Suppliers Match Last Year's Promo Budgets
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 5/13/2002
With autosound selling season underway, summer promotions are in full swing.
Last year's decrease in sales does not seem to have caused any belt trimming in 2002, as suppliers including Pioneer, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate and JBL claim they are matching or exceeding last year's promotional spending.
On the rock 'n' roll front, JBL's Consumer Products Division this year, is sponsoring a 20 date tour of The Who and Pioneer is tying into the Honda Civic Tour featuring rock band Incubus.
Alpine will focus its promotions on amplifiers and speakers, Sony on its new TFT and hard-drive-based head units and Panasonic, on its GHOST CD players. Pioneer is also running a general lifestyle promotion targeting the core 18- to 24-year-old car enthusiast.
JBL said its Who sponsorship is the largest promotion in the company's history. It includes national TV advertising and the tour will feature autosound demo vehicles at many locations. The tour kicks off June 28th in Las Vegas and closes on August on Long Island, N.Y. The opening bands are Robert Plant for the East Coast shows and Counting Crows for the West Coast shows.
Sony is pursuing its annual print strategy with this year's "X-Rated" theme tying into the Xplod line. The campaign will feature the company's new TFT color display, hard-drive-based head unit and G-protection systems. The company said it is also sponsoring more tuner events than last year and now has a fleet of 10 Ford Focus demo vehicles.
Panasonic this year has partnered with artist Koop to create a new ad campagin around its Ghost receiver. The company will also hold retail incentive contests which award dealers with points toward Panasonic A/V products.
Pioneer said it is providing the sound system for a special 2002 Honda Civic Si, which is being given away as part of a summer promotion by Honda. The car will be featured in this year's Civic Tour starring the rock band Incubus. The Civic Si was custom-designed and autographed by the rock band and will be featured at each concert and then awarded to a fan through a national online promotion at civictour.com.
The system includes the DEH-P8400MP CD player with MP3 and WMA, Organic EL and XM capability. It also includes four 6.5-inch coaxial speakers, a 12-inch subwoofer and a four-channel 480 watt bridgeable amplifier.
