Epson and NEC continue to solidify their position in the projector market by improving ratings in key market segments, Sony and Panasonic benefit from a solid brand image.

Lewiston, MAINE, January 24, 2012 – TFCinfo today announces the completion of its “Projector Brand Customer Perception and Preference Study 2012.”  This report marks the 11th year that this annual projector brand benchmarking study has been conducted.  In this year’s installment some interesting movement is seen among the brands in the three measurable areas of brand strength: awareness, image, and intent.  These areas are analyzed across the five most important market segments in the projector industry--large corporations, SMB (small and medium business), SOHU (small office/home user), education, and government.

Awareness

Most notable, Epson and NEC post gains in unaided free recall this year across each of the market segments surveyed, and some of these gains are considerable (NEC up 10% education).  Epson, the #1 brand in sales, maintains their top spot in education and takes the #1 spot in government for the first time this year.  Unaided free recall is extremely important to ensure that your brand comes to mind to be included in the important pre-purchase research.

Some strong increases are also seen this year for brands that have previously suffered from lower overall unaided brand awareness.  Awareness for Optoma, Dell, and Hitachi is improving greatly and beginning to reflect their current market share. 

Image

A clear picture is forming with regard to some of the most important projector purchasing factors and the brands that are being associated with them.  When asked which brands could be described as offering excellent quality and reliability, Panasonic and Sony are the brands that are most highly rated. 

“Measuring brand strength and tracking your position in relation to your competitors is especially important in today’s projector market.  With so many affordable options more businesses have access to projectors and competition will only increase, especially when facing further competition from other large area displays such as plasma and LCDs,” states Tanya Lippke, TFCinfo director of survey market research.  “Understanding customer perceptions, preferences and the factors that are driving purchase decisions is critical to the brand management process, and therefore to the growth and profitability of your brand. These customer perceptions can have significant influence in their purchase decisions.” 

Intent

Panasonic is the most considered projector brand for purchase overall this year, NEC does well again as the most considered brand for purchase among those in large corporations, while Epson continues their dominance in the education market.  Sony, InFocus, and even Sharp hold their own on this measure posting gains in important market segments.

“Many brands post great scores this year, even some of the lesser known brands such as Barco and Christie,” states Tanya Lippke, “It is especially positive if these brands can take this consideration and turn it into an actual purchase.  In order to do this, consumers must also have a clear understanding as to what your brand offers in correlation to the purchasing factors that are most important to them.  This report reveals what messages the major brands are delivering and how these perceptions are affecting them in the market-place.”

Many brands were researched in-depth and each show significant strengths and weaknesses in certain areas.  Brands that are analyzed in depth include: 3M, Dell, Dukane, Eiki, Epson, Hitachi, InFocus, Mitsubishi, NEC, Optoma, Panasonic, Runco, Sanyo, Sharp, and Sony.

This extensive 360 page report reveals detailed customer insights and analysis that will help manufacturers to build and sustain an advantage in the marketplace.  The research will give companies the tools needed to successfully measure the effectiveness of brand investments and marketing, and will aide managers’ ability to guide business decisions over the long term.  

This report analyzes:            

·        Unaided brand awareness

·        Aided brand awareness

·        What do customers think of when they think of your brand?

·        Brands used

·        Brand consideration set (Is your brand among a select group of brands considered first?)

·        Superior brands (Is your brand always considered?)

·        Inferior Brands (Is your brand never considered?)

·        Buying criteria

·        Importance rating of buying criteria

·        Brand affinity (How strong is your brand strength on key purchasing attributes?)

·        Brand associations (What type of projector use is your brand most associated with?)

·        Brand image index (How strong is your brand compared to average and your competitors on important purchasing factors and affinity attributes?)

·        Plus: Projector use and purchasing (How are projectors used in each market segment, what benefits are realized from using a projector, what are the downsides, how many hours are projectors being used, where are consumers getting information about projectors and brands, where are they buying most, who are the gatekeepers of purchase, does your brand measure up on the most important purchasing factors?)

·        This report also includes market trend graphs for each market segment that tracks the movement of top brands over the past seven years in important areas such as: unaided and aided awareness and brand consideration.

For a complete brochure and outline of this study, or for more information on purchasing, please contact Tanya Lippke, Director of Survey Market Research, at (207) 783-0055 or tmlippke@tfcinfo.net.

 

 

About TFCinfo

TFCinfo (www.tfcinfo.net) is a worldwide leader in audiovisual market research and consulting.  TFCinfo provides its international clients with point-of-sales market reports and end user quantitative and qualitative market research on projectors, flat panels, interactive whiteboards and other specialty displays. 

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