Sony Ericsson Announces Big Increase in Digital Marketing Budget

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By Matt Clark

Sony Ericsson, the world’s fifth-largest mobile phone manufacturer, announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that it will allocate 15-25% of its ad budget to digital marketing efforts in 2008. The announcement marks one of the most public votes of confidence for digital marketing to date.

Sony’s strategy will start with an interactive Web site for their X1 handset and aggressive campaigns for its Cyber-shot and Walkman products.

Sony Ericsson’s gradual shift towards the digital space is a play to gain a larger share of youth consumers. Apple’s digital marketing efforts for the iPhone successfully attracted younger consumers, and seem to have started a digital marketing movement in the handset manufacturer field. The fact that Sony Ericcson - which has a much larger market share than Apple - is entering the digital marketing space might force bigger players like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and LG to follow suit and up their digital marketing dollars.

Of course, when any company shifts budget to a new initiative, old initiatives lose funding. Sony will be cutting their advertising and public relation budgets to finance their leap into digital marketing. I know my old PR firm, agency of record for a large handset manufacturer, won’t be too happy if their client follows suit.