Sony Corporation , an official FIFA partner, today announced that it will further accelerate strategic initiatives that leverage the strengths of all Sony Group companies and its partnership with FIFA.
For the 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM which is due to begin on June 12, 2014 (local time), Sony is focusing on the areas of “4K,” “entertainment,” “network services,” and “CSR,” with key initiatives in each category outlined below.
“At Sony, we strive to empower our consumers with complete, end-to-end entertainment experiences that will complement the best of their lives – whether at home, at work, or even on-the-go,” said Yasushi Asaoka, President and Managing Director of Sony Philippines. “In line with this commitment, we are proud to bring our best-in-class technology and devices to the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup 2014 and ensure that fans around the world enjoy this event at its best whether at home on their Bravia, or while on-the-go with their Xperia tablets and smartphones.”
■4K
Sony is bringing its renowned, advanced technological capabilities and high value-added products to this tournament, where it will demonstrate its strengths in providing consistent solutions that span the entire 4K process — from filming and production, through to the viewing experience. In collaboration with FIFA, Sony is also seeking to expand the range of opportunities for viewers to experience 4K.
- Filming and joint production:
FIFA will produce the Official FIFA 4K Film, packed with highlights of the best action from the tournament. FIFA will film one match from the round of 16, one quarter-final and the final using Sony’s professional 4K recording equipment. Sony will be providing extensive technical support to FIFA, and has developed a dedicated 4K live production system to be used at the tournament.
- The viewing experience:
Prior to the completion of the Official Film, Sony will offer its customers the opportunity to view promotional trailers of the Official Film on Sony 4K-compatible BRAVIATM LCD TVs, featuring action from selected matches, all in stunning 4K/60P resolution. Visitors to stadiums and Official FIFA Fan Fest events in Brazil will be able to enjoy the promotional trailers of the Official Film at any one of the ten commercial display booths Sony will be setting up at these venues, while customers around the world will also be able to engage in this 4K experience at approximately 20,000 Sony showrooms and retail outlets worldwide.
In addition to 4K, Sony will also be supplying FIFA with an extensive range of HD production and broadcast equipment, including approximately 300 cameras. These will be used to film every game of the tournament for global distribution in HD.
■Entertainment
Sony is also leveraging its range of entertainment assets from across the Sony Group in order to drive the excitement and passion for the tournament through music, both in Brazil and around the world.
- The “SuperSong” music contest:
For three months from December 2013, Sony and companies from across the Sony Group held the global “SuperSong” music contest for aspiring songwriters, featuring Ricky Martin. More than 1,600 songs were submitted, and the winning song, “Vida,” was performed by Ricky Martin himself and recorded for the 2014 FIFA World CupTM Official Album.
- The official tournament songs:
Sony Music Entertainment (“SME”) and FIFA announced “We Are One (Ole Ola),” the Official Song of the 2014 FIFA World CupTM, by global music sensation Pitbull, featuring Jennifer Lopez and Brazil’s Claudia Leitte. The song will be performed at the opening ceremony where it is set to further heighten the excitement of the games. (For details please refer to the joint announcement on Jan. 23, 2014.) Similarly, the closing ceremony will feature legendary guitarist Carlos Santana and fellow artists performing the official anthem “Dar um Jeito (We Will Find A Way).”
- The tournament Official Album:
The songs above are also included on SME’s “One Love, One Rhythm,” Official Album of the 2014 FIFA World CupTM, featuring a total of 14 songs (on the standard edition). (For details refer to the announcement on Apr. 8, 2014.) The album also features Mika Nakashima and Miliyah Kato and their “Fighter (Tachytelic World Cup Brazil 2014 Remix)”. Of the songs featured on the Official Album, music videos of “We Are One (Ole Ola)” and “Vida” can also be enjoyed in 4K at Sony showrooms and retail outlets worldwide.
■Network services (digital and social)
In addition to conventional ways of enjoying football, such as watching the games at the stadium or on TV and other media networks, Sony will offer a new, interactive World Cup experience where people can join in the excitement of this tournament through various network services.
