AgTalk | Recording 3-digit growth YOY: Sony Play Station's Atindriya Bose

Atindriya Bose currently the Country Manager India, Sony Computer Entertainment, began his career in Sales with the consumer durables division of Philips India Ltd. After the initial sales stint, he became Product Manager for the Color TV segment. In his role as Country Manager - India of Sony Computer Entertainment, Bose is responsible for undertaking and spearheading Sony Computer Entertainment’s marketing, promotional and developmental efforts.

Post Philips, he joined UDV India Ltd, which was part of the international liquor giant Diageo Plc as Group Product Manager for the White Spirits range for the Indian market - key brand being Smirnoff. He then joined Rediff.com India Ltd and was part of the online Subscription business team and the ECommerce team.

Adgully caught up with Atindriya Bose to learn about some insights of the company and their strategies ahead. Operating out of India’s financial capital Mumbai, Bose mentors the marketing team in order to successfully implement adopted strategies. He manages the media plan, advertisers, wholesale retail partners and online distribution partners.

Adgully (AG): How has  the Indian market been for Play Stations?

Atindriya Bose (AB): Well, Play Station market has always been exciting and has served well. It has been a growth journey ever since we entered in the market, in 2007, with all our models in that segment. Initially the models like PS 1 and PSP used to dominate but now with PS3 we have all the models doing well in the market. Very frankly it has been a three digit growth year on year.

AG: What was the reason and thought behind launching Wonderbook - Book of Spells: Is it a first-of-its-kind experience for PlayStation 3?

AB: With Sony Play Station we believe in innovation. At PS 3 we created motion gaming and for which we decided to create a motion experience with the most read book, Wonderbook: Book of Spells. Magic and wizardry have always had an awe factor with the kids in our country and as pioneers of constant innovation, we at Sony have taken a step forward with the concept of augmented reality and combination of PS3, Move and Eye Camera. The thought was to create something that helps in captivating child’s thought process.

AG: What would be the plans to market and promote the new product?

AB: Well, we have just launched it and going forward we will be seen promoting and marketing the new product. Our first step towards that is our partnership with the well-known book store Landmark. Beyond this we have some other stores as well in our mind and will create a rich experience of Wonderbook there too which will enable the customers to get engaged towards the new game.  

AG: What would be your next step after this? Would we be seeing more Harry Potter games ? Also what was the reason behind opting for  Harry Potter first?

AB: Well, there will be much more that will be coming from our side which will be beyond all this which will give a different experience altogether. As far choosing Harry Porter first is, we believe if the start is an ideal start it’s the best.

AG: Being in not a cluttered but competitive market how do you deal with competition?

AB: It depends upon how we serve our customers. We have really good models which speak about our innovative and unique thoughts and ideas. At Sony our strength lies in distribution as well. We are available in more number of stores hence if we see all over India we are much ahead of others.  

AG: Also it was seen that prices of certain PS models were decreased in India, what was the reason behind that and why was it necessary?

AB: See all this depends upon technology acceptance and innovation. As we go forward depending upon the demand and situation of the market such price migrations happen. In India certain decisions were necessary looking at the current economic scenario.

AG: How has the year been for Sony Play-stations, given the fact that the year has been really tough?  

AB: Yes no doubt it was a tough year but one thing that was interesting was that during Diwali we saw a nice growth towards the sale of some high end models. A lot of excitement was seen during Diwali season. PS 3 has been doing really well ever since we re-launched it.

AG: Which have been the key markets for Sony Play Stations? Could you also share your plans and thoughts towards shifting to smaller markets?

AB: During the initial days of our launch we had seen a lot of growth from the top eight cities including the big metros of-course and Pune etc which used to add not more that 40 percent of the market share. But the market has become a lot more diverse and deep. Yes of-course we have planned to enter that market as well.  | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal@adgully.com]  

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