sony ericsson

23
-1- Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand - A research based on focus group interviews with students Ulrica Fixell and Marina Haldin Mälardalen University School of Business Master’s Thesis Abstract As known, for a company it is very important to have a good relationship with its customers, since a good relationship often leads to repeat purchases. This can be done by creating and supporting a positive brand image. The current paper illustrates the importance of positive customer perception of a company’s brand, by introducing the Sony Ericsson case. A small survey elaborating focus group techniques was used. The focus groups consisted of students, in order to find out how the representatives of one of the most important target groups of Sony Ericsson perceived the brand. The results of the survey revealed that the students possessed little information about the Sony Ericsson brand. Therefore, the authors worked out recommendations which would help the company to inform its consumers about the Sony Ericsson brand. Introduction In today’s market conditions every company has to be customer oriented in order to survive. The way consumers perceive a brand helps them to make a decision about an eventual purchase. It is in the interest of a company to create and support a positive brand image. However managers often rely upon old tactics and even believe that it is enough to have a good product which can sell itself. (Day & Nedungadi, 1994) But in the conditions of the modern economy a company should constantly support the relationship with its current customers, work on building a relationship with potential ones and even try to catch attention of those who prefer other brands. This kind of relationship would help the company to maintain and improve its brand image. (Alreck & Settle, 1999; Solomon, 2002) Since Sony Ericsson is one of the world’s most well-known mobile phone producers, albeit still a very young company, it naturally became interesting for the research. Already before the implementation of the research, it came to mind that Sony Ericsson hardly made any commercials for its products and the company, before the marketing campaign of autumn 2003. Obviously the glory of the mother companies simplified the way to success for the daughter company and Sony Ericsson did not seem to put much effort into a creation of their own image for the customers. (Egeholm, 2003) But how do people perceive the brand of Sony Ericsson? Sony Ericsson has four target groups (Egeholm, 2003) and in order to completely answer this question, representatives from all four groups should be interviewed. The present paper illustrates the results of interviews with people representing the target group of selective pioneers. In many aspects

Upload: danielle-brooke

Post on 03-Dec-2014

112 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Sony Ericsson

-1-

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand - A research based on focus group interviews with students

Ulrica Fixell and Marina Haldin Mälardalen University

School of Business Master’s Thesis

Abstract As known, for a company it is very important to have a good relationship with its customers, since a good relationship often leads to repeat purchases. This can be done by creating and supporting a positive brand image. The current paper illustrates the importance of positive customer perception of a company’s brand, by introducing the Sony Ericsson case. A small survey elaborating focus group techniques was used. The focus groups consisted of students, in order to find out how the representatives of one of the most important target groups of Sony Ericsson perceived the brand. The results of the survey revealed that the students possessed little information about the Sony Ericsson brand. Therefore, the authors worked out recommendations which would help the company to inform its consumers about the Sony Ericsson brand.

Introduction In today’s market conditions every company has to be customer oriented in order to survive. The way consumers perceive a brand helps them to make a decision about an eventual purchase. It is in the interest of a company to create and support a positive brand image. However managers often rely upon old tactics and even believe that it is enough to have a good product which can sell itself. (Day & Nedungadi, 1994) But in the conditions of the modern economy a company should constantly support the relationship with its current customers, work on building a relationship with potential ones and even try to catch attention of those who prefer other brands. This kind of relationship would help the company to maintain and improve its brand image. (Alreck & Settle, 1999; Solomon, 2002)

Since Sony Ericsson is one of the world’s most well-known mobile phone producers, albeit still a very young company, it naturally became interesting for the research. Already before the implementation of the research, it came to mind that Sony Ericsson hardly made any commercials for its products and the company, before the marketing campaign of autumn 2003. Obviously the glory of the mother companies simplified the way to success for the daughter company and Sony Ericsson did not seem to put much effort into a creation of their own image for the customers. (Egeholm, 2003) But how do people perceive the brand of Sony Ericsson? Sony Ericsson has four target groups (Egeholm, 2003) and in order to completely answer this question, representatives from all four groups should be interviewed. The present paper illustrates the results of interviews with people representing the target group of selective pioneers. In many aspects

Page 2: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-2-

students are typical examples of selective pioneers. The survey was conducted by interviewing three focus groups. The usage of this technique provided more thorough replies from the respondents, than if a questionnaire survey had been used. The survey’s interview guide was based on a model constructed specifically for the research of the Sony Ericsson’s case.

Literature review The image of a brand is considered to be important as is evident from the vast sums of money spent by companies on the development and measurement of their corporate/brand image (Romaniuk & Sharp, 2003). Further, competitive market equilibrium assumes that competing firms spend funds on advertising and branding to partially dampen competitive entry (Klein & Leffler, 1981; Steenkamp & Hoffman, 1994). Companies do it in order to create a relationship with customers because the main objective goes beyond a single sale to one customer. Usually the ultimate objective is to build a durable relationship between a specific brand and a particular customer group – to create a strong bond between brand and buyer (Alreck & Settle, 1999). The bond between a company and consumers is essential. The more information about the company customers have, the bigger place the brand occupies in their minds, the greater the chance that consumers will choose the brand (assuming the perception is positive). In the absence of information about a company and its products consumers often rely on brand image – their beliefs or impressions of a particular brand. Purchasing a brand that is considered reliable reduces risk in the mind of consumers. Consumers form these

judgements based on their exposure to marketing sources, their impressions of the store that sells the products, information from friends and acquaintances that use the product and impartial reviews in magazines such as Consumer Reports. (Solomon, 2002; Romaniuk and Sharp, 2003) Duncan suggests five steps in brand-building. The first four brand-building steps are most important in acquiring customers. In order to retain customers, brands must create trust.

1. Select a name and symbol to represent

the company or product. Names and symbols are what customers look for when shopping. The more memorable and relevant a chosen name and symbol are the faster and less costly it will be to create awareness of the brand, position it and develop an image for it.

2. Create awareness/brand identity of

name and symbol (if used) and what the product is or does. A brand identity needs to be created among many different audiences, not just prospective customers.

