DEG plans Blu-ray promotional blitz

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 3/5/2008

MARCH 5 | The Digital Entertainment Group is promising to do for Blu-ray Disc what it did for DVD.

DEG member companies are launching a consumer education, retail training and public relations blitz to break the high-definition format into the mainstream. The group is credited for helping launch the standard DVD format in 1997.

A timeline for Blu-ray promotional plans was not specified. But the bulk of the marketing will hit in the fourth quarter, said DEG executive director Amy Jo Smith. 

Overall, the DEG wants to increase awareness for Blu-ray and market its benefits over standard DVD with a unified voice. HDTV owners especially will be encouraged to upgrade DVD players to Blu-ray hardware.

The DEG plans to act as the primary information source for Blu-ray, spanning consumer education, hardware/software demonstrations and media relations.

“Given our success in promoting new entertainment formats, the DEG is a logical association to underscore the benefits of Blu-ray Disc to consumers, retail and the media,” said Bob Chapek, chairman of the DEG and president of Walt Disney Studios Worldwide Home Entertainment. “As the DEG was the unified front for the support of DVD, we will also be leading the promotion of high-definition packaged media.”

Up until this point, the DEG remained neutral between HD DVD and Blu-ray, as major studio members were in different camps. However, following Toshiba’s decision to end its HD DVD support, all major studios have committed to exclusively produce in Blu-ray.