Marketing Design & Innovation Report

This report critically evaluates the marketing design and innovation of Sony's Xperia C5 Ultra smartphone. It examines the product's benefits and value for consumers, focusing on its unique design elements (shape, color, features), and brand appeal relative to competitors. The report utilizes frameworks like the product onion and innovation diffusion models to analyze the product's positioning and success. Challenges faced in creating the report, including research and information selection, are also discussed. The conclusion highlights the Xperia C5 Ultra's strengths and weaknesses, emphasizing its innovative features and brand appeal while acknowledging limitations such as pricing and size. The report demonstrates an understanding of marketing concepts and their application in a real-world case study.

MARKETING DESIGN
AND INNOVATION

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................4
TASK 1......................................................................................................................................4
CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE BENEFITS AND VALUE DERIVED BY THE CLIENTS
OR CUSTOMER OR RECIPIENTS.........................................................................................5
CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE UNIQUENESS OF ITS DESIGN ELEMENTS - SHAPE,
COLOUR, DESIGN, IMAGINATION, RELEVANCE AND USEFULNESS........................6
DISCUSS ITS BRAND APPEAL IN RELATION TO COMPETITORS MARKETS............8
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................9
TASK 2......................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................12

List of figures
Figure 1: innovation diffusion model........................................................................................6
Figure 2: product onion..............................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Marketing design and innovation has become one of the important concepts for the
organization to compete in the techno savvy world. Organization which is considered to be
innovation is Sony Corporation. This report talks about the Sony Xperia C5 ultra which has
been recently launched by the company. The report focuses on the benefits which the product
is giving to its customer. Further, it critically evaluates the usefulness of the shape size and
colour of the product with the help of product onion and innovation diffusion concept.
TASK 1
Sony is known for its technology and the innovations which it does in its products. In
the technology savvy world, it is very important for the organization to modify its product
according to the changing needs and requirements of the consumer. The product which has
been recently launched by Sony is Sony Xperia C5 ultra. This has been made by considering
the demand of consumer. This product is the first the product which has twin 13 megapixel
front and rear camera (Jocumsen, 2002). In most of the mobile phones the back camera is of
more mega pixels while front camera is less. In the present time, consumers use front camera
more than the back one. So keeping in mind these demands of consumer, Sony has launched
this product in the market. By launching Sony Xperia C5 ultra, it has become the leader in
Smartphone market. This company gives emphasis on the camera quality of the mobile phone
(Meek, 2003.). Further, it does not compromise on the feature as well as design and
performance. In the past, Sony introduced many smart phones but they were lacking in one or
the other aspects in terms of camera quality. But introducing this product it satisfied the
consumers who are fond of taking photos and are techno savvy. The camera of sony include
Exmor RS sensor, HDR for picture as well as video. This feature automatically adjusts its
setting at the time of taking photograph. It is very beneficial for the youngsters as well as
other individual who do not know how to adjust settings. It has made easy for the consumers
to easily take video (SONY XPERIA C5 ULTRA DUAL ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES,
PRICE & SPECIFICATIONS. 2015).
The mina feature which has been introduced in the Sony Xperia C5 ultra is
that in the front camera also facility of flash has been given. This feature is missing in many
smart phones of the other company. This flash enhances the quality of the image and makes it
clearer. On the other hand, the performance and design of the phone is unique and it is quite
1

