Marketing Essay

Executive Summary

The intention of this report is to come up with a strategic plan for Sony Playstation 4 for their position in the market place.

The review of the market place will be broken up into section, the market place and influencing factors, recommendation for additional research and consumer segmentation. Will complete when more information is given.

Introduction

This strategic plan will show an overview of Sony Playstation 4’s (PS4) current environment and how they are performing within it. It will look at the current trends in the marketplace and will give Sony some direction for how to operate better and to make their PS4 more marketable to the consumer. This will enable Sony to have a clear direction in which to take their product.

The first section will show the broader marketplace in detail showing PS4 market share and also showing its key competitors, other players within the marketplace and other exterior factors impacting on the company’s success. The second section will explore recommendation for additional research for Sony to complete in order to continue the growth and success of the PS4. The final section will look at the main consumer base and how Sony can best expand their market share.

Recommendations for additional research

Key Question and Why

What was the viewership of the Sony PS4 advertising campaign and what platform was the medium viewed on eg. TV, social network or website?

Methodology and Justifications

Based on the identified research question, the anticipated research methodology used to source this information is descriptive research. This will provide Sony’s marketing team with an understanding of the target demographic’s viewing of their advertising campaign. The recommended quantitative research methods to use are a cross-sectional analysis: sample survey as this provides a summary of a section of the target demographics views for Sony as summarised in the next section (Slideshare.net, 2015).

It is recommended for the sample survey to be conducted in the form of a competition targeting a section of the target demographic to run at the same time as the advertisements conclusion. This would be used as a motivator for the target demographic to respond about their viewership of the commercial. The viewers would be encouraged to respond via sms text message or a webpage survey.   The prizes on offer could be PS4 console bundle, Playstation network cards or other Sony products.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Using a cross-sectional sample survey has many advantages for Sony

• They can target their prospective demographic
• The results from the sample can be used to reflect the whole population
• By using an incentive will increase the likelihood of participants responses
• Cost for prizes would relatively inexpensive due to the company manufacturing the goods that are used
• Captures a specific point in time
• The findings can be used to create future marketing opportunities

Disadvantages

• It can take a long time to get all the research results
• It can cost a lot of money
• It takes a lot of energy to collate the data
• You may need to hire 3rd party to help with research
• Respondents may not be honest as a reward is offered for their participation
• Timing of the survey may not be representative of the population
• There may be some challenges in regards to ensuring that the promotion is targeting the right demographic

(Study.com, 2015)

References

Slideshare.net, (2015). 3 Types of Marketing Research Designs (Exploratory, Descriptive, Caus…. [online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/RubayetHassan1/3-types-of-marketing-research-designs-exploratory-descriptive-causal?next_slideshow=1 [Accessed 5 Sep. 2015].

 Study.com, (2015). Cross-Sectional Study: Definition, Advantages, Disadvantages & Example | Study.com. [online] Available at: http://study.com/academy/lesson/cross-sectional-study-definition-advantages-disadvantages-example.html [Accessed 5 Sep. 2015].