Sony to boost marketing spending to push HDTV

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp.'s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) U.S. unit plans to push marketing spending to record levels this year to fuel sales of high-definition electronics such as televisions, camcorders and DVD players, a senior executive told Reuters.
Cheaper TVs, more broadcast channels, and the launch of next-generation Blu-ray DVD players that will allow consumers to make their own high-definition viewing choices are all expected to spur demand for HD components.
"This will be the year of mass messaging," Michael Fasulo, chief marketing officer at Sony Electronics, told Reuters in an interview this week. "HD is building by double-digits (in percentage) every year. We haven't seen this kind of opportunity in a long time."
Sony Electronics, one of the world's biggest consumer electronics makers, had an estimated $100 million advertising account annually, though it nearly doubled that spending toward the end of 2005 to push flat panel televisions, digital music players and other devices, according to trade reports.
Now Sony plans to spend hundreds of million of dollars more on marketing in the coming year, Fasulo said. A Sony spokesman said the planned budget represents "a significant bump" from last year."
"We are making a huge investment. It is the largest in history that I can recall," Fasulo said, adding that advertising and promotional spending would include everything from TV commercials to sponsorship of NASCAR professional auto racing to film-related merchandising. "We are serious and aggressive about this being the year for Sony and HD." Continued...