Dealers rate capable dealer reps, price/performance, on-time delivery, quality/reliability, and responsive support as most important

Menlo Park, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/06/2007 -- Mitsubishi, Epson, and Optoma earned the first three spots as the top front projector brands in the 11th annual survey conducted by Pacific Media Associates, the global market information experts on large-screen displays. Dealers ranked Mitsubishi first or second in marketing support, products, and after-sale support. Pacific Media’s Annual Dealer Survey is the authoritative source of independent, unbiased ratings of large-screen displays manufacturers by dealers throughout North America. Starting with 2007, Pacific Media will expand this survey to include the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) markets.

“The market for front projectors is more competitive than ever. Most dealers carry multiple product lines, so manufacturers have to do more than just make good products. They must provide compelling sales, marketing, and technical support programs if they are to capture a dealer’s mindshare and market share,” said Michael Abramson, who directs Pacific Media’s research on front projectors and was project manager for the Dealer Survey. “Many of the aspects dealers considered most important in the past continued to be significant in 2006, and will probably remain important going forward. The top three manufacturers had strong scores in many individual aspects, especially those considered most important by dealers. Mitsubishi has been the highest-rated brand, or one of them, for the past several years,” adds Abramson.

The survey ranks 25 aspects of marketing support, products, and after-sale support according to their importance to dealers. Dealers then rated their key suppliers on each of these aspects. Ratings were based on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). Manufacturers with high scores on the more important aspects posted higher overall composite scores than those who scored well on less-important aspects. The report includes numerical ratings for each manufacturer for each aspect. This data can help manufacturers learn whether efforts to improve certain aspects are yielding results, and to see where they lag behind their competitors.

The two companies with the best ratings for the most important five aspects are:
• Capable Dealer Reps – Runco, NEC
• Good Price/Performance – Optoma, Mitsubishi
• On-Time Delivery – Sanyo, Hitachi
• Product Quality/Reliability – Mitsubishi, Eiki
• Responsive Support Persons – NEC, Toshiba

The two companies with the highest composite scores in the areas of marketing support, products, and after-sale support are.
• Marketing Support – NEC, Mitsubishi
• Products – Optoma, Mitsubishi
• After Sale Support – Epson, Mitsubishi

The 2006 survey is the eleventh that Pacific Media has conducted and covers a broad range of facts, figures, and opinions from 144 participating dealers, many of whom are among the largest dealers in North America. The top three manufacturers will shortly receive distinctive awards to commemorate their performance in this survey.

NOTE: This information may not be used for advertising or other promotional use without the express prior written consent of Pacific Media Associates.

About Pacific Media Associates
Pacific Media specializes in global display market information, covering all large-screen display categories: front projectors, plasma and LCD TVs, and rear-projection displays. Their Large-Screen Displays Industry Service family of publications provides detailed worldwide quarterly updates (sell-in data and forecasts) on large-screen display markets, newsletters on new products and other key industry developments, monthly advertised price tracking, ad hoc analyses, and annual Web surveys of North American end users (including organizations and individual consumers) and both North American and EMEA resellers/retailers. Their Large-Screen Displays Tracking Service family of monthly reports offers timely sell-through data and analysis on unit sales, true volume-weighted street prices, and inventories of large-screen displays sold by leading North American retailers, resellers, and distributors. Pacific Media Associates was established by Dr. William Coggshall, who was previously a co-founder of Dataquest and helped start the syndicated high-tech market information business. The company headquarters is at 1060 Siskiyou Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Telephone +1 650-561-9020 www.pacificmediaassociates.com