Denon vs Pioneer

I was just writing a part of a business plan where I was comparing Pioneer and Denon and I felt that the conclusion was worth speaking about.

Context

For those who do not know, Pioneer and Denon are two brands that produce electronic turntables. I guess that they are not doing only that, but they are mostly known for that. The interesting fact to know for the story here, is that Pioneer is the standard of the industry. When I say standard, I mean that every professional DJ that you can see mixes on a Pioneer set. This is so obvious that seeing someone on a Denon set would seem unprofessional and strange.

On one hand, Pioneer is everywhere, any piece of content has its pioneer logo on top of turntables. That led to being recognizable among others but not only. However, one cannot deny that pioneer has a talent for advertisement. They even managed to get Andy Warhol in one of their commercials.

On the other hand, Denon is far advanced in terms of technology. I couldn’t make the list of features they have but that’s insane. For almost half of the price, Denon offers way more possibilities which can eventually be useless while mixing when one knows that doing it on vinyl is even better. The war between Denon vs Pioneer doesn’t happen in terms of technology then, but how?

The reality

But here is the reality, the more advanced technologically speaking has fewer market shares and far less recognition.

This is not the first time that this situation happens. Take for example Samsung, everyone would say that they produce better phones than Apple, but there is this untold truth that an iPhone is far better than a Samsung.

What it does tell us, is that where Denon failed, was in its brand establishment and more importantly in the way they shaped what is a DJ. They failed so much than nowadays, one couldn’t imagine a professional Djs not playing on Pioneer’s equipment or a professional DJ playing on a Denon equipment.

The most absurd is that, at the end of the day, both turntables have the same buttons, they can provide the same result. The only difference is in the inner feeling. If I touch a Pioneer, if I am playing with it, this means that I am a real DJ. This means that I can hope and dream of being a professional one day. It pushes me into a world that I wish I would belong. Apart from that, in the war of Denon vs Pioneer, I know that if I want to belong to the DJs’ world, I would have to spend a huge amount of money to acquire the equipment. People who have made this choice have 1) a big amount of money to spend 2) but also chose to be professional. They have saved, earned, and spent for getting it, more than what I was capable of doing. Then they are rewarded by getting a Pioneer.

Lesson of branding

What we can learn about branding is that it is an overall experience that goes beyond a beautiful logo. It can be also something related to your wishes, your hope, and your dream. Something that represents the experience in itself or a tool that can help you achieve this experience.

This is where Pioneer succeeded. Because no shirt is famous to become a DJ, no headphone symbolizes the ascension of David Guetta for example and Daft Punk hasn’t sold their helmet in big quantities.

How to overcome that in a business situation?

I remember watching one of my favorite DJs using a Xone:92 which was a mix table from Allen and Heath. Nothing told me anything about this mixing table, but seeing the brand and the person I gave credit to using it showed me the probable importance of this piece of equipment. That’s one of the only brands I remember so far, but it shows something. To beat Pioneer at its game, one needs to play the same. Maybe with more hype, more refined, but certainly not by putting half the price with more technology.

Other thoughts:

Denon stays very competitive and as said previously, its number of features makes it more attractive for its price. Without knowing real numbers, maybe Denon has gained the heart of pragmatic people who value price over branding and they might do great. It remains that in my eyes, I would never buy them until a real rebranding.

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