Toshiba plans big HD DVD marketing campaign

Cuts prices on set-top players

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 1/14/2008

JAN. 14 | Toshiba is launching a massive marketing campaign for its HD DVD hardware, including granting $150 to $200 price chops on players.

On Friday, Value Electronics was among the retailers that started hyping Toshiba’s price cuts, most notably the $150 reduction on the HD-A3 to $149. Toshiba said new pricing, also including $200 mark-downs of its mid-tier HD-A30 and its highest-end HD-A35 to $199.99 and $299.99, respectively, became effective Sunday.

Toshiba’s marketing blitz comes after the company was dealt a major blow by Warner Bros., which recently announced it was dropping support of the HD DVD format.

Despite Warner’s planned HD DVD exit, Toshiba executives said during the Consumer Electronics Show that they would stay the format course.

Toshiba is heartened by the fact that player sales accounted for 50% market share of next-generation players in 2007, according to the company. Also, HD DVD enjoyed 80% market share of next-generation-enhanced notebook computer sales during the fourth quarter.

Still, Toshiba hopes an aggressive pricing punch will continue to help it win over consumers to HD DVD’s side, even as many Blu-ray Disc backing studios see Warner’s decision as a likely end to the format war in their favor.

“While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer,” said Yoshi Uchiyama, group VP of digital A/V. “Consumer sales this holiday season have proven that the consumer awareness of the HD DVD format has been elevated and pricing is the most critical determinant in consumer’s purchase decision of the next-generation HD DVD technology. The value HD DVD provides to the consumer simply cannot be ignored.”

In addition to price cuts, Toshiba promises TV, print and online advertising. It also will continue to offer five free HD DVD titles with purchase of any of its players.

Earlier in January, Toshiba rolled out a consumer help line, ‘the HD DVD Concierge,’ at 1-888-MY HDDVD.

“HD DVD is the best way to watch movies in high-definition,” said Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba’s digital A/V group. “Our HD DVD players not only playback approximately 800 HD DVD titles available worldwide and deliver an entirely new level of entertainment, but also enhance the picture quality to near high-definition on legacy DVD titles by all the studios. In short, we added high-def to DVD, which already is the de facto standard format created and approved by the DVD Forum that consists of more than 200 companies.”