By Martin Vedris
SYDNEY: Sony Australia has stationed a New York subway carriage at Customs Square on the Sydney Harbour foreshore at Circular Quay to provide an outdoor viewing area promoting its latest range of Bravia LCD TVs to curious consumers.
The Bravia train features colourful New York-style graffiti ‘bunnies’ and builds on the theme of Sony’s ‘Play-Doh’ TV commercials which launched on Australian TV in October and was filmed in New York City using stop-motion animation.
According to Sony, the 20-metre long, 15-tonne carriage hosted over 3,000 passengers on its first day open to the public last Sunday, 18 November.
“As we enter our key selling period, our aim is to extend our reach with consumers beyond the retail space, at the same time providing a trigger to encourage them to think about purchasing a new TV and drive them back into the shop floor,” said Sony Australia’s head of strategy and brand development, Toby Barbour.
“Furthermore, by providing brand ambassadors on site, customers can be educated about new technologies such as Full HD. The Bravia train provides the ultimate ‘platform’ to demonstrate the incredible image quality that Bravia LCD TVs from Sony provide.”
The Bravia train houses Sony’s range of XBR, X, W, D and V Series Bravia LCD TVs. On-board Bravia ambassadors encourage passers-by to enter the train and are on-hand to demonstrate and explain key features of the Bravia range.
Passengers can also enter an SMS competition to win a KDL40X3100 40” BRAVIA LCD TV by picking up a ticket from a Bravia ambassador and sending a keyword via SMS. Bluetooth downloads enable passengers to receive a Bravia logo and call to action to ‘hop’ on the train.
Sony has scheduled for the train to arrive at Southern Cross train station in Melbourne next week.