Sharp Brand Campaign Targets TV, Solar
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 7/14/2008 12:45:00 PM
Mahwah, N.J. — Sharp said Monday it will launch a large national marketing campaign that highlights an expanded brand focus, highlighting its core strengths in LCDs and solar electricity.
The creative ad campaign, which was developed in conjunction with Lowe Worldwide of the Interpublic Group, is designed to send a message that Sharp's products and innovations “can help change consumers' lives in different ways — from providing clean energy sources to improving the experience of watching a Major League Baseball game at home.”
“LCD TV continues to be one of the premier technologies for Sharp and is the cornerstone that Sharp built its brand around,” stated Doug Koshima, Sharp Electronics chairman and CEO. “This new marketing initiative reinforces this message but also shows that as the company evolves, we are increasing our commitment to the solar industry and becoming a company that provides energy-saving and energy-creating products for consumers and businesses.”
The campaign will target print, broadcast and online vehicles, with the first phase focusing on Sharp’s Aquos LCD TVs. This will involve an MLB-themed commercial, showing Aquos as “the ultimate ticket for a baseball fan, providing the viewer with the best seat in the house for the game,” the company said.
It includes the campaign tagline, “Change your TV, Change your Life,” with the aim of encouraging consumers to “improve a part of their lives by improving the television experience.” The 30-second television spot began airing May 19 on national broadcast and cable networks.
Accompanying print and online components are also out now in support of Sharp's MLB sponsorship, and its status of Aquos LCD TVs as the official HDTV of MLB.
The company's first major U.S. advertising campaign featuring solar will launch on July 7, coinciding with the G8 Summit, with a series of print advertisements that are designed to communicate Sharp's vision of a solar-powered world.
A new TV commercial will launch July 14 highlighting different Sharp solar-powered installations around the world. The tagline is, “Change Your Power, Change Your Planet,” and the spot will feature a professor of math and physics at Pepperdine University lending scholarly credibility to the new solar and LCD commercials.
A third commercial, which will also launch on July 14, highlights Sharp's history as the LCD industry pioneer, which continues using the message “Change Your TV, Change Your Life.”
The commercial features the aforementioned professor highlighting Sharp's LCD industry “firsts” from being the first to use LCD in calculators to the introduction of the world's largest LCD.
All three commercials are due to air multiple times nationally during the broadcast of MLB’s All Star Game, where Sharp will also launch a nationwide sweepstakes promotion with more than 1,000 prizes including trips, Aquos LCD TVs and chances to meet MLB players.
Also being leveraged is a micro site and a supporting online advertising campaign, including a Facebook application.
The application resembles the classic game Hot Potato, only in reverse. Facebook users who install the game can take possession of a box from another player, which is then passed around to other friends who have installed the Life Changing Box application. The goal is to be in possession of the box when it opens, thus winning the prize it holds inside.
A Sharp spokesperson said the company's ad spending this year “will be comparable to what it spent in previous years (in the tens of millions of dollars). However, this is the first time part of the budget has been put toward a national solar TV commercial.”
