By Mike Drummond
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 12, 1999
Qualcomm, locked in a battle with its competitors over the future of communications
technology, won at least a minor victory this week at the Cellular Telecommunications
Industry Association Trade Show in New Orleans.
The San Diego cellular giant triumphed in the battle of the billboards.
Qualcomm outspent the competition when it came to outdoor advertising, according to
local ad agencies. Be it billboards, bus stops, taxi cabs or mule-drawn buggies,
Qualcomm was king.
More than a half-dozen large orange Qualcomm billboards lined the Interstate 10
expressway from the airport to downtown, outnumbering signs from giant Lucent
Technologies and Swedish rival Ericsson.
Qualcomm bought six billboards and 15 bus-stop displays from Outdoor Systems
Advertising as part of a 10-day "convention package." Total cost: $51,375.
Qualcomm was Outdoor Systems' largest client during convention week, said Outdoor
Systems sales manager Darren DeLattre.
"It's nice when a company can put together a budget and really dominate like Qualcomm
did," DeLattre said. "When you had as many billboards and displays as they did, you
get noticed."
Qualcomm rented another billboard from Marco Advertising for $3,500.
The Qualcomm billboards contained mathematical equations signifying the company's
booth number (3125) at the massive Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Qualcomm also paid to slap orange poster boards on mule-and-buggy carriages that roll
through the city's storied French Quarter. Those ads heralded Qualcomm's forthcoming
Globalstar wireless satellite service, indicating that Globalstar phones will receive calls
"where this (buggy travel) is considered advanced transportation."
Leaving no opportunity unexploited, the company even contracted with local taxicab
operators to issue receipts printed with Qualcomm's name.
Qualcomm declined to say how much it spent on marketing at the trade show, which
included sponsoring a faux Mardi Gras parade. But Qualcomm officials said they didn't
spend as much as other companies.
Convergys, for instance, paid an undisclosed amount to have Crosby, Stills and Nash
play at an invitation-only reception the first night of the conference.
Qualcomm officials were quick to distance marketing dollars from last week's
cost-cutting elimination of 700 jobs.
"There's no link between what we spend on marketing and what was announced
earlier," said Jeff Belk, Qualcomm's vice president of marketing. He noted that the
company paid for advertising long before the layoffs.
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