Sony Vaio is currently running a campaign featuring Kareena Kapoor as the brand ambassador for its Vaio range of ultra-portable laptops.
The brand is now running a campaign featuring Kareena.
Watch the tvc here : Vaio
My first question is whether Sony need a brand ambassador for the Vaio brand ?. Vaio had some brilliant commercials and had built in a premium image without the help of any stars. So why now take the help ?
Sony is positioning Vaio not as a netbook but as the ultra-thin laptop and also as a lifestyle accessory. But a discerning consumer will think twice before splurging Rs 85000 for such a product. The brand is fighting for the market along side the competitor Mac Air.
The ad is also not very impressive because the focus is more on the brand ambassador than on the product. According to reports, the brand is trying to cash in on the " Size Zero " rage popularized by Kareena. The brand is feeling that consumers will find a connection between the " thin " Kareena and the " thin " Sony Vaio.
But I think that for a brand like Sony, it could have depended more on the creativity of the ad guys to make the brand popular than piggybacking on some thin stars
Related Brand
Sony Vaio
Dear Prof. Harish,
ReplyDeleteGreetings!
I hope the ‘Shetty’ word may be familiar to you; the soul which haunted you, when I was working with you in Pearson to write a book on ‘Principles of Marketing’. I had to move out and honestly do not have any idea what the story now with the book.
I am posting my observation on your comment “My first question is whether Sony need a brand ambassador for the Vaio brand?” – my feel has been that YES they need to aggressively do promotion to re-build the image of the VAIO brand. Whole of my perception is based on news which I read some years ago, where due to battery problem or software glitch (I am not sure which is correct) Sony had to recall most of the laptops branded under VAIO. The next day I read their share prices have crashed in UK stock exchange.
VAIO was a great success for Sony. I personally loved the VAIO laptops; more precisely, I loved it for the trendy design. I am of the opinion Sony may be looking at re-establishing the brand again; keeping in mind the losses and reputation loss of the brand.
Correct me Sir!
sir ... vaio itself is a very well known brand .. The product quite impressive ,but the tvc is very confusing and unclear about the communication .. it is only after reading the article i can connect the slimness of kareena with the slimness of the notebook..
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately It seems Sony had lost its way with a certain amount of its brands. The Playstation advertising controversy last year and now its unidirectional promotion of the Vaio Brand. Is this all intentional? Sony has always been a dominant force with its world known brands and I am sure their marketing dept(s) are well funded.
ReplyDeleteSony vaio needs no introduction. Sony vaio has already made its identity in the market. But i think that sony should promote Vaio's feature along with its look, as we know that people not always buy laptop for look. They look for feature as well
ReplyDelete