MUSIC EQUIPMENTS

1.JBL:
JBL is an American company that manufactures loudspeakers.
There are two independent divisions within the company – JBL
Consumer and JBL Professional. The former produces audio
equipment for the consumer home market while the latter
produces professional equipment for the studio, installed
sound, tour sound, portable sound (production and DJ), and
cinema markets. JBL is owned by Harman International
Industries, a subsidiary of South Korean company Samsung
Electronics.
JBL was founded by James Bullough Lansing (1902–1949)
who was a pioneering American audio engineer and
loudspeaker designer most notable for establishing two audio
companies that bear his name, Altec Lansing and JBL, the
latter taken from his initials.
The company is a subsidiary of its parent company
Harman International and has dual independent divisions within
itself JBL Professional and JBL Consumer. Latter is associated
with manufacturing and producing of audio equipment to be
used for consumer home market and former offers professional
equipment for cinema, portable sound, tour sound and installed
sound for a studio.
HISTORTY:
Lansing and his business partner Ken Decker started a company
in 1927, in Los Angeles, manufacturing 6- and 8-inch speaker
drivers for radio consoles and radio sets. The company was
called Lansing Manufacturing Company, from March 1, 1927.[1]
In 1933, head of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) sound
department Douglas Shearer, dissatisfied with the loudspeakers
of Western Electric (WE) and RCA, decided to develop a new
loudspeaker. John Hilliard, Robert Stephens and John F.
Blackburn were part of the team that developed the Shearer Horn,
with Lansing Manufacturing producing the 285 compression
driver and the 15XS bass driver. The Shearer Horn gave the
desired improvements and WE and RCA received the contracts to
each build 75 units, WE calling them Diaphonic and RCA using it
in their RCA Photophone. Lansing Manufacturing was the only
one selling them as Shearer Horn. In 1936 the Shearer Horn
received the Academy Scientific and Technical Award from
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Based on the experience developed with the Shearer Horn,
Lansing produced the Iconic System loudspeaker for cinemas.
The Iconic was a 2-way speaker using a 15-inch woofer for the
low frequencies and a compression driver for the highs.
In 1939 Decker was killed in an airplane crash, the company soon
began having financial troubles without Decker's guidance and in
1941, Lansing Manufacturing Company was bought by Altec
Service Corporation, after which the name changed to Altec
Lansing. After Lansing's contract expired in 1946, he left Altec
Lansing and founded Lansing Sound Inc. in which later the name
changed to James B. Lansing Sound and even later shortened to
JBL Sound.
In 1946, JBL produced their first product, the model D101 15-inch
loudspeaker and the model D175 high-frequency driver. The
D175 remained in the JBL catalog through the 1970s. Both of
these were near-copies of Altec Lansing products. The first
original product was the D130, a 15-inch transducer for which a
variant would remain in production for the next 55 years. The
D130 featured a four-inch flat ribbon wire voice coil and Alnico V
magnet. Two other products were the 12-inch D131 and the 8-
inch D208 cone drivers.
The Marquardt Corporation gave the company early
manufacturing space and a modest investment. William H.
Thomas, the treasurer of Marquardt Corporation, represented
Marquardt on Lansing's Board of Directors. In 1948 Marquardt
took over operation of JBL. In 1949 Marquardt was purchased by
General Tire Company. The new company was not interested in
the loudspeaker business and severed ties with Lansing. Lansing
reincorporated as James B. Lansing, Incorporated, and moved
the newly formed company to its first private location on 2439
Fletcher Drive, Los Angeles.
A key to JBL's early development was Lansing's close business
relationship with its primary supplier of Alnico V magnetic
material, Robert Arnold of Arnold Engineering. Arnold Engineering
extended favorable terms and deep credit to Lansing. Robert
Arnold saw JBL as an opportunity to sell Alnico V magnetic
material into a new market.
James Lansing was noted as an innovative engineer, but a poor
businessman. Decker, his business partner, had died in 1939 in
an airplane crash. In the late 1940s, Lansing struggled to pay
invoices and ship product. As a result of deteriorating business
conditions and personal issues, he committed suicide on
September 4, 1949. The company then passed into the hands of
Bill Thomas, JBL's then vice-president. Lansing had taken out a
$10,000 life insurance policy, naming the company as the
beneficiary, a decision that allowed Thomas to continue the
company after Lansing's death. Soon after, Thomas purchased
Mrs. Lansing's one-third interest in the company and became the
sole owner of the company. Thomas is credited with revitalizing
the company and spearheading a period of strong growth for the
two decades following the founding of JBL.[2]
Early products included the model 375 high-frequency driver and
the 075 UHF (Ultra High Frequency) ring-radiator driver. The ring-
radiator drivers are also known as "JBL bullets" because of their
distinctive shape. The 375 was a re-invention of the Western
Electric 594 driver but with an Alnico V magnet and a four-inch
voice coil. The 375 shared the same basic magnet structure as
the D-130 woofer. JBL engineers Ed May and Bart N.
Locanthi created these designs.[3]
Two products from that era, the Hartsfield and the Paragon,
continue to be highly desired on the collectors' market.
In 1955 the brand name JBL was introduced to resolve ongoing
disputes with Altec Lansing Corporation. The company name
"James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated" was retained, but the
logo name was changed to JBL with its distinctive exclamation
point logo.[4]
The JBL 4320 series studio monitor was introduced through
Capitol Records in Hollywood and became the standard monitor
worldwide for its parent company, EMI. JBL's introduction to rock
and roll music came via the adoption of the D130 loudspeaker
by Leo Fender's Fender Guitar company as the ideal driver
for electric guitars.
In 1969, Bill Thomas sold JBL to the Jervis Corporation (later
renamed Harman International), headed by Sidney Harman. The
1970s saw JBL become a household brand, starting with the
famous L-100, which was the best-selling loudspeaker model of
any company to that time. The 1970s also saw a major JBL
expansion in the professional audio field from their studio
monitors. By 1977, more recording studios were using JBL
monitors than all other brands combined, according to
a Billboard survey.[5] The JBL L-100 and 4310 control monitors
were noteworthy, popular home speakers. In the late 1970s, the
new L-series designs L15, L26, L46, L56, L86, L96, L112, L150,
and later the L150A and flagship L250 were introduced with
improved crossovers, ceramic magnet woofers, updated
midrange drivers, and aluminum-deposition phenolic resin
tweeters. In the mid-1980s the designs were again updated and
redesigned with a new titanium-deposition tweeter diaphragm.
The new L-series designations being the L20T, L40T, L60T, L80T,
L100T, the Ti-series 18Ti, 120Ti, 240Ti, and the flagship 250Ti. To
test speaker drivers, JBL in Glendale and Northridge used the
roof as an outdoor equivalent to an anechoic chamber.[6]
Over the next two decades, JBL went more mass-market with
their consumer (Northridge) line of loudspeakers. At the same
time, they made an entry into the high-end market with their
project speakers, consisting of the Everest and K2 lines. JBL
became a prominent supplier to the tour sound industry, their
loudspeakers being employed by touring rock acts and music
festivals. JBL products were the basis for the development
of THXloudspeaker standard, which resulted in JBL becoming a
popular cinema loudspeaker manufacturer.
JBL was formerly used in Ford's top-of-the-line vehicle audio
systems, as competition with Chrysler (whose cars used Infinity)
and Nissan (who used Bose)
PROMOTION STRATEGY OF JBL:
JBL is a recognised brand and is a firm believer of advertising for
promoting its products. It has launched several ad campaigns
featuring normal people using its products like wireless
headphone at general places like café, on the treadmill and at
work. The brand has adopted a humorous approach in ads and a
common person can easily relate to it making these ads very
popular amongst common masses. Ads are shown via television
channels, in the newspaper, magazines and on hoardings.

