This document provides a brand audit and analysis of Sony PlayStation and its competitor Microsoft Xbox. It begins with background on the gaming industry and market segmentation. It then analyzes the brand inventories, strengths/weaknesses, points of difference/parity for each brand based on surveys of 30 gamers. Key findings are that Sony PlayStation has stronger brand recall but Xbox provides more all-in-one entertainment. Recommendations for Sony include focusing more on building its overall brand than individual products and expanding beyond just youth audiences.

1. 2014
Product and Brand
Management
Playstation and Xbox
Submitted to: Submitted by:
Prof. Dhruva Chak Ayush Manan Vishwakarma 13DM049
Deepanshu Bansal 13DM062
Sumit Rekhi 13DM195
Surinder Singh 13DM197
Tushar Mittal 13DM205
Udit Jain 13DM206
B I R L A I N S T I T U T E O F M A N A G E M E N T T E C H N O L O G Y

2. Contents
Gaming Industry..............................................................................................................................................3
Trends ............................................................................................................................................................3
Market Segmentation.................................................................................................................................3
Our Brand .........................................................................................................................................................4
Sony Playstation...........................................................................................................................................4
Our Competitor ...............................................................................................................................................4
Microsoft Xbox .............................................................................................................................................4
Brand Audit ......................................................................................................................................................5
Brand Audit of Sony Playstation ....................................................................................................................6
Brand Inventory............................................................................................................................................6
Brand Logo ...............................................................................................................................................6
Brand Taglines ..........................................................................................................................................6
Strength Weaknesses Opportunity and Threat........................................................................................6
Brand Point of Difference...........................................................................................................................6
Point of Parity ...............................................................................................................................................7
Brand Audit of Sony Microsoft Xbox .............................................................................................................8
Brand Inventory............................................................................................................................................8
Brand Logo ...............................................................................................................................................8
Brand Taglines ..........................................................................................................................................8
Strength Weaknesses Opportunity and Threat........................................................................................8
Brand Point of Difference...........................................................................................................................9
SURVEY ANALYSIS.............................................................................................................................................9
BRAND RECALL.............................................................................................................................................9
BRAND PERSONALITY...................................................................................................................................9
BRAND RESPONSE ......................................................................................................................................10
Recommendations .......................................................................................................................................11
Exhibits.............................................................................................................................................................12

3. Gaming Industry
Trends
 Game revenues will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% to $86.1
billion by 2016;
 The number of gamers worldwide will rise from 1.21 billion this year to 1.55 billion;
 Mobile gaming will grow at an average annual rate of 19% for smartphones and 48% for
tablets, grossing $13.9bn and $10.0bn in 2016 respectively; Combined, they will take a
27.8% share of the global market, up almost ten percent points compared to this year;
 Primarily fuelled by a global CAGR of 10.4% for MMO games on PC, the computer screen
will continue to lead other screens with a market share of 35.8% totalling $30.9bn in 2016;
 Next gen consoles, free-to-play triple A titles and alternative distribution of games to TV will
help to consolidate revenues through the TV screen at a global growth rate of 3.5%;
 The Asia-Pacific region will strengthen its leading position with a 37.9% market share by 2016
as emerging markets drive global growth.
Market Segmentation
Gaming
Market
Segmen
tation
Avid
Omni
gamers
Casual
Gamers
Core
Console
Gamers
Family
Gamers
Social
Games
Free and
mobile
gamers

4. Our Brand
Sony Playstation
Playstation is a series of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer
Entertainment. The brand was first introduced on December 3, 1994 in Japan with the launch of
the original PlayStation console. It now consists of four home consoles, as well as a media center,
an online service, a line of controllers, two handhelds and a phone, as well as multiple magazines.
The original console in the series, the PlayStation, was the first video game console to ship 100
million units, 9 years and 6 months after its initial launch. Its successor, the PlayStation 2, was
released in 2000. The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling home console to date, having reached over
155 million units sold as of December 28, 2012. Sony's next console, the PlayStation 3, was released
in 2006 and has sold over 80 million consoles worldwide as of November 2013. Sony's latest
console, the PlayStation 4, was released in 2013, selling 1 million consoles in its first 24 hours on sale,
becoming the fastest selling console in history.
Our Competitor
Microsoft Xbox
The Xbox is a video gaming brand created by Microsoft. It includes a series of video game
consoles developed by Microsoft, with consoles in the sixth to eighth generations, as well as
applications (games), streaming services, and the online service, Xbox Live. The brand was first
introduced on November 15, 2001 in the United States, with the launch of the original Xbox
console.
That original device was the first video game console offered by an American company after the
Atari Jaguar stopped sales in 1996. It reached over 24 million units sold as of May 10, 2006.
Microsoft's second console, the Xbox 360, was released in 2005 and has sold over 77.2 million
consoles worldwide as of April 18, 2013. The successor to the Xbox 360 and Microsoft's most recent
console, the Xbox One, was revealed on May 21, 2013. The Xbox One has been released in 21
markets around the world on November 22, 2013, with the UK as its first country.

