The company has increased this year's marketing budget by 100 million baht to 750 million baht (US$18 million), with 70 per cent committed to audio-visual information technology (AVIT), said Nophawan Chotiphawat, division manager of marketing communications.
AVIT products are divided into six categories - VAIO notebooks, CLIE handheld computers, Cybershot digital cameras, digital Handycam, MD Walkman and mobile phones - all of which can be connected to and download information from each other.
While VAIO and CLIE have been in other markets for some years, the two product lines are fairly new to Thailand. It was only after their September launch that the connectivity platform became feasible. Sony's first "connectivity" campaign included a TVC showing people of various nationalities and speaking different languages, transferring visuals of an eclipse of the sun to each other's Sony products. "We want to say that people can communicate with Sony wherever they are," said Nophawan.
The TV campaign, under the Sony Society concept, was created by Bates Thailand, and will run for three months. It will be backed by exhibitions and roadshows, which will encourage hands-on trial among a target group of a "new generation of young businessmen, from first jobber on". Nophawan said: "This is a kind of entertainment that people need to create themselves so it is important for them to touch and feel, and experience it."
Sony expects sales of its AVIT products to contribute 35 per cent to turnover by the end of the fiscal year in March 2004, up from 25 per cent last year. In Japan, the segment contributes more than 50 per cent of its turnover.
In Thailand, it has forecast a more than 15 per cent sales spike to 15 billion baht, based on the Government's forecast for GDP to grow by six per cent this year. Sony claims to be the only player in this category for the moment. "Yes, there are many brands of IT and AV products but no brand that is able to offer connectivity like Sony," Nophawan said.
The company, which has a 35 per cent share of the local audio-visual market, launched extensions to its VAIO and CLIE range this month, and plans to refresh its product range again in mid-year and towards year-end.