handy for the individual to carry in their pockets. Other than this, nowadays consumer faces
problem of battery as it gets discharged easily. In this product, there is an Ultra Stamina mode
which controls the battery usage so that the user can use its mobile for the long time. The
camera of this mobile is packed in premium waterproof design. With the help of this, user can
take the photograph in the water also (Stern, 2006). These are the main feature of the Sony
Xperia C5 ultra which has been made according to the changing technology and needs of the
consumer.
CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE BENEFITS AND VALUE DERIVED
BY THE CLIENTS OR CUSTOMER OR RECIPIENTS
Smartphone has been growing at very fast pace. All the organizations are focusing on
producing Smartphone. The product life cycle is the best suited model which can be applied.
Smartphone are at the growing stage. So, because of the increasing demand and preference of
the consumer, the company has introduced Sony Xperia C5 ultra. It will take more time for
this product to attain maturity stage. Sony Xperia C5 ultra is generally made for the
youngsters as well as teenagers (Cravens and Piercy, 2008). They are the one who are fond of
technology and wants new and innovative products for use. There are several benefits which
are attached with product and are useful for the consumers. In this product, Sony has
introduced new features which are not available in the mobile phones of their competitors.
The major benefit which is attached to the product and and derived by its consumer is the
uniqueness in its design and its feature. Apart from the camera quality, the mobile has huge
storage RAM. It is using 1.7GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752 processor which is
advantageous for the individual who does their office work with the help of their mobile
phones. In today’s time, most of the people does not use laptops as well as computer but uses
their mobile phone to excess data as well as they use smart phones to send mails to their
colleagues (Aguirregabiria and Ho, 2012). It can be said that, Sony has made this product by
keeping in mind the day to day requirements of the consumers. This product is introduced in
the market and comes under the growth face. Features as well as quality of Sony Xperia C5
ultra are liked by the consumer and it is profitable for the Sony corporations. Like in case of
Sony Ericson it has attained the declined stage. So for the company to be at the growing
stage has introduced Sony Xperia C5 ultra (Latest trends in app market. 2015).
Another benefit which consumer gets from Sony Xperia C5 ultra is that it is very
durable and the corners of the mobile phones are protected by the stainless steel. This protects
2

the mobile from scratch and bumps. Many new features are introduced in this phone but still
there are still some benefits which are required by the consumers and are not derived from
this model. The price which is attached to the phone is not affordable by many of users
especially the youngster (Zweifel, 2003). This model is made while keeping in the image of
user. Even the reviews which this phone got from the user are not satisfactory. Because of all
these features, phone gets slow which is not beneficial for the individual who has chosen this
phone for the professional use. Besides these benefits and disadvantages, it can be said that it
has met the requirements and changing needs of the consumers by adding all the features in
the phone. Lastly, the products will make the customer satisfied because there are several
values which is attached to the model (Chaffey and et. al., 2012).
CRITICALLY EVALUATE THE UNIQUENESS OF ITS DESIGN
ELEMENTS - SHAPE, COLOUR, DESIGN, IMAGINATION,
RELEVANCE AND USEFULNESS
Most of the Sony smart phones are of the same designs. Generally Sony makes the
phone which is long and slim. The Sony Xperia C5 ultra is also long and slim phone which
can come into the pocket of user. Most of the consumer buys the phone which is slim and
because of this quality user generally selects Sony organization. In the past, Sony’s first
Smartphone was Sony Ericson which was curvy and small. But according to the changing
needs and requirements of the consumer it started producing the Smartphone which are slim.
Slim phones are considered to be the latest fashion Smartphone (Garg and Telang, 2012). The
user feels that slim phones are stylish and are easy to carry. To satisfy the needs of the buyer,
the company consistently produced Sony Xperia C5 ultra which is slim as well as stylish.
Figure 1: innovation diffusion model
(Source: Stern, 2006)
3

According to the innovation theory diffusion, Sony changed its model and design and
because of its innovation it gained momentum. Now because of this innovation, it has created
competitive advantage over the shape of the smart phones. But according to the changing
requirements and needs it has to modify its product and change the design. In this techno
savvy and stylish world, user wants change frequently. According to the theory it can be said
that, Sony is known for its quality of sound system which it provide to its user. This was the
company who made innovations in the sound system and communicated to its consumer that,
in mobile phone sound plays a major role (Hair and et. al., 2008). Sony is counted as the
innovators in terms of the style as well as the sound system. But because of many
competitors, this was strategy was copied by other organizations. The innovation which was
made by the company got diffused.
The company has introduced 3 colours in the smart phones as it has made it simple for
its customer. Sony Xperia C5 ultra is launched in the market in 3 colours which is white, sea
blue and black. This colour is adopted by the firm because it is simple as well as it is stylish
also. Most of the consumer goes for Sony product because of its simplicity and their unique
and several features in the phone. There are 2 types of consumer, first users are the one who
focuses on the design and colour of the mobile while other users focuses on the feature. To
satisfy both the requirement of consumer it had added both the feature in the Smartphone.
Figure 2: product onion
(Source: Hair and et. al., 2008)
The colour, design features and other elements of Sony Xperia C5 ultra are different
from its other products. The company has adopted product onion model. This model has three
phrases. First is the core product which signifies the standard product which is produced by
4

