Sony Shrugs Off Bad Press - Still A Strong Brand

netbuzz writes "The Sony brand name took a beating last year over all those burning batteries and the rootkit fallout, right? Wrong, at least according to a recent survey of 2,000 adults who are apparently willing to forgive just about anything ... if you give them the right reason. Other technology companies, most anyway, also fare well in the brand survey. From the article: 'According to the survey, the Sony brand finished a gaudy ninth among the "Top 20 Winners for 2006," sandwiched comfortably between a couple of saintly American icons: Oprah and the National Football League. Moreover, the respondents see Sony climbing to No. 4 among this year's gainers, right above Amazon and eBay. Moral: Build a better PlayStation and the American consumer will forgive all else.'"

Comments

Not So Sure

[HRbnjR]

I was originally planning to sit on the fence regarding the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war until a dual format player was released.

And then I heard Sony was using their licensing agreements to prevent such a device.

Sony just refuses to do what is best for the consumer, be it root kits, memory card interoperability, or licensing rules like this.

I can certainly say that *my* image of them has tarnished over time, and I am now seriously thinking about buying HD-DVD just to spite them.

Re:Not So Sure

[Ozzeh]

I try to be as objective as possible when buying electronics. Brand-loyalty never did nobody any good! (if Sony markets the best solution, I'm game!)

It's a Japanese view-- and it will hurt them badly

[postbigbang]

The long view is traditional (ignore the Welsh CEO they have) in Japanese business culture. If you think they get bad press in the English speaking world, wait until you read what the Taiwanese, Chinese, and other Asian (read ASEAN) press skewer them with.

And for good reasons:

* They've been hurt badly in every market they have; viz the iPod, Wii, XBox, and consumer electronics entertainment markets
* They've shown little respect for media consumers, viz the installable rootkit, and the HDDVD wars
* They've shown little innovation-- a former hallmark
* Their PCs break, they have rotten warranties, and they're not designed for real-world mobility; worse, they're anti-FOSS and have no formal Linux support mechanisms worth mentioning

The ultimate problem: their value proposition used to be high-- and priced high, but no longer leads the markets they're in-- they're followers now. They've had their lunch eaten by lots of astute competitors.

Dare I say it? Ok: they've jumped the shark.... sadly.

What was expensive was buying the survey

[spun]

This survey was done by a company called "Landor Strategic Brand Consulting." Obviously, these guys are not in the business of taking impartial surveys, they are in the business of PR and building brand recognition and loyalty. Now somehow they have everyone talking about how the bad press just doesn't matter. No one is asking, "does it matter?" anymore, they are asking, "Why doesn't it matter?"

Very clever PR. I'd take these results with a Great Salt Lake sized grain of salt. Don't let these sleazy PR hacks brainwash you into doing their work for them.