Sony Branding Strategy

1 Sony

Sony is the kind of company that constantly launches so many great products that engineers and designers for competing companies must get little rest at night. The Sony is primarily focused on the Electronics (such as AV/IT products & components) and Game (such as PlayStation) and Entertainment (such as motion pictures and music).

2 Sony History

Sony was founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. The two complemented each other with a unique blend of product innovation and marketing savvy, and formed a company that would eventually grow into a more than $60 billion global organization.

Since 1946, when Masaru Ibuka started Sony, it has rocketed into electronics and entertainment consumers' minds as the brand. Beginning right after the end of the war as it did, one of Sony's founding purposes was "to reconstruct Japan and to elevate the nation's culture." It's no small wonder that, with such lofty original goals, Sony has become an iconoclastic global brand.

Sony innovations have become part of mainstream culture, including: the first magnetic tape and tape recorder in 1950 and the introduction of the Walkman personal stereo in 1979 which changed the way the world listens to music. Another example of Sony innovation is on the creation of the new color television which was named TrinitronÐ'® - derived from the word "trinity," meaning the union of three, and "tron" from electron tube. Since its introduction in 1968, the Trinitron television has set the standard for picture quality and design.

3 Sony Name Origin

Akio Morita was a true marketing pioneer who was instrumental in making Sony a household name all over the world. He was determined to establish the Sony brand. And it was after Morita's first trip to the United States that he suggested to Ibuka that the company name be changed from Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo to one that was easily pronounceable and recognizable. The company name "Sony" was created by combining two words. One is "sonus" in Latin, which is the root of such words as "sound" and "sonic." The other is "sonny" meaning little son. The words were used to show that Sony is a very small group of young people who have the energy and passion toward unlimited creation.

4 Sony Brand

Sony describes its brand as devoted to the celebration of life and helping dreamers dream. That broad statement enables Sony to expand in many directions, all focused on the convergence of hardware, software, content and services to enhance people's lives. As with many other Top Brands, Sony has successfully blended products of mass appeal with those targeting specific consumer groups through sub-brands, among them Walkman and Vaio. Whereas many companies spend heavily on image advertising, Sony does not. Its best marketing tool is putting out quality, technologically innovative products.

5 Sony Current and Future Branding Strategies

Sony current branding strategy is in moving Sony into the digital network era by emphasizing the integration of AV and IT products. Sony is launching its image campaign, "Do you dream in Sony?" and helped coin the term "digital dream kids." The premise of the campaign was to provide shareholders, customers, employees, and business partners who come into contact with Sony with the opportunities to create and fulfill their dreams.

Sony's future brand success will be determined by how the company meets the challenges of change. Sony has always led the market in terms of innovation. But in a digital networked world, products will no longer be developed with just hardware in mind. The convergence of technologies Ð'- consumer electronics, computing and telecommunications Ð'- is a reality, with new competitors forming and consumer mindshare up for grabs.

Sony is a corporation with convergence at its very heart. Driven by an integrated business model, the company is well positioned to bring new benefits to consumers by combining hardware, software, content and services. Sony's approach is to make it possible for consumers to enjoy various forms of content on both "home networks," consisting of connected electronic devices, and "mobile networks" that are accessible through mobile terminals.

Products such as the i.LINKÐ'® interface and Memory StickÐ'® digital storage media provide greater connectivity between digital devices and will help create seamless home and personal networks. Sony's vision is to give consumers easy, ubiquitous access to entertainment and information anytime, anywhere Ð'- no matter whether the content comes from cable, satellite, terrestrial, packaged media or the Internet.

Sony is also giving consumers new reasons to visit the Internet, including the recent launch of SonyStyle.com, a new information rich, e-commerce site for everything Sony. Designed to build a closer relationship between Sony and its customers, the site will offer a variety of commerce, content, community and connectivity options planned for the near future. Other new service offerings include www.ImageStation.com and www.eMarker.com.

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