Pioneer who failed to grab more than 2% of the plasma TV market after the launch of a multimillion dollar branding campaign this time last year is taking another stab at rebranding the Company. They have also said that the Company wants to get out off the mass market to concentrate on the premium market.
At the CEDIA Expo in the USA the Company said that it is retaining the Kuro name and extending the brand this time using a “disruptive imagery style to convey the cutting-edge nature of the company’s products and technologies, but this time embracing home theatre components in addition to Kuro plasma sets” the Company said.
The new campaign was created by TBWAChiatDay of Los Angeles which is the same advertising agency that did the launch campaign for the Apple iPod.
According to TWICE Magazine in the USA the mission of the expanded effort, according to Russ Johnston, Pioneer marketing and product development senior VP, is to continue to “reposition ourselves for the premium space and get us out of the commoditisation that is going on in the [flat-panel TV] category.”
This time the effort focuses on the concept of “transformation,” using images of Pioneer product users transforming into the images they are watching on their plasma screens or listening to on the home theatre components.
The campaign will also be incorporated into Kuro dealer promotions with Pioneer using the same stark and edgy black, white and silver look used in last year’s Kuro advertising campaign.
The campaign will also include images of a viewer transforming into a rose in one spot, a race car in one spot, a butterfly in another spot and a French horn in the last spot, which focuses on Pioneer’s A/V receivers, Blu-ray Disc players and EX speakers.
“We are not using the ads to communicate the technical attributes of the products, but rather the emotional experience you get from using this equipment in your home,” Johnston explained, adding that the spots will refer consumers back to the pioneer www.seeingandhearing.com Web site to get the details on the product features and specifications.