Since people often rely on visual cues, it is extremely important for the companies to create symbols which would make them recognisable, and allow customers to identify a product’s source or ownership. Symbols should communicate the image and positioning, be distinctive, simple and relevant. A strong logo/symbol helps to reinforce a brand’s position. The more perceptual clues a logo carries, the easier it will be for customers and prospects to recognise and find the brand when the need arises. The logo plays an important role in maintaining the brand relationship. (Duncan, 2002)

Page 3: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-3-

A logo is a meaningless symbol if it does not communicate a brand’s covenant with the consumer (Chevron, 1998).

3. Position the brand to begin

differentiating it from competing brands. A brand position is how a brand compares to its competitors in the minds of customers, prospects and other stakeholders. What the positioning concept points out is that customers, who are generally aware of several brands in a product category, automatically compare and rank those brands according to how they perceive the differences among them. The challenge is to select a position that can be realistically supported by the product, the company and the marketing communication and differentiate that brand favourably from competing brands.

4. Create a brand image to help further

differentiate the brand and to make it easier to recognise and recall. For brands, an image is its personality. A brand image is an impression created by brand messages and experiences and assimilated into a perception through information processing. The reason an image adds value to a brand is because the image can communicate something about the buyer to other people. The product people wear, drive or subscribe to can tell others what they think is important.

5. Create trust in the minds of customers,

prospects and other stakeholders about the brand by maintaining consistency and delivering on expectations. Creating trust is done by making sure those goods and services perform as promised and that the company is accessible and responsive.

Moreover, customers benefit from an established brand relationship. There are five reasons why this kind of relationship is positive, and they are: less risk, fewer decisions, fewer switching costs, greater buying efficiency and increased association. In fact, the longer customers have been using a brand, the easier it is for them to “claim” it for their own. (Duncan, 2002) In order to generate and keep the brand relationship with customers, a company has to create awareness by means of advertising. Initially, a company has to show customers that a particular product of only this brand can solve customers’ problems or satisfy their needs. Later, advertising helps to keep a brand top-of-mind which means that customers are more likely to buy the brand when they have a need in the product category because it will be the first brand that comes to mind. In case after case, the best-selling brands in a product category are also typically the leading advertisers. Although information is important, advertising forges the psychological link through emotional involvement. Once a mix of marketing communication functions has successfully explained a brand, advertising can cost-effectively maintain awareness of the brand and differentiate it from competitors. (Duncan, 2002) The more a customer is exposed to marketing of a particular product, the more likely it is that the customer will pick that product from the shelves in the store when shopping. This is due to the fact that an individual most probably chooses a product s/he recognises before others; it feels more secure, even if the recognition comes from commercials. (Hansen, 2003)

Page 4: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-4-

But not only advertising helps to create awareness of brand in the minds of customers. There are other marketing communication channels (model, p 6) which can be successfully used to create and maintain relationships with present and potential consumers. By using these marketing communication channels, a company can stimulate the customers to purchase its products. (Duncan, 2002; Romaniuk & Sharp, 2003) Even psychological aspects are taken into consideration by marketers at advertising agencies since commercials influence individuals differently. As long as companies are aware of them, they can improve their marketing campaign and catch the attention of more customers. (Robin, 1978) Every consumer receives, organises and interprets sensory information in an individual way. Perception is the process by which an individual selects stimuli from his or her environment, organises information about those stimuli, and interprets (model, p 6). (Wells & Prensky, 1996) Marketers must be careful to position their products so that they occupy meaningful and distinct competitive positions in the minds of the customers (Baker, Hunt & Scribner, 2002). Further, companies need to do research to find out what position their brand occupies in the minds of the customers. According to Kevin Keller, “What distinguish a brand from its unbranded commodity counterparts are the consumer’s perceptions and feelings about the product’s attributes and how they perform. Ultimately, a brand resides in the minds of consumers.” (Kotler, 2003) It is important to recognise, however, that both managers and customers are involved in branding as a method by which all parties are able to differentiate among similar offerings and

associate certain attributes or feelings and emotions with a particular brand. (Fill, 2002) Thus, it is crucial for companies to understand how their brands are perceived. It is in a company’s interest to create a brand. A brand signals to the customer the source of the product, and protects both the customer and the producer from competitors who would attempt to provide products that appear to be identical. (Lagergren, 1998) As described earlier (Step 4 in brand-building) it is important to create a brand image, since it communicates with customers and provides them with information about the company. Further, there are a number of image attributes and a marketing communication mix which provide customers with information about the company and which can either improve the brand image or make it worse (model, p 6). (Duncan, 2002)

Sony Ericsson Sony and Ericsson formed a joint venture because both companies believed that they were a perfect match. The new company not only kept the strength from both its mother companies’ names, but also brought personnel from the mother companies to work at the newly formed Sony Ericsson. The business’ headquarters is located in London, and that is where all strategies and guiding principles concerning the marketing and launching of new products are made. (Egeholm, 2003) The tactics and strategies of the mother companies are said not to be used by Sony Ericsson. But since personnel from both mother companies are still working on Sony Ericsson’s marketing campaigns, some of the old ways of marketing and promotion are still in use. Sony Ericsson uses the same British advertising agency

Page 5: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-5-

that Ericsson used for its mobile phones. (Egeholm, 2003) When Sony Ericsson was formed, a decision to design a symbol that would speak the new company’s values was taken. The green and silver three-dimensional ball was carefully thought through and should be perceived as organic and living and distinguish the new company from its mother companies. The symbol is a fusion between technology and life and does always appear beside the company’s name. (Egeholm, 2003; Ahlgren, 2002) At present Sony Ericsson is working on a book that will put all attributes concerning the brand on paper. The company wants its brand to be seen as living and dynamic with a liquid identity and perceived as fun and generous. Sony Ericsson has three catchwords that the company wants to apply to its brand and products, and it is within these three areas it wants consumers’ perception of its brand to end up (Egeholm, 2003, Sony Ericsson T610, 2003): � Imaging - QuickShareTM, a new way to

take pictures and several ways to send and receive them, for example MMS.

� Connectivity - ability to access the Internet, WAP, accessible e-mail, focus on technology.

