Sony Hopes to Build Brand Loyalty with Online Service

In a bid to raise brand loyalty among its consumers, Japanese electronic giant Sony Corp Executive vice president Kazuo Hirai on Friday said that they will launch next year a new online service for its users that would allow connection of a wide range of gadgets to downloadable contents such as movies, music, and games.

In an interview, Hirai said that the new online service will help the company to promote brand loyalty and give it an edge over rivals like Samsung Electronics Co and other gadget manufacturers that do not produce its own contents.

Sony, which has been losing several key markets due to the recent recession, has a business empire that ranges from gaming, movies, electronics, and music.

“You don’t usually see that kind of combination just anywhere else,” Hirai pointed.“I think that the core competence of the company lies there. And that what makes Sony a competitor,” he added.

According to Hirai, the online service will include movie downloads, interactive entertainment, games, and music for top-of-the-line Sony products like the Bravia flatscreen television, cybershot cameras, electronic e-book readers.
However, analysts in Japan were not sure whether the new online service will help the ailing gaming market of Sony, including the gadget sales.It will be recalled the Sony has set a target of $3.4 billion in annual sales.