entry price, usually lower than the intended established price, sometimes lower than the costs too, to attract new customers. The strategy aims to encourage customers to switch to the new product because of the lower price. Penetration pricing is most commonly associated with a marketing objective of increasing market share or sales volume. In the short term, penetration pricing is likely...
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...Introduction A new generation of video game consoles will be premiering shortly. The video gaming world is calling it “The Console Wars”. Although the battle of video game system superiority has been going on for a while now, this year promises to be on a larger scale than the previous wars. Sony, the maker of PlayStation, and Microsoft, the maker of Xbox, are expected to release their next-generation systems in November. This report will be a comparative analysis of the soon-to-be-released Xbox One and PS4. The purpose of this report is to compare both systems on their specific features. The goal is to find out which system is the best when comparing both capabilities and value. This comparative analysis is intended to help customers decide which system is better suited for their needs. This report covers: * The general description of each product * Accessories * Specifications * Exclusive games for each individual system After extensive research, I found that both systems are fairly comparable from a technical standpoint. However, I recommend the PS4 over the Xbox One based on value and services. General Description of Products PS4 Mark Cerny, lead architect of the PS4, said the development of the eighth-generation console began in 2008 (“PlayStation 4”). The PS4 is developed and created by Sony Computer Entertainment (“PlayStation 4”). On February 20, 2013, Sony announced that the PS4 would be the successor of the PlayStation 3 during a press...
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...A Case Study With Sony On Penetration Pricing As Global Pricing Strategy Meaning of Penetration Pricing This is a marketing strategy used by firms to attract customers to a new product or service. Penetration pricing is the practice of offering a low price for a new product or service during its initial offering in order to attract customers away from competitors. The reasoning behind this marketing strategy is that customers will buy and become aware of the new product due to its lower price in the marketplace relative to rivals. It can often increase both market share and sales volume. Additionally, the high sales volume can also lead to lower production costs and higher inventory turnover, both of which are positive for any firm with fixed overhead. The tagline “special introductory offer” is the classic sign of penetration pricing. The aim of penetration pricing is usually to increase market share of a product, providing the opportunity to increase price once this objective has been achieved. Penetration pricing is, therefore, the pricing technique of setting a relatively low initial entry price, usually lower than the intended established price, sometimes lower than the costs too, to attract new customers. The strategy aims to encourage customers to switch to the new product because of the lower price. Penetration pricing is most commonly associated with a marketing objective of increasing market share or sales volume. In the short term, penetration pricing is likely...
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...Sony Playstation 3 Case analysis I. Improving Sales In the time since the release Sony has made numerous attempts at turning around sales. One of the biggest moves was to drop the price drastically. This gave a lot of consumer’s confidence to spend their money on the system. Some consumers rationalize the purchase as a reasonably priced Blu-ray DVD player. Sony also introduced a new peripheral that emulates a lot of the functionality of the Nintendo Wii’s “Wii-mote”, which will most likely sway new buyers away from Wii. Sony has also built a library of very popular games that was a major weak point at the time around release. While many of these moves are a step in the right direction, they were almost expected. For Sony to truly bring back the following they once had with the Play Station 1 and 2, they need to go back to the fundamental mentality of game content. Many of the popular games are now released for all three systems (PS 3, Xbox, Wii), which makes the unique value of having PS3 limited. Sony needs to help developers create highly unique and innovative games that are exclusive to the Playstation 3. While there are a handful of name titles that are sole residents on the PS 3, they do not have the ability to build the brand loyalty in game products that PS 3 needs to convert consumers. Wii has also created opportunity in the market, as they have expanded the consumer market drastically. Sony needs to capitalize on this by creating an alternative brand...
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...advanced and revolutionary features (Wireless motion-sensitive remote controllers, built-in Wi-Fi capability) made progressive sales with the most important profit the recognition. Nintendo Wii with 22% was found in the Top 10 for 2006 of the Most Memorable New Product Launches. Nintendo tried to position the “Wii” as a cool, no age limit, and low-budget alternative console. Competitors: Microsoft (Xbox 360), Sony (PS3) and Sega seem to be the main direct Nintendo competitors. The point of contact is obviously gaming, but the point of differentiation is the gaming experience and extra features. Microsoft and Sony introduced HD gaming and graphics. The Xbox 360 offered good memory and quality graphics. The PS3 had moved ahead from the DVD to the Blu-ray format winning on storage capacity and graphics...
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