Sense, simplicity & practicality

When it comes to technology, "simplicity" is not the first word that comes to mind, but with Philips Consumer Electronics, it may very well be. Under the new slogan "Sense and Simplicity," Philips puts under one big umbrella campaign all that it stands for, whether you’re talking about its medical division, lighting, or consumer electronics. For users, it simply means ease of use and outstanding design. Or, to put it another way: You can lose the manual without losing your mind when you’re operating a Philips product.

Senior vice president for Philips Consumer Electronics (PCE) Alan Sparks, who was in Manila last month, says, "My dad used to say, ‘If all else fails, read the manual.’ It’s true. That’s what some people do. With a Philips product, you just have to switch it on and intuitively know what to do next. If you want to record on DVD your favorite program, you know how to do it right away. We’re driving towards making sure our products adhere to the principles of sense and simplicity."

Sparks heads Philip’s PCE division in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Yup, that’s three continents for one man. Born in South Africa and based in Singapore for the past six years, Sparks jokes, "I must have done something terribly wrong in a past life."

Seriously, he has gained insights on how different markets work and what their consumers have in common. "In New Zealand and Australia, you have very formal channels, very organized. You go to India and everything is completely disorganized, it’s just masses and masses of customers with little shops, and there’s no one organization you go and sell to, like Harvey Norman in Australia. In China, you get a balance between the old Chinese way of retailing, which is independent shophouses, and the new retail stores coming in. In the Philippines you get a mix of that, you have SM and Abensons and other retail chains, but there’s still a lot of traditional trade here in the far-flung areas."

While China is still Philips’ biggest market in Asia, Philips’ strategic review of the Asia Pacific markets two years ago revealed the size and potential of the ASEAN countries. "The Philippines is absolutely an important market for us. Is it as big as China? No, of course not. What’s important about the Philippines is that it’s an extremely profitable and significant market for us."

Selling is one thing, and buying quite another. Consumers all want the same thing: A great experience with electronic products, especially TVs and DVD players. The company must be doing the right thing, because last year, Philips PCE Philippines posted a 20 percent growth in revenues in the highly competitive audio-video market, allowing Philips to reach the No. 3 position in overall market share within the aggregate of the business categories including LCD TVs, projection TVs, DVD players, and portable audio.

Sparks credits this growth to its launch of a new range of flat TVs boasting innovations like Pixel Plus 2 and Ambilight. It was only a few years ago that the local PCE division predicted a rise in affordable and portable home theater systems. Today, it is a reality. Consumers no longer have to sell their houses to be able to put together their own home theaters, what with prices dramatically dropping while the technology advances.

Sparks elaborates, "The picture quality of Philips TVs has really given consumers an enhanced viewing experience. If you put our televisions generally, toe to toe, with any of our competitors, you will see that we absolutely have the best picture quality available today."

Philips’ new TVs combine two innovations in improving picture quality: Philips Pixel Plus 2 and Ambilight.

"Ambilight gives you a fantastic viewing experience. As the content on the TV screen changes color, Ambilight reflects the colors on the screen using light at the back of the set, thus enhancing the picture performance. By extending the TV image beyond, Ambilight creates a more relaxed viewing environment. They keep telling people, put it in the bedroom and it will change your life forever. In what sense? Well, it’s good on Valentine’s Day," says Sparks, laughing.

Ambilight also lets you watch TV with less eyestrain – good for those TV marathons every night.

The Pixel Plus 2 technology, on the other hand, provides the clearest, most vivid images onscreen. According to PCE Philippines, "It’s the latest version of the company’s award-winning image enhancement technology Pixel Plus. The doubling of the vertical resolution eliminates the fine structures seen in closeups that are noticeable in other TVs. The extra detail of Pixel Plus also improves the distinction between foreground and background, which increases the perceived depth. The result: A picture of over two million pixel resolutions per frame. This means amazingly sharp pictures with clear and natural detail for all types of input – from normal TV and VCR to DVD."

So how important is the new campaign "Sense and Simplicity" in the consumer electronics business? "I can only give you an answer from an internal perspective. It’s vital. The one thing it does for us is that it extends the dollar that we spend on marketing and advertising. Before, our campaigns were very fragmented; we had completely different advertising for TV or for DVD or for small appliances. Now, we had one umbrella campaign and when you go into a store, you have a perspective of what Philips stands for."

Local consumers know that Philips is a brand backed by more than a hundred years of technology and innovation. What many consumers still don’t realize is that it is very affordable. Yeah, sure, those gorgeous plasma TVs are expensive, but Philips has a middle market range that excels in technology and design over its competitors.

Sparks says, "As the prices come down, the market grows exponentially." That’s what’s good about technology. It becomes simpler, better designed, and more practical to our pockets. Take, for instance, the prices of those real flat-screen TVs (the ones people like to hang on their walls) – they have gone down by as much as 70 percent in recent years.

A few years down the line, ordinary consumers may just be hanging one – or two or three – around their homes.