JBL has identified its brand with individuals and created a mass
market for its products. The company has also roped in celebrities
as its brand ambassadors. Famous Indian music director and
singer A. R. Rehman has become associated with JBL to promote
its brand. Paul McCartney, famous musical legend has also allied
himself with JBL to create immense brand awareness.

Audio electronics company JBL sought to target a new market –

teen and young adult action sports athletes – with a new line of
headphones specifically designed to be worn while skating, riding
BMX, freeskiing, or snowboarding.
In addition to being sweatproof, the product featured a twist and
lock fit, tested to never to fall out. Considering these specific
product benefits and drawing on inspiration of action sports, Fuse
developed the product’s name – Grip – as well as the brand’s
positioning.
Then Fuse’s creative team began the process of art direction and
campaign development, including packaging and collateral
design. Among the key creative deliverables was global video
content concepted, shot, and produced to build on the brand
theme of travel and exploration.
Respected by action sports athletes for its advanced design, Grip
became an important product in the JBL family.

2.BOSE
Bose Corporation /boʊz/ is a privately held American
corporation, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, that
designs, develops and sells audio equipment. Founded in 1964
by Amar Bose, the company sells its products throughout the
world. According to the company annual report in the 2017
financial year, Bose received revenue of US$3.8 billion and
employed more than 8,000 people.[2] Bose is best known for its
home audio systems and speakers,[3] noise cancelling
headphones,[3] professional audio systems[4] and automobile
sound systems.[5] The company has also conducted research
into suspension technologies for cars[6] and heavy-duty
trucks[7] and into the subject of cold fusion. [8] Bose has a
reputation for being particularly protective of its patents,
trademarks, and brands.
 A majority of Bose Corporation's non-voting shares were given
by Amar Bose in 2011 to his alma mater and former employer,
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They receive cash
dividends, but are prohibited from selling the shares and are
unable to participate in the management and governance of the
company.
Bose Corporation is a privately held American Corporation,
headquartered at Framingham, Massachsetts, that designs,
develops and sells audio equipment. The founder Amar Bose is
a PhD in Sound engineering, and Forbes estimated the
revenue of Bose in 2016 to be $ 3.8 billion. Bose is known for
its audio systems/ speakers, noise cancelling headphones,
professional audio systems and automobile sound system. It
operates in the Electronic sector.
HISTORY:
Formation
The company was founded in 1964[9] by Amar Bose. Eight years
earlier, Bose, then a graduate student at MIT, had purchased a
stereo system and was disappointed with its performance. This
led him to research the importance of reverberant (indirect) sound
on perceived audio quality.[10]
Early years
Bose began extensive research aimed at clarifying factors that he
saw as fundamental weaknesses plaguing high-end audio
systems. The principal weaknesses, in his view, were that overall,
the electronics and speaker failed to account for the spatial
properties of the radiated sound in typical listening spaces
(homes and apartments) and the implications of spatiality
for psychoacoustics, i.e. the listener's head as a sonic diffraction
object as part of the system. Eight years later, he started the
company, charging it with a mission to achieve "Better Sound
Through Research", now the company slogan.
In an interview in 2007 Bose talked about an early review that
kept the company alive.
"One magazine in the United States, High Fidelity, a really
credible magazine, had one reviewer named Norman
Eisenburg who really knew his music. In those days I used to
take the loudspeaker to the reviewer. I packed my son and
loudspeaker in the car and went off. I put this little thing on
top of the big speakers he had, turned it on, and within five
minutes he said: 'I don't care if this is made of green cheese,
it's the best sound, most accurate sound, I've ever heard.'
He came out with a review titled 'Surround and Conquer'.
[11]
He was not known to do things like that. Everybody in the
press knew he knew music, and it resulted in rave reviews
one after another, and we were able to survive."[12]
Research history[edit]
Bose's first loudspeaker product, the model 2201,[13] dispersed
22 small mid-range speakers over an eighth of a sphere. It was
designed to be located in the corner of a room, using
reflections off the walls to increase the apparent size of the
room. An electronic equalizer was used to flatten the frequency
spectrum of this system. The results of listening tests were
disappointing.[13]
After this research, Bose came to the conclusion that imperfect
knowledge of psychoacoustics limited the ability to adequately
characterize quantitatively any two arbitrary sounds that are
perceived differently, and to adequately characterize and
quantify all aspects of perceived quality. He believed
that distortion was overrated as a factor in perceived quality in
the complex sounds that comprised music. Similarly, he did not
find measurable relevance to perceived quality in other easily
measured parameters of loudspeakers and electronics, and
therefore did not publish those specifications for Bose
products. The ultimate test, Bose insisted, was the listener's
 perception of audible quality (or lack of it) and his or her own
preferences.[14][15] This reluctance to publish information was
due to Bose's rejection of these measurements in favour of
"more meaningful measurement and evaluation procedures".[16]
Bose conducted further research into psychoacoustics that
eventually clarified the importance of a dominance of reflected
sound arriving at the head of the listener, a listening condition
that is characteristic of live performances. This led to a speaker
design that aimed eight identical mid-range drivers (with
electronic equalization) at the wall behind the speaker, and a
ninth driver towards the listener. The purpose of this design
was to achieve a dominance of reflected over direct sound in
home listening spaces. The pentagonal design used in the
Model 901 was, and remains, unconventional compared with
most systems, where mid-range and high-frequency speakers
directly face the listener.[17]
The Model 901 premiered in 1968 and was an immediate
commercial success, and Bose Corporation grew rapidly during
the 1970s. The Bose 901 was in production since 1968
finishing in 2017, the longest running production run [18], second
only to the Klipsch Klipschorn speaker in longevity of
continuous production.[19]
PROMOTION STRATEGY OF BOSE:
Bose Corporation relies on a low-key adverting policy compared
to its competitors in the industry or for that matter other similar
multinational giants. The company’s primary marketing strategy is
to make its products available to the consumer directly with no
middleman or resellers. To this end, Bose has focused on selling
through exclusive stores that the company has set up. E-
commerce websites are another option to make its products
available to the consumers.
The strategy of minimal advertising is a little surprising
considering in consumer durable goods segments, product
features often undergo change and consumers need to be
communicated on the same actively. However, the company
believes in targeting a niche market and holding people’s
attention with its innovative and atypical products. Due to this
nature of the company, competitors like Sony and LGare moving
higher in the value chain and commanding a lot more consumer
attention. As a corporate brand, it is said to be a company that
reinvests 100% of its profits back into the company for growth
and development.

Bose applies product focused approach in reaching target

audiences. Bose markets its products through premium brand
reputation. It follows a low key advertising policy compared to its
competitors in the industry. This is derived by the company’s
believe in targeting a niche market and holding people’s attention
with its innovative and atypical products. Bose’s creative segment
advertises through videos that intensify emotions, serenity and
how the brand’s headphones can help you. Also it markets online
via E-commerce sites like Amazon. Despite all these promotions,
the amount spent on advertising is minimal and Bose is said to
reinvest all its revenues into production and development. Bose
adopted a direct sales model to distribute the 901. Bose salesmen
went door to door demonstrating the speaker. Customers
appreciated the sound reproduction capabilities of the speaker,
and the model sold well. On the digital front Bose is present on
every renowned social network platforms where they update
regularly about the latest products and innovations. They have
roped in celebrities Nicki Minaj, P. Diddy, Lil Wayne to endorse
their products.
Bose adverstises in many ways for each product they have. They
enhance their advertisemnets makeing them unique to the
consumers. Their always trying to catch the consumers attention
in different ways. Some examples of what type of ads they use
are commercials, billboards, models, etc.

Bose emphasizes on providing top-of-the-line products to its

customers and provides customized sound solutions which caters
to the needs of the individual preferences and indoor ambience,

Has focused on advertising its brand through its association with

celebrity sports personalities from Formula 1 Car Racing, National
Football League (NFL), USA Skiing and Snowboarding teams
among others.

