Marketers Take Partnerships to Consumer Electronic Show

If you want consumers to hear your message, two voices may be better than one. Brand-to-brand partnership was a key theme at the Consumer Electronics Show, which wrapped in Las Vegas last week.

At the four-day event, Panasonic partnered with Comcast to show how vivid the cable provider’s content is displayed on its plasma screens; and Samsung devices were showcased for their ability to download XM Satellite Radio programming.

“The very obvious difference is that consumer electronic marketers are truly understanding the need to partner with content providers to market the benefits instead of the features of devices,” said Jill Rosengard, VP-Frank N. Magid Associates, a New York City-based media research company.

For Panasonic’s high definition TVs, the goal was to showcase the on demand content experience with Comcast’s programming and how easy it is to pop an SD Disk into the television to watch family photographs.

Other partnerships were more traditional and included leveraging celebrities into marketing messages. For example Samsung lined up four alumni quarterbacks for its Super bowl campaign showing Dan Marino taking in a game on one of its sets.

Microsoft also knows the value of partnership. Not only was Bill Gates a keynote speaker at the electronic show, but he touted several joint ventures Microsoft is engaged in with MTV Networks and DirecTV.

“They’ve [DirecTV] been a leader in a lot of things, and the partnership we’re announcing that’s new today and a very broad multiyear partnership includes the ability to get that DirecTV video onto the Windows Media Center PC. We’ll also connect up to our portable devices, connect up to Xbox 360, and so these Media Centers will let you enjoy the high definition and normal definition DirecTV content and take that away on a portable media device…” said Gates.

Although analysts believe the trend will continue in 2006, it doesn’t come obstacle-free.

“The biggest challenge is explaining the benefits to the consumer of the value of the device as part of an experience rather than its features and uniqueness,” says Rosengard.