New hands-free legislation boosts Bluetooth sales in California, Washington

The new hands-free driving legislation in California and Washington may have drivers complaining, but it has Bluetooth car-kit manufacturer Parrot singing for joy. Since the legislation took effect on July 1, Parrot has seen a three-fold increase in sales of its hands-free car kit, which it attributes to an aggressive advertising and public relations campaing it launched two months prior to the law taking effect.
"The 28 million licensed drivers in California and Washington have had plenty of time to prepare for the law since the measure was adopted by the Legislature back in 2006 and I think that government agencies and manufacturers of hands-free products have done a really great job of creating awareness among consumers," says David Wenning, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Parrot.
California electronics retailers also reported a large jump in sales of hands-free cell phone devices leading up to the ban. According the NPD Research Group, California consumers rushing to comply with the new law, purchased hands-free devices at nearly four times the national average in May of this year. San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento were the top four markets for hands-free devices in the country based on units per store.
"The July 1 deadline to go hands-free in California had a substantial effect on Parrot-branded products," says John Haynes, product manager for Al & Ed's Autosound. "We experienced over 180 percent unit sales growth in the second quarter of 2008 as compared to the first quarter. Having trained sales staff in place was extremely important as consumers struggled to understand Bluetooth and what their options were beyond headsets."
According to a California Highway Patrol spokesperson, 7,182 cell phone citations were issued statewide during the month of July and fewer than 50 motorists under the age of 18 have been cited under the new law.
In Washington, where the hands-free law is a secondary enforcement law, which means that drivers only receive a ticket if they have been pulled over for another driving violation, a little over 100 hands-free citations were issued in July.
As part of the campaign to encourage more drivers to comply with the hands-free law, Parrot introduced a quirky but effective "Positive Parrot" campaign to build awareness for the various Bluetooth hands-free options available to consumers. The campaign ignited a debate about the Parrot vs. Quail for California state bird and offered consumers chances to win free car kits, a $10,000 sweepstake prize or a free vacation to Turks and Caicos. Ultimately the campaign increased traffic to Parrot's website by 30 percent. The linchpin of the campaign was a "Driver's Education" viral video that was viewed over 4 million times on video sharing sites such as YouTube

The information from:www.1topsupplier.com