� Entertainment - games, ring signals, music etc.

In order to create awareness of the brand, Sony Ericsson is focusing on bigger marketing campaigns for their products, which are pointed at a specific target group. The company does not have any pure brand campaigns. The marketing communication channels Sony Ericsson uses are product placing, TV commercials, print (advertising), the Internet, newspapers about brand researches, press

conferences and PR, events, outdoor advertising, store material (brochures and pasteboard phones). Sony Ericsson is also trying to motivate, inform and educate store personnel about its products, and offer sales competitions and kick offs. The company co-operates with different telephone companies (Vodafone, Telia and Comviq etc.). By this means the company is able to sell price-reduced mobile phones thanks to the subscriptions. (Egeholm, 2003; Ahlgren, 2002) Sony Ericsson is also sponsoring a show jumping-team and a sailing event (www.sonyericsson.se, 2003). The four target groups of Sony Ericsson are (Egeholm, 2003): � Professionals - this group likes

technology and are early adopters. � Selective pioneers - about 25-35 years

old, trendsetters living in a big city, having a university education, like design, fashion, to spend money, travel and go out. This group does not want to be first with a new phone, but second in order to get the tested quality.

� Fun-loving youth - about 15-25 years old, like sport, music and partying. This group does not have as great a purchasing power as the selective pioneers.

� Practical phoners - ordinary people, families with children that just want a simple phone to use for talking and sending SMS.

Selective pioneers and Fun-loving youth are the two most important target groups for Sony Ericsson since they are considered to be a strong future consumer group (Egeholm, 2003). In the beginning Sony Ericsson had some problems with the sound quality of its first models of mobile phones. The company dealt with the problem and improved the quality of its later models. Today the Sony

Page 6: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-6-

Ericsson mobile phones are considered to be of best quality. (Egeholm, 2003) Sony Ericsson’s goal is to become a market-leading mobile telephone producer by the year 2006 and the company has big expectations to live up to: “Ignore the consumer and you are dead. Anything else is of secondary importance. Consumers never stop demanding more. And they expect to be satisfied. This business is all about anticipating consumer demands and fulfilling expectations. And that’s the best explanation for the existence of Sony Ericsson.” (Sony Ericsson booklet, 2003)

Research model The combinations of image attributes described by Romaniuk & Sharp (2003), Munn (1986), Backer, Hunt & Scribner (2002), Rao (1986), Moorthy, Ratchford & Talukdar (1997), Ralston (2001), Alreck & Settle (1999), Chevron (1998), Homer (1995) and the marketing communication mix (Duncan, 2002), adapted to Sony Ericsson, are crucial components of consumer’s perceptions of a brand (model, p 6). These components constructed a basis for the model of consumer perception of

the Sony Ericsson brand. In this model the influence of a brand’s attributes will be explored, since the consumer’s perception of a specific brand depends upon its physical qualities, container, packaging, price, advertising, promotion and merchandising (Munn, 1986). The authors ignored the influence of other brands on the consumers’ perceptions because the information about one brand does not affect the consumers’ perceptions of the utility of other brands (Moorthy, Ratchford & Talukdar, 1997). The means of communication between Sony Ericsson and its market are important since it is not only a product that creates an opinion about the company in the mind of customers, but also different information channels (Duncan, 2002). After analysing the marketing activities of Sony Ericsson, the authors came to the conclusion that the company did not use all the means of marketing communication, only a few of them. Obviously, this happened naturally owing to the specific nature of their products. (Egeholm, 2003; Ahlgren, 2002; www.sonyericsson.com, 2003) Taking into consideration all limiting factors, the research model of the current case appears as follows.

Page 7: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-7-

Research Model for the Sony Ericsson case

Source: the authors’ own adaptation, 2003

Methodology

Work process description In order to get a solid background for the research, information was collected from different sources. First of all, the attention was turned to books and articles which were of interest for the research. In the beginning it was necessary to make it clear what a brand is, how it is built, what attributes a brand and the brand image have and what role it plays for a company. The authors were just as interested in what perception is, the way people perceive information, including brand image. Sony Ericsson was chosen for the research because the company has a wide range of products to offer. The information about Sony Ericsson and its marketing campaigns was collected from an interview with the Marketing Communications Manager of Sony Ericsson, the homepage of Sony Ericsson, and the information from

Sony Ericsson’s booklets and brochures. The purpose of the interview was to get information about the company, and its values and thoughts behind the brand and the symbol. The literature search helped to find the variables forming a consumers’ perception of a brand. This scientific field is very well developed and there are a huge number of articles describing it. However, since the topic is quite complicated, researchers normally explore one-two aspects at the time. In the present survey, the authors made an attempt to collect existing variables that form a consumers’ perception in one model, based on literature written by known researchers. The model later served as a basis for the questions in the interview guide (appendix 1).

Consumer Perceptions

Combination Of Image Attributes: • Pricing • Service • Quality • Expertise • Physical Characteristics • Descriptive Info • Benefits • Evaluations Of The Specific

Aspects Of The Brand

Interviews with Selective Pioneers

Brand image

Marketing Communication Mix: • Symbol • Mass media advertising • PR • Marketing PR • Merchandising • Point-of-purchase material • Sponsorship

The Result of the Survey

Sony Ericsson

Analysis of the Results (Duncan)

