Sony Ericsson has launched its 'Extra Man campaign to celebrate its position as the Official Mobile Handset brand for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which takes place in South Africa next summer. The company says it plans to reward soccer fans with exciting activities both before and during the World Cup, enabling them to create and share their own content, at the event, via the Extra Man website,
or through their Sony Ericsson handset.
The centrepiece of the campaign will be the launch next year of a football application which will provide fans with access to videos from World Cup qualifiers and friendly games in the lead up to the tournament. Fans will also be able to share all their football moments directly with their friends using social networking site applications built into the handset. 
The website, which is live now,  includes WorldCupedia, described as the world's first football-focused search engine. The site also offers highlights from FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, iconic moments from past tournaments, exclusive football content and footie-ralted mobile downloads. Theres also a Golden Ticket promotion, which offers consumers the chance to follow their team all the way through the tournament.   
In a separate move, Sony Ericsson has also announced the next stage of its on-going business transformation, with the realignment of its external visual identity and brand values, and adoption of the newly-announced Sony brand message 'make.believe' in all consumer communication in order to reinforce its entertainment credentials and collaboration with the Sony Group.
(Choosing a brand message that could be translated as something that doesnt really exist could be considered either brave or foolhardy. In any event, make.believe replaces the previous Sony brand message, like.no.other, so for anyone who doesnt like it, dont panic: there should be a new one along in about five years Ed).
Visually, Sony Ericsson will expand the appeal of its 'liquid identity' logo by adding seven new colour variations plus a new a 'liquid energy' flowing from the logo to make it more playful and visually appealing for the digital arena. The company says it also aims to adopt a more open and questioning attitude by inviting greater consumer participation in the brand through a stronger focus on interactive digital and social media channels.