BEST VENDOR

Panasonic

www.panasonic.com.au

Click to enlarge

We believe Panasonic is very deserving of this award for many reasons. The company has certainly created great product in the LCD and plasma TV space, but importantly, has backed it up with a marketing campaign which has not only driven plasma TV sales growth for its own models – but also for the plasma market in general. The LCD Vs Plasma campaign was not without controversy, but we feel it went where no other campaign dared to go in educating consumers on the relative benefits of each technology. Its solid TV offerings have also been backed up with an excellent range of HD products, including a Blu-ray player, camcorders as well as great digital photography products in its Lumix range. You will also see a number of Panasonic productspop up in our Appliances award category. A very well-rounded effort from the company this year.

 

BEST CUSTOM MARKET VENDOR

PDL Electrical Products

www.pdl.com.au

Click to enlarge

This year, we have decided to award a custom market vendor of the year as well. We are always on the look out for innovative Smart House solutions, and no company has grabbed our attention in this space more than PDL. So this year, the award has gone to PDL for its LexCoM Home Network technology and its LexCoM Home Control Systems. This technology is affordable and more suited for the mass market than the top end market. This means if you've always liked the idea of integrated home control, but have been shied away by the cost, you might need to think again! As a company PDL has done an excellent job of developing low cost, affordable automation spanning lighting and, of late, audio and video distribution. For the installer selling PDL technology, the company has also introduced one of the most innovative software programs for automation implementation.