The focus has been to emphasize the high quality of its offerings
like the noise-cancelling headphones being popular among the
coaches and players alike of the NFL, who need to be focused on
the game in spite of the high cacophony around them in the
stadium.

The management of Bose Corporation has always encouraged

research in various technological fields apart from their core
business category of sound – thus their patronage have provided
significant advancements in such diverse fields as car and heavy-
duty truck suspensions and cold fusion technology.

3. SONY:

SonyCorporation isa Japanese multinational conglomerate c

orporation headquartered in , Minato, Tokyo.[4][1] Its diversified
 business includes consumer and
professional electronics, gaming, entertainment and financial
services.[5] The company owns the largest music entertainment
business in the world,[6] the largest video game
console business and one of the largest video game
publishing businesses, and is one of the leading manufacturers
of electronic products for the consumer and professional
markets, and a leading player in the film and television
entertainmentindustry.[7][better source needed] Sony was ranked 97th on
the 2018 Fortune Global 500 list.[8]
Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and
the parent company of the Sony Group ( ソ ニ ー ・ グ ル ー
プ Sonī Gurūpu), which is engaged in business through its four
operating components: electronics (AV, IT & communication
products, semiconductors, video games, network
services and medical business), motion pictures (movies and
TV shows), music (record labels and music publishing) and
financial services (banking and insurance).[9][10][11] These make
Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment
companies in the world. The group consists of Sony
Corporation, Sony Pictures, Sony Mobile, Sony Interactive
Entertainment, Sony Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Sony
Financial Holdings, and others.
Sony is among the semiconductor sales leaders[12] and since
2015, the fifth-largest television manufacturer in the world
after Samsung Electronics, LG
[13]
Electronics, TCL and Hisense.
The company's current slogan is Be Moved. Their former
slogans were The One and Only (1979–1982), It's a
Sony (1982–2005), like.no.other (2005–2009)[14] and make.beli
eve (2009–2013).[15]
HISTORY:

Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo

Sony began in the wake of World War II. In 1946, Masaru
Ibuka started an electronics shop in a department store building in
Tokyo. The company started with a capital of ¥190,000 [17]and a
total of eight employees.[18] On 7 May 1946, Ibuka was joined
by Akio Morita to establish a company called Tokyo
Tsushin (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation).
[19]
The company built Japan's first tape recorder, called the Type-
[19][20]
G. In 1958, the company changed its name to "Sony".[21]
Name
When Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo was looking for a romanized name to
use to market themselves, they strongly considered using their
initials, TTK. The primary reason they did not is that the railway
company Tokyo Kyuko was known as TTK.[19] The company
occasionally used the acronym "Totsuko" in Japan, but during his
visit to the United States, Morita discovered that Americans had
trouble pronouncing that name. Another early name that was tried
out for a while was "Tokyo Teletech" until Akio Morita discovered
that there was an American company already using Teletech as a
brand name.[22]
The name "Sony" was chosen for the brand as a mix of two
words: one was the Latin word "sonus", which is the root of sonic
and sound, and the other was "sonny", a common slang term
used in 1950s America to call a young boy. [7] In 1950s Japan,
"sonny boys" was a loan word in Japanese, which connoted smart
and presentable young men, which Sony founders Akio
Morita and Masaru Ibuka considered themselves to be.[7]
The first Sony-branded product, the TR-55 transistor radio,
appeared in 1955 but the company name did not change to Sony
until January 1958.[23]
At the time of the change, it was extremely unusual for a
Japanese company to use Roman letters to spell its name instead
of writing it in kanji. The move was not without opposition: TTK's
principal bank at the time, Mitsui, had strong feelings about the
name. They pushed for a name such as Sony Electronic
Industries, or Sony Teletech. Akio Morita was firm, however, as he
did not want the company name tied to any particular industry.
Eventually, both Ibuka and Mitsui Bank's chairman gave their
approval.[19]
Globalization
According to Schiffer, Sony's TR-63 radio "cracked open the U.S.
market and launched the new industry of consumer
microelectronics." By the mid-1950s, American teens had begun
buying portable transistor radios in huge numbers, helping to
propel the fledgling industry from an estimated 100,000 units in
1955 to 5 million units by the end of 1968.[citation needed]
Sony co-founder Akio Morita founded Sony Corporation of
America in 1960.[18] In the process, he was struck by the mobility
of employees between American companies, which was unheard
of in Japan at that time.[18] When he returned to Japan, he
encouraged experienced, middle-aged employees of other
companies to reevaluate their careers and consider joining Sony.
[18]
The company filled many positions in this manner, and inspired
other Japanese companies to do the same. [18] Moreover, Sony
played a major role in the development of Japan as a powerful
exporter during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.[24] It also helped to
significantly improve American perceptions of "made in Japan"
products.[25]Known for its production quality, Sony was able to
charge above-market prices for its consumer electronics and
resisted lowering prices.[25]
In 1971, Masaru Ibuka handed the position of president over to
his co-founder Akio Morita. Sony began a life insurance
company in 1979, one of its many peripheral businesses. Amid a
global recession in the early 1980s, electronics sales dropped and
the company was forced to cut prices.[25] Sony's profits fell
sharply. "It's over for Sony," one analyst concluded. "The
company's best days are behind it."[25] Around that time, Norio
Ohga took up the role of president. He encouraged the
development of the Compact Disc in the 1970s and 1980s, and of
the PlayStation in the early 1990s. Ohga went on to
purchase CBS Records in 1988 and Columbia Pictures in 1989,
greatly expanding Sony's media presence. Ohga would succeed
Morita as chief executive officer in 1989.[26][citation needed] Under the
vision of co-founder Akio Morita[27] and his successors, the
company had aggressively expanded into new businesses.[24] Part
of its motivation for doing so was the pursuit of "convergence,"
linking film, music and digital electronics via the Internet. [24] This
expansion proved unrewarding and unprofitable,[24] threatening
Sony's ability to charge a premium on its products[27] as well as its
brand name.[27] In 2005, Howard Stringer replaced Nobuyuki
Idei as chief executive officer, marking the first time that a
foreigner had run a major Japanese electronics firm. Stringer
helped to reinvigorate the company's struggling media
businesses, encouraging blockbusters such as Spider-Man while
cutting 9,000 jobs.[24] He hoped to sell off peripheral business and
focus the company again on electronics.[27] Furthermore, he
aimed to increase cooperation between business units,[27] which
he described as "silos" operating in isolation from one another.
[28]
In a bid to provide a unified brand for its global operations,
Sony introduced a slogan known as "make.believe" in 2009.
Despite some successes, the company faced continued struggles
in the mid- to late-2000s.[24] In 2012, Kazuo Hirai was promoted to
president and CEO, replacing Stringer. Shortly thereafter, Hirai
outlined his company-wide initiative, named "One Sony" to revive
Sony from years of financial losses and bureaucratic
management structure, which proved difficult for former CEO
Stringer to accomplish, partly due to differences in business
culture and native languages between Stringer and some of
Sony's Japanese divisions and subsidiaries. Hirai outlined three
major areas of focus for Sony's electronics business, which
include imaging technology, gaming and mobile technology, as
well as a focus on reducing the major losses from the television
business.[29]
In February 2014, Sony announced the sale of its Vaio PC
division to a new corporation owned by investment fund Japan
Industrial Partners and spinning its TV division into its own
corporation as to make it more nimble to turn the unit around from
past losses totaling $7.8 billion over a decade.[30] Later that
month, they announced that they would be closing 20 stores. [31] In
April, the company announced that they would be selling 9.5
million shares in Square Enix (roughly 8.2 percent of the game
company's total shares) in a deal worth approximately $48 million.
[32]
In May 2014 the company announced it was forming two joint
ventures with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to manufacture and
market Sony's PlayStation games consoles and associated
software in China.[33]
It was reported in December 2016 by multiple news outlets that
Sony was considering restructuring its U.S. operations by merging
its TV & film business, Sony Pictures Entertainment, with its
gaming business, Sony Interactive Entertainment. According to
the reports, such a restructuring would have placed Sony Pictures
under Sony Interactive's CEO, Andrew House, though House
wouldn't have taken over day-to-day operations of the film
studio. According to one report, Sony was set to make a final
decision on the possibility of the merger of the TV, film, & gaming
businesses by the end of its fiscal year in March of the following
year (2017)
PROMOTION STRATEGY OF SONY:
The key to successfully launching the product and making
the target customers aware of the usefulness of the product is
called promotion. Promotion is something that affects both the
company and the product. It helps the company to increase their
profit hugely and also gives knowledge and creates awareness of
the products for the consumers. Sony Corporation seems to be
utilizing this very well.

