The second advert revolved around a small housing estate and tower block. They were rigged with 70,000 litres of explosive multi coloured paint. The advert shows the paint exploding in sequence, much like a fireworks display. Like the Bouncing Balls advert, it was filmed in very high definition and had an explosive soundtrack to complement the film. The detail shown in the advert is jaw dropping. It makes the viewer think about how the quality of the advert may be compromised by their ordinary television set.
With the huge amount of interest in the TV adverts, Sony launched a website dedicated solely to the adverts. www.bravia-advert.com has downloadable versions of both TV adverts along with behind the scenes information and information about how it was made. This advert was used in various magazines and some newspapers. It is based around the original Bravia Balls TV advert. It depicts the balls bouncing out of the screen and into the living room. Sony explains why they used this type of media to promote the BRAVIA range; “When you’re introducing the next generation of television, you want to make an impact – but that doesn’t mean you have to shout at the top of your voice. And it doesn’t mean you have to be predictable. To announce the arrival of BRAVIA we wanted to get across a simple message – that the colour you’ll see on these screens will be ‘like no other'” (Source:www.bravia-advert.com)
Sony has used an innovative form of advertising and promotion of its new range. The impact has been significant. The music that backed the bouncing balls advert reached number 6 in the UK music charts, mainly due from the advert. This fact alone demonstrates the impact the advert had. The advert caused a sensation and was the talk of many conversations. I remember people asking me if I had seen the exploding building advert.
Other companies in the same market have used similar types of advertising. Philips recently used a TV campaign to promote their new range of plasma screened televisions. It had a man sitting down watching The Incredible Hulk film on a Philips TV, and all of a sudden the character from the film emerges. This is similar to the Sony magazine advert campaign that depicts images from the television set falling out of the screen into the living room. The current trends in advertising and promotion in the television market is to capture the imagination of the viewer and inspire them by making visually beautiful films.
BRAVIA is the premium brand from Sony. It is targeted at AB professionals with high income. The advertising campaign appears to be a success. It has attracted lots and lots of interest and has a huge amount of media coverage. On the BRAVIA website, many people have signed up to view the site and watch the advert. DRIP elements used by Sony in this campaign are to differentiate and persuade the target audience (Source: Fill 2006) The catch line of the campaign is ‘colour like no other’. It clearly states how their product is like no other product available. It shows that they are differentiating their products from other inferior products. By doing this they add an element of persuasion. This is because they are implying that Sony Bravia is the only TV to have this type of quality and should be the only choice.
HOWTO may have different recommendations as to what SONY should do with regards to the BRAVIA campaign. They may recommend an informative persuasive campaign. They may suggest this would be best as it would give the viewer good knowledge about the product itself, and how it works. An example of a different campaign recommendation from HOWTO could be to develop a different television advert. This could be a short film about the quality materials used and a short film showing all the research and development taken place when designing the product.
This type of campaign would be different to everyone else in the television industry at present. It would show a new direction taken from SONY in its advertising. The adverts would also give the impression that SONY is a company to trust and its products are well made, even superior to others. Although it would probably not be visually amazing as the current campaign used, it would be informative and fact filled The recommendations from HOWTO could be in total contrast to running campaign. This may or may not be to Sony’s advantage. Until research is carried out by HOWTO into factors such the tastes of the target audience and what appeals to them, will the project be viable. But looking at other trends, it is a totally possible alternative.
Above the line and below the line techniques refers the placement of marketing communication tools. Above the line techniques are forms of communication that is targeted at a mass audience. For example television and radio adverts and billboard posters. Below the line techniques are things such as sales promotions, personal selling and public relations. Sales promotion as a communication technique works by assisting a product is sold via reductions in price or incentives. For example a sales promotion maybe a special discounted price for a particular day or a buy one get one free offer.
These techniques are used to encourage buyers to make a purchase decision based on the discounted or special rate. It usually works for goods and products sold in high numbers. The level of communication placed is the same as advertising as it is send out to masses. It is not directed at any one group of people. Personal selling is communications on a face to face basis. The communications are taken place by a salesperson from a company and the client. This type of communication is personal and individual to each person. This type of communication is interactive as each person in the conversation can ask and answer questions. The objective is for the sales person to make a convincing argument about the product, and persuade the client that the product is right for the their needs.
Public relations are the communications a business has to its close external environment. PR is about how a company is perceived by others and the reputation is has. Public relations can work in a number of ways. An example could be a prize giveaway in a national newspaper. Although there is no direct advertisement from the company, the newspaper will be endorsing the products names. All of these methods would be used by a company as part of an advertising campaign to an extent.
Depending on the product, a company has various options at the launch period as to what type of below the line techniques they can use. The launch is the most critical time for new product. No one will have heard of the new product and sales would be reluctant. The use of PR and sales promotions would be promenade. Making the brand name recognisable by the consumer is a key objective. The use of public relations such as sponsorship of a well known event would be a good idea. Another would be to offer an incentive to by the product with the use of sales promotions.
For example, with every BRAVIA television you get a free DVD player. Towards the end of the product life cycle different techniques could have to be used. To ensure stocks of the product sells, the business could use another form of sales promotion such as discounts and buy one get of free. As the product gets older its level of interest drops from the consumer, so keeping the product in their mind is a key priority.
