Wednesday, May 18, 2011

EXP Podcast #128: Pledging Brand Fealty

The Sony network has returned, but has our faith in the company? What happens to brand loyalty when the going gets tough? This week, inspired by the Gamers With Jobs podcast, Scott and I discuss our own loyalties to corporations and developers, the Sony hacking debacle, and the meaning within these illusory relationships. As always, you can find a link to our inspiration in the show notes. We also encourage you to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Some discussion starters:
- Where do your brand loyalties lie? You can be honest. This is a safe place.
- How, if at all, has Sony's recent troubles altered your relationship with the company?

To listen to the podcast:

- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes here. Additionally, here is the stand-alone feed.
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format.
- Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.

Show notes:
- Run time: 32 min 31 sec
- "GWJ Conference Call Episode 239," via Gamers With Jobs
- Music provided by Brad Sucks
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3 comments:

  1. ChristofMay 19, 2011 at 7:40 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. ChristofMay 19, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    Sorry, Edit:

    One question: In how far do you think that Sony's communication strategy was influenced by the fact that it is a Japanese company? I really wondered about this, since there are seemingly parallels with what happened after Fukushima (where even the prime minister accused the responsable company of not being transparent about the events, not even to him).

    There's the kinda difficult idea of Japan as a "culture of shame" - but I couldn't help thinking about it when I witnessed how they reacted in a way that looked, from my perspective, erratically or at least counterproductively. (This is also interesting in light of the fact that one of the reasons why I chose a PS3 over an XBox is actually that there are more Japanese games aviable for it - my main "Western" gaming platform being the PC.)

    And very good points about that what happened is the price you might have to pay for their (comparably) more liberal attitude - I always champion open platforms over closed ones (Android phones, PC etc.), but that's easier to do when you never experienced anything bad coming out of it...

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  3. Scott JusterMay 24, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    Hi Christof,

    Thanks for listening!

    I've actually been wondering the same thing in regards to possible cultural differences. If I had to guess, I'd say the fact that Sony is a Japanese company certainly didn't help matters. I do remember being pretty shocked seeing Kaz and other execs bow before a shareholder's conference. Dramatic stuff in a culture based on public stature.

    The other thing to consider is how huge Sony is. With all their many divisions, it's possible this whole mess has been exacerbated by internal communication breakdown.

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