electronics

Pioneer Plays Up Sights, Sounds In New Ads

Pioneer adPioneer Electronics wants to take consumers beyond visual and audio sensory experiences to totally immerse them in sights and sounds as part of its branding efforts unveiled Thursday.

The campaign, scheduled to run through March, is the second in a multi-year initiative that markets Pioneer's new line of KURO televisions and audio-video products. It aims to set the company apart from flat-panel television makers and position it as a premium entertainment brand.

A series of black-and-white print images, as well as online and television ads, speak to "entertainment junkies" who pack sports, movies and music into every moment. The campaign message suggests consumers look toward the power of Pioneer to transform their lives.

"The message is transformation," says Dana Escamilla, manager, marketing of communications at Pioneer Electronics, Home Entertainment. "In some of the print ads, the woman becomes so consumed by the music and the images that she loses sight of the environment and turns into the butterfly or the rose."

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Created by TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles, the integrated advertising campaign looks to connect Pioneer with consumers through positive emotions typically associated with experiencing home entertainment. The ads aim to change Pioneer's image from a tech company that connects people with their favorite music and television shows to an entertainment leader that enhances lives by making TV box disappear, leaving consumers with vivid sights and sounds.

Pioneer spent $25 million on advertising in 2007--up from $22 million in 2006, excluding online, estimates Nielsen Monitor-Plus. The research firm says that from January through March 2008, the tech company spent about $1 million.

The television ads will run on cable and ESPN college football; print in Esquire, Men's Health, Wired; and a variety of Web sites as well as Google and Yahoo search engines. The campaign will also integrate into the KURO dealer promotions. Pioneer will add the unique flash animations to the Pioneer corporate Web site.

Cathy Saidiner, the global account director at TBWAChiatDay in Los Angeles, says wading through clutter, confusion, and sometimes misleading information about home entertainment options has been the biggest challenge in connecting Pioneer with consumers. "It can be very difficult for consumers to navigate this and make well-informed choices," she says. "Our campaign is designed to cut through this clutter and inform consumers about what matters most to them--the transformed experience of seeing and hearing like never before."

El Segundo, Calif.-based research firm iSuppli estimates that Pioneer shipped about 59,000 plasma TVs between April and June 2008--ranking No. 8 in the market with about 01.70% market share behind companies like Panasonic, LG Electronics, Samsung, Hitachi, Philips, Vizio and Changhong, respectively.

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