International Marketing Study Program 2004
Pioneer
6 January 2004
On arrival at Pioneer's offices, we received an extremely warm and inviting welcome. From this it became apparent this visit would be something very special. However, before our visit could really get underway, we first had the difficult task of moving everyone out of the main foyer, where we were surrounded by huge plasma televisions and all the trendy receptionists in their gorgeous pink uniforms!
We were privileged to be given a presentation by Pioneer's Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate Communications Division, Masao Kawabata, who, along with a great sense of humour, had clearly gone to a great deal of effort in preparation for our meeting. Mr Kawabata covered several pertinent areas throughout his presentation; a company overview and history, corporate reform and corporate identity activities, “power brand” strategies and customer satisfaction management.
Perhaps most evident was the belief held by Pioneer in its ability to “create a market”. Arguably it is this belief has led the company to achieve so many world first technologies, and to win the Japan Quality Award. Also obvious was the sheer pride in the Pioneer brand that was not only held by Mr Kawabata, but also his colleagues. Mr Kawabata's openness and humility about Pioneer's mistakes and the ways in which the company overcame these added incredible value to this visit. Something we could not learn from text books.
The combination of Mr Kawabata's knowledge and experience, along with the information we received is undoubtedly of great use and benefit for the group's learning and assessment work. This was evident with the large number of questions raised following the presentation and the genuine interest held by the entire group.
Following the immaculate presentation by Mr Kawabata, we were lucky enough to experience some of Pioneer's world class technologies in their Audio Visual room. It goes without saying that the entire group was mesmerised by the massive plasma screen and the quality surround sound. This AV demonstration was not only fun, but it also played an important part in assisting us in understanding the incredibly high quality Pioneer values as well as indicate the pride that they have in their brand - and rightfully so.
Although we were only at Pioneer for half a day, the feeling on the bus afterwards was that we had learnt so much. The insight into Pioneer as a company and brand, its history and future, was invaluable and we couldn't have asked for anything more.
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