Page 8: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-8-

Primer data collection and the survey instrument The qualitative survey was conducted by interviewing three focus groups which later would allow the analysis of the similarities or differences between the groups. The groups of the population chosen for the matter were students from Mälardalen University, since they were considered to be an appropriate selection owing to the topic of the survey. Moreover, Sony Ericsson believes that students, who belong to its most important target group, also will generate a strong consumer group for mobile phones in the future. It became natural to use students for the survey since they are nearby, representatives of selective pioneers, and thus are important to Sony Ericsson. The authors also believe that students use a more critical and apply an academic way of thinking. The interviews took place at Mälardalen University during the first week of December, 2003. The first group of participants consisted of five female students, the second group consisted of four male students and the third group consisted of four exchange students. The participants from the last group were fluent in the Swedish language and thus as much influenced by Sony Ericsson’s marketing campaigns as the other respondents. The age of the participants ranged from 23 to 31. There are as many recommendations to how large the number of participants in a focus group should be, as there are researchers. The suggestions range from 4-6 till 8-12 (Edmunds, 1999, and Kinnear & Taylor1996). The authors decided to put together focus groups with 4-5 participants. This small number was chosen since the authors felt that it would be easier for them to encourage all the students to actively discuss the topics of the interview guide, and because it was the

first time the authors conducted a focus group interview. The authors are aware that the result could have been different if the focus groups would have included a larger number of participants, but believe, however, that it is a question of adjustment. The combination of respondents in each group (females, males and exchange students) was done in order to organise and stimulate a fruitful discussion. The motive to have participants with similar backgrounds in one group is to avoid antagonism. This has been studied by other researches, which have come to the conclusion that similarity gives the best result. Even if the authors did not go any further than to draw a line between sexes and origins, it is more usual, for example, to distinguish between social and cultural background and profession. (Edmunds, 1999, and Kinnear & Taylor1996) The authors believed that focus group interviews suited this survey best, because by this means they got the most complete information about the students’ perception of Sony Ericsson’s brand. This would not have been the case if a questionnaire survey had been used instead. Since the authors were interested in the quality of the answers, the collective perception of the Sony Ericsson brand was of more importance, rather than the individual perception. The meaning of focus groups is to catch the group’s opinion. This can be done even if only one person speaks his mind as long as other group members do not oppose. (Edmunds, 1999, and Kinnear & Taylor1996) The group members were all friends of one or both of the authors; however, they were not introduced to each other before the interviews. This was a conscious choice made by the authors in order to make the

Page 9: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-9-

respondents feel safe and relaxed. This can have affected the results of the survey, but the authors believe that during the interviews each group member could freely speak their mind in a manner of friendly conversation. All respondents asked to participate in the survey did fit the description of selective pioneers. Since not everyone accepted the invitation to take part in the research, the selection of respondents became a convenience sample. For the purpose of the survey an interview guide was created. The guide was meant to be clear, complete and to include all the variables of students’ perception of the company. In order to come up with a solid clarification of how the company is perceived, the results had to be certain. The authors realised the vital importance of the practical part of the survey and for this reason a central focus lay in this part of the survey. The creation of the guide was a time consuming process because above all, the guide was meant to be logical, and include the questions which would not only result in answers but would also provoke a fruitful debate. The experience of the focus groups interviews shows that this thinking was correct, since the respondents indeed stimulated each other into further discussion, which, in its turn revealed more details of their knowledge about Sony Ericsson, its brand and products. The students were asked questions concerning different aspects of Sony Ericsson’s performance. The questions in the guide had an open form, so that students could not only express their opinions but even discuss them with each other. The main topics of the interview guide were: possession of a mobile phone, the symbol of Sony Ericsson, associations with Sony Ericsson, the marketing communication of Sony Ericsson and the

perception of the Sony Ericsson brand. These topics with the underlying questions were based on the research model (Model, p 6) developed by the authors during the literature search and the analysis of the marketing activities of Sony Ericsson. Perception is the key aspect in this survey. The authors used the image attributes and the marketing communication mix in the model to measure students’ perception of the Sony Ericsson brand. The authors have thereby operationalized the concept perception, as a result of the students’ perception of the variables of the image attributes and the marketing communication mix. Due to the time constraints there were certain difficulties to get the respondents to participate at the same time. Some did not want to be a part of the survey at first because they knew little or nothing about Sony Ericsson and its products and thought that they could not contribute to the discussion. Each interview took approximately one hour and it was stressed that every opinion was important for the research and would be taken into consideration. After the interviews were conducted, the different group discussions showed large similarities. In order to definitely use all information exchanged during the discussions, the interviews were videotaped, written down and analysed. During the interviews, one of the authors acted as a moderator while the other one was videotaping. Before the study was conducted, a test survey was implemented on a test group of students in order to discover possible mistakes and difficulties in the interview guide before the genuine investigation took place.

Page 10: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-10-

How to analyse the survey The outcome of the survey was carefully examined and the answers for the same questions from the different groups were surprisingly similar. That is why the results collected from each group are presented together. During the interviews the authors asked questions which were directed to the respondents’ perceptions of the Sony Ericsson brand. Thanks to the interviews, it came out what place the Sony Ericsson brand possessed in the mind of the students. The analysis of the survey’s results was accomplished according to the five steps in brand-building presented by Duncan. This helped to analyse whether the Sony Ericsson brand image was positive among the students. Further, the results of the interviews were analysed having the model as basis. This showed how the respondents perceived the Sony Ericsson brand. But, it is vital to realize that this paper is only a small part of the research necessary to provide Sony Ericsson with complete information of people’s perceptions of its brand. In order to get a whole idea about people’s perceptions of the brand, similar interviews should be conducted with all four target groups of Sony Ericsson. After the information from the focus group interviews had been analysed, tangible solutions and practical recommendations were formed.

Results of the focus group interviews Amazingly, only one person of the students that was interviewed possessed a Sony Ericsson mobile phone. He thought that the mobile phone was comfortable to use and he was very satisfied with the price. He believed that his phone was made by one of the best mobile phone producers and considered Sony Ericsson to be a well-

known and positive brand. The other participants had mobile phones of different well-known brands. One of them revealed that he had had a Sony Ericsson mobile phone, but changed it for another brand since he was disappointed with the sound quality. The symbol of Sony Ericsson The participants were shown the symbol of Sony Ericsson and were asked to express their opinions concerning it. Some of the students tried to connect the symbol with Sony Ericsson and were even looking for the letters “S” and “E” in it, but in vain. They agreed that there was nothing special about the symbol which could be connected with Sony Ericsson’s brand and thus was not catching their attention. The person who possessed a Sony Ericsson mobile phone added that before the interview he did not pay any attention to the symbol and never thought about what it could mean or stand for. The symbol was not perceived as living and organic as the company would like it to be. The participants found it strange that Sony Ericsson had created a symbol at all. They agreed with each other that a symbol rather suits car producers than producers of mobile phones. For that reason they agreed that the symbol differentiated Sony Ericsson from their competitors. Associations with Sony Ericsson Some students said that both Sony and Ericsson were known for the bad quality of the mobile phones they produced before. However, the new brand Sony Ericsson was perceived as positive; it seemed to be that the joint venture removed the students’ bad perceptions. They believe that the new company stands for good quality, technology and new opportunities within the branch. Some of them admitted that Sony, for them, stands for games, and they