Their tagline “Make. Believe” passes a message to unite

initiatives across network services, electronics, mobile phones,
music and movies. It also symbolizes Sony’s essence
of innovation and creativity. They use lot of celebrities to endorse
their products. In the past, the faces of their products were big
actors like Deepika Padukone and Kareena Kapoor in India.
Currently, Katrina Kaif was announced as a brand ambassador of
their smart phone range Xperia.
The greatest strength of Sony is their ability to produce innovative
quality products. Sony innovations have become part of
mainstream culture; Sony is the company of Firsts, Sony website.
The other ability of Sony is their success in several different
markets. Sony has made an impact in electronic videogames,
computer, and especially in televisions.
The other strengths are:
Strong Sony brand image, worldwide reputation, Leadership in
make share, Diversification in Manufacturing Locations Around
the World, Ability to Provide High Motivation to Its Employees,
Loyal Customers, Supply chain, Broad product range and High
Quality Products, High Technology, Pioneer in the Industry as
Being Creative and Innovative.
SONY spends heavily on marketing and advertising. As per an
online resource its 2016 advertising budget was $3.7 billion
(Source: Businessrevieweurope). It uses several channels for
marketing including traditional and modern. However, digital
marketing is the central focus of its promotional strategy. The
social media too has an important place in the overall marketing
and promotional strategy of SONY. It also makes use of
television and the print media in plenty in the Asian markets to
promote its brand and products. It is known for making creative
TV ads that are highly engaging. In Asian markets its ads are
generally focused on products and highlight their outstanding
features and quality. Social media also has an important place in
its marketing strategy and promotions. It uses social media
extensively to target its customers and to engage them. It has
separate Facebook pages for its different products and its Play-
Station page has particularly very high number of followers. The
level of customer loyalty that the brand enjoys is evident from the
high number of fans and followers SONY has. Apart from
Facebook, it has used Pinterest, Google Plus, and Twitter for
customer engagement and for promoting its brand.
Like most other celebrity brands, SONY too has shown heavy
focus on marketing and has proved itself smarter than others in
this area. While digital marketing is at the centre of this strategy,
the brand has also used the other channels for successful
marketing and promotion of its brand and products. SONY has
used a creative promotion mix to reach its customers. There are
three elements that are quite distinct about its marketing strategy.
The first element is product. When you have got your product mix
right, you have little to fear from your competitors. Sony’s focus is
on design, quality and technology in this area. Apart from being
technologically efficient, its products are better than most in terms
of quality and design too. Sony has proved itself outstanding in
terms of product quality and design. Its pricing and promotions
strategy are the other two important elements in its marketing
strategy. A premium pricing strategy corresponds to the premium
image of SONY and its products.

Sony’s expenditure on advertising and promotions is very high. In

2016, its advertising budget was $ 3.7 billion. The large
advertising budget also reflects the heavy competition in the
electronics industry. When the competition in the industry is as
high, you need to show somewhat deeper focus on marketing and
promotion. SONY’s branding strategy to a large extent has played
a strong role at helping it overcome the competitive pressure. It is
renowned as a technological brand and has been the first to bring
a few great products to the market. Its Walkman was a big hit. So,
have been the Experia television and its smart noise cancelling
headphones. Still, Sony does not leave any stone unturned to
market its products and to make them successful. After having
discontinued its PC business, it focused on the other areas
including music and entertainment. Its SONY PlayStation has also
been a big hit. These devices are promoted heavily on television.
It is not difficult to come across the ads of SONY products while
watching TV. While mostly, these ads have product quality and
functionality at their centre SONY gets creative with its ads to
engage its customers. Apart from highlighting the features, these
ads also focus on creating a customer friendly image. SONY’s
customer orientation gets easily visible in its marketing strategy
too. Whether on Television or other marketing channels, SONY
ads have a definitely beautiful angle which is distinct from others.
However, the target customer segment are mainly the millenials.
Its advertising strategy focuses on reflecting the same energy and
enthusiasm and sometimes you can easily catch a glimpse of this
energy in SONY’s promotional videos.

Another platform that has played a central role in SONY’s

marketing strategy is the social media. Social media can be a
major support, if you can design a creative customer experience.
SONY has used social media for both customer engagement and
for promotion of its products. Apart from millions of followers and
several popular Facebook and Twitter pages, there is much more
that SONY is doing through social media. It has also used
Pinterest and Google plus for marketing and promotion. Along
with cost effectiveness and reach, a major advantage that any
brand can generate through social media is that of customer
engagement. Social media helps you connect with your
customers on a different level where the connection can be made
more personal. SONY’s strategy has always focused on customer
friendliness and deeper clarity. The credit goes to SONY’s
creative execution that it has been so successful at engaging its
followers through social media channels. How you showcase your
brand on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or any social
media channel, plays a major role in your branding strategy.
SONY’s showcase is beautiful and so is its impression on the
millions of its customers globally. At last, there are several
creative lessons to learn from SONY’s marketing strategy. Some
are easily evident when you browse through its videos on
YouTube.

However, the story is not limited to just the digital channels

because SONY is well versed at using the traditional channels
too. It uses the traditional channels too quite adeptly. One can
come across its ads on outdoor locations like billboards and
behind buses and on the walls. Outdoor advertising is generally
highly effective in the metropolitan areas where the exposure to
the target audience can be very high. The ads of SONY’s high
definition televisions are easily found on shining large billboards in
the metropolitan areas. That’s how SONY markets and advertises
its brand. Another critical role is that of its brand image whose two
main pillars are technology quality and beautiful design. While
SONY has used a premium pricing strategy like Apple still it has
its own large fan segment with high brand loyalty. This premium
pricing strategy conveys a premium brand image and a premium
customer experience. Overall, SONY’s marketing strategy is
outstanding in most aspects.

Sony is an aggressive marketing company. In its promotional

strategy in its marketing mix, Sony uses all media like TV, print,
online ads, billboards etc to advertise. Sony positions its brand on
the quality of their goods and services. They target the mind-set
of the consumers in a manner to create a brand equity for their
products. For example, when it comes to music related gadgets
Sony is the first name that comes to the minds of the consumers.
Sony also during festivities slash down prices, give discounts to
boost slumped sales. In India, Sony company had actresses like
Kareena Kapoor to convey the beautiful finish of Vaio laptops and
make it trendy in the young generation. For mobile phone like
Sony Xperia, Katrina Kaif advertised their product. Thus it can be
deduced that Sony employs a lot of celebrity endorsements for its
brands. Hence, this covers the marketing mix of Sony
Corporation.

