PRODUCT TRENDS SONY SETS
PRODUCT TRENDS SONY SETS OUT OBJECTIVES FOR EUROPEAN MARKETPLACE by Richard Barnes A NEw gLOBAL BRAND MESSAgE wILL hELP BRINg 3D TO ThE hOME, SAYS FUJIO NIShIDA, PRESIDENT SONY EUROPE Fujio Nishida, President Sony Europe Armed with the new brand message of ‘make.believe’, Sony is set to reinforce the role of the living room as the hub of home entertainment. Fujio Nishida, President Sony Europe, outlines how the company will meet the challenges of the European market. With the constant evolution of the way people use entertainment devices of different kinds, how is this affecting the grouping and sales of these products under the Sony brand name? We have indeed seen an evolution in the consumer electronics landscape both in terms of technology and devices, as well as the actual gateways to content delivery. The convergence of IT, CE and telecommunications now enables a multitude of new ways to enjoy content. However, the hub of entertainment in the home continues to be the living room and the TV naturally takes centre stage. Sony has been at the forefront of high definition, in Blu-ray, in video games, and in the creation of exciting content – through our pictures and music businesses – and its delivery to consumers. Similar to the adoption of HD, now 3D is clearly on its way to the mass market through technology, distribution and content. As with HD a few years back, there are a number of issues yet to be addressed, but Sony’s technological leadership, together with our ownership and unique understanding of all forms of content, means that we will be able to deliver the entire 3D value chain, both to our customers in the movie creation and distribution business and, of course, to our consumers in cinemas, or at home on a variety of Sony devices. We will see the commercialisation of 3D Sony products for the home in 2010. Other exciting news for Europe is the launch of the PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service, which enables movie titles and episodes of TV series to be downloaded for purchase or rental to both the PlayStation 3 and PSP. The service will initially go live in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. The PSN video delivery service currently available in the U.S. now offers over 12,000 TV episodes and more than 2,200 movies, with more than 35% of those movies in HD. How has the world financial crisis changed the way Sony does business? The global economic crisis has irrevocably changed our businesses and the world around us. With an outlook on convergence and connectivity in the consumer electronics driving us forward, we could not anticipate the turmoil that would force us to reevaluate all that we do. One year later, it does seem that the lessons learned have brought productive and necessary change to our entire industry. Today we do not view ourselves as a company operating in the middle of an economic crisis, or waiting for one to pass. We are aggressively and strategically running our business in a new and permanently changed reality - one that we must meet head-on every day. How important is IFA to Sony in terms of getting your message out to the market? For the second consecutive year, Sony is presenting its entire breadth of products and content at the biggest booth for any single company at IFA this year. Being the world’s biggest consumer electronics fair, IFA continues to provide us with an excellent opportunity to present our products to a pan-European audience in time for the peak buying season, which this year will be even more crucial to our industry than in previous years. Most importantly, we are excited about the prime opportunity to interact directly with our customers and consumers and share the latest highlights which Sony as a global technology and entertainment brand has to offer. What can the consumers expect to see from Sony at IFA this year and the next few years down the line? At our IFA press conference, our Chairman, CEO and President, Sir Howard Stringer, made a global announcement, unveiling our new global brand message entitled ‘make. believe’. It symbolises Sony’s spirit of creativity and innovation, and its ability to turn ideas into reality. It is the first time we have ever introduced a single overarching brand message for all of our entertainment and electronics businesses around the globe. The key for us is how ‘make.believe’ translates into compelling products, content and services for the consumer, all aimed at delivering unparalleled user experiences, which we will see come to life between now and during the years ahead. Being true to the spirit of ‘make.believe’, Sony will bring 3D to the home in 2010 and reinforce the role of the living-room as the hub of home entertainment, with exciting and outstanding 3D entertainment experiences. Hall 4.2 / Stand 101 IFA International • Friday, 4 th September 2009 www.ifa-international.org 19
