JOBS LOST WHEN SONY COMES UP SHORT WITH MACHINES
By Adnews Staff
The Japanese-based Sony company does not have enough copies of its new PlayStation video-game system to satisfy demand in Canada when it comes on the market Sept. 9. This means a delay in the marketing program for the new 32-bit game system. "There'll be some limited support," Steve Hancock, president of Chiat/Day Advertising in Canada, told Adnews last Friday. He said a full-blown campaign would not run until Sony had sufficient supply. Chiat/Day was hired by the Sony Computer Entertainment division in April this year to handle the PlayStation account. Meanwhile, 10 senior sales and marketing people hired this summer for the Sony Computer Entertainment division in Canada have been let go, according to a story in The Financial Post quoting the division's general manager Harry Freedhoff. The latter did not return calls to Adnews last week. Freedhoff and his son Richard, both under contract, are the only Canadian employees not laid off in the Computer Entertainment division. The PlayStation is to be taken over by Sony Music Canada. Freedhoff said Canada is getting 65,000 units instead of the 100,000 planned when he hired his selling team. There is talk in the industry of conflict between Sony U.S. and Sony Japan over approaches to marketing.