Sony’s Israel representative ISFAR will this week come out with a marketing campaign to penetrate the Israeli market with the ultimate games system PlayStation. The system has been sold with great success in the last couple of years in the USA and Japan. It started to be marketed in Europe last year. Sony has leapfrogged to the top of the computer games market with this system, selling over 12 million of them, mostly in Japan. Sony’s Israel representatives estimate that so far only odd systems have reached Israel as personal imports.
ISFAR marketing manager Ilan Greenbaum estimates the Israeli market at NIS 60 million for this year, from sales of 30,000 systems and 150,000 games programs. He said that despite the fact that the product is aimed at teenagers, the average age of users is 22.
He disclosed to "Globes" that the company intends spending $200,000 in promoting the product, and in special offers to Sony customers. The campaign will start at the end of this week, with the launching of a press advertising campaign and with trial machines in shopping malls. For adults, there will also be demonstration systems in selected pubs.
ISFAR is examining a number of marketing channels for the new line. Marketers will have to sell both the games system and the games themselves. To meet this need, the company will base distribution on its direct marketing set-up, through the chain of Sony stores and the large retail chains. The company will also sign a distribution agreement with at least one of the software distribution chains (Bug, Machshevet, or Hed-Arzi). The company is considering selling the system through electrical appliance stores as well. Greenbaum said that the matter is still up in the air, and no decision has been reached.
It is reported that Sony plans to sell the system in Israel at a price of NIS 999 including VAT, which is equivalent to the price in the USA and Europe. The idea is to make personal import into Israel less worthwhile. The company will import all the games published around the world, and bring them onto the Israeli market at the same time as they are announced in the rest of the world. The price of the games varies between NIS 239 and NIS 279.