Sony Ericsson and Orange have announced an extension of their successful music partnership, which has already seen Orange already sell over 2 million Sony Ericsson Walkman handsets which feature the Orange full track music download service, Orange Music Store, in just over 12 months.
The Sony Ericsson Walkman handsets are part of Oranges successful Signature Series. They give customers one-click access to the Orange Music Store. The W850, W810 and W880 Walkman handsets have continually been the top three performing Orange UK music phones in terms of download numbers, and across the group, Walkman handset users consume 50% more music than average phone users. Across the group, Orange expects to exceed 3 million Walkman music device sales by the end of 2007.
The next phase of the partnership involves the creation of a range of local music marketing campaigns, including the sponsorship of a new TV content deal, mobileAct Unsigned, which aims to unearth an unisgned band and get it a record deal. The campaigns are designed to help generate awareness and interest in the new Walkman handsets available through Orange, and provide exclusive content to drive mobile music update.
The unsigned band talent search was successfully piloted in Switzerland in 2006, and launches in the UK with Channel 4 in October, accompanied by a website, and a dedicated area on the Orange World WAP portal. The Swiss market is set to follow the UK, with France and the rest of Oranges European footprint also being considered.
In the UK, mobileAct Unsigned is the first series to appear on both of Channel 4s flagship zones, T4 and 4music. It aims to unearth real talent – young bands that write and perform their own music. The series will be hosted by Alex Zane and the search will be led by a panel of “well-known, credible artists and music mentors.” The UK winners will be signed to a record contract with a major record label.
The UK campaign will utilise mobileAct unsigned content across the three platforms of TV, online and mobile, and will see three new Sony Ericsson Walkman handsets launch first to market with Orange – the W660i, W910i and the W580i.
Orange and Sony Ericssons integrated marketing partnership began in March 2006 with a joint nine-month European sponsorship deal with Sony BMG artist Christina Aguilera, which gave Orange customers access to exclusive mobile music content, such as track downloads, via the Orange World portal.
Sony Ericsson is extremely excited to be teaming up with Orange to sponsor mobileAct Unsigned, as it signals the next step in the ongoing evolution of our business strategy of working with operator partners to provide users with exciting multimedia content which brings the applications on our phones to life and encourages people to really get the best experience from their phone, says Herv Fontaine, Vice President, Orange Global Customer Unit at Sony Ericsson,. With todays announcement, Sony Ericsson and Orange have moved beyond just music to offer a highly integrated triple-play content package.
Francois Mahieu, Director of Devices at Orange UK adds:
Music is at the heart of Oranges entertainment strategy. Orange has anticipated the fast growth of the music market, providing a diverse portfolio of music devices across all segments. Working in close partnership with Sony Ericsson, we have together delivered the largest and most successful integrated programme in the industry, and anticipate similar success thoughout this year with these Walkman devices and the hugely exciting mobileAct campaign.”