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The global television industry consists of big brand names such as Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, LG Electronics and Matsushita Electric. These companies had their respective core competence in manufacturing either Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Plasma screen TV sets. Sharp, which launched the world's first 14" color LCD TV, dominated the global LCD TV segment till 2005. In 2001, Samsung came out with digital TVs with state-of-the-art technology. As television sets became an integral part of the family room, consumers form a strong bond with this consumer electronic product.
The television industry, a part of the consumer electronics segment depended heavily on branding. The TV manufacturers had to create a perception among the consumers about the unique benefits of their products. This positioning of the brand image among the consumers helped them in their buying decisions. Since there had been a change in the consumers' preference in the global TV industry and also due to improved television technologies, consumers were benefitted with plethora of options other than the most conventional Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TV sets. Many avant-garde televisions were introduced in the market and these includes super thin and flat panel TVs, which consisted of LCD and Plasma screens. Therefore, in the initial stage of the consumers' buying process, the buyers need to select the technology (LCD or Plasma) suitable for them. Through information search, they could recognize the advantages and the disadvantages of both the technologies. After the selection of a particular technology, the consumers go for the evaluation of alternatives. As televisions are not a frequently bought product, buyers were highly cautious in their buying process. Therefore, a product with higher brand equity had good selling potential.
A brand had been something that relates to the perception of a consumer about a particular product. In the television segment, brand played an important role in generating interest among the buyers. The companies like Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, LG Electronics and Matsushita Electric had their respective core competence in manufacturing either LCD or Plasma screen TV sets. Sharp, which launched the world's first 14" color LCD TV, dominated the global LCD TV segment till 2005. In 2000, Sharp boasted a market share of 86%, but in 2006 the company's share plummeted to just 11.8%. The problem with Sharp was that it failed to nurture its brand. While Sony and Samsung invested billions of dollars to build up and maintain its brand, Sharp failed to do so. The Aquos brand of LCD TVs launched by Sharp in 2002 failed to make a mark in the US and the European market largely due to the absence of effective brand building exercises by the company. |
