Spotlight on Audio Solutions | ChannelDrive.in
Sennheiser has always been a brand known for providing unique and innovative products and professional audio solutions. The company is looking forward to further strengthening its bonding with partners in order to achieve greater level of success.
Vipin Pungalia, Director, Professional Segment, Sennheiser India speaks with Zia Askari from ChannelDrive.in about the company’s current focus and its future plans for year 2021.
What are some of the priorities for Sennheiser for the upcoming year 2021?
COVID-19 certainly disrupted the way the world is functioning today. Like every other industry pro segment industry witnessed a challenging time too. But things are starting to look better as more professionals want to invest in better quality products to enhance engagement with customers digitally.
At Sennheiser, our aim has always been to understand the needs of our consumers and provide efficient solutions with cutting edge technology and innovation. Sennheiser provides world class Professional Audio Solutions for various business segments viz. TV & Radio broadcast, Corporate, Education, Live performance, Audio recording, Audio for video, amongst others.
Our plan for 2021 is to pro-actively gauge customer’s needs and continue strengthening the foundation of trust with partners and present itself as an agile, flexible, industry-leading partner ready to help and guide them through this period. We are also simultaneously working on audio products that could define the segment two years from now.
What are some of the product launches in the Professional Segment that you are looking forward to announcing in order to cater to the needs of varied consumers?
India has been one of the key markets for Sennheiser as we have launched a couple of products to cater to aspiring as well as established professionals in India.
The MKE 200 on camera directional microphone provides the best in class sound with minimum background noise for content creators. Sennheiser MKE 200 brings presence to voice with features like a built-in wind screen and shock mount keep the recordings sounding cleaner than ever before.
Another product we launched this year is Neumann V 402 preamplifier which is Neumann’s first-ever-stand-alone microphone preamp. It acts as the perfect complement to all Neumann and other high-class studio microphones.
Like this year, Sennheiser will continue to provide innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies that are in line with consumer expectations and needs.
What is Sennheiser’s product strategy in the professional segment for the festive season this 2020?
This festive season has been different than the last due to the on-going pandemic. As people stayed at home and shopped online to gift their loved ones, Sennheiser too introduced great offers on our various range of professional products. To continue with the festive celebrations, we will provide these offers this month as we have been receiving encouraging response from our consumers.
What is the pro-audio journey of Sennheiser since the markets have opened up?
The Pro Audio market has been reporting substantial growth rate for the last couple of years. The market is likely to grow further based on factors such as increased technology adoption, transition to Digital Audio, Smart Solutions like Dante (VOIP), innovative solutions for Meeting & conferences and investment from clients in cutting edge solutions to resolve their challenges. Other major factors playing role are favourable regulations, growing investments in M&E, exponential rise in OTT platforms, and content creation. However, we witnessed a slump during the lockdown period like every other industry.
Since the markets have opened, professionals are wanting to invest in products to enhance communication with their audience. We will also focus on the changes in the consumer behaviour, considering the changes in the human behaviour and content consumption patterns.
What are some of the big challenges that you see in the market today? How can you overcome these challenges?
The on-going pandemic has had a tangible impact across industries. All on-ground events, music festivals, concerts, award shows etc have been cancelled or postponed until further notice. The current situation has presented challenging conditions for the entire industry. However, as the concept of ‘normal’ changes and people get accustomed to this ‘new normal’, professionals have also started to invest in better audio solutions and technological tools to communicate effectively with their audiences. Continuous upgradation of technology and products are always the key attribute of this industry which will continue to evolve even during this unprecedented time.
Today’s evolving technologies present both an opportunity and disruption for end users. It is critical to understand that we live in a dynamic world with several risks and changes taking place. This is an opportunity for us to grow- as technology has become the biggest enabler in assisting businesses and professional to sustain through this crisis. Sennheiser will continue to deliver exceptional solutions to our customers who want to take their business to the next level.
Please share Sennheiser’s various initiatives during and post the lockdown period to upskill professionals in the industry?
We have been cognizant of the current scenario and wanted to utilize this opportunity to encourage learning amongst our Professional Segment customers, and partners. Sennheiser initiated a campaign #DontStopTheEducation – a series of free online webinar sessions as we believe that there should be no reason to stop educating yourself even in the current social distancing and working from home situation. More than 8,000 audio enthusiasts attended it. We have done local webinars in Hindi and conducted local Round Tables involving prominent personalities from India- sharing their journey, career progression, learnings & experiences over the years, challenges faced, their workflow, approach, strategy, tips & tricks. By initiating this, we are utilising this period to upskill the entire professional industry and provide industry-relevant technical knowledge that will assist them in the future. We are planning a few more classes and webinars like these in the coming months.
To support our community, and boost their morale, Sennheiser initiated #DontStopTheMusic campaign which was an exclusive streaming concert on Sennheiser’s Instagram channel. We had a line-up of artists such as David Guetta, DJ Madoc, Murthovic, Bob Sinclair, Third Eye Blind amongst others. Through this initiative, we encouraged people to support the WHO in its fight against COVID-19.
Can you share your upcoming plans and vision for 2021?
For Sennheiser, India has been one of the key markets. We have launched a couple of products this year for beginners as well as the experienced professionals. Our plan for 2021 is to diversify the portfolio and introduce products that would cater to the diverse needs of the consumers. Our plan is to continue to focus on distribution and also increase our presence online. Currently, Sennheiser is expecting investment in AV industry- and will share an update regarding this soon.
