Panasonic Signs Director Cameron to Help Pitch New 3-D Television Sets
Here's a classic marketing challenge: How do you convince customers that they need a product that they have lived without all their lives? The product is 3-D television, the latest flat-panel marvel to be offered by the consumer electronics industry. One answer is to tie its introduction to one of the most highly anticipated movies in years. The Associated Press reports that Panasonic's sales pitch will come from director James Cameron, whose coming 3-D movie, Avatar, is already the subject of breathless buzz. Tickets to see a trailer with some scenes from the movie tonight at specially equipped IMAX 3-D theaters are sold out. The film will premier in December.
The AP says that Panasonic is hoping its collaboration with Cameron will give it an edge in brand image as a 3-D leader as well as in obtaining suggestions for technological improvements for home TVs. Said General Manager Masayuki Kozuka: "We want to get global interest rolling. For people to want to watch 3-D at home, the movie has to be a blockbuster."
For more from Knowledge at Wharton on 3-D movies, blockbusters and the business of Hollywood, see:
3D Movies: Adding Depth or Falling Flat?
'Inventing the Movies': The Epic Battle between Innovation and the Status Quo in Hollywood
In a Recessionary Summer, Hollywood's Fondness for the Familiar Only Grows
Joss Whedon's Plan to Monetize Internet Content (Watch Out, Hollywood)
