Taiwanese handset maker HTC launched its first-ever consumer-facing ad campaign that’s all about “You” late last month. The multi-million dollar advertising blitz has the goal of raising the awareness of its Windows Mobile and Android-based mobile phones, and now we are hearing just how much they think the ads will boost sales.
HTC expects shipments of its HTC-branded handsets to grow five to six percent in Q4 compared to the year ago period, reports DigiTimes, which quotes a recent conference call with the company. The company did not disclose its shipments from a year ago, but said that total handset shipments reached 2.8 million in Q3, which is slightly less than the 3 million shipped in Q2. Likewise, it expects revenues to top NT $40-42 million (US $12.3-12.9 billion) in Q4, up from NT$34 billion in Q3.
The marketing spend will negatively affect operating expenses, which will jump in Q4 compared to the prior quarter. The company said “operating expense ratio” is expected to rise to 16.5 to 17.5 percent from 13.9 percent in Q3 due to a higher marketing budget.
HTC made the mistake of putting too many eggs into Microsoft's Windows Mobile basket case. Now that Windows Mobile has failed in the market place, it will take a while for HTC to turn the ship around and steer it in the direction of Android.