Executive Summary
The television is perhaps the most influential and powerful medium of all time. Current events,
sports, old films, entertainment shows, information, and even the dreaded commercials can be
viewed through the television.
According to statistics, each person spends around two hours of television viewing a day. In this
current society we live in, pursuit for the most technologically advanced hardware, is neverending. Every innovation we come across, usually turn obsolete in a span of couple of months.
We want our appliances to perform harder, better, faster, stronger or in the case of television sets,
thinner. What if we were to say that, we are at one of those pivotal moments of technological
breakthrough? Would you be interested? Of course you would be.
Well, we are pleased to herald the arrival of the Whirl. You may be wondering what exactly is
the Whirl and how will it change this already mature market? Then just imagine a big screen
television matching the highest standards of picture and sound quality but most of all entirely
rollable and transportable. This is exactly what we have been working for over a decade at Sony.
After countless hours of analysis and assessment and continuous process of trial and error, we at
Sony are fully confident in releasing the first Big Screen OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)
TV.
Introduction & Background
To some people innovation and Sony go hand in hand. In 1955, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo registered
SONY as a trademark with the intention of building a new brand that would have all the global
corporate identity requirements that its company lacked. Three years later, the company
eventually changed its name to Sony Corporation. The rest is history. Since the beginning, the
management of Sony has been keenly aware of the importance of branding as part of a growth
strategy. According to the Sony Corporation, its founder Akio Morita "firmly believed that brand
image could be built from the ground up, and that a company had to work hard to develop it."
Sony first began researching organic materials in 1994 and began to launch mass production of
small-sized, full-colour OLED panels in 2004 in commercial mobile products. OLED was
subsequently positioned as a key, next generation display device, and further accelerated Sony's
research and development of OLED technology.
Following more than ten years of OLED development, Sony has accumulated numerous related
core technologies such as the proprietary "Super Top Emission" panel and manufacturing
technologies gained from the experience of mass producing small-sized OLED panels.
Product Description
The Whirl is a brand new concept TV by Sony. Where other manufacturers are focusing on making their
TV’s thin and 3D, we at Sony are focusing on making our TV’s so thin that you can literally roll it up and
take it will you. The technology behind the Whirl has been something we here at Sony have been
working on for quite some time. Up until this point we have only been able to manufacture our super
thin screens at sizes smaller than ten inches. But a recent breakthrough has allowed us to scale up this
technology into consumer sized TV’s. The screen consists of OLED (organic light emitting diodes)
material. This super functional material is unlike previous generations LCD or plasma screens that need
their own backlight source. The OLED screens do not require this backlighting and therefore can be
made much smaller than conventional TV’s. Other advantages of the OLED screen are the ability to
display colours in more depth than ever before, to functioning with a much higher contrast ratio and to
consume much less energy that comparable TV’s.
The Whirl itself will initially be available in one size for its product launch. The initial 60inch screen was
decided on for the reasons of consumer appraisal. Most consumers would not be willing to sell their
current large screen televisions in order to downsize. In this case a 50inch screen will not only be large
enough for consumers to upgrade but also the size will help show off just how incredible our new
technology is. Another reason for the size choice is to limit the availability of the TV’s at launch in order
to create a buzz about this new product. By limiting the TV to the high end market we can capture that
price range and create brand equity for our new sub brand.
ADDITIONAL PRODUCT SPECS
VIDEO
Screen Size
Display Technology
Aspect Ratio
Native Resolution
Video Processor
Dynamic Contrast Ratio
Viewing Angle
Brightness
60 Inches
OLED
Widescreen (16:9)
Full HD 1080p resolution
16-bit
2000000:1
178°/178°
2000 cd/m2
AUDIO
Audio Enhancement
Auto Volume Correction
SRS TruSurround HD
Yes
INPUTS
6 HDMI inputs, 2 PC input, 2 Ethernet port, 2 USB port, Wi-Fi-capable
Stage-Gate Framework
The Stage-Gate Framework will be used in the creation of the new Sony Whirl TV. By using this method
of project development we can look to see an increase in our project performance, which in turn can
help us make the best product possible. In this method each gate lets us assess the situation and decide
where to go to next, while each stage produces a valuable result.
