Brand Barometer - Sony camera ad clicks the right boxes

Internet                      £916,553             n/a
Outdoor                      £1,606,187          n/a
Press                          £5,908,278       £304,201
Radio                         £611,495            £544
TV                              £10,457,548         0
Source: Nielsen Media Research

After first being shown on YouTube, Sony's Foam City ad has finally arrived on UK consumers' television screens. The campaign promotes Sony's cyber-shot handycam and its new digital single lens reflex camera brand, while showing a moment that photographers might wish to capture.

Sony has repeated its recent ad format, using bright, surprising visuals that embrace the community while celebrating the individual, putting a small object into a large scale with the effect of making it almost magical. This piece fits into the "Balls", "Paint", "Rabbits" advertising sequence. The slogan "Image like no other", where the easily exchangeable keyword "image" refers to the advertised item, replaces the previous ads' "Colour like no other".

Sony is putting more into the bubble than just the advertising: the buzz generated online through blogs and social networking sites will further enhance the consumer experience. Before the ad first aired on 1 May, the campaign had already created a huge buzz online, as well as coverage in the national press.

This online and press exposure, which grew from early April, increased the brand's quality and general scores on BrandIndex before the launch of the campaign, although the scores settled back down before it first aired.

Since the ad first appeared on UK TV screens, all BrandIndex measures have increased, although it is too early for the scale and the duration of this peak to be seen. As a marker, Brand-Index registered a 6% increase in just nine days following the first airing of the Rabbits campaign last year.

As the campaign gathers pace, BrandIndex will identify whether or not Sony's ad will be another moment worth capturing for the brand.

METHODOLOGY
YouGov interviews 2,000 people each weekday to form its BrandIndex, a daily measure of public perception of more than 1,100 consumer brands across 32 sectors.

It is measured on a seven-point profile:
1. Buzz
2. General impression
3. Quality
4. Value
5. Satisfaction
6. Recommend
7. Corporate reputation

In addition, we supply an index score.
www.brandindex.com