- The “One Stadium” Portal web site:
Sony has launched “One Stadium” (http://football.sony.net), a portal website to serve as a global hub for communication on football, that offers an array of projects and content such as access to the aforementioned “SuperSong” contest. Maximizing the possibilities offered by the online community space, Sony is aiming to bring people together across all borders, to share their passions and inspirations through projects including:
- The “One Stadium Live” social networking site: Sorts and offers the latest and popular football topics from Twitter etc. for easy reference.
- The “Fan Ambassador” reports: Fans representing 11 countries will be stationed in Brazil, ready to upload on-site action.
- The “UNITED” photo contest: A spin-off photo contest of the world’s largest photographic contest “Sony World Photography Awards,” themed on “football” is scheduled to start the day before the tournament.
- Further projects include interviews with artists featured on the Official Album, and collaborations with Sony’s social news reader app, “Socialife News”.
- Collaboration with “FIFA Interactive World Cup”:
As an official FIFA partner, Sony is also bringing new ways of enjoying football to the online gaming community through the FIFA Interactive World Cup (“FIWC”), organized by FIFA. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (“SCE”) and Electronics Arts Inc. are presenting partners of the FIWC, which is the world’s largest online gaming tournament. FIWC uses PlayStation® as its official game console, and online elimination games are played utilizing the PSN network service on PlayStation®. This tournament is the only one of its kind in FIFA’s event portfolio which gives football fans all over the world the chance to compete in a FIFA World Cup tournament. More than 2.5 million PlayStation® users worldwide participated in last year’s tournament, each competing for the honor of becoming the world champion. The FIWC 2014 has been in progress since October of last year, and the Grand Final will be held in Rio de Janeiro during the actual World Cup tournament.
■ CSR
As part of its corporate social responsibility as a global company, Sony is engaged in various efforts to support children around the world and help shape a better, more sustainable community. Leading toward the tournament, Sony is continuing these efforts through the following initiatives:
- “Dream Goal 2014” program:
Sony is implementing the two projects below in collaboration with FIFA and streetfootballworld gGmbH to benefit children in a total of 12 countries in Central and South America, including the tournament host country Brazil, together with Africa, and other countries and regions. (For details please refer to the “Dream Goal 2014” site）
- “Street Football Stadium”: This project will provide mobile stadiums and educational workshops that aim to build leadership and dialogue skills through football, to more than 14,000 children. The workshops will start with those regularly scheduled to take place during a 46-day event organized by streetfootballworld in Rio de Janeiro, starting June 5th. The stadiums will continue to be used in the field of local education, even after the tournament is over.
- “Siyakhona Media Skills”: In partnership with FIFA, this project supports young leaders in 11 countries with media skills training programs using Sony products, while also providing them with the opportunity to share their visual message to the world.
Both projects connect communities in need of support with the global community, through designs and photographs via the “One Stadium” portal site.
- Public Viewing:
During the tournament period, Sony will jointly host public viewing events with JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) in Ivory Coast, one of Africa’s representatives at the tournament. Sony’s equipment will be used to project football matches in hi-definition, while Sony will also be providing its own power supply system to deliver power to areas without electricity, based on its olivine-type lithium-ion iron phosphate rechargeable batteries. Sony engineers will also provide on-site technical support. (For details please refer to the joint announcement on May 28, 2014.) Video reports from this project will be uploaded to the “One Stadium” portal.
■Reference: Other activities
Sony is also supporting the “Flag Bearer” program which invites children (ages 12 to 17) to enter the stadium bearing the FIFA flag at the pre-game ceremonies, as well as the “Fan Photographer” program which provides photographers with access to a designated photo-shooting area within the stadium to photograph the players warming up before the match starts. These programs are being conducted in conjunction with other sales promotion campaigns of Sony Group companies, to provide football fans and customers with the unforgettable experience of standing on the same pitch as their heroes.