The Stage-Gate Framework is especially important for the Sony Whirl. As a prototype electronics
product, the Whirl has no precursor and therefore has no information to fall back on. In this case it is
exceptionally important that we go through all the steps needed in order to create and launch a
successful product. The development for the Sony Whirl will take much more time than the average
product launch of six months; we believe that this is acceptable to us in order to make the best possible
product. With the Whirl being a completely new concept we need it to perform up to our standards so
that when customers first get their hands on the product they will be left speechless. The Sony brand
will benefit greatly from this creation by being the first ones to develop a whole new area of
entertainment.
IDEA SCREEN
The idea screening process will first allow us to brainstorm about this potential concept and help us to
narrow down our concept into a product that meets our specifications as well as eliminate potentially
threatening ideas.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
This stage will give us the insight and material needed to make a decision on whether this product is a
viable solution.
APPROVAL
Once the new Sony Whirl has gone through the initial development phases, it will pass through the
approval gate in order to be worked on in more depth.
PROJECT PLAN
This plan is one of the most important aspects of new product development. The project plan will
outline the three major aspects of the potential project which are scope, schedule and budget.
PROJECT APPROVAL
The Sony Whirl has been approved and this means the project will be invested in heavily in order to
meet the scope.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
In this stage much of the development costs are used. This process will be lengthy considering that the
Sony Whirl is a brand new concept and opening up a new market.
REVIEW
The research has been completed and now this step will allow the researchers to fine tune their
investigations.
TEST
The testing phase will utilize prototypes of the Sony Whirl. At this stage the product will not be ready for
the public to view it as it will be in beta still. The testing will help Sony release a superior product and is
pivotal for the success of the Whirl.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Once the development of the Whirl has reached this final gate it will be ready to be unveiled before the
public at our worldwide electronic expo to be viewed for the first time.
With the success of the Sony Whirl, it will show just how important this Stage-Gate method is and how
in the future we can use this method again with even more success and possibly with a better
streamlined approach. The achievement Stage-Gate Framework can be created will not only our highend electronics products but as well as in the other aspects of our business such as gaming and music.
Brand Relationship
The Sony Whirl will become the next driving force within the Sony brand, as the Sony Trinitron once was
a huge sub brand within our portfolio and a driving force in our entertainment department. We expect
that the Whirl will start slowly by gaining ground against other cutting edge TV’s such as 3D TV’s, but
eventually as the Whirl captures the market it will start to edge out the competition. With a head start
of at least a year on the competition, the Sony Whirl will have the advantage of being the first mover. As
first mover this allows us to remain dominant within the new market and the Whirl will always have the
top of mind awareness that we need to succeed as a successful new brand. We believe firmly that after
a year of controlling the market the Whirl name will become entrenched in the mind of consumers as
the best possible micro thin TV and will start co-driving our TV division like the Trinitron did before it. As
prices for the Whirl start to fall after the first year, the Whirl will become available to the masses in
more than just one size and style. It is our hope that eventually the Whirl brand will hold its own
portfolio of ultra slim TV’s.
Brand Strategy
The unparalleled strength of the Sony brand worldwide is surely a testament to the company’s
reputation for producing innovative products of outstanding quality and value. And while traditional
brand theory says brand essence should be narrowed down to one element, Sony celebrates brand
diversity -- with the Trinitron, VAIO and Walkman sub-brands, to name just a few, each linking with
consumers across various lifestyle segments.
TARGET MARKET
Sony Whirl will be the high income technological savvy consumer who appreciates and demands
convenient luxury. Our consumers will most probably be form the ages of 26 – 50 years old, the yuppies
and baby boomers across the world.
Sony doesn’t just rely on intensely executed advertising campaigns to attract the consumer’s attention.
The company utilizes world class public relations to enhance Sony’s value, reputation and brand image.
Communications campaigns will be conducted on both an individual product and strategic platform
basis. This process ensures exposure for the new “Whirl” as well as for the company’s role in key
industry issues that cross multiple product categories and disciplines, including electronic music
distribution and digital television, and gaming.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Reputation is one of the significant intangible assets for Sony that differentiates them from the
competitors for them to charge a premium price for their excellent product and quality, good reputation
can create a positive vision in the mind of the customer which makes the customer prefer the brand.
