08 October 2009

Leeds Business School opened the fourth year of its CIPR guest lecture series in great style, with Carl Christopher offering a fascinating insight into his vast experiences in the communications industry. The lecture, which took place on Monday 5 October, was the first to be held in the new state of the art business school home, the Rose Bowl.

Carl’s experience includes working with major organisations such as Kiss FM, New Musical Express (NME) and Sony Computer Entertainment UK (SCE UK). His lecture focused mainly on his time with SCE UK and his success with PlayStation.

Working as part of a team that helped to make the brand iconic, as well as selling over 10 million PS2s, Carl was well equipped to provide guests with credible advice that will undoubtedly be of use in the future. Carl revealed that the crucial secret to the PlayStation campaign had been focus. He emphasised that the message was not about technology, but more about the PlayStation experience. The strategy was to embrace counter and pop culture, utilising the cult atmosphere of action sports, music, design and the arts. By targeting niche events such as music festivals and skate park events through sponsorship, Sony managed to push the brand out and position PlayStation as culturally valid.

Carl went on to share his thoughts on the changes in mass communication, commenting on how the news is now celebrity-driven and how brand lifecycle models are becoming increasingly obsolete. The lecture concluded with a lengthy Q&A session and one final piece of advice: ‘[that] it is vital to create new stories of quality and value.’

The next guest lecture will be delivered by Andy Carter, Head of Communications at Leeds City Council, on Monday 19 October in Lecture Theatre A at the Rose Bowl. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Click Here to view the lecture.