High-Def Meets Cardboard Beer Hats
February 25, 2008

Panasonic is determined to push high-def and Blu-ray into the mainstream. So what if that means crossing paths with some interesting, longish-haired, beer-swilling consumers? The manufacturer is in the middle of outfitting the California Speedway, home to NASCAR racing, and yes, cardboard beer hats - I saw them!, with Panasonic 40-50 inch high-def plasmas. At this point, Panasonic has just finished installing plasmas into all of the Speedway corporate suites. By August, Panasonic TVs will be spread throughout the entire venue. All together there could be as many as 500 screens primed and ready to blast Blu-ray marketing in between race coverage, explained Panasonic execs showing off the new hardware to reporters on Saturday.
Panasonic is especially pleased to be responsible for helping modernize NASCAR - as the California Speedway is apparently the first track to be adorned with high-def TVs. 
But I was initially skeptical that Panasonic would see a significant return on its investment. Admittedly, I was caught up in the NASCAR hillbilly fan stereotype. Would the guy strolling around in his Miller Genuine Draft top hat, with a Mardi Gras-styled Coors Light bead necklace, be willing to plunk down hundreds of dollars for a plasma and/or BD player? 
Yet, in spending more time walking around the track, I saw that I was totally mistaken.  These NASCAR fans are totally primed to upgrade their home entertainment technology. They have the money! Everyone was clutching increasingly bulging bags of  purchased NASCAR souvenirs. There was even a Wolfgang Puck eatery in the center of the Fan Zone, which surrounds the outside of the track. I also think high-def would especially enhance race viewing, as the circling, circling, and circling cars would be helpfully more distinguished from one another. But maybe that's just my problem.
Also at the Speedway, Panasonic installed a promotional truck, holding a 100-inch plasma and its latest BD player, the DMP-BD30. There was also an array of Panasonic digital cameras and laptops.
Well, at the least Panasonic is trying to reach out to more than just the early adopter, who is just a small piece of America. The war is over, but there is still work to be done getting Blu-ray to grow into a viable business.

Posted by Susanne Ault on February 25, 2008 | Comments (0)