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Spring may be a little late this year, but the Full HD 3D season, by contrast, has started early. Tuesday, Samsung Electronics took the wraps off a 17-SKU lineup of 3D LCD, LED-LCD and plasma TVs, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems that it will ship globally beginning this month and into the early summer.
The across-the-board introduction is to be bolstered by a 3D TV marketing campaign, filmed advertising being produced in 3D for theatrical viewing, and an array of retail supports and content partnerships, said Samsung Electronics America president Tim Baxter.
One of the seminal partnerships, co-announced by Baxter and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, will allow Samsung to package that company’s 3D Blu-ray disc version of “Monsters vs. Aliens” with its 3D Starter Kit. The Kit includes the disk and two sets of Samsung 3D glasses, and is free to any customer who bundles the purchase of a Samsung 3DTV with either the Samsung Model BD-C6900 3D Blu-ray player or the HT-C6930W 3D Blu-ray home theater system.
“It’s clear that audiences can’t get enough of 3D,” commented Katzenberg. “It’s the entertainment revolution of our time.” Later this year, the DreamWorks-Samsung partnership will also result in the release of the “Shrek” film collection on 3D Blu-ray disc, he said.
TV models slated for March availability include 55-inch and 46-inch LED LCD models from the UNC7000 Series ($3,299 and $2,599, respectively), to be followed in April by two flagship UNC9000 Series models (55 inches and 46 inches, at $6,999.99 and $5,999.99). In Samsung’s plasma line, six of eight SKUs, all being released in May, will be 3D, starting at $1,799 for the 40-inch PN40C7000. A non-LED LCD model, the 46-inch LN46C750 ($1,699.99), is due in May.
Baxter said the new marketing platform for Samsung’s 3D efforts is called “Dedicated to Wonder,” and its first execution will showcase the company’s 3D LED TVs. Samsung ran a 15-second “teaser” spot during the Academy Awards broadcast Sunday, but it will launch a full campaign March 21 with two new spots. Additionally, Samsung will be running a series of spots in Imax theaters starting in April produced in 3D and shot by “Avatar” cinematographer Mauro Fiore.
“This will make Samsung the first CE brand to advertise in 3D,” said Baxter.
Samsung also plans to deploy 5,000 3D merchandising displays at stores across America, added Baxter, and to use social media to get the word out – in the form of “’Mr. Samsung’ brand ambassadors” who can answer questions through Facebook and Twitter.
Baxter also said the company had planned a 3D-related event in partnership with the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas for later in the week of March 8.
Other announcements from Samsung included the company’s entry into the e-reader product category, planned for this spring. The Samsung eReader’s introduction comes in tandem with the beginning of a partnership with Barnes & Noble that will give purchasers of the device access to one million e-books (most available at $9.99), newspapers and magazines.
The device permits users to write notes in the margins and paste them into pages for storage and future reference; it also allows wireless sharing of non-published content from one eReader to another and the sharing of Barnes & Noble content with other Barnes & Noble eReader customers.
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