Get Blu-ray in front of their eyes

Get Blu-ray in front of their eyes

Sleeping Blu-rayContinuing with my free advice to the Blu-ray marketing department, I have some observations related to consumer indifference. Around the blogosphere and online message boards, I’ve heard quite a few people say DVD was good enough. But they haven’t really experienced Blu-ray so how would they know?

This is a problem that Blu-ray Disc Association faces to grow adoption. Why are 45% of HDTV owners aware of Blu-ray and its victory and only 9% planning on buying players? Granted that’s still 4-million HDTV owners planning on buying into Blu-ray this year, but what of the other 16-million plus consumers? That’s the market Blu-ray needs to succeed.

According to NPD’s latest survey, many of the new HDTV owners are planning on buying Blu-ray players for their new TVs, but why are so many HDTV owners still content with standard-def movies?

One reason may be that a survey conducted last year of HDTV owners showed two-thirds of them thought DVD was high-def. Still only a fraction of HDTV owners have a high-def source connected to their TV, including cable, satellite or off-the-air broadcasts. But they must be aware by now that Blu-ray is truly high-def, shouldn’t they?

Late last year Disney and Panasonic did a good job getting Blu-ray Disc in front of consumers with their magical mystery mall tour. This is a good way to get consumer awareness not with just buzzwords but with actual images they can relate to and be impacted by. They need to use examples people can understand, like ask the consumer if they would actually watch Lost on standard cable if they could watch it in high-def. This is a good example and should be used when selling Lost on Blu-ray because they can say, “Now watch Lost the way you remember it – in high-def!”

Nothing is more powerful than a visual presentation, and that is why it’s used so much in board rooms, by door-to-door salesmen, and the Pentagon. But this is better than charts and graphs, it’s moving images we’re familiar with. This is an important part of selling high-def.

About Steven Kippel

Steven Kippel has worked as a systems designer for a leading high-end audio/video custom integrator in Southern California since 2003. He is responsible for researching new technologies and integrating them into existing systems and new construction projects. He has designed several high-profile systems for discriminating clients on the cutting-edge of technology. When he is not hard at work, Steven is spending time with his wife, playing with his band or promoting concerts and bands in the Inland Empire. His favorite bands include The Cure, U2, Eisley, Living Sacrifice and DragonForce.

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2 Comments on “Get Blu-ray in front of their eyes”

  1. Panasonic also had a “living in high definition” tour last year where they where touring Fry’s Electronics stores in different cities (and possibly other stores).

    Their trailer had multiple high definition product demo’s, including “gaming in high-def”. The funny part about this is that they were demoing a Nintendo Wii! Which isn’t even high def! (480p). With even the biggest Blu-ray companies screwing up “high def” demo’s, it’s no wonder many consumers don’t really know what high definition looks like.

    I’ve seen many, many in-store displays that were either hooked up incorrectly or displaying standard def content.

  2. The best in-store display I saw was in Costco immediately as you walked in the door. It must have been hooked up by a Sony rep because it looked good.

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