VIZIO took an exciting plunge into mainstream consumer marketing of their top-selling HDTVs and new Internet-connected VIA models during the Super Bowl yesterday. The brand campaign was everywhere, from providing the playback monitors in studio, with an on-air plug by host James Brown, to a number of smart ad spots throughout the game. Overall, an elegantly executed promo package.
Unlike Sony Bravia, LG and Samsung HDTVs, VIZIO has been a quiet brand – capturing a large share of the HDTV market through select discount retailers such as Costco and Target (you don’t see them in Best Buy). Using the Super Bowl to push their new VIA Internet-connected TVs was genius, and opening the ad with Beyonce – beyond genius to get the average person to watch a “geek” consumer marketing message at its core.
Most importantly, what this campaign signifies is an effort to make the average consumer aware that Internet-connected TVs exist and conceptually – with the help of those robot claws – successfully communicate the benefits of buying one. This ad benefits all brands that are offering Internet-connected TV models, as the complexity of buying TVs is becoming on par with buying a computer. No surprises there, but it’s also important for the entertainment content partners with a presence on these Internet-connected TVs to get a boost in visibility through these platform deals to build their brands and for splitting revenue through online ads and VOD downloads (or whatever their deal terms were).
Personally, I’ll be checking to make sure my next HDTV is also 3D-ready as the studios prepare to release their archive of 2D movies in 3D over the coming year or two.
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