Tag archives: sony

Don’t walk alone

Sony is currently taking over walls and public spaces in Paris to run its Donwalkalone campaign, which is also supported by a website www.dontwalkalone.com. Actually you understand there’s Sony behind this only if you read the post on Buzz is Media, where they give credits for the action to the Japanese brand and the agency Vanksen.

The online part is not particularly interesting, but it’s functional to push the contest which challenges les Parisiens to find the spots around Paris where the animations are projected. I must say it’s not easy/intuitive to understand what’s the product promoted with this action. I admit my French is far from being perfect, but the copy on the site is quite vague and insubstantial… In any case, the object of the action should be a new kind of poster/sticker called “Cling Rite”, perfect for ecological urban guerrilla actions. The stickers are indeed based on electrostatic principles which allow people to attach and remove them easily without leaving any sign on the surface. I kind of have the feeling this is a cool idea but, as I said above, it’s not very clear what it’s about. Is there anybody out there who can clarify a bit more the action? Merci!!

Wish you were here! (or maybe not?)

If you haven’t had dinner in the last hour, go and check the new creepy Playstation 2 campaign to promote the new “Getaway 2/Black Monday” game. I found it on TwentyFour, which also points out that “in New Zealand crime scene installations were set up in three cities (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch). Radio ads and editorials on city channels gave clues to the whereabouts of the scenes: listeners who cracked the clues and were able to find the locations, were rewarded with a brand new PS2 console and a copy of the game“.

The PSP branded content opportunity

New Media Age has an interesting article (sorry, sub. required) on the business Sony has generated with the launch of the PSP. Brands like Nike and media giants like MTV and Conde Nast have started creating content specifically for the PSP, which isn’t simply a gaming device but it’s most of all a source of entertainment. A good example is the Tv program Dubplate Drama which last was screened first on the PSP and later aired on Channel 4 and MTV.

Read more…

The Lemmings are back

How many hours did I spend as a kid playing the Lemmings videogame? I can’t tell or, better I should not tell… anyway, for anyone with a PSP, Sony has just (re)lauched the game for such platform. A mini-site (full of goodies) created by Greenroom Digital and an online campaign are supporting the launch. A viral is also part of the effort, with a video-clip featuring Lenny the Lemming.

Don’t think. Shoot.

Sony’s outdoor campaign in Switzerland (creativity by Fallon). [News via Persoenlich]

Sony, like.no.other

Sony has launched in the UK the online version of its “like.no.other” campaign, designed by Fallon London to promote the new range of Walkman Mp3 players. The creativity focuses on the fact that Walkman’s batteries last longer than the iPod’s ones. Revolution Magazine reports ads will run on UK portals such as Lycos, Yahoo, Tiscali and Wanadoo where Sony sponsors the music channel. Even if the battery life is an issue with my iPod, I must admit I decided to buy it because it was innovative, stylish and, last (and maybe least), useful. I appreciate Sony, as a second mover, tries to position itself in a different way, not competing on the style field but rather looking for a new segment of customers. Apple’s got the early adopters (who, by definition, aren’t very demanding when it comes to testing innovations), Sony is going for the first majority, once again a challenge for Steve Jobs to stay on top… If you’re interested in learning more about early adopters, first and late majority and about marketing the innovations, I suggest you reading Everett Rogers, who wrote “Diffusion of Innovations“. It is exactly a marketing book, but it’s indispensable to read in order to understand how to build a strategy to market a new technology.

Sony, the new Walkman is online

On April 11 Sony has launched an online campaign in Italy to promote its new Walkman. DailyNet (in Italian) reports online ads have been planned by MD International to go live on MTV, Lycos, Tiscali, Libero and Yahoo!. The campaign (creativity by Fallon) will last until the end of June and will see Sony investing in Italy about 200.000 Euros.

Gran Turismo, “gran sito”

Zugura has developed a website for the new Sony Playstation game Gran Turismo 4. The site features a lot of information, giving a comprehensive picture of the game’s characteristics and potentials. The content is divided into four sections: the car element, the human element, the environment element and last but not least the “new” element. Over 700 car models are presented with a lot of videos showing how the game looks like. There is also an interactive quiz where users are tested on real life photos versus in-game footage. For what concerns Gran Turismo as a game, its realism is just fantastic. It also shows the in-game product placement of the Mitsubishi brand.

Sony: videogames and pizza for lazy players

Sony has built in the ability to order pizza in its latest multiplayer game “Everquest II”. By typing the command “/pizza” players are taken to the Pizza Hut website where they can place an order. Dailypress reports Sony plans to add a function to have the pizza bill to be charged within the monthly game subscription. The ideal solution for lazy hard players…

Sony: Sleep Tomorrow

Sony Ericsson has launched a multi-channel effort to promote its new K500i camera phone. The “Sleep-Tomorrow” campaign by Mec Digital will be featured through the Lycos European network until February 2005. A competition giving away a five-days vacation is associated to the initiative. To enter, people had to submit a description of how they will spend their perfect day. Now we are already in the second phase of the challenge, in order to win a “perfect” day, users have to guess the best five ideas selected by Sony. To find out more about Sony Ericsson online branding strategies, you can also read a comment by Philip Smith on Revolution.