Pioneering Branding Campaigns That Opened Whole New Markets

Whilst every successful branding campaign inherently stands out, most product branding campaigns are shaped by the conventions and concepts used by the rest of the industry.

The reason for this is that it is logical to on some level use ideas that have proven already to be successful. However, what if that is not an option?

For innovative startups that are blazing trails in new markets, there is often no precedent to work with, and some companies want to open their industry to an entirely new market that has not been targeted previously.

Sometimes they do not quite make it, but the ones that do often change entire industries in the process, and here are some of the most interesting examples.

Nintendo Entertainment System

In 1983, the video game industry in North America suddenly collapsed, with sales of video games plummeting from $3bn in 1983 to just $100m in 1985, a decline of nearly 97 per cent that was unprecedented and not seen in any other region.

Video games were seen as a fad and a dead market, with toy retailers refusing to stock game consoles as a result.

Nintendo got around this with a fascinating marketing campaign. The console was redesigned to look like a video player and came with a toy robot and light gun to hide the fact that it was a game console.

The Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) was only ever used with two games but it successfully captivated early audiences, and once it had a foothold, the robot was quietly discontinued as the appeal moved away from toys and more towards games like Super Mario Bros.

Sony PlayStation

This is a borderline example, as Sony did not open an entire market so much as they were the first to target a market that already existed, but Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s explicit focus on young adults as opposed to children and teenagers was executed in a novel, unique way.

They produced experimental short films, created marketing campaigns influenced by the underground rave scene and used dedicated rooms in nightclubs as a form of guerilla marketing.

For more information and advice from a branding agency in High Wycombe, get in touch today.