

Sharp ad spot

It is admittedly hard to showcase a new visual technology on an old visual platform (basically, you have to see it to believe it.) Sharp Electronics looks to get around that problem by actively driving people into retail outlets to check out its new Quattron technology with a new marketing campaign that says: "You have to see it, to see it."

The Quattron technology adds a fourth yellow pixel to the typical red, green and blue pixels found on most televisions. The additional pixel adds a greater depth to most colors (including blacks), says Neal Lattner, senior marketing director at Sharp Electronics.

"It's very good to drive people to see the product if there's a visual difference," Lattner tells Marketing Daily. "The whole campaign is aimed at teaching people about the technology."

To that end, the company is launching a national, integrated marketing campaign featuring actor George Takei (best known as Sulu from the original "Star Trek" series). In television spots, Takei acts as a Sharp engineer who marvels at the colors he sees on the Sharp screen, while teasing the audience about what they can't see on their three-color screens.



"George fits an important role for us. He's very intelligent and very well-respected," Lattner says. "He has a presence in popular culture as well as technology."

In addition to television spots airing on national broadcast and cable networks, Sharp has also developed print and online advertising featuring Takei and the Quattron technology. Given how much of the advertising is intended to drive in-store traffic, Sharp has also developed an extensive in-store campaign, placing end caps (also featuring Takei) in retail outlets, and training salespeople about the technology.

The company has also created special, Sharp-branded magnifying glasses that allow people to look at the pixels in different television sets so they can see the Quattron technology at work, Lattner says.

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