Awash in red ink, Pioneer was losing the pricing battle in the flat-panel TV category and confused about the way forward. It was critical to find a viable market position by going against the conventional price wars dominating the category. And Pioneer TVs were among the most expensive, so they needed a premium image.
Through undercover research at Best Buy, we discovered that our audience faced a frustration. Focus groups, in-home interviews and trade interviews all revealed a world where consumers felt they “needed a PhD” to buy a flat panel television. They felt ill-informed due to the pace of technology, the alphabet soup of acronyms and specs as well as a general mistrust of salespeople on the floor.
We decided to move beyond Pioneer’s many technical achievements and begin to focus on the emotional response of the consumer when they are immersed in entertainment. The brand would not be as focused on the rational – sight and sound – but on what it means to see, hear and feel the world.
This focus on emotion and the entertainment experience worked to increase all key tracking measures and set the brand up for further success.
