85 Blu-rays are converted to 2,500 yen. Ask SPE for "aim"
Since its appearance in November 2006, the price of Western-style Blu-rays in Japan has been around 4,900 yen, and the price difference with DVDs, which are becoming cheaper, has widened, such as 1,980 yen and 1,480 yen in low-priced campaigns. It has become.
AV fans want "I want my favorite work with BD quality", but while there are BD heavy users who say "I don't care about the price", I feel that "I want it but it's expensive and I can't afford it". Many would have been there.
Such a situation is changing rapidly now. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) took the lead, and as previously reported, the price of BD was reduced to 2,500 yen, which is about half the conventional price, at once on April 16. As the first release, 85 works such as "Terminator 4" and "Da Vinci Code" will be released, and the lineup of 2,500 yen will be expanded in the future.
Two major Western movie companies, including Warner, will drastically reduce the price at the same time, so that BD software will spread in the future and users will "choose DVD or BD" when purchasing cell software. It seems that there will be a big change in the option. Therefore, we asked Takashi Kasai, general manager of the marketing department of SPE's Home Entertainment Sales and Marketing Division, who was at the forefront of 2,500 yen, about the aim of this bold price reduction (henceforth abbreviated title).
■ SPE with the highest BD share rate leads the industry
Editorial department: First, before talking about the BD 2,500 yen campaign, please tell us about the current state of the cell software market and the current state of SPE's BD / DVD business.
| Takashi Kasai, General Manager, Marketing Department, Sales and Marketing Division, SPE Home Entertainment |
Given this economic environment, consumers, not just in the software industry, are considered to be strict about product prices. Among them, the priority of "buying software" is steadily decreasing.
Another reason is that the style of enjoying content is changing. We believe that the DVD market is affected not only by the traditional style of enjoying video in the living room, but also by the fact that entertainment can be enjoyed on various devices such as PCs and mobile phones.
Editorial department: Under such circumstances, how is BD sales?
Kasai: According to a GfK survey, the BD market last year was 2.8 times larger than the year before last. While DVDs are sluggish, BD is a savior in the software industry.
SPE released "Terminator 4" last year, "Michael Jackson THIS IS IT" and "2012" this year, but all of them are doing well, and in the one year from April last year to March this year, We have won the top share of BD among the 6 major Western movie companies (according to SPE research). When it comes to BD, we take pride in being the market leader. However, compared to the spread of hardware, the growth of software is still not satisfactory. To be honest, especially catalog works (old works) are sluggish.
Editorial department: What is the aim of starting BD 2,500 yen at this time?
Kasai: This 2,500 yen conversion is for catalog works. As I said earlier, we have always wanted to extend the BD of our catalog works. To that end, I first thought about how to get people who already own works on DVD to buy a new BD.
In the current market, DVD catalog works are cheap, such as 1,980 yen and 1,480 yen. Among them, even if it is said that "a BD version with good image quality / sound quality has come out", many people will hesitate to replace it with a BD at a price of 4,980 yen, for example. Also, people who are buying the work for the first time may think that if a BD is placed for 4,980 yen next to a DVD of 1,980 yen or 1,480 yen, "DVD is fine".
As I mentioned earlier, with DVD sales falling and BD sales growing, we wanted to "take a strategy to grow what's growing, rather than raising what's falling." At the same time, as a member of the Sony Group, which is focusing on BD, I believe it is our mission to liven up BD.
Editorial department: How was the price of 2,500 yen decided?
Kasai: The first base was the result of consumer research on how much price range consumers feel is appropriate for BD software in the current market environment. As I said earlier, consumer purchasing patterns and price acceptability are steadily changing in the harsh economic environment of the last few years. We believe that manufacturers should make efforts to respond to these issues.
When asked, "What is the price difference between BD and DVD, would you buy BD?", 45% said "If there is a difference of 1,000 yen, choose BD" and "If there is a difference of 500 yen, choose." The result was 80%.