4.PHILIPS:
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (literally Royal Philips, stylized
as PHILIPS) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate company
headquartered in Amsterdam, one of the largest electronics
companies in the world, currently focused in the area of
healthcare and lighting. It was founded in Eindhoven in 1891
by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik, with their first products
being light bulbs. It was once one of the largest electronic
conglomerates in the world and currently employs around 74,000
people across 100 countries.[3] The company gained its royal
honorary title in 1998 and dropped the "Electronics" in its name in
2013.[4]
Philips is organized into two main divisions: Philips Consumer
Health and Well-being (formerly Philips Consumer Electronics
and Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care) and Philips
Professional Healthcare (formerly Philips Medical Systems). The
lighting division was spun off as a separate company, Signify N.V.
(formerly Philips Lighting prior to 2018). The company started
making electric shavers in 1939 under the Philishave brand, and
post-war they developed the Compact Cassette format and co-
developed the Compact Disc format with Sony, as well as
numerous other technologies. As of 2012, Philips was the largest
manufacturer of lighting in the world as measured by applicable
revenues.
Philips has a primary listing on the Euronext Amsterdam stock
exchange and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market
index.[5] It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock
Exchange. Acquisitions include that of Signetics and Magnavox.
They also have had a sports club since 1913 called PSV
Eindhoven.
HISTORY:
The Philips Company was founded in 1891, by Gerard Philips and
his father Frederik Philips. Frederik, a banker based
in Zaltbommel, financed the purchase and setup of an empty
factory building in Eindhoven, where the company started the
production of carbon-filament lamps and other electro-technical
products in 1892. This first factory has been adapted and is used
as a museum.[6]
In 1895, after a difficult first few years and near bankruptcy, the
Philipses brought in Anton, Gerard's younger brother by sixteen
years. Though he had earned a degree in engineering, Anton
started work as a sales representative; soon, however, he began
to contribute many important business ideas. With Anton's arrival,
the family business began to expand rapidly, resulting in the
founding of Philips Metaalgloeilampfabriek N.V. (Philips Metal
Filament Lamp Factory Ltd.) in Eindhoven in 1908, followed in
1912, by the foundation of Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken N.V.
(Philips Lightbulb Factories Ltd.). After Gerard and Anton Philips
changed their family business by founding the Philips corporation,
they laid the foundations for the later electronics multinational.
In the 1920s, the company started to manufacture other products,
such as vacuum tubes. In 1939, they introduced their
electric razor, the Philishave (marketed in the US using
the Norelco brand name). The "Chapel" is a radio with built-in
loudspeaker, which was designed during the early 1930s.
World War II[edit]
On 9 May 1940, the Philips directors learned that the
German invasion of the Netherlands was to take place the
following day. Having prepared for this, Anton Philips and his son
in law Frans Otten, as well as other Philips family members, fled
to the United States, taking a large amount of the company capital
with them. Operating from the US as the North American Philips
Company, they managed to run the company throughout the war.
At the same time, the company was moved (on paper) to
the Netherlands Antilles to keep it out of German hands.[12]
On 6 December 1942, the British No. 2 Group
RAF undertook Operation Oyster, which heavily damaged the
Philips Radio factory in Eindhoven with few casualties among the
Dutch workers and civilians.[13] The Philips works in Eindhoven
was bombed again by the RAF on 30 March 1943.[14][15]
Frits Philips, the son of Anton, was the only Philips family member
to stay in the Netherlands. He saved the lives of 382 Jews by
convincing the Nazis that they were indispensable for the
production process at Philips.[16]In 1943, he was held at the
internment camp for political prisoners at Vught for several
months because a strike at his factory reduced production. For his
actions in saving the hundreds of Jews, he was recognized
by Yad Vashem in 1995 as a "Righteous Among the Nations".[17]
1945–1999[edit]
After the war, the company was moved back to the Netherlands,
with their headquarters in Eindhoven.
In 1949, the company began selling television sets.[19] In 1950, it
formed Philips Records, which eventually formed part
of PolyGram.
Philips introduced the audio Compact Audio Cassette tape in
1963, and it was wildly successful. Compact cassettes were
initially used for dictation machines for office
typing stenographers and professional journalists. As their sound
quality improved, cassettes would also be used to record sound
and became the second mass media alongside vinyl records used
to sell recorded music.
Philips introduced the first combination portable radio and
cassette recorder, which was marketed as the "radiorecorder",
and is now better known as the boom box. Later, the cassette was
used in telephone answering machines, including a special form
of cassette where the tape was wound on an endless loop. The
C-cassette was used as the first mass storage device for early
personal computers in the 1970s and 1980s. Philips reduced the
cassette size for the professional needs with the Mini-Cassette,
although it would not be as successful as
the Olympus Microcassette. This became the predominant
dictation medium up to the advent of fully digital
dictation machines Philips continued with computers through the
early 1990s (see separate article: Philips Computers).
In 1972, Philips launched the world's first home video cassette
recorder, in the UK, the N1500. Its relatively bulky video cassettes
could record 30 minutes or 45 minutes. Later one-hour tapes
were also offered. As competition came from Sony's Betamax and
the VHS group of manufacturers, Philips introduced the N1700
system which allowed double-length recording. For the first time,
a 2-hour movie could fit onto one video cassette. In 1977, the
company unveiled a special promotional film for this system in the
UK, featuring comedian Denis Norden.[20] The concept was
quickly copied by the Japanese makers, whose tapes were
significantly cheaper. Philips made one last attempt at a new
standard for video recorders with the Video 2000 system, with
tapes that could be used on both sides and had 8 hours of total
recording time. As Philips only sold its systems on the PAL
standard and in Europe, and the Japanese makers sold globally,
the scale advantages of the Japanese proved insurmountable and
Philips withdrew the V2000 system and joined the VHS Coalition.
Philips had developed a Laserdisc early on for selling movies, but
delayed its commercial launch for fear of cannibalizing its video
recorder sales. Later Philips joined with MCA to launch the first
commercial Laserdisc standard and players. In 1982, Philips
teamed with Sony to launch the Compact Disc; this format
evolved into the CD-R, CD-RW, DVD and later Blu-ray, which
Philips launched with Sony in 1997[citation needed] and 2006
respectively.
In 1984, the Dutch Philips Group bought out nearly a one-third
share and took over the management of German
company Grundig.
In 1984, Philips split off its activities on the field
of photolithographic integrated circuit production equipment, the
so-called wafer steppers, into a joint venture with ASM
International, located in Veldhoven under the name ASML. Over
the years, this new company has evolved into the world's leading
manufacturer of chip production machines at the expense of
competitors like Nikon and Canon.
In 1991, the company's name was changed from N.V. Philips
Gloeilampenfabrieken to Philips Electronics N.V. At the same
time, North American Philips was formally dissolved, and a new
corporate division was formed in the US with the name Philips
Electronics North America Corp.[citation needed]
In 1991-1992, Philips along with their subsidiary Magnavox,
released the Philips CD-i, a combined CD player and home video
game console. It sold one million units and was discontinued in
1998 after being heavily criticized amongst the gaming
community.[21]
In 1997, the company officers decided to move the headquarters
from Eindhoven to Amsterdam along with the corporate name
change to Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., the latter of which
was finalized on 16 March 1998.[22]
2000s
The move of the headquarters to Amsterdam was completed in
2001. Initially, the company was housed in the Rembrandt Tower.
In 2002, it moved again, this time to the Breitner Tower. Philips
Lighting, Philips Research, Philips Semiconductors (spun off as
NXP in September 2006) and Philips Design, are still based in
Eindhoven. Philips Healthcare is headquartered in both Best,
Netherlands (near Eindhoven) and Andover, Massachusetts,
United States (near Boston).
In 2000, Philips bought Optiva Corporation, the maker
of Sonicare electric toothbrushes. The company was renamed
Philips Oral Healthcare and made a subsidiary of Philips DAP. In
2001, Philips acquired Agilent Technologies' Healthcare Solutions
Group (HSG) for EUR 2 billion.[23] Philips created a computer
monitors joint venture with LG called LG.Philips Displays in 2001.
In 2004, Philips abandoned the slogan "Let's make things better"
in favour of a new one: "Sense and Simplicity".
In December 2005, Philips announced its intention to sell or
demerge its semiconductor division. On 1 September 2006, it was
announced in Berlin that the name of the new company formed by
the division would be NXP Semiconductors. On 2 August 2006,
Philips completed an agreement to sell a controlling 80.1% stake
in NXP Semiconductors to a consortium of private
equity investors consisting of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &
Co. (KKR), Silver Lake Partners and AlpInvest Partners. On 21
August 2006, Bain Capital and Apax Partners announced that
they had signed definitive commitments to join the acquiring
consortium, a process which was completed on 1 October 2006.
In 2006, Philips bought out the company Lifeline
Systems headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts in a deal
valued at $750 million, its biggest move yet to expand its
consumer-health business (M).[24] In August 2007, Philips
acquired the company Ximis, Inc. headquartered in El Paso,
Texas for their Medical Informatics Division.[25] In October 2007, it
purchased a Moore Microprocessor Patent (MPP) Portfolio
license from The TPL Group.
On 21 December 2007, Philips and Respironics, Inc. announced
a definitive agreement pursuant to which Philips acquired all of
the outstanding shares of Respironics for US$66 per share, or a
total purchase price of approximately €3.6 billion (US$5.1 billion)
in cash.[26]
On 21 February 2008, Philips completed the acquisition of
VISICU Baltimore, Maryland through the merger of its indirect
wholly owned subsidiary into VISICU. As a result of that merger,
VISICU has become an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of
Philips. VISICU was the creator of the eICU concept of the use of
Telemedicine from a centralized facility to monitor and care for
ICU patients.[27]
The Philips physics laboratory was scaled down in the early 21st
century, as the company ceased trying to be innovative in
consumer electronics through fundamental research.[28]
2010s[edit]
In January 2011, Philips agreed to acquire the assets of Preethi, a
leading India-based kitchen appliances company.[29] On 27 June
2011, Philips acquired Sectra Mamea AB, the mammography
division of Sectra AB.[30]
Because net profit slumped 85 percent in Q3 2011, Philips
announced a cut of 4,500 jobs to match part of an €800 million
($1.1 billion) cost-cutting scheme to boost profits and meet its
financial target.[31] In 2011, the company posted a loss of €1.3
billion, but earned a net profit in Q1 and Q2 2012, however the
management wanted €1.1 billion cost-cutting which was an
increase from €800 million and may cut another 2,200 jobs until
end of 2014.[32] In March 2012, Philips announced its intention to
sell, or demerge its television manufacturing operations to TPV
Technology.[33]
On 5 December 2012, the antitrust regulators of the European
Union fined Philips and several other major companies for fixing
prices of TV cathode-ray tubes in two cartels lasting nearly a
decade.[34]
On 29 January 2013, it was announced that Philips had agreed to
sell its audio and video operations to the Japan-based Funai
Electric for €150 million, with the audio business planned to
transfer to Funai in the latter half of 2013, and the video business
in 2017.[35][36][37] As part of the transaction, Funai was to pay a
regular licensing fee to Philips for the use of the Philips brand.
[36]
The purchase agreement was terminated by Philips in October
because of breach of contract[38] and the consumer electronics
operations remain under Philips. Philips said it would seek
damages for breach of contract in the US$200-million sale.[39] In
April 2016, the International Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of
Philips, awarding compensation of €135 million in the process.[40]
In April 2013, Philips announced a collaboration with Paradox
Engineering for the realization and implementation of a "pilot
project" on network-connected street-lighting management
solutions. This project was endorsed by the San Francisco Public
Utilities Commission (SFPUC).[41]
In 2013, Philips removed the word "Electronics" from its name -
becoming Royal Philips N.V.[42] On 13 November 2013, Philips
unveiled its new brand line "Innovation and You" and a new
design of its shield mark. The new brand positioning is cited by
Philips to signify company's evolution and emphasize that
innovation is only meaningful if it is based on an understanding of
people's needs and desires.[43]
On 28 April 2014, Philips agreed to sell their Woox Innovations
subsidiary (consumer electronics) to Gibson Brands for $US135
million. On 23 September 2014, Philips announced a plan to split
the company into two, separating the lighting business from the
healthcare and consumer lifestyle divisions.[44] It moved to
complete this in March 2015 to an investment group for $3.3
billion.[45]
In February 2015, Philips acquired Volcano Corporation to
strengthen its position in non-invasive surgery and imaging.[46] In
June 2016, Philips spun off its lighting division to focus on the
healthcare division.[47] In June 2017, Philips announced it would
acquire US-based Spectranetics Corp, a manufacturer of devices
to treat heart disease, for €1.9 billion (£1.68 billion) expanding its
current image-guided therapy business.
In 2018, the lighting products division known as Philips Lighting
N.V. was renamed Signify N.V. It continues to produce and market
Philips-branded products such as Philips Hue color-changing LED
light bulbs.
PROMOTION STRATEGY OF PHILIPS:
The brand Philips promises its customers qualitative goods and
its brand promise is “Sense &Sensibility”. Philips is one of the
leading world companies that have adopted the process of eco-
design. It has joined in active programs for “Green Product Sales”
that is verified by an independent third-party to give it authenticity.
Under this, it takes care of energy efficiency, reliability, wastes
and recycling.

