Long Beach, Calif. — Kenwood launched its first consumer branding campaign in decades with a three-market promotion that includes TV, radio, print and billboard advertising.
The month-long campaign in Detroit, Denver and Phoenix will be followed by a few other ad blitzes in other markets throughout the year to supplement other continuing “grass-roots” efforts that drive store traffic, said senior marketing manager Sally House.
The Future Ready/Already campaign, which runs through the end of the month, stresses the brand’s tradition of offering the latest technologies and offering products with future-proof designs that won’t become obsolete as technologies evolve, she said. Such products include car audio systems that accept satellite-radio and HD radio add-ons.
Kenwood selected the three markets based on the strength of the local dealer bases and the markets’ demographics, House said. Pre- and post-campaign research will be used to adjust the campaign for a rollout in other markets.
Ads are playing on FM radio stations, appearing on billboards, major weekly urban papers, and on broadcast and cable TV channels. These include local CBS, Fox, WB, and UPN affiliates and cable channels MTV, Spike, Nick at Night, Comedy Central, and VH1.
POP kits tied to the theme were rolled out to dealers nationwide. The kits include shelf talkers, posters and stickers as well as a DVD containing the TV and radio ads. Dealers can incorporate the DVD’s TV and radio ads in their own ad campaigns or play them back in-store, House said. The two TV ads focus on car audio.
For years, Kenwood has focused on driving store traffic by supporting dealer events and offering mail-in and instant rebates, House said. Kenwood continues to offer TV ads that dealers can place on local TV channels, said executive VP Dan Petersen.
The campaign would be the first consumer-targeted brand campaign in at least two decades, said Petersen, who started with the company in the mid 1980s and returned last year after an absence of about eight years.