Sony has successfully created an incredible brand. Although the legend seemed to be falling apart
recently, the company realized there weaknesses and pro-actively, started to make changes in their
strategies. The first strategic issue for Sony was the inefficient manufacturing structures which
decreased Sony’s quality that poorly affected their reputation and caused a decline in product
competitiveness. Sony became incapable of satisfying the increasing market demands which increased
the risk for Sony as their biggest rivals; Microsoft and Nintendo got a head start in gaining market share
and enjoyed first mover advantages. Being the first mover may gain advantages in building distribution
channels, in gathering specialized suppliers or in gaining the interest of customers and the first product
of a class to engage in mass advertising tends to impress itself more deeply in people’s minds than the
second, third or fourth.
Currently, Sony are implementing emergent strategies from both “inside out” – Resources Based View
and “outside in” – Positioning view to secure its current position. Sony incorporated an approach of the
resources-based and positioning view which could maximize the capabilities of organization and
sustaining more competitive advantages. Also suggested that competitive strategy requires both the
utilization of existing internal and external firm-specific capabilities and of developing new ones. In the
changing business environment, Sony has realized that it needs to cope with the external changes and
find the right ways to deal with it by their own capabilities or resources.
Sony also plans to boost its core competence with miniaturization. To bring miniaturization to its
product, Sony must ensure that technologists, engineers, and marketers have a shared understanding of
customer needs and of technological possibilities in order to become more customer-orientated with
the aim to increase competitive advantage, as well as create more value added activities. Sony also
implement a related diversification strategy which involve adding businesses whose value chains
possess competitively valuable strategic fits with the value chain of the company’s present business.
Related diversification among the different businesses provides Sony with sharper focus for managing
diversification and is a useful degree of strategic unity across the company’s various business activities.
BRAND IMAGE
The desired image for Whirl is to stand out from the rest of the TV’s the world has ever seen before. Our
product will not only be ecofriendly but also something never seen or imagined by, the mass market.
Keeping steady with its core value, the Whirl portrays an image of new class, and excellence.
BRAND EXPERIENCE
The Whirl offers a wide range of experiences that a customer can have with a product and brand. The
Whirl promises to give consumers a chance to have one of the most technologically advanced
televisions, in addition to have the most luxurious and convenient piece of electronic. Along the
technical and physical benefits that can be found from The Whirl it also a status symbol, for the high end
luxurious consumer. The Whirl portrays Sony’s new vision, which will be changing how we watch
television in the near future.
For one of the largest corporations in the world, the brand identity of Sony’s product or service is the
touchstone of your overall brand campaign. The Whirls brand identity will ensure high levels of
consistency across all aspects of Sony’s brand campaign, including: the message of our slogan and, ad
campaigns, the logo, and even to shop décor.
COMPETITIVE SET
Whirl’s competitive set is in the TV electronics industry in which SONY will be the first mover with a
whole new sub category. Our competition will be LG, Panasonic, Apple, Hitachi and Samsung. Knowing
our competitors, it will not be long before they attempt their power move over us. Sony will offer the
best value proposition and solidify the brand within the minds of the consumer.
KEY DIFFERENTIATORS
The Whirls Key Differentiators are the, design of the product, the simple but artistic packaging of the
televisions, the marketing and advertising, and its size factor. Another crucial factor which will help it a
stand out from the rest of the products in the market would be its exclusive store distribution. The store
design will capture the audience in the market places, with LCD attractions and interior design. Although
the design of the product I unique enough, our initial sales of the Whirl will only be in selected SONY
stores where we are guaranteed for a larger customer reaction, and avoiding distractions from other
televisions.
CLEAR PROMISE
What is the one thing that customers can expect every time they interact with your company? Is it a
friendly smile? Guaranteed lowest rates? Do you have someone available to talk with 24/7/365? If so,
make sure you articulate this promise. And, make absolutely sure you deliver on it, every time.
To outline the Whirls key value dimension rankings, the overall competitive set in the television market
in terms of these dimensions are:, first-to-market prestige, durability, luxury appeal, ergonomics/easeof-use, the cool factor, pre-sales service, quality of purchase experience, post-sales
support, and functionality/features. Rank your company in terms of each of these value dimensions as
follows: Top 10 % of the industry.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Lower Cost
Differentiation
Broad
Target
1. Cost Leadership
2. Differentiation
Narrow
Target
3A. Cost Focus
3B. Differentiation
Focus
COMPETITIVE
SCOPE
Branding Options
Sony has long been the leading brand in modern technology. They are recognized on a global scale
because of the high quality of products, continual innovative outlook, and sleek, stylish exteriors. They
are the foremost manufacturer of electronics, communications, information technology, and video
game consoles. Sony is most widely recognized for their television products. They continually set an
extremely high standard for other brands to compete with. The Whirl is the newest member of the Sony
television family. This ground-breaking product will revolutionize the television market segment. The
Whirl is very much aligned with the core values of the Sony brand. Through extensive research we have
determined our target audience. This audience will most likely accept and enable Sony with the ability to
further advance the Whirl.