Philips has taken active steps to redefine the image of its

company. It has created some very innovative ads. Actor Ranbir
Kapoor is in Philips LED ads while Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor are in
some of its other ads. The promotional activities are in the various
television channels, radio, internet, magazines and
newspapers.The brand has played its price card offering
discounts and various coupons under its sales schemes. It has
even allowed schemes of part or monthly payments to some of
the products.
The brand has been acting as sponsors for various events, sports
facilities and sports clubs. In the year 2008, it renewed its “FI
partnership”. It also has the naming rights of “Atlanta’s Philips
Arena”. The brand has also sponsored the league team of
“Australian rugby“ from the time 1988 to 1993. It is also the major
sponsor for “Monster of Rock festival”.

Philips has developed an official website where the consumers

can find and purchase the desired product from anywhere in the
world. Phillips has used the strategy of dispatching good through
direct sales over the internet.

It has also collaborated with e-commerce sites

like Amazon and Flipkart to sell Phillips products. According to
research, the internet has been a major channel of distribution as
well as an information collection source for Philips.

Phillips has found that the retailers, departmental stores,

distribution centers, and internet are important tools to access the
consumers. A new strategy has been applied by Phillips to
distribute the products by allocating small territories to the
distributor ensuring a firmer grip.

The main focus of Phillips is to make the world more sustainable

and healthier through innovation and has an ambitious goal to
improve the lives of people of 3 billion people a year by 2030. It
aims to lower the cost of care, and improving the work life of care
providers, enhancing the patient experience and improving health
outcomes.

Phillips aims to provide high quality and live enhancing products

to its consumers and this focus has helped Phillips become one of
the worlds most trusted and valuable brands.
The brand promotes its products through the number of mediums,
Phillips is seen promoting its products via radio, print media, and
internet for advertisements. The company is big and has
maintained its unique PR strategies and campaigns.

During the product launch of “Air Fryer”, they promoted the

product as a healthier option for cooking and advertisements were
seen extensively on social media and television.

Another famous promotional campaign was for the Aurea TV

where they used beautiful models to promote the TV the theme
that was “seduction by light”. The website has also been
maintained well where the detail product specifications are
provided to the consumers so that they are aware of the complete
ranges of the products and they can check the quality and build
trust before buying the product.