the organization. Another stage is the actual product in which organization use the benefits of
the core product and make the product which are according to the needs of the buyer. The
third and the final stage is the augmented product which is modified according to the
changing taste and preference of consumer. The Sony Xperia C5 ultra is the augmented
product of the Sony Corporation. The main usefulness of its product is that it is best for
taking photos as well as it is beneficial for the individual who uses this phone for professional
purpose (Scharl, Dickinger and Murphy, 2005). The Sony Xperia C5 ultra has been made by
imaging several situations. The basic imagination was that at the time of taking own picture
the user wants flash so in this mobile, company introduced flash in the phone. Basically, in
the augmented product non tangible benefits are also attached which the product more unique
for the user. After studying these points it can be rightly said that, this product is very
beneficial and useful for the consumer.
On the other hand there are certain disadvantages attached to the features of the
product. As the product is very slim and has several features, these additional aspects have
made the product very heavy. This is one big disadvantage which is witnessed in The Sony
Xperia C5 ultra. Another disadvantage of this product is that, its display size is too big. So it
becomes problem for the user to operate by one hand (Wamba and et. al., 2008). It is
beneficial for the user who uses mobile phone for long time because it controls the battery
consumption. But the battery in the mobile is non-removable which is disadvantage for the
user because he cannot change the battery if it gets damaged. By critically assessing these
aspect, it can be said that it technology savvy and useful for the user.
DISCUSS ITS BRAND APPEAL IN RELATION TO COMPETITORS
MARKETS
Brand appeal of the Sony product is very high. It is easily able to attract the consumer
despite of their age groups. In comparison to its competitors, the company is known for the
quality and the design which it renders to its customers as apple is known for its price. In case
of Sony Xperia C5 ultra, the company is the one who gave new feature in this product. The
company is considered as the innovators as compare t its other competitors. Many new
features and several benefits are introduced by the Sony and after some time these features
have been copied by other competitors (Duke and Tucker, 2007). By maintaining the brand
appeal it manufacturers its product. Sony Xperia C5 ultra is manufactured by keeping in mind
the quality of camera and sound quality. Biggest competitor of Sony is Samsung which
5

produces Smartphone for all types of people. But in case of Sony it generally manufactures
its phone for the middle level and high income level people. So the brand has made a positive
impact on the minds of the users. Sony Xperia C5 ultra has created trust among the buyers in
compare to its competitors. Because of the brand, the product has become successful and
consumers are happy as their company has made innovation in their product (Aguirregabiria
and Ho, 2012).
CONCLUSION
It can be inferred that Sony Xperia C5 ultra has many features which are beneficial
for the users. The product will be liked by those individual who loves technology and are
fond of using new gadgets. According to the model it can be said that Sony has modified their
core product and this product comes in the category of augmented stage. The feature, price,
shape and the usefulness can be considered as advantageous for the consumer but the price
attached can be proved as disadvantage. But, from this it can be concluded that the brand
appeal of Sony Corporation is high as compare to its other competitors and this brand is liked
by all the age group of people. Lastly, it can be concluded that, this product is appropriate
according to the technology which is persisting in the world and even according to the
requirement of user.
TASK 2
The report which I made about Sony Xperia C5 ultra was very challenging. I did not
know about this product earlier because I am not that techno savvy. But by making this report
I gained knowledge regarding the technology and the features which are persisting in the
organization. Firstly, I thought that Sony made the product with few features but know I
came to know the Smartphone which was introduced by the firm has many features. The
main problem which I faced was my perception towards the product. As I was earlier
believed that, there are few features which can be inbuilt in the mobile phone. But by the
launch Sony Xperia C5 ultra I came to know that there are many features which can be
introduced in the Smartphone. For me the matter which I got was just opposite which i
though. The challenge I faced in making this report was that as I did not knew about the
technology in detail. So it took time for doing research. There are many books and sites
which give information but still I have to find the most suitable one whose gives authentic
information.
6

