Panasonic launches high-def, Blu-ray Olympics promotion
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 4/29/2008
APRIL 29 | Panasonic will help Blu-ray Disc go for the gold in an Olympic Games 2008 marketing blitz.
In the 100 days leading up to the Summer Olympics in August, Panasonic will present a nationwide truck tour to promote the manufacturer’s latest high-definition products, including its Viera HDTV line and Blu-ray Disc players. Branded "Get Your Family Ready for the First HD Olympics,” the truck fleet will visit various retailers around the U.S.
Panasonics’ Olympic truck tour marks a follow-up to a similar big rig nationwide tour it unspooled last year. At that time, the company was stamping its trucks with the slogan “Living in High Definition.”
Along with showcasing its products on tour, Panasonic also will bring such past Olympic Gold Medalists as gymnast Kerri Strug and swimmer Mark Spitz to sign autographs. Truck visitors also will score limited edition Panasonic Olympic Games pins.
Starting today through the end of August, people can enter a “Get Your Family Ready” sweepstakes for a chance to win Viera HDTVs, Panasonic Blu-ray Disc players and a grand prize trip for four to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Those interested can apply at the truck tour stops or at Panasonic’s Web site.
Panasonic’s promotional tour strategy is capitalizing on the fact that the upcoming Olympics Games, running Aug. 8-24 in Beijing, China, will represent the first time the entire Games will be broadcast in high-def.
“The world’s athletes are getting ready to come together and compete at the Olympic Games this summer, and Panasonic is helping families get ready to come together and watch them,” said Christine Amirian, VP of consumer marketing group at Panasonic Consumer Electronics. “We are proud to be helping deliver the first ever Olympic Games to be shot and broadcast entirely in [high-def] to consumers in the United States and around the world.”
Panasonic is an official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics and will supply various broadcast high-def technologies. This year will mark Panasonic’s eighth time sponsoring the Games.