Philips uses omni channel to promote its brand and products. The
company is engaged in promotional activities on TV, radio, print,
social media, events and sponsorships as a part of its marketing
mix. Philips has hired some famous celebrities like movie stars for
its promotion. to endorse the brand. Philips also offers discount
cards and coupons as a part of its sales scheme. Philips also
engages in sponsoring various events and sports team like
Australian Rugby, F1 race and India Commonwealth games.
Philips also sponsors ‘Monster of Rock Festival’. The company is
also active on social media like Facebook, Twitter for resolving
customer’s issue and better connectivity with people to increase
brand awareness. Philips has also launched integrated marketing
campaign to promote its brand proposition ‘innovation and you’
and concept of green energy to make people’s life better which
was well received by audience. Hence, this concludes the
marketing mix of Philips.
 5.BEATS:
Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre,
or simply Beats by Dre) is a subsidiary of Apple Inc. that
produces audio products. Headquartered in Culver City,
California,[5][third-party source needed] the company was founded by
music producer and rapper Dr. Dre and Interscope
Records co-founder[6][full citation needed] Jimmy Iovine.
The subsidiary's product line is primarily focused
on headphones and speakers. The company's original product
line was manufactured in partnership with the AV equipment
company Monster Cable Products. Following the end of its
contract with the company, Beats took further development of its
products in-house. In 2014, the company expanded into the
online music market with the launch of its subscription-based
streaming service, Beats Music.
In 2011, NPD Group reported that Beats' market share was
64% in the U.S. for headphones priced higher than US$100,
and the brand was valued at US$1 billion in September 2013. [7]
[8]

For a period, the company was majority-owned

by Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC. The company reduced
its stake to 25% in 2012, and sold its remaining stake back to
the company in 2013. Concurrently, Carlyle Group replaced
HTC as a minority shareholder, alongside Dr. Dre and Iovine in
late 2013. On August 1, 2014, Apple Inc. acquired Beats for
US$3 billion in a cash and stock deal, the largest acquisition in
Apple's history.
HISTORY:
Formation
The company was formally established in 2006, [9] a time when
Iovine perceived two key problems in the music industry: the
impact of piracy on music sales and the substandard audio quality
provided by Apple's plastic earbuds. Iovine later recalled that Dre
said to him: "Man, it's one thing that people steal my music. It's
another thing to destroy the feeling of what I've worked on." Iovine
sought the opinions of musicians with "great taste", such
as M.I.A., Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, and Gwen Stefani during
the early developmental stage.[10] Beats initially partnered
with Monster Cable, an audio and video component manufacturer
based in Brisbane, California, to manufacture and develop the
first Beats-branded products, and debuted its first product, Beats
by Dr. Dre Studio headphones, on July 25, 2008.
To promote its products, Beats primarily relied on endorsements
by pop and hip-hop music performers, including product
placement within music videos, and partnering with musicians and
other celebrities to develop co-branded products.[10][11][12][13] Beats'
use of endorsements by musicians helped the company
aggressively target the young adultdemographics.[14]
HTC purchase and non-renewal of Monster contract
In August 2010, mobile phone manufacturer HTC acquired a
50.1% majority share in Beats for US$309 million. The purchase
was intended to allow HTC to compete with other cellphone
makers by associating themselves with the Beats brand, [15] as the
purchase also granted HTC exclusive rights to manufacture
smartphones with Beats-branded audio systems.[16] Despite its
majority acquisition, HTC allowed Beats to operate as an
autonomous company.[16] Luke Wood, President of Beats in May
2014, joined the company in January 2010, when the company
was a "licensing business". Wood had previously worked under
Iovine at Interscope Records.[1]
On January 19, 2012, BusinessWeek reported that Beats and
Monster would not renew their production contract and their
partnership ceased at the end of 2012. Dre and Iovine
subsequently decided to oversee the entire operation of the
company, from manufacturing to R&D,[1] and aimed to double its
workforce to around 300 employees. Monster would ultimately
begin marketing its own competing line of premium headphones
aimed towards an older demographic.[11] At the time, neither Dre,
Iovine or Wood were experienced in the operation of a company
at such a grand level, but Wood explained in 2014:
I didn't have manufacturing experience, but I had experience of
building something from scratch … Every time we put out an
album, it was basically like building a new business--a unique cast
of characters, unique challenges and opportunities, and trying to
figure out a unique path to market.[1]
In October 2012, Beats unveiled its first two self-developed
products, "Beats Executive" headphones and "Beats Pill" wireless
speakers—Iovine believed that the company would now have to
"control [its] own destiny" in order to continue its growth. Iovine
also commented on how other headphone makers had attempted
to emulate Beats' celebrity endorsement business model
(including Monster themselves, who unveiled Earth, Wind and
Fire and Miles Davis-themed headphones at the 2012 Consumer
Electronics Show),[11] stating that "some of our competitors are
cheap engineers who have never been to a recording studio. You
can't just stick someone's name on a headphone that doesn't
know anything about sound."[11][17][18] Following the decision to
transform Beats into an autonomous entity, the company's
revenues reached the $1 billion mark, according to Iovine.[1]
HTC sale and Beats Music
In July 2012, HTC sold back half of its stake in Beats for
US$150 million, remaining the largest shareholder with 25.1
percent.[19] The sale was intended to provide "flexibility for global
expansion while maintaining HTC’s major stake and commercial
exclusivity in mobile."[15] In August 2013, reports surfaced that
Beats' founders planned to buy back HTC's remaining minority
stake in the company, and pursue a new, unspecified partner for a
future investment.[20][21]
On September 27, 2013, HTC confirmed that it would sell its
remaining 24.84% stake in Beats back to the company for
US$265 million. Concurrently, Beats announced that the Carlyle
Group would make a US$500 million minority investment in the
company.[22][23] The overall deal valued Beats Electronics at
US$1 billion[7] and helped HTC turn a net profit of US$10.3 million
for the fourth quarter of 2013, following HTC's first quarterly loss
in company history.[24]
The appointment of a new chief operating officer (COO), a role
previously filled by Wood,[1] was announced in early November
2013. Matthew Costello, formerly of IKEA and HTC, was formally
appointed into the role in May 2014.[25][26]
On January 21, 2014, the company launched Beats Music, a
subscription-based online music streaming service.[27] Prior to the
launch of the service, Beats stated that it intends to provide a
different type of streaming experience to what was available on
the market at the time. Additionally, the service would only be
available to consumers in the U.S. at inception.[28] Chief executive
of Beats at the time, Ian Rogers, said:
We wanted to build a music service that combined the freedom of
an on-demand subscription service—unlimited, uninterrupted
streaming and downloads of tens of millions of songs – but layer
on top features that would give you that feeling only music that
moves you can give. The right song at the right time will give you
a chill. Make you pull someone close. Nod your head. Sing in the
mirror. Roll down the car window and crank the volumeto the
right.[28]
Product of Apple (2014–present)
On May 8, 2014, the Financial Times reported that Apple was in
negotiations with Beats to purchase the company for US$3.2
billion—the largest purchase in Apple's history, ahead of its
US$429 million purchase of NeXT in 1996.[29] The impending deal
was prematurely and indirectly revealed in a photo
and YouTube video posted to Facebook by Tyrese Gibson on May
8, 2014; the video documented a celebration in which Gibson and
Dr. Dre made boasting remarks about the acquisition, with Dre
declaring himself the "first billionaire in hip hop", while Gibson
declared that the "Forbes list" had changed. Both the photo and
video were removed from Facebook the following morning, but
both remain on Gibson's YouTube channel.[1][30] Indeed, analysts
estimated that the rumored deal would make Dr. Dre the first
billionaire in the hip-hop music industry in terms of net worth,
assuming that he held at least 15% ownership in the company
prior to the deal. Dr. Dre was listed with a net worth of
US$550 million on Forbes' The World's Billionaires 2014 list. It
was also estimated that the Carlyle Group would receive a profit
of US$1 billion from its minority stake in the company.[22][31][32]
On May 28, 2014, Apple officially announced its intention to
acquire Beats Electronics for US$3 billion—with $400 million to be
paid in Apple stock and the remainder in cash. Some reports
suggested that the reduction in value may have been a result of
lower-than-expected subscriber numbers for the Beats Music
service.[1] Iovine felt that Beats had always "belonged" with Apple,
as the company modeled itself after Apple's "unmatched ability to
marry culture and technology." In regard to the deal, Apple
CEO Tim Cook stated that "Music is such an important part of all
of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple.
That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing
together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create
the most innovative music products and services in the world."
Beyond stocking Beats products at its retail outlets, Apple did not
provide any further indications over how Beats would be
integrated into its product line at the time, and whether Beats
Music, which competed with Apple's own iTunes Radio service,
would continue to operate after the finalization of the acquisition.
[33][34][35]