The main challenge which I faced was selecting the product. When I chose the
industry, I found that Sony has launched many new products in the markets. All the products
which are introduced in the market are technological very good. Majorly, I came across many
approaches and concepts which are adopted by the organization for competing with the
competitors. Firstly, I did not know about the product onion approach. This concept has been
recently adopted by the Sony product. I even did not have idea about the innovation diffusion
concept. Even this was very interesting concept to judge the phase were the product is
standing. I even came across that there are Sony Company is considered to be the innovator
and other company are just followers. I gained knowledge regarding the Sony Xperia C5 ultra
as now I know all the features which have been introduced in the product. Besides this, the
imagination through which the mobile is created is also exceptional. There are some factors
which I disagree as most of the consumer has problem with the price which is quoted by the
company of Sony Xperia C5 ultra. The user thinks that it is very costly but as compared to
the feature I feel that it is most appropriate price according to the feature. The best thing
which I liked about the Sony Xperia C5 ultra is its cover as the imagination which is used is
making the Smartphone is exceptionally well. The cover which is attached to it protects the
phone. These are the ideas which I got at the time of doing the report. Further, the challenges
I faced was that there were several information which was given but I had to find the most
relevant one. From this report I learnt that how every company moulds their product and
make them according to the taste and preferences of the consumer. This product is the best
examples as the new feature which are introduced in the phone are according to the changing
needs and requirements of user. Even no organization uses the same approach in competing
with their competitors. Like the Sony Corporation they used both product life cycle as well as
product onion approach for evaluating their position of the product.
Lastly, through this project I learnt how to apply the approach and concept on the
product and how company uses this for competing with their competitors. There were several
areas which were new to me and many types of information were misleading. But through
analyzing and critically evaluating the information I used it. I can say that, this topic was
very interesting and knowledgeable.
CONCLUSION
From this I can conclude that, in making report one has to face several challenges
regarding time, information, content etc. but the result one gets is very production. I learnt
7

many new ideas, concepts, approaches. The most challenging part was selection of product
and then critically analyzing it by evaluating the advantages and disadvantages. The
interesting approach which I identified in this report was product onion concept. I feel that
every organization should work keeping in the mind this concept. By using this, the company
can evaluate the innovation in its product and the core product will remain intact which will
help in being the firm successful.
From this report it can also be inferred that the world has become techno savvy as
well as consumer also. So, it is better for the organization to make innovations in their
products for meeting the needs and requirements of users. From my point of view I feel that
Sony Corporation has satisfied its consumer by making Sony Xperia C5 ultra.
8

REFERENCES
Books and journal
Aguirregabiria, V. and Ho, C. Y, 2012. A dynamic oligopoly game of the US airline industry:
Estimation and policy experiments. Journal of Econometrics.168 (1).pp. 156-173.
Chaffey, D. and et. al., 2012. eMarketing eXcellence: Planning and optimizing your digital
marketing. Routledge.
Cravens, D. and Piercy, N. F. ,2008. Strategic marketing. McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Duke, L. M. and Tucker, T., 2007. How to develop a marketing plan for an academic library.
Technical services quarterly. 25(1). pp. 51-68.
Garg, R. and Telang, R., 2012. Inferring app demand from publicly available data. MIS
Quarterly, Forthcoming.
Hair, J. F. and et. al., 2008. Essentials of marketing research. McGraw-Hill/Higher
Education.
Jocumsen, G., 2002. Marketing Strategies for Competitive Advantage. European Journal of
Marketing. 36(½). pp.273 – 275.
Lai, F. and et. al., 2007. An empirical assessment and application of SERVQUAL in
mainland China's mobile communications industry. International Journal of Quality
& Reliability Management. 24(3). pp. 244-262.
Meek, R., 2003. Strategic Marketing Management: Planning and Control. Routledge.
Scharl, A., Dickinger, A. and Murphy, J., 2005. Diffusion and success factors of mobile
marketing. Electronic commerce research and applications. 4(2). pp. 159-173.
Stern, P., 2006. Marketing Management and Strategy. Financial Times Prentice Hall
Wamba, S. F. and et. al., 2008. Exploring the impact of RFID technology and the EPC
network on mobile B2B eCommerce: A case study in the retail industry.
International Journal of Production Economics. 112(2). pp. 614-629
Zweifel, D. T., 2003. Culture Clash: Managing the Global High-performance Team. Swiss
Consulting Group.
Online
Latest trends in app market. 2015. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.apptentive.com/blog/15-mobile-app-development-trends-look-2015/>.
[Accessed on 4th December, 2015].
SONY XPERIA C5 ULTRA DUAL ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, PRICE &
SPECIFICATIONS. 2015. [Online]. Available through:<
http://www.techmerry.com/sony-xperia-c5-ultra-dual-advantages-disadvantages-
price-specifications/>[Accessed on 4th December, 2015].
9

10