Page 11: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-11-

did not think that the joint venture with Ericsson brought a positive side into people’s perception of Ericsson. They explained that Ericsson was a serious brand and that Sony’s influence would make their reputation less respected. Others argued that the co-operation with Sony is a positive fact for Ericsson’s further development and success. Some years ago crises struck Ericsson and many employees were discharged. For this reason the students’ perceptions of the company were not very positive lately, but some students strongly believe that the joint venture with Sony will bring Ericsson back to the high level it had before the crises. The students admitted that they did not consider the price of the products of Sony Ericsson to be better or worse than its competitors. Since students always have to carefully calculate their purchase options, they said that for them it is not the brand but the price that counts. Since some of the students had a good experience of the quality of the mobile phones of the old Ericsson, they believe that the mobile phones of the new Sony Ericsson have good quality too. The participants thought that the design of the modern Sony Ericsson mobile phones is much better than the ones Ericsson had before the joint venture. Their square design differentiates them from the ones produced by their competitors and gives them a touch of their own. The marketing communication of Sony Ericsson The majority of the students participating in the interviews were not familiar with Sony Ericsson’s commercials at all. When they were explained to which commercials took place at all, they admitted that they could have seen them but never perceived

them as something special. Most of the information the respondents possessed concerning Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones came from retailers and the personnel in specialized stores. The participants stressed that they did not believe in these kinds of information channels. They explained that the store personnel never have enough information about the phones and always sell the ones they believe are worth selling. Some information about the mobile phones of Sony Ericsson came from Campus, a student oriented telephone company that Sony Ericsson has been promoting its mobile phones through at the universities in Sweden. Campus provided the students with information only about Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones. However, many agreed that they can hardly trust this information and that they would turn to different information sources before making a decision about a purchase. When the authors described a TV commercial made for a model of Sony Ericsson, students came to the conclusion that they had seen it but never associated it with the products of Sony Ericsson. They rather believed that it was a commercial for all mobile phones with a camera. Only one respondent could remember a commercial when the company was new in the market. She memorised green bubbles floating around, and she confessed that in the beginning she believed it was a commercial for the detergent “Yes”. The respondent was confused seeing the Sony Ericsson name at the end. In her opinion, the commercial did not suit a mobile phone producer. Generally speaking, it seems like the marketing communication of Sony Ericsson has passed the interviewed students by unnoticed. The Sony Ericsson brand Sony Ericsson is definitely perceived as a brand of its own. Every participant did

Page 12: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-12-

distinguish Sony Ericsson from both Sony and Ericsson. However, it was said that the actions of both mother companies will always influence the reputation of Sony Ericsson. The participants did not find the catchwords Imaging, Connectivity and Entertainment as something characterising Sony Ericsson. They agreed with each other that these words could be connected with any mobile phone producer. The majority of the students connect the word entertainment with Nokia. They suggested that Sony Ericsson should create something which could only be connected with Sony Ericsson. By doing that, the company would be more easily memorised. In conclusion the students said that Sony Ericsson’s advertising campaign did not succeed because they were very well informed about the products of other mobile phone producers and completely unaware of Sony Ericsson’s. They could also recall the commercials of other companies, mention why and how they were different. At the same time they could not say a word about Sony Ericsson as a company or their products. All the respondents thought that Sony Ericsson will continue to be one of the world’s leading companies even in the future, if not the first place, then definitely in one of the first three.

Discussion The results of the survey showed that Sony Ericsson has not succeeded all the way in brand-building. According to Duncan, the company has managed to implement step one: the name and the symbol were selected. The results of the survey shows that the company has not manage to

complete the remaining four steps in brand-building yet. The authors think that the company has chosen the right name for its brand, since both Sony and Ericsson are well-known world leading companies. But, as it turned out from the interviews, the reputation of the mother companies does not always put a positive reflection on Sony Ericsson. Some of the interviewed students had sceptical opinions about the Sony Ericsson mobile phones because they associate them directly with the ones produced by the mother companies and cannot for this reason consider buying a mobile phone from Sony Ericsson. Obviously they make an inaccurate connection between the company’s name and its mother companies’. The company did a good job by maintaining both the mother companies’ names and developing the symbol. However, the respondents believe that Sony Ericsson did not manage to give its customers a correct opinion concerning its mission, since they cannot connect the symbol with the company or even understand what it stands for. Even those having a Sony Ericsson mobile phone never paid attention to the symbol on it. According to Chevron (1998) Sony Ericsson’s logo turned out to be a meaningless symbol. Every student interviewed seems to understand that Sony Ericsson is a producer of mobile phones. However, the students recognise the name, not the symbol. If the company used the symbol alone, they would never recognise it as Sony Ericsson’s. The Marketing Communications Manager at Sony Ericsson explained that they only use the symbol together with the name. The creation of a symbol is a time- and money-

