Pioneer Corp., an early manufacturer of plasma TVs, is turning to the branding gurus behind the iPod for an image face-lift.
The Japanese electronics maker said Wednesday that it had hired TBWAChiatDay, the Los Angeles agency that created the iconic silhouette ads for Apple Inc.'s iPods, to help its television sets stand out.
"We're a small guy in a big pond," said Russ Johnson, senior vice president of marketing and product planning for home entertainment at Pioneer, whose U.S. headquarters are in Long Beach. "We have to break away from the crowd."
A decade after unveiling its first flat-panel sets in this country, Pioneer is introducing eight models as part of a broader effort to cast itself as a luxury brand and has stopped selling sets in Wal-Mart, Costco and other discount stores.
Pioneer is crafting its high-end pitch around technology enhancements that it claims deliver deeper blacks than its rivals and address a perceived shortcoming of plasma -- that direct sunlight washes out the picture, making it hard to see. Pioneer's solution is a filter for the screen and a new type of processing that adjusts the image to compensate for the light.
The branding shift is in response to harsh market realities.
Pioneer makes only plasma TVs and the flat-panel screen of choice today is liquid crystal display, or LCD. LCDs account for 60% of TVs sold in North America, compared with 20% for plasma, according to researcher DisplaySearch of Austin, Texas. And Pioneer has just 7% of the plasma TV market in North America, trailing giants such as Panasonic and Samsung Electronics Co., according to DisplaySearch.
The hiring of TBWAChiat Day is part of an initiative Pioneer launched in August dubbed Kuro, a Japanese word that means deep, black and penetrating. It became a mantra for Pioneer in its campaign to deliver a product that would evoke a passion for the brand among sports and entertainment junkies who can afford to pay a premium.
"Why should I spend the extra coin? That's truly what it gets down to," Johnson said.
Cathy Saidiner of TBWA ChiatDay said the agency was working with Pioneer to "tap into its core DNA" and show its desire to create the best products.
"We're looking to convey to the passionate home entertainment consumer that Pioneer is a brand that offers products that allow them to experience home entertainment as never before," she said.
