Sony is currently preparing a Full HD message to present to consumers and the trade, with the supplier predicting big ticket purchases for the whole family set to supersede kitchen smalls as the big winner this Christmas.
Christmas itself may still be five months away, but the sell-in is already beginning and marketing and branding will be ramped up in the spring. Current.com.au spoke to Sony group sales manager Jeremy Senior, who said he’s focusing on promoting a ‘Full HD for the whole family’ message. Products at the centre of this push will be Bravia panels, Handicams, the Alpha and Cybershot camera range and Blu-ray.
In addition to this, Sony will be promoting gift ideas for individuals, including the latest series of Walkmans, noise cancelling and bass extension headphones, and Notetakers. Sales potential does not conclude at Christmas, however, and Senior is keen to make sure Sony’s retail partners are prepared for post-Christmas selling.
“One thing we’re very conscious of with Christmas is, it’s not just the sell-in to November and lead up to 25 December, but January is also a very strong sales period,” he said.
“We want to make sure that we’ve got offers for that time of the year as well, and that’s where things like Notetakers come into play.”
Senior said Sony’s range of Notetakers, which are a modern-day take on the Dictaphone, will be marketed at the back-to-school and university student market.
With Australian consumers now socially programmed to expect big discounts come Boxing Day, we asked Senior how Sony is planning on promoting pre-Christmas purchasing, rather than consumers utilising sales in order to get reduced prices.
“It’s a good challenge,” he replied. “Consumers are realistic about the fact the newest and greatest things don’t appear in Boxing Day sales at 30-40 per cent off, [it’s more] retailers looking to get rid of excess inventory…that sort of clearance message.
“We focus on the new technology: the premium products that we want to be driving, and consumers will buy into that through December, not anticipating it to be heavily discounted in January.”