Sony will head the digital game

I was very disappointed and annoyed to read yet another article from Marketing Week making grandiose [sic] claims against Sony and its business strategies (MW March 25). Lucy Killgren is a reputable journalist and there is no doubt that she is familiar with Sony and our businesses, but I believe her most recent article is based on mostly hearsay and rumours.

Ms Killgren fails to identify almost all of her sources throughout the article. The fact that all the quotes and claims made by Ms Killgren are unfounded, significantly weakens the premise of the article. Sony’s success can be attributed to its “think global, act local” approach to business and marketing, and we are not aware of any plans to start centralising our operations or our advertising.

A couple of week’s ago, Sony did indeed announce changes to its corporate business to develop a new group architecture for a “network centric era”. As a corporation we are constantly changing and challenging our ideals and our businesses.

There is no doubt there is a major shift from standalone analogue to digital networking products, but Sony is at the forefront of creating a new and exciting digital environment.

Ms Killgren gives the impression that Sony is behind the game, yet Sony is a leading manufacturer of consumer electronics and information technology markets. Last year Sony Pictures generated the best worldwide box office performance in history, Sony Music achieved its most successful year and Sony PlayStation is the most successful games console selling more than 50 million worldwide. Picking up from a comment made in the article, “we are the ones changing the rules”.

We recognise that Ms Killgren has a right to voice her opinions. However, it is unfortunate on this occasion, by not attributing a source, we believe your readers cannot differentiate fact from supposition.

Geoff Muge

Group marketing communications manager Consumer Products Group

Sony UK