By Craig Zammit
SYDNEY: Sony Ericsson has unveiled a new look for its global mobile phone range in an attempt to refresh the brand’s consumer image and connect with its core markets, as well as mark its growth as it celebrates its fifth anniversary.
Based on a simple core concept and a new colour spectrum, the company’s famous green logo, known as the ‘liquid identity’, will be used to focus on the individual and their feelings towards what Sony Ericsson’s products, accessories and applications enable them to do.
“Sony Ericsson is entering a phase of aggressive growth and to succeed it is important that people everywhere can connect with us at every level,” said Sony Ericsson CVP and head of marketing, Dee Dutta.
“Over the past five years our brand has become established in the minds of our consumers. Now it is time for us to appeal to both the minds and the hearts of consumers. The mobile device will become increasingly central to our lives in many different ways and as this happens it is vital that our brand stands out above others with energy, passion and excitement,” he said.
The brand identity will include a new range of vibrant colours, intentionally selected to stand out from the white, grey, black and blue tones used by many technology brands.
“As soon as you see [the Sony Ericsson logo] there is immediate engagement between you and the Sony Ericsson brand. The message is that it is treating you as an individual – it is not telling you what to think about Sony Ericsson, it is reflecting what you think,” said Sony Ericsson head of brand management, Andrew Warner.
“This is not just a traditional, static brand identity. We plan to increase our use of interactive media to build a dialogue with consumers around the world and effectively start co-creating our brand messages with them.
“People want to know how our products can add to their life – how connected they can be, how much fun they can have, how much better they can work and more. Our new brand identity puts these messages across in a very simple way,” he said.
With Sony Ericsson now looking towards its sixth year of operation, Sony Ericsson President, Miles Flint, comments on the last five years as having laid secure foundations for future growth.
“Combining the talents of Sony and Ericsson has enabled us to create a world-class portfolio of products and services, which differentiate us in the market place. Our parents’ heritage provided us with many things that no other player in the telecoms sector has – infrastructure and telecoms know-how from Ericsson plus consumer electronics experience and entertainment properties from Sony.
“The past five years is just the beginning. There is so much more to come as mobile communications continue to converge with imaging, audio/visual entertainment and consumer electronics. This is an environment where Sony Ericsson is in its element and we believe we will become an even more important force in the telecommunications sector in the future,” he said.