The acquisition closed on August 1, 2014; to eliminate

redundancy, Apple planned to lay off 200 workers from Beats'
workforce of around 700.[36][37] Beats Music was discontinued
effective immediately with the launch of Apple Music on June 30,
2015.[38][39]
Bose lawsuit
In July 2014, Bose Corporation sued Beats Electronics, alleging
that its "Studio" line incorporated noise cancellation technology
that infringed five patents held by the company. Bose has also
sought an injunction which would ban the infringing products from
being imported or sold in the United States. [40][41] The lawsuit was
settled out of court. Apple pulled all Bose products from its retail
outlets, although it is unclear whether it was in response to the
lawsuit, an ambush marketing conflict involving Beats and
the NFL (which had recently named Bose as one of its official
sponsors, and thus fined a player for displaying the Beats logo
during an official activity), or as a result of Apple's acquisition of
Beats.[42] However, two months later, Bose products returned to
the shelves of Apple Stores. The companies settled in October
2014: details were not disclosed.[43]
Monster lawsuit[edit]
In January 2015, Monster Inc. sued Beats for fraud, alleging that
the company had used illicit tactics to force Monster out of the
venture whilst retaining rights to the technologies and products
that it had co-developed, and engaged in collusion to harm
Monster's own audio products business. Monster argued that the
acquisition of Beats by HTC and its founders' subsequent
buyback was a "sham" to take control of Monster's stake in the
company—which could have been valued at over $100 million in
the Apple purchase, that the company had "concealed" the role of
Monster and its CEO Noel Lee in the design and engineering of
its products, and that "had the partnership expired on its own
terms, there would have been no transfer of Monster's years of
work [onto the company]." Monster also alleged that Beats had
partaken in anti-competitive practices with retailers to force those
offering Beats products to not offer Monster's competing products.
[44][45][46]

In June 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that in retaliation

for the lawsuit, Apple Inc. revoked Monster's membership in
the MFi Program on May 5, 2015, meaning that Monster can no
longer manufacture licensed accessories
for iPhone, iPod and iPad products, and must cease the sale of
existing licensed products that contain the certification or
technology licensed through the program by September 2015.[47]
The case was dismissed in August 2016, with a Supreme Court
ruling that Beats "had the right to terminate the agreement as of
January 7th, 2013 or when there was a transaction resulting in a
change of control of Beats", and that Monster "did not obtain the
right to approve the change of control. Nor did the agreement
require that any change of control had to be objectively
reasonable".
PROMOTION STRATEGY OF BEATS
ELECTRONICS:
Beats by Dr. Dre has proved their effective promotion by:
advertisements in commercials, music videos, and the massive
internet platform using Twitter, Youtube and Facebook.

The brand had already become a success via world of word of

mouth marketing, not-so stealthily seeding its products to popular
athletes and artists to gain immediate attention, and a
groundswell of street-level popularity for its big, round, and now
ubiquitous, headphones.
Its campaign, the Campaign of Destruction for its In-Ear
headphone line, has starred world tennis pro Serena Williams,
and rapper 2 Chainz. In the spots they are seen to literally destroy
cheap generic headphones.

The streaming music business is very crowded, with the likes of

Spotify, Pandora and Rdio, to name a few, which is why many
industry vets are scratching their heads, wondering how this
platform, barely out of diapers, is so aggressively succeeding.
The answer is a lesson on the importance of building trust and
credibility with customers.

With Beats Music, we have to go back to 2008 to its origins with

Beats under the helm of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Built upon the
reputations of the superstar rapper and Interscope-Geffen-A&M
Records chair, Beats entered the music industry at a time when
fashion, technology and music were truly beginning to intertwine
—and timing and the name recognition of its founders helped
generate $1 billion in sales over 2010-2012 and gave them 50
percent of the premium headphone market.

One of the avenues Beats used to effectively speed that success

was social media. Beats always had a strong presence with a
very large and loyal YouTube audience of almost 200,000
subscribers and regularly ran YouTube commercials. Beats made
YouTube a destination for headphone users with interactive
channels and interviews with popular artists. Continuing to
expand, Beats Music was launched in January 2014 to a
collective sigh across the music and digital industry. Could Beats
Music succeed in a very crowded streaming music business?
First, Beats put a stake in the ground by making it strictly a paid
service. Many, including myself, were unsure that consumers
would be willing to pay for music they could get free elsewhere. It
took me back to the days of Napster and free, pirated music.
History, it seemed, wasn’t on their side.

Over the past decade, we've had serious commitment issues with
our music, paying as we go on iTunes. With other streaming
music services, a majority of users don’t pay for the ad-free
subscription. To put that in perspective, Spotify has about 6 million
paying subscribers with 25 million total listeners, while Pandora
has about 2.5 million paying subscribers with about 70 million
total listeners.

Just how could Beats Music work for $9.99 per month? Beats
spent years cementing its brand into the minds of the public as a
trusted audio company and had a brilliant campaign to introduce
their streaming music service to the world.

With two successful Super Bowl ads, Beats Music introduced

itself during the most-watched night of television. It leveraged its
talent and connections to create a new form of influencer
marketing that goes beyond bloggers and brings it back to
celebrity partnerships. Available across app stores and through
cellphone providers as a part of monthly billing cycles, Beats
Music makes it easy for consumers to pay and play. And they
made it initially free, so customers knew what they were getting.
As a result, the quality of the brand made it worth the nominal
monthly fee.
Beats Music hit the ground running by working off an already
established brand. But this didn't happen overnight, and
companies should recognize the time and energy Beats put into
its brand. Beats spent years cultivating its base by growing its
headphones as an exclusive product that celebrities and regular
people could use. From there, the brand was able to branch out
into the market beyond headphones. Beats stereos were in cars
and in computers—and guess what? It worked because Beats
was already known for superior performance and was trusted by
the consumer by the time Beats Music was introduced.

Another tactic Beats is passing down to Beats Music is utilizing

the right celebrity endorsements. It is important that brands just
don’t go after a celebrity for the name. They should look at how
they fit into the brand. Beats did it the right way and went for
carefully selected celebrities that were known for their cutting-
edge sound and fashion, like Lady Gaga and Pharrell. Beats
Music used Rev. Run and Ellen DeGeneres to promote its service
as a user friendly, easy and fun platform that everyone could
enjoy.

Let’s not forget the power social media had in cementing Beats
into the public space. Beats did this early with YouTube,
Facebook and Twitter. They interacted with consumers and won
fans and engagement. Beats Music follows suit with its unique—
and socially savvy—mood-themed playlist offering.

Beats Music has some great traction moving into Q2 of 2014. The
subscriber numbers are impressive and sure to sway a few
skeptics as whispers of an IPO begin as the company
increasingly supplies the music that is coming out of its own
headphones.

Beats typically recruits athletes, musicians, etc. celebrities to

assist in advertising their product. They should portray “everyday”
people in their advertisements: moms, students, etc.