However, I don't think it's just a matter of making it cheaper. As I will talk about later, while promoting the features of BD such as creating a premium feeling that enhances satisfaction as cell software and good image quality and sound quality, at the same time, incorporating the opinions of users, the first move It is the result of considering the price that is easy to get.
Editorial department: What kind of target group do you expect to expand by making it 2,500 yen?
Kasai: This is also the result of consumer research, but about half of the people who already have a BD software playback environment, such as PlayStation 3 and BD recorders, said, "I have never bought or seen BD software. The result is that. Many people say, "I can't afford BD software because it's expensive" and "I don't know if (BD software) is good because I haven't experienced it." This is a bad situation. I think it is the role of software makers to solve these problems.
So, first of all, I thought about "getting people who have a playback environment to actually experience the goodness of BD". We believe that it is the manufacturer's mission to solve the needs of customers who want to enjoy BD casually.
■ "2012" which became a prelude to strategic pricing
| 2012 Blu-ray & DVD Set (C) 2009 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
Blu-ray and DVD versions are available for this work, but the BD version is 3,990 yen including the main DVD as a set, which is about 1,000 yen cheaper than the market price of the conventional Western-style BD alone. In addition, the DVD version has an extra version with a bonus disc for 2,980 yen, and the standard version with only the main DVD has a price of 1,980 yen, which is about the same as the old DVD campaign price, despite the new work, not only for consumers but also for the industry. Has a great impact on.
In addition, the BD + DVD set version has abundant benefits such as the monthly Mu special editing booklet "The Truth of 2012" and a world map postcard depicting the world after 2012 as the first privilege. It is the title. According to Mr. Kasai, this work "2012" has a very important meaning for the current 2,500 yen conversion and the future BD strategy of SPE.
| There is also a surprise project that a gold disc (DVD version) using pure gold is included in 2012 only. The manufacturing cost is about 10 times that of a normal DVD. (C) 2009 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
The DVD extra version (2,980 yen) is for people who say, "DVD is enough, but the package software should be luxurious," such as a full range of benefits and an O-ring (outer case).
And, as I mentioned earlier, BD said, "I have a BD playback environment, but I have never experienced BD software" or "I am planning to buy BD hardware in the future, and I am wondering whether to buy DVD or BD software. It is for those who say "I am". By attaching a DVD, you can enjoy your work in various places such as in a car or a notebook PC, and people who do not buy BD software often can compare the image quality of BD and DVD at their own home, "BD's I think it is great to be able to experience "goodness".
Editorial department: In other words, the low-priced BD + DVD set of "2012" aroused interest in BD software, and after that, a lot of easy-to-purchase 2,500 yen catalog work BDs appeared ... That's right.
Kasai: You're right.
Also, in "2012", we made various efforts in product strategy as well as pricing strategy. For example, it is a privilege such as a booklet in cooperation with the monthly Mu and a world map depicting the world after the movie. In addition, as a project to surprise the purchaser, a limited edition of 2012 DVDs made of pure gold are mixed in with the BD + DVD DVD (laughs). The movie itself had an impact, so I decided to try something new.
No matter how much you lower the price, if the impact of the product is small, you will not be able to pick it up at the sales floor. We often use the term "Moment of Truth" as an important thing when getting customers to buy things, but first of all, "What is it?" It is important to get it in your hand. It is important how to bring out products that attract attention and how to arouse the interest of customers. Because of this era, it is basic to buy products that satisfy you at affordable prices.
Editorial department: Actually, how is the response of "2012"?
Kasai: In the case of ordinary new BD / DVD, there are many cases where it sells for a few weeks after its appearance and then drops at a stretch, but on the charts of each company such as Oricon, "2012" is No. 1 in the first week. There is little drop in actual sales from, especially the DVD standard version of 1,980 yen, which is remarkable.
We believe that this is a result of cultivating a "light layer that does not usually buy BD software" other than conventional BD users who purchase it immediately after it is released.
■ Will there be price competition similar to DVD?
