TI Celebrates 5 Million DLP Sales Plateau

PLANO, Texas — Texas Instruments said it has reached the 5 million sales mark for sales of combined projectors and rear-projection displays using its Digital Light Process (DLP) technology, and announced the launch of a regionally-oriented television, radio and Web ad campaign.

The company pointed out that DLP sales have enjoyed an accelerated sales pace in recent months.

Initially, it took five years (until December 2001) for DLP products to reach the 1 million sales mark. The second million mark came two years later (August 2003).

The third million mark was reached six months after that in March 2004, followed by the four million mark four months later in July 2004.

The five million mark followed four months after that in November.

Meanwhile, TI announced that it launched in November a direct-to-consumer advertising campaign in support of its DLP technology. The ads will target key periods, including the Super Bowl, and will utilize two radio spots, a television and Web spots.

The ad program is the first consumer initiative backed by TI to raise awareness and help drive customer sales. The intention of the effort has been compared to advertising initiatives undertaken by Intel to promote processors in computer systems. However, TI's advertising effort is on a much smaller scale.

Like the computer chip maker, TI is trying to take some of the guess work out of purchasing a new HDTV set, while trying to reassure customers that they can trust sets based on DLP.

The ads focus on the clarity and longevity of DLP technology vs. other display options.

TI said its spots will run through the Super Bowl in the following markets: Baltimore; Dallas; Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Phoenix; and Seattle.