Page 13: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-13-

consuming procedure and the development of the symbol of Sony Ericsson was expensive. For this reason, the authors cannot understand why the company does not want to promote the symbol more and make it recognisable without the name. They believe, however, that once the company decides to do so, they will have to explain properly to their customers what the symbol means and what qualities Sony Ericsson stands for. The respondents did not find that the three catchwords Imaging, Connectivity and Entertainment spoke for Sony Ericsson in particular. Besides, the authors found that Nokia used the same words, except that Nokia used the word “Applications” instead of “Entertainment” (www.nokia.com, 2003). Sony Ericsson failed in promoting the specific features of their phones and in brand positioning, because the students did not see how Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones can satisfy their needs better than any other mobile phone producer’s. And even though Sony Ericsson has four target groups, the company does not communicate with each group separately, but rather makes one model which aims to satisfy every consumer. Sony Ericsson wants to be seen as generous because it believes that its customers get many technical functions for the price they pay. In reality, consumers pay too much for a phone because they are not interested in all the functions that it has and might never use them. The company should concentrate its efforts on the needs of each target group, create the phones for each group separately, and promote them according to their specific features, especially highlighting those which a customer cannot find in a competitor’s product. The respondents pointed out in the interviews that the information received

about Sony Ericsson was minimal. Basically, the only thing they knew was that the company produced mobile phones. Obviously this happened because Sony Ericsson makes commercials only for its products and never for the company itself. The company should therefore also promote its brand and its values, especially now when the company is so young and students do not have any certain opinion about it yet. It can be suggested that once the company has a positive image and occupies a favourable place in the minds of the students, they will more likely purchase a product just because it is made by Sony Ericsson. In this case the company will not need to put so much time, money and effort in selling one particular model. Moreover, students will more likely make a direct connection between the marketing for products of Sony Ericsson and the company itself. The company had some problems with the sound quality of the first models of their mobile phones. Later, the quality improved, but Sony Ericsson never notified the customers about it. Those students who bought these earlier models and were not satisfied with their performance cannot consider a purchase of the same brand again, because they still consider the quality to be as bad as before.

Conclusions and recommendations The point of using focus group technique is that the authors got more thorough replays to analyse, and better quality in the conclusions. After the analysis of Sony Ericsson’s intentions behind its brand and marketing strategies and students’ perceptions of the company, the authors came to the conclusion that the respondents knew basically nothing about the company and

Page 14: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-14-

its products. However, the majority was sure that Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones were good, but could not explain why they thought so or whether these phones are any better than the ones of other brands. The authors received the impression that some of the students were negative towards the brand because of their experiences; others did not have a solid opinion about Sony Ericsson at all. There is an expression in a Sony Ericsson booklet where the company claims: “Ignore the consumer and you are dead. Anything else is of secondary importance.” However, the students expressed a feeling of being ignored by the company by the fact of not being reached by the marketing communication of Sony Ericsson properly. The Sony Ericsson mobile phones exist in the stores among many others, but do they stand out? In order to have a successful marketing communication, Sony Ericsson has to speak clearly to its target groups, understand their needs and explain how its products might satisfy them better than any other mobile phone producer. The result of the survey influenced the authors to work on recommendations for Sony Ericsson. Their aim is to show what might be done in order to change students’ perception in a positive manner and make them perceive Sony Ericsson as a company which can satisfy their needs better than any other mobile phone producer. These recommendations are: � Promote the company’s brand and its

values as strongly as the products � Promote the symbol, make it

recognisable and explain what it stands for

� Emphasise specific and technological functions of the mobile phones, how they might be used and what differentiates them from similar mobile phones of other producers

� Concentrate efforts on informing each target group properly about the products created for them, keeping in mind their needs

� Sponsor the most common sports events on TV

� Inform students by means of flyers, booklets and pictures

� Create a slogan (More thorough information about the recommendations is to be found in appendix 2.)

Limitations and future research In June 2003 Sony Ericsson introduced a new model. However, the phone just appeared in the stores and no advertising campaign followed, except the fact that it was shown in some Hollywood movies. By the end of August a big advertising campaign was launched and different sources of advertising were employed. (Egeholm, 2003) The current research was begun in the peak of this advertising campaign. Sony Ericsson had so far only launched marketing campaigns for two different mobile phone models. This has naturally affected the information possessed by the market. The authors have found some topics for future research, and these are as follows: � To implement a complete research

where representatives of all the target groups will be interviewed. This kind of survey will provide Sony Ericsson with the most complete information of how the brand is perceived, its strong and weak features and, most importantly, it will show how to improve the brand further.

� To conduct a follow-up research in stores, to see how the Sony Ericsson mobile phones are placed, whether the personnel is educated about the

Page 15: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

-15-

company’s models and technical features and to end by asking customers in selected stores if they in particular noticed the products of Sony Ericsson.

Page 16: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

References

Books and articles Aaker, David, A, 1991, Managing brand equity: capitalizing on the value of a brand name, The Free Press, New York, ISBN 0-02-900101-3. Ahlgren, Martin, 2002, Form Fusion. Sony Ericsson – designäpplet som föll långt ifrån trädet, Cap & Design, no. 5, pp 56-62. Alreck, Pamela L. & Settle, Robert B., 1999, Strategies for building brand preference, Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 8, no. 2, pp 130-144. Backer, Thomas L. & Hunt, James B. & Scribner, Lisa L., 2002, The effect of introducing a new brand on consumer perceptions of current brand similarity: the roles of product knowledge and involvement, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, vol. 10, no. 4, pp 45-57. Chevron, Jacques R., 1998, The Delphi Process: a strategic branding methodology, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 15, no. 3, pp 254-264. Day, G., S., & Nedungadi, P., 1994, Managerial representations of competitive advantage, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, pp 31-44. Duncan, Tom, 2002, IMC Using Advertising & Promotion to Build Brands, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, USA, ISBN 0-07-112331-8. Edmunds, Holly, 1999, The focus group research handbook, NTC Business Books, Lincolnwood, Ill, USA, ISBN 0-8442-0288-6. Fill, Chris, 2002, Marketing Communications: Contexts, Strategies and Applications, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA, ISBN 0-273-65500-0. Homer, Pamela M., 1995, Ad size as an indicator of perceived advertising costs and effort: the effects on memory and perceptions, Journal of Advertising, vol. 24, no. 4, pp 1-12. Kinnear, Thomas, C. & Taylor, James, R., 1996, Marketing Research, an applied approach, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, USA, ISBN 0-07-100993-0. Klein, B. & Leffler, KB, 1981, The role of market forces in assuring contractual performance, J Polit Econ, vol. 89, pp. 615-641. Kotler, Philip, 1997, Marketing management, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA, ISBN 0-13-261363-8. Lagergren, Håkan, 1998, Varumärkets inre värden, ICT Education KB, Gothenburg, Sweden, ISBN 91-973394-0-7.

