Brand: Sony Ericsson
Agency: PHD
One would think that a brand that begins with the name "Sony" would have this category wrapped-up as a non-endemic that slips in under the wire, but its strategy has been hit or miss -- and that's likely to do with the unusual partnership between Sony and Ericsson. The brand has refocused while launching, and now growing, the Xperia Play line (all while restructuring and changing agencies). Sony has taken some notes from other brands in the field by partnering with eSports leagues, advertising in endemic gaming media and on games-focused websites, and recruiting high profile gamers as spokesman such as professional eSports coach, Andy "JT Bravo" Dudynsky, to tap into the very peak of the consumer pyramid. The long-term effectiveness of that strategy is yet to be seen, but in the near term, it has endeared the hardest of hard-core gamers to the brand.
What's next: If the brand is to resonate with the entire community, a lot more must be done to address that need. Appealing to the tip of the pyramid is certainly a solid initial strategy, but moving down the graph means some very serious changes in approach going forward. The Xperia in particular doesn't have mind share with gamers who, very clearly, think iOS first, Android second, Nintendo third, and everything else after (really bad news for Nintendo of North America, which used to own the category). I'd advise to take a step back and reexamine who the target audience is, then use the products and partnerships to realign accordingly.
