160 CHAPTER 5 OBJECTIVESnot known, it will be impossible to build an image, preference or attitude towards that brand.
Th e eff ect of brand awareness on brand choice and brand purchases is substantial. If two brands
are equally valued, the brand with the highest awareness will be purchased more oft en.^7Brand knowledge
Brand knowledge and comprehension mean that target consumers are aware of the most
essential brand characteristics, features and benefi ts. Th ey know the strengths of the brands
as compared with competitive brands; they know why they should buy brand X instead of
brand Y or Z. Essentially, consumers should be able to recall the brand’s positioning. Th is
knowledge may be based on very objective information, but also on brand image and lifestyle
positioning. It is clear that what people know about a brand is very subjective and based on
past experiences or on beliefs and perceptions.Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Motorola are all competing aggressively for leadership in the mobile handset
markets in Europe. In 2006, Nokia had a 30.6% volume share in Russia and 38.9% in Poland. Sony Ericsson was
number 2 in Poland with 20% and number 3 in Russia with 11.7%. Consumers perceived Nokia as leader in all relevant
brand image criteria. Mobile handset advertising is seen as functional, with no brand having yet fully explored the
emotional territory, so the opportunity for Sony Ericsson was to exploit this lack of differentiation in communications.
Business objectives for Sony Ericsson were to grow faster than Nokia in the total CEEMEA region, especially in
Russia and Poland in 2007, with at least a double-digit market share growth. The campaign also aimed to overtake
Nokia in the ‘leadership in music’ brand criterion and increase brand purchase consideration scores in Russia and
Poland, by at least 20% in both markets.
In a category driven by technological innovation, it was decided to pursue a strategy focused around the music
category. At the end of 2006, a new brand identity was introduced, Sony Ericsson ‘Walkman’ phones, a new and
innovative portfolio to challenge market leader Nokia, aimed at two key target audiences: opinion-forming ‘Pioneer
Youth’ and ‘Mainstream Youth’. The media strategy, ‘Brighten Your Day’, focused on delivering mood enhancement
to their daily routine by bringing fun, colour and music enjoyment. There were three key phases in Sony Ericsson’s
campaign: ‘Announce’ focused on awareness and on ensuring high visibility; ‘Showcase’ transformed key urban com-
muter travel hubs; and ‘Engage’ was a fully integrated strategy including music concerts, on out-of-home channels
and online, in the lead-up to MTV European Music Awards Sponsorship. The key message of ‘You can’t get closer
to your music!’ was designed to increase the awareness of Sony Ericsson Walkman phones and take consumers
on an exciting ‘musical mind trip’. In both markets, the goal of a 10% market share increase was exceeded. The
communications strategy achieved significant gains in the ‘leadership in music’ criterion, overtaking Nokia in both
markets. This significantly drove brand purchase consideration, which led to a bigger market share growth rate as
compared with Nokia, all with a significantly lower budget.^8BUSINESS INSIGHT
Sony Ericsson’s objectives in the handheld marketBrand attitude
If consumers are equally aware of a number of brands in a certain product category they will
base their brand choice on an evaluation of the diff erent brands. Th e result of this evaluation is
called brand attitude. Brand attitude is the perceived value of a brand to a consumer. Because a
brand is stronger (and thus has more loyal customers) when the diff erentiation with another
brand is bigger, brand attitude is an important communication objective (see also Chapter 2 ).M05_PELS3221_05_SE_C05.indd 160M05_PELS3221_05_SE_C05.indd 160 6/5/13 3:01 PM6/5/13 3:01 PM