Pioneer battling for recognition in dock market

Pioneer battling for recognition in dock market
Pioneer's SMA range - trying to benefit from brand

The Pioneer brand remains strong within Britain, but the company has admitted to TechRadar that it is battling against anonymity among the demographic that buy things like docks.

Pioneer will be a familiar name to many technophiles; the company arguably made the world's best televisions for several years before deciding that screens were not profitable, as well has having a longstanding relationship with audiophiles.

However, as the company pushes its impressively spec'd SMA audio dock range, there remains a battle to push the brand to a section of the audience.

Brand loyalty

"I think there's still a lot of brand loyalty out there," Pioneer's home business group product executive Geoff Loveday told TechRadar.

"A lot of people do remember Pioneer - and not just for the plasma TVs but back to the early two channel days.

"People have a great fondness for the brand and that does help. The general perception of the brand is of good quality rather than a box-shifting merchant type brand

"On the other hand, although there is a certain demographic that know all about Pioneer, there is another demographic that maybe don't know who we are."

Recognition

A second Pioneer spokesperson added: "For some of the people who we are going after for things like the SMA range, they won't have heard of the brand.

"There are a lot of better known brands competing in this market and that's maybe why it is a challenge."

Loveday believes there is a burden of expectation on Pioneer that the company is trying to grip on to.

"It's on another pedestal so people naturally expect higher quality and perhaps something also a bit different.

"Pioneer is still true to its roots in terms of trying new technologies and features. We do utilise that [reputation] and I think customers do associate with that."

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.