Page 17: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

Moorthy, Sridhar, Ratchford, Brian T., & Talukdar, Debabrata, 1997, Consumer Information Research Revisited: Theory and Empirical Analysis, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 23, pp. 263-277. Munn, Henry L., 1986, Brand Perception as Related to Age, Income, and Education, Journal of Marketing, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 29-35. Ralston Roy W., 2001, The effects of customer service, branding, and price on the perceived value of local telephone service, Journal of Business Research, vol. 56, pp 201-213. Rao, Vithala R., 1986, Changes in Explicit Information and Brand Perceptions, Journal of marketing Research, vol. 9, pp. 209-213. Robin, D., 1978, Marketing: basic concepts for decision-making, Harper& Row, New York, NY, USA, ISBN 0063878496 Romaniuk, Jenni & Sharp, Byron, 2003, Measuring brand perceptions: Testing quantity and quality, Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, vol. 11, no. 3, pp 218-230. Steenkamp, J., B., E., M. & Hoffman, D., L., 1994, Price and advertising as market signals for service quality, In: Rust, R., T., & Oliver, R., L., Service quality: new directions in theory and practice, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, pp 97-107. Solomon, M., R., 2002, Consumer behaviour: buying, having and being, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA, ISBN 0-13-091360-X. Wells, William, D., & Prensky, David, 1996, Consumer behaviour, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA, ISBN 0-471-59641-8.

Interviews Egeholm, Sara, 2003-10-23, personal interview, Marketing Communications Manager, Nordic Region/Baltic States, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Kista, Sweden. Hansen, Eric, 2003-12-16, personal interview, Ph. D, Department of Society and Behaviour Science, Mälardalen University, Eskilstuna, Sweden.

Internet www.sonyericsson.com, 2003-09-10 www.nokia.com, 2003-10-29

Booklets and brochures Sony Ericsson, 2003. Sony Ericsson T610, 2003

Page 18: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

Appendix 1

Interview guide for the focus groups The discussions will take about one hour each. They will be held during week 49, the test discussion in the end of week 48. The discussions will be videotaped by Marina and Ulrica will act as moderator; Marina will also see to it that the discussions will keep to the topic if Ulrica fails to do so. Introduction Presentation of us, the authors, the respondents, the thesis and why we are conducting focus group interviews. The authors will stress that all opinions and thoughts are of importance, nothing is too stupid to say! If anything is unclear, the respondents just have to ask, since it is vital that everybody understands the questions so that they can contribute with their thoughts. All respondents will stay anonymous in the thesis; only the authors and the other respondents from the same group will know who has participated. Possession of a mobile phone

A. Which one of you possesses a Sony Ericsson mobile phone? � Do you find it comfortable? � What influenced your decision to buy one?

B. The rest of you, who possess another brand: what influenced you to buy that particular

phone? � Did you have Sony Ericsson in your thoughts? If so, why did you choose not to

buy a Sony Ericsson? The symbol of Sony Ericsson (Showing a picture of the Sony Ericsson symbol)

A. When you see this symbol, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? � Do you think it belongs to Sony Ericsson? � Are words like living and organic, things that change and develop over time,

something that you could connect with the symbol? Do you see the company like this?

B. Do you find the symbol attractive or insignificant?

� It is green and three-dimensional, which Sony Ericsson believes is different. Do you agree?

� Do you believe that the symbol stands out from the ones of the competitors?

Page 19: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

Associations with Sony Ericsson; all companies want the consumers to connect things with them, e.g. technique and design, so even Sony Ericsson.

A. What do you think of when we mention the name Sony Ericsson? � (Helping with words like technology, design, bad mobile phones, a fall in the

stock exchange market, or something else?) � Do you find it good or bad?

B. One receives information about Sony Ericsson and its products in different ways.

From your experience and knowledge about Sony Ericsson, do you think that � They have good information about its products in its commercials? Does one

get to know anything special about the Sony Ericsson mobile phones in the commercials? Does one get to know what differentiates them from its competitors in the commercials?

� Sony Ericsson has priceworthy products? � The products contain good technical possibilities? You get more value for

money compared with the competitors’? � The products have an attractive design? What design do you think suits a

mobile phone with a camera best? � The products are of good quality? � Sony Ericsson gives good service before and after a purchase (in the store by

the personnel)? (For those who possess a Sony Ericsson mobile phone; have you had a problem with your mobile phone? Was it easy for you to get help?)

� Is there anything else that is good or bad? C. Sony Ericsson has as its goal to become market leaders in year 2006; do you think

they will succeed with that? � Will they stay on top? � Will they disappear?

Sony Ericsson has, like other companies a massive marketing communication, in other words, information drives, to reach their consumers.

A. Have you seen any of Sony Ericsson’s commercials?

� Does the commercial speak to you? � Is there anything in particular that you can remember? � Do you find it easy to memorise the commercial? � Is it favourably placed, regarding TV-channels and time during the day? � From what media have you been reached by the information about Sony

Ericsson’s products? i. TV

ii. Print iii. Outdoors iv. Movies v. Radio

vi. Product placing (Bond, Charlie’s Angels, Cleo, Paragraf 9)

Page 20: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

vii. The Internet (SE’s web page, other commercial and SE’s screen saver a year or so ago)

viii. Store material/personnel (education of store personnel) ix. Friends (word-of-mouth) x. Or are there other information channels?

� Or have its commercials passed you by unnoticed? B. Do you believe that Sony Ericsson delivers good information to its market or not?

� Would you buy a Sony Ericsson mobile phone today? Or would you prefer one from its competitors?

� Is it because of its commercials? Or do you find that its competitors are producing better mobile phones?

C. If you have not acknowledged Sony Ericsson’s marketing communication, how do

you think that Sony Ericsson could reach you? � Why? � What of Sony Ericsson’s competitors’ marketing communication have you

seen? � What makes you remember that in particular?

The Sony Ericsson brand A. How do you perceive the Sony Ericsson brand?