5. Brand Audit
 Brand Inventory
o Logos
o Taglines and Slogans
o Jingles
o Packaging
 Points-of-difference (POD)
The aspects of the product offering that are relatively distinct to the offerings of like
competitors.
 Points-of-parity (POP)
The aspects of the product offering that are largely similar to the offerings of like
competitors.
 SWOT (Strength Weakness Opportunity and Threats)
 Brand Mantra
The heart and Soul of the Brand

6. Brand Audit of Sony Playstation
Brand Inventory
Brand Logo
Brand Taglines
 Live in your world. Play in ours
 It only does everything
 Greatness Awaits
Strength Weaknesses Opportunity and Threat
Brand Point of Difference
 Strategy
o First mover advantage
o Enjoys the advantage of Sony being pioneer in designing and electronics
o Collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to provide better customer experience

7.  Product
o Variety of products available
o Better design sleek style and looks
o Better graphics
o Product line and variation (tweaking of the models before product enters into
maturity)
o Innovative products (blue ray disc compatibility)
 Complementary Products
o Number of accessories are more
o number of games are more (150 titles)
o Indian content based games(regional games available)
 Availability
o Leverage the brand presence across globe in terms of distribution
o Uses e-commerce for product
o Titles available across all the retail stores
Point of Parity
 Different storage capacity available
 Online portal for multiplayer gaming experience
 Similar games available with each console (exception one or two)
 Multiplayer compatibility
 Wi-Fi enabled consoles
 High Graphics

8. Brand Audit of Sony Microsoft Xbox
Brand Inventory
Brand Logo
Brand Taglines
1. A New Generation Revealed
2. Jump In
3. Jump Out
Strength Weaknesses Opportunity and Threat
Strength
•All in one entertainment: Xbox is
more inclined to provide a wide
range of features and is perceived
as all round entertainer
•Strong customer service
•Compatibility with windows
•Competitively priced
Weaknesses
•Weak distribution
•Limited product range and variants
•Doesn’t cater to lower segment of
market as play station
•Xbox Live monthly fee
Opportunity
•Number of games
•Work on distribution
•3D gaming
Threat
•PC games
•Playstation and Wii
•Tablets and smartphones
•Cloud gaming
Microsoft
XBox

9. Sincere
High
69%
Low
31%
Competent 77% 23%
Exciting 81% 19%
Sophisticated 63% 37%
Rugged 51% 49%
Passionate 72% 28%
Brand Point of Difference
 All in one entertainment
 Customer Service
 Paid online Portal (Xbox Live)
 Competitive Priced
 Complete compatibility with Windows.
SURVEY ANALYSIS
SAMPLE SIZE – 30
TARGET AUDIENCE – CONSOLE GAMERS
BRAND RECALL
Sony 53%
Xbox 26%
Others 21%
BRAND PERSONALITY

10. Very
Quality
Strong
26%
Strong
52%
Low
22%
Credibility 33% 46% 21%
Consideration 56% 21% 23%
BRAND RESPONSE

11. Recommendations
Sony PlayStation has positioned itself in youth market, who rely on the brand Sony.
The distribution of Sony leveraged the PlayStation and this is the major reason for its
high sales, but on the other hand it lacks certain features and benefits which
differentiates themselves from competitors.
The recommendation to improve their overall brand are:
 Focusing on building their brand than branding of individual products
 Developing a brand tagline along with the products tagline
 They should focus on reviving the declining gaming console industry to
maintain their brand. If gaming industry declines, their brand cannot survive
 Option of up gradation of the existing hardware (console) in order to make it
compatible for future games.
 They should also focus on positioning family entertainment through console
gaming than just narrowing their approach for youth market.

12. Exhibits
BRAND AUDIT – SONY PLAY STATION VIDEO GAMES
Q1.Which brand you usually recall when you think of video games.
Q2. Please provide the top three (3) brands that you would most likely purchase
from when considering Video Games
Q3. How well do the following traits describe Sony PlayStation (1= not at all, 5 =
very much)?
Q4.Please Rate the Sony PlayStation on following Parameters: (1= Very low, 5 =
Very Strong)
Q5.How much are you engaged with SONY PS on the following metrics (1= not at
all, 5 = very much)?