The 4-D Branding Model is used below to help in determining the pros and cons of the new
Whirl television product. This model lists the pros and cons of the spiritual functional, mental and social
aspects of the “critical consumer”.
PROS
Functional
Spiritual
Mental
Social
- Easily transportable
- Product uses less
- Image of
-Accepted by
- Can be stored readily
packaging
technologically
others due to
through ability to bend
- Transportation needs
savvy
never before
- Best HD quality
are lowered because of
- Viewed as
seen technology
- Same sleek and stylish look
convenient tube
successful and of
- Sony is globally
- High quality of product
packaging
prestigious status
recognized for
quality of product
CONS
- Risk of problems due to
- This product does
- Too high of price
- May be rejected
new technology
now offer a “green”
may be rejected
due to Sony’s
version
- Uncertainty of
huge corporate
- New technologies will
product could
image
have to be developed
cause rejection
- May be seen as
to manufacture
arrogant
product potentially
spending so much
increasing carbon foot
money on a
print
television
Architecture & Portfolio Spectrum
RATIONALE
Not only does brand loyalty help drive those sales, but Sony’s desire to provide the whole experience
also provides a boost. The company have remained relative with more must-have consumer products
over the last 50 years, products with highly successful sub-brands such as the world’s first pocket-sized
transistor radio (1957), Trinitron color TVs (1968), the smash hit Walkman (1979), and the VAIO
notebook computer (1998). These products solidified the company’s reputation for producing hip,
cutting-edge technology that most consumers just had to have.
Moreover, with Sony’s recent blockbuster deal with Google to usher in Google’s latest brain child,
Google TV. As you can see, ladies and gentleman, Sony’s synonymy with innovation combined with the
largest internet search engine, the possibilities are endless.
Risks
While its prices, which are 20 to 30 percent higher than comparable products, could be considered a
weakness, Sony relies on its name to help make sales. Sony can also bank on its robust R&D department,
which consistently remains on the cutting edge of technology. In the 1986 book Made in Japan, Akio
Morita, who were Sony’s most well-known chairman and CEO, talks about the future emergence of highdefinition TVs as well as cameras that can take pictures without film. Both products have only recently
gained a foothold in the worldwide electronics industry.
It’s clear that consumers have come to rely on the Sony brand for innovative products that push the
technology envelope and carry a cache of cool about them. And by providing the whole widget, Sony
can increase sales as well as let customers know that they’re a one-stop shop for all their electronics
needs.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In the case of Sony, the company’s rise to prominence has been marked by steady growth, devotion to
technological innovation, and a Zen-like ability to shrug off defeats.
Some of those defeats have been huge. In 1994, Sony announced a US$ 3.2 billion loss for its second
quarter because of excesses accumulated during Peter Guber's and Jon Peters’s disastrous tenures as
the heads of Sony Pictures. Early the following year, Time Warner and Matsushita endorsed Toshiba’s
version of the nascent digital videodisc (DVD) system, crushing Sony’s rival DVD technology. The defeat
was reminiscent of Sony’s 1980s failure with the Betamax, which lost the battle with JVC’s competing
VHS technology.
Smart brands strive to provide everything you need so that you won’t be tempted by the competition.
Take mega-supermarkets that combine banks, pharmacies, coffee stands, etc., all under one roof. Or
look at the business world where corporate conglomerates swallow up smaller companies in an attempt
to cover the industry. With that being said, ramifications of its partnership with Google could only prove
successful for Sony.
Additionally, A.S.U.’s Flexible Display Center is primarily financed by the United States Army, and have
been tried and tested for real time battlefield situations. Although other iterations being considered
include wearable wrist-top computers, high-tech gadgetry that embeds in clothes, flex screens as
wallpaper and foldable TV’s for travel.