� Do you believe that the commercials of Sony Ericsson fit in with the company? � Do you find Sony Ericsson fun and generous? � Do you perceive Sony Ericsson as a brand of its own? Do you find it coloured

by the brands of Ericsson and Sony? � Sony Ericsson has three catchwords that it builds its products round; they are

Imaging, Connectivity and Entertainment. Can you spontaneously relate these words to Sony Ericsson? Or do they apply to every mobile phone producer?

B. Sony Ericsson markets only its products and never the company, which can make it

invisible. Consumers only get a perception of its products, but never the company itself; what do you think about this?

� Do you think that it would be better if Sony Ericsson made more commercials about the company and the brand?

� Do they need a slogan like Nokias”Connecting People” that easily get stuck in the head?

The end That was all of the questions. We would like to thank you very much for your participating in our survey and for the fruitful discussion you made possible. We hope that you feel that you have contributed with as much as we believe you have. Thank you!

Page 21: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

Appendix 2

Thorough recommendations to Sony Ericsson

1. Promote the company’s brand and its values as strongly as the products. Students have vague opinions about Sony Ericsson and often connect its products to its mother companies. It happens because they do not know that Sony Ericsson acts independently from Sony and Ericsson and have collected positive features from both. Respondents felt insecure in their decision about purchasing a mobile phone from Sony Ericsson because they knew nothing about the company and its values. The authors received the information about the company thanks to the interview with the Marketing Communications Manager and the materials she provided. The authors strongly believe that this kind of information should be delivered to all customers.

2. Promote the symbol, make it recognisable and explain what it stands for. According to

the results of our survey the students cannot understand what the symbol means and how it is connected to the company. The authors thought that a promotion of it would lead to recognition of the company even if the name is not attached. Most of the respondents wondered why Sony Ericsson created a symbol at all. It seems that the students do not understand the use of it. Even the one who has a Sony Ericsson mobile phone did not realise that there was a symbol on it and definitely never thought about what it meant. However, it came to mind that since Sony Ericsson had developed this symbol, spending much money, time and effort on it, it should be somehow useful. An idea is to make an animated commercial, where it is pedagogically explained how the consumers are supposed to interpret the “S” and “E” inside the green and silver ball. Moreover the values the company stands for should also be expressed.

3. Emphasise specific and technical functions of the mobile phones, how they might be

used and what differentiates them from similar mobile phones of other producers. The research showed that respondents have seen Sony Ericsson’s commercials on television but they could not connect it with the company and believed that it was a commercial for all mobile phones with a camera. That is why they did not see in what way Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones are different and expressed an opinion that in their decision for a mobile phone purchase, a price will matter. Indeed, if a customer perceives all mobile phone producers in the same way, he will choose the one that offers the lowest price for its products. Obviously, Sony Ericsson did not succeed in introducing its mobile phones. By making a commercial on television and only emphasising the fact that the T610 model is a mobile phone with a camera, the company did not offer anything new to the market and the customers. Since August 2003, when Sony Ericsson launched their marketing campaign for this model, mobile phones with a camera had existed on the market for at least a year. Sony Ericsson could also have emphasised some other technical features the phone possessed, for example: Bluetooth; an option of connectivity not only between mobile phones but also to the Internet; MMS and even GPRS. Besides, if the company still wanted to stress the attention of the customers to the camera, Sony Ericsson could at least have shown why this camera and its functions were better than the one of the other producers.

Page 22: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

4. Concentrate efforts on informing each target group properly about the products

created for them, keeping in mind their needs. Even though the company advertises the products and never the brand, the authors realised that Sony Ericsson never made many commercials for their products either. The company does not explain why the customer should buy a particular model, who the customer should be, why and where the product could be used in the best manner. Obviously, Sony Ericsson’s mobile phones are multifunctional, but the respondents did not know that. It would probably be good to explain to the consumers, that a mobile phone might be used not only to call, send messages and take pictures with, but also might offer help at work and a way to relax in spare time. From the interview with the Marketing Communications Manager, the authors found out that the company has four target groups. The analysis of different models of mobile phones supported this statement and showed that even different models were meant for several different target groups. The question is why the company never informed these different groups separately?

5. Sponsor the most common sports events. From the information provided by the

company the authors found out that it sponsored sports events like sailing and show jumping. The results of the research showed that far from all of the students watched these kinds of sports events, as they are considered to be upper class. The respondents suggested that the company should rather sponsor sports events like hockey, skiing, “Finnkampen” and football. It came to the authors’ minds that Sony Ericsson could make a ball looking like the symbol of the company. The authors also thought that another way of screening the company’s name is by sponsoring movies and TV shows on different TV channels.

6. Inform students by means of flyers, booklets and pictures. None of the students could

name or remember any special Sony Ericsson commercial. Besides, most of them said that they do not have time to watch TV or listen to the radio and in this way be reached by the information from the company. Instead they recommended that Sony Ericsson’s information could reach them at university. The students said that when they are given a booklet with information at the university they look it through. From their words, the best way to distribute this kind of booklet would be by the main entrance. The authors thought that there also are other places at the university just as suitable; the cafeteria and the student union club. Very often students set up times for meetings at these places and often wait for each other alone. There are also those who eat their lunch or take a break from studies and sit alone. The authors mean that those sitting alone always look for a newspaper or some kind of brochure to kill time with. In the student union club there are always newspapers and brochures lying on tables and are shared by the students. The authors thought that it would be a perfect place for the Sony Ericsson flyers and booklets. The booklets should contain information about the mobile phones’ characteristics and prices, and specifying that Sony Ericsson is a student friendly company which offers a good package of technical opportunities at a low price.

7. Create a slogan. Just as the authors believe, the respondents, during the interviews,

mentioned that the company is lacking a slogan which can be easily connected to the

Page 23: Sony Ericsson

Consumer Perception of the Sony Ericsson Brand Fixell & Haldin

name. The students thought that if the company had one, it would simplify memorising its commercials. The authors think that “Picture. Connect. Enjoy.” would suit the company’s three catchwords. Or for young people maybe “Sony Ericsson entertains the world” would suit better. Or if the company does not want to lean against the catchwords, maybe “Sony Ericsson. Simplify your life”, “Sony Ericsson. Make your dream come true” or “Come to the future with Sony Ericsson” would be better.