The Walkman is a portable audio and video cassette player created by Sony as part of a full line introduced to the market originally in 1978. The first idea for the product came from a prototype built by engineer Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony co-chairman Akio Morita so he could listen to operas during long trans-Pacific plane flights. In the beginning Morita hated the name “Walkman” and protested that it be changed immediately against the junior executives advisement. He soon relented after discovering that changing the name would be too costly as well as the release of a promotional campaign featuring the “Walkman” was already out to the mass market.
The device became very profitable to Sony through the 1990’s, a wide range of names had been applied to the device that Sony trademarked as part of a successful marketing strategy. Names like Pressman, Watchman, Scoopman, Talkman, all became synonymous with the brand.
The marketing of the Walkman introduced the idea of Japanese culture into the foreign international market. Mostly known for there high-technology and miniaturization, the commercial introduction of the “Walkman and the Walk-women” was used to portray not only the easy of portability but to show that it could be fashionable to any gender or culture. Sony also added the option to personalize the Walkman making it the “perfect choice for the individual”.
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