14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Ericsson will start an 8 million pounds ad campaign this week, a pretty high figure for any company to invest in promoting its image. The handset producer looks to keep up with its main competitors on the UK market, Nokia and Samsung.
Sony Ericsson currently holds 27 percent British market share and the second place in mobile phone sales here. Nokia is leading, while Samsung is right behind Sony Ericsson in earnings. It's only natural for each of these companies to look to get a chunk as big as possible from the market and boost their profits.
This seems to be one of the best timing for a major advertising campaign to start, as the holiday season is right around the corner. Money will be spent and mobile phones can be perfect gifts for many people, which makes Sony Ericsson's campaign most appropriate now. The company has recently released some of its most evolved handsets on this market, both from the Walkman and Cyber-shot line of devices.
"The W910i is a bit more youthful, while the K850i is aimed more at the family. The campaign is double the size of the one we did last year", said John Harber, Managing Director of Sony Ericsson UK & Ireland.
Another important player this holiday season will be Apple. Not that it will manage to surpass any of these three leading handset producers with its iPhone, but that it might eat a good chunk of the market in their detriment. It's left to see which will have to suffer more from this launch.
Another issue has been the major problems found with the first shipment of Sony Ericsson W910 music phones, which has been recalled. The producer now needs to win back all the lost ground and push its devices back into the interest of customers.