Sony to introduce film and gaming to Xperia Access platform

Cannes 2014: Sony is looking at ways to bring other areas of its business, such as films and gaming, to its Xperia Access content platform to raise awareness of the many different divisions the company runs.

Sony Xperia Access
Sony plans to extend Xperia Access content beyond music to films and gaming.

Launched a year ago, Xperia Access united Sony’s mobile and music divisions with the aim of driving brand awareness and preference metrics.

Having initially run as a 3-month campaign, Sony extended that to an always-on strategy at the beginning of this year, aimed at expanding that remit to boost product consideration and sales.

Speaking to Marketing Week at the Cannes Lions festival, Sony Mobile’s head of PR, sponsorship and social media in northern Europe Matt Beavis says the aim now is to “box a bit smarter” and remind consumers that the same Sony brand makes phones and music, but also films and the Playstation.

“First and foremost this is a brand exercise – it is about brand affinity and reminding people we are the same company. It is deliberately called something as ambiguous as Access so we can do something with PlayStation or films. [The mobile] device is your window into the world of Sony, that’s the crux of it and the cornerstone of our business,” he adds.

Sony has already made a number changes to the Xperia Access platform since it launched last year. It now has a media partnership with Bauer Media, rather than the Guardian, so it can target its artists at specific audiences, such as people who read Grazia or Kerrang. It has also made Vevo, rather than Facebook, the destination, turning its Vevo page into a hub that showcases not just content but also competitions, gig tickets and exclusive prizes such as the chance to play an instrument on an artist’s upcoming album.

“[What makes Xperia Access different] is bragging rights. This is different because it considers what the artist and audience wants, then we work in the Sony product. All of us are benefiting. This is not force feeding marketing messages to people, this is giving them content they want but directing them to a hub where hopefully they get enough exposure to the Sony side of the business to fall in love with us a bit more,” says Beavis.

The Xperia Access platform demonstrates the company’s “One Sony” business strategy, which was implemented in 2012. The strategy, devised by CEO Kazuo Hirai, aimed to make its core businesses work closer together, both operationally and through marketing, in a bid to turnaround flagging revenues.

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