Toshiba Looks For A Comeback With New HD DVD Marketing Initiatives

"We are shocked....disappointed", those were the responses from Toshiba right after Warner ditching HD-DVD for Blu-Ray. It didn't sound any better than Cowboys at the sore loser's press conference after they got stunned by the Giant at the playoff. No more grieving! Confident that Paramount and Universal Studio wouldn't pulled out on them as well, HD-DVD announced a new marketing initiatives to keep the Format Wars rolling.

But what's new? The red camp insisted on same old strategy they been doing since day one, selling cheaper hardware. They are dropping the current line of HD-A3 to $149, HD-A30 to $199 and the flagship A35 to a dollar below $300.(about $20 cheaper I paid for my A35) If they think lower hardware cost is going to turn the eventuality around, Blu-Ray would be dead long before this happened.

Right, the prime initiative will be involving better advertising. Toshiba has revealed that the sale of HD-DVD hardware has posted a record-breaking unit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Yoshi Uchiyama , the Vice President Digital A/V Group Toshiba, said "Consumer sales this holiday season have proven that the consumer awareness of the HD DVD format has been elevated". Hence, they are extending the advertising strategies into television, print and online media channels as well as works with dealers and studio partners to promote the HD-DVD campaigning. I got no beef with Toshiba if they keep their current promotion with Michael Imperioli as long as it's not with Jessica Simpson in a pink 9.

I'm sure some of you, like me, been waiting on Toshiba's response to the turn event around. But, I don't see anything that's promising. The public should be well aware now that it's the studio that has the ultimate control over the Format War. The HD-DVD hardware record breaking sale is ironically before the Warner move and don't be surprised to see a big drop in the Q1 2008's sale chart.

Toshiba Deploys New HD DVD Marketing Initiatives Based on Strong Fourth Quarter Unit Sales [via press release]