Big boost for wireless music as Sonos plans promo blitz

Custom installers and AV dealers should plan for a significant spike in interest surrounding wireless music systems this autumn, as market leader SONOS flexes its muscles and embarks on its biggest ever marketing campaign. The media blitz comes as rival wireless systems, including Pure's recently unveiled Jongo and an as yet-to-announced entry from a Japanese major, close in on its territory.

Kicking off today and running until the end December, UK customers picking up a SONOS Play:3 package (typically £259) will receive a free SONOS Bridge, worth £39, plus a free six-month subscription to the Napster Unlimited music streaming service, worth £60. The idea is to deliver a single proposition to get new consumers up and running.

The brand is using eye-catching Point-of-Sale material to get its 'Ultimate Gift' message across, including stackable display units and a quick-start guide ingeniously packaged like a vinyl single. SONOS Ultimate Gift of Music bundles will also be made available in ten other countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands.

In the UK, this promotional activity will be complemented by the brand's first-ever TV advertising campaign, which breaks in November, and a media blitz across billboards, magazines, newspapers and online. Both billboard and video advertising will feature Grammy-tipped musician Janelle Monáe (pictured above).

This unprecedented messaging should not only give Sonos a serious fillip, but raise awareness for wireless music systems and multi-room audio in general. Computers Unlimited, which distributes SONOS into specialist retailers, will be supporting the campaign with activities around its own portfolio of related products, including Flexson's bespoke SONOS brackets to AVA Media music servers, Canton speakers and SoundCast all-weather audio systems.