Global Partnership Promises Entertainment and Access to Exclusive Experiences for Consumers and Fans
Xperia™ active Billabong Edition now Available in Select Markets
Dubai-UAE: 12 February, 2012 – Sony Ericsson today announced an expanded global strategic alliance with Billabong, a brand that promotes an authentic lifestyle and the true values of core boardsports (surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding and wakeboarding). The alliance connects the Xperia™ smartphone brand to a new and highly influential consumer audience and includes a retail offering for smartphone users.
At the center of the partnership is the Xperia™ active Billabong edition smartphone designed with extreme sports enthusiasts in mind.
Stephan Croix, Vice-President and Head of Global Marketing Creation for Sony Ericsson, said: “Billabong brings a new, enthusiastic and engaging audience who are early technology adopters and influencers in the areas of sports and technology. This partnership is a perfect fit with our brand and the Xperia™ range of smartphones.”
The Xperia™ active Billabong edition is an ideal smartphone for extreme sports enthusiasts to take along on their shreds and surfs and capture all the excitement up, close and personal. This tough, scratch-resistant smartphone is packed with technologies such as the wet finger tracking and has received some of the highest marks in dustproof and water resistance categories (IP67).
Scott Wallace, Billabong’s International Vice-President of Strategic Partnerships and New Media, said: “The partnership is an expansion of our long-term relationship with Sony and an extention of an Asia Pacific alliance developed with Sony Ericsson in 2011.
“Our customers are highly tech-savvy. Their top interests include music, photography, social media and, of course, action sports. Each of these interests can be captured or experienced through the Xperia™ active. We are working on some exciting apps and accessories that will add to the user experience. The first to benefit will be the athletes at our major international events who will be welcomed to test the Xperia™ active device in conditions as diverse as the snowfields in Austria, surfing the big waves of Tahiti and even skateboarding in Singapore.”
The partnership extends beyond Xperia™ active as Sony Ericsson and Billabong have also co-created exclusive content for additional XperiaTM devices. The Xperia™ active Billabong edition will feature preloaded Billabong screenscavers, videos and Billabong LIVE, a mobile app now available in the Sony Ericsson channel in Android Market. In addition, the Xperia TM PLAY will also boast an exclusive surf game, Billabong Surf Trip.
Through the unique alliance, Sony Ericsson Xperia™ smartphones will feature in major Billabong events worldwide. Furthermore, it gives way to an amplified retail strategy with assets such as merchandise and event access that will be used in retail promotions, allowing Sony Ericsson to offer enhanced value to its retailer and operator partners.
Sony Ericsson Drops into Extreme Action Sports with Billabong
About Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson is a 50:50 joint venture between Sony Corporation (“Sony”) and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (“Ericsson”). In October 2011 it was announced by Sony and Ericsson that Sony will acquire Ericsson‟s stake in the company and that Sony Ericsson will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony. The transaction is expected to close in late January to February, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Over the years Sony Ericsson has brought together the best communication technologies with superior entertainment user experiences to create its Xperia™ line of the „most entertaining smartphones‟ in the mobile handset industry. With its global corporate functions in London, Sony Ericsson has sales and marketing operations in all major regions of the world, as well as manufacturing in China, and product development sites in China, Japan, Sweden and Silicon Valley, California. For more information, please visit: www.sonyericsson.com/press
About Billabong
Billabong is an authentic surf-inspired youth lifestyle brand. Billabong designs and produces innovative and functional clothing, accessories and related products for a global customer base of boardriders and action sport fans. Billabong is a major supporter of the top athletes, artists and events that celebrate and promote boardsports (Surf, Snow, Skate & Wake) and inspire the wider youth culture. For more information visit www.billabong.com
