New York – Sharp Electronics officially launched sales of its
first 70-inch class Quattron Full HD 1080p LCD TVs here Wednesday through an
expanded retail distribution network encompassing more than 7,000 outlets
around the country.
Sharp said it has added more than 1,300 retail outlets to carry
the behemoth set, which the company calls the largest LCD TV available,” in the
last 90 days, due largely to the excitement the massive screen size is bringing
to sales floors.
Sharp has already started deliveries of the LC-70LE732U ($3,800
suggested retail) 70-inch model with greater quantities scheduled to ramp up
over the next several weeks. The first of what will be four model classes for
the 70-inch LED-backlit LCD screen size will offer full 1080p resolution, a
120Hz refresh rate and IPTV connectivity.
Later this summer the company will add three more 70-inch step-up
models, including units that add 240Hz refresh rates and a top-of-line model
with active-shutter 3D capability.
Sharp Electronic Marketing Co. of America (SEMCA) president John
Herrington said the company will make another announcement later in the year
for the company’s planned use of the Elite brand it is licensing from Pioneer.
Herrington said Sharp will use the 70-inch screen size to
maintain its No. 1 market share position in large-screen LCD TV (a position
Sharp said it has held since 2008). Currently, Sharp defines large-screen TV as
screen sizes measuring 60-inches and larger.
“U.S. consumers are clearly voting for large screen television,”
said Herrington. “It is the fastest growing segment. Consumers are demanding
big, they are looking forward to big and they want bigger.”
The 70LE732U shipping now joins a number of Sharp Aquos 60-inch
class Quattron models already on retail shelves.
All of the large screen sets feature Sharp’s exclusive Aquos Quattron
quad-pixel LED technology, and Sharp’s connected IPTV system with built in Wi-Fi
offering access to Vudu, Netflix, Blockbuster and CinemaNow streaming video
services, in addition to Facebook and other apps.
But the highlight of Wednesday’s launch was the new massive
screen size which gives Sharp a big-screen LCD TV that can compete in both size
and price with super large plasma displays.
At 70-inches the new sets offer 62 percent more viewing area than
a typical 55-inch model.
To support the rollout, Sharp will kick off a national
advertising campaign leveraging TV, print, Web and in-store promotional
vehicles.
TV spots will target key programming including sporting events
that tend to draw males between the ages of 35-54 years old – the prime
audience (or “sweet spot”) for the 70-inch screen size, said Mark Viken, SEMCA
marketing VP.
The campaign’s tag line is ‘Big’ is too small a word,” referring
to the size and viewing experience the new model delivers, Sharp said.
The campaign will use new superlatives created to play up the
massive screen size including “jumbowhelming” and “spectacularge.”
Visuals in the ads feature the consumer as the star, showing a
man with a facial expression of joy and amazement from huge set. Sharp said the
head of the model on the TV screen illustrates the bond between the viewer and
the TV. The true-scale proportion of the TV to the model drives home the large
size of the TV.
