When it comes to advertising for consoles, Microsoft clearly has Sony in a corner – even though the PlayStation 4 continues to be a big-seller.
VentureBeat has reported that Microsoft has spent more than $47 million for Xbox One television ads on TV this year, including its most recent program for the just-launched game Sunset Overdrive. This information comes from data compiled by iSpot.TV. The total is over 50 percent more than Sony spent on its advertising, which is around $30 million.
As a result, Microsoft nearly has twice as many TV ads as its competitor, with 5,000 ads compared to Sony’s 3,000. Clearly, the company is trying to push its Xbox One this holiday season, and will no doubt have a similar campaign lined up for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which is releasing next month.
While the companies haven’t commented on the practices they use with advertising, Microsoft clearly aims for more popular shows, scattered across 37 different networks and nearly 1,000 shows. Sony, meanwhile, only has an outreach of 25 networks and more than 500 shows, half the total.
As for the top shows that get such advertising, NFL Football games seem to be the leading factor, followed by the 2014 FIFA World Cup and AMC’s Talking Dead, a live follow-up to the popular The Walking Dead series. Sony has also found a certain place with ESPN’s SportsCenter series.
While Sony is leaning quite a bit on strong word-of-mouth, Microsoft isn’t fooling around this holiday season, as the company recently announced a $50 price drop for its Xbox One consoles, including popular bundles featuring Sunset Overdrive and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
It’ll be interesting to see if Sony intends to answer the marketing challenge with its own new marketing initiatives for the holidays.