Editorial department: However, if the BD that was sold for 4,980 yen is reduced to 2,500 yen at once, the sales will simply be halved in terms of price. In terms of quantity, how much sales do you expect to increase due to price cuts?
Kasai: Looking at the span of about one year, I think we can increase the number of units sold by about five times as much as before. Actually, before the price reduction this time, we sold 2,500 yen as a part of the test marketing, and we had such a good result there as well.
The current ratio of BD to DVD varies depending on the work, but it is about 20% to 30% for BD. I would like to raise the BD to 40% to 50% with this price reduction.
Editorial department: In the DVD era, the price was reduced to 2,500 yen in a limited-time price reduction campaign, and after that, the competition for price reduction intensified in the campaign battles of each company, and as a result, the price of DVD became very low. There is a history. Will the same thing happen with this BD 2,500 yen conversion?
| A campaign logo sticker of 2,500 yen will be affixed to the target title |
And I don't want the price to change in a short period of time, so instead of a limited-time campaign, I decided to pay 2,500 yen for the whole year. We will not make it a temporary campaign in order to carefully convey the wonderfulness of BD to consumers at the store.
In addition, the specifications of the jacket and disc are the same as those of the already released 4,980 yen, but the product that was a 2-disc set will be a 1-disc set of the main disc, and the 2-disc version will continue to be sold for 4,980 yen. I don't want people who bought a new work to regret it later.
Editorial department: The 85 titles released on April 16 are said to be the "first", but is it okay to think that the BD of future catalog works will basically be 2,500 yen?
Kasai: I think it may differ depending on the work, but you can think that the basic stance is 2,500 yen.
Editorial department: If the BD of 2,500 yen increases in the future, I think there is a problem that if you add the same price of 4,980 yen as before when you release a new BD, it will look expensive ... ..
However, I would like to take a little more time to watch the changes in sales of "2012" before deciding whether to adopt the price of "2012" in future new works. So, for now, I would like you to think of it as "one possibility of selling new works in the future."
And, of course, not all new releases will be released in this form (three versions). I think it will be more important in the future to set variations and prices according to the work, such as works for more core fans, works that clearly show the difference in image quality between DVD and BD, and works that do not.
■ Lower prices is one measure that broadens the range of cell software proposals
Kasai: I think it's the same not only in the software industry, but in every industry, but if you just say "it's a bad economy" or "yes," and if you don't do anything, nothing will change. As a software maker, it is important to carry out detailed research and faithfully approach the needs of our customers in order to provide what our customers want and increase sales.
Recently, even if you do not buy cell software, you can enjoy video content in various forms in various places such as PC, mobile phone, distribution for TV such as acTVila, PSN distribution of PS3, etc. .. Since we are in an era where customers choose various services, we also need to cooperate with various services such as distribution for mobile phones and streaming for TV, not just BD and DVD, and we are actually considering it. ..
In such a situation, what is important for BD / DVD cell software is not only pricing, but also DVD and BD sets and various benefits that enhance the premium feeling according to the content of the work. We believe that we will create something that people want to keep and propose it to our customers. This 2,500 yen conversion can be said to be one of the measures to "widen" such proposals.
| The right is the T-600 Real Head Figure.Made for a limited 3,000 sets of Blu-ray BOX |
Not only "2012" where the DVD using pure gold is hidden, but also SPE has released the BD of "Terminator 4" by putting it in a figure that reproduces the head of the terminator "T-600", and " A manufacturer that emphasizes "satisfaction of cell software", specializing in package software that stimulates the psychology of fans of the work, such as attaching elaborate figures as a privilege in "Iron Man" and "Starship Troopers 3". It can be said that.
The BD 2,500 yen that the company is developing this time is not "just a price cut" or "the dawn of low price competition", but in a broader sense "spreading the appeal of BD's high image quality and high sound quality to many people", and It can be said that there is a big aim to "enhance the attractiveness of the cell software itself and make it easier for people to choose BD" while the easy video distribution business is booming.
