For a few months now we’ve been hearing all about how the BDA is building up to a big fourth-quarter marketing drive ahead of the lucrative holiday season. We’ve heard that the Digital Entertainment Group, the industry body widely credited with helping drive DVD, was to get its weight behind the format. But other than an increase in titles being released on the format, has anyone noticed a significant rise in Blu-ray marketing materials?

HD Review forum member ‘maverick’ recently asked ‘do Blu-rays get enough publicity?’ – the general consensus was ‘absolutely not’, with high street retailers hardly stocking hardware and discs, and charging far too much for both to boot. A colleague recently saw the Sex and the City movie DVD advertised on the side of a bus with no mention of the Blu-ray release. How much effort does it take to add ‘and Blu-ray’ with a Blu-ray logo? Do they need more bus space?

It seems that more Blu-ray education isn’t only required for consumers but also for the industry – we’ve come across PR people who still don’t really know what they’re promoting in Blu-ray. Even Sony’s recent HD campaign which ties in with Quantum Of Solace doesn’t single out Blu-ray for any special attention. It maybe that with the global financial climate at the moment, studios, distributors and retailers will revert to depending on the comparatively solid DVD market, but it seems (as with most things) that while the format really hots up in the US, no one feels the need to push it more in Europe.