Hey folks, Valkor here. Krush and myself had the honor of attending an important press event held by Samsung and and the NFL over at the Samsung Experience over in NYC. It was a pretty swanky event filled with tons of new products to try out and enjoy. However that's not why we attended but we'll let the press release explain below.
SamsuNG
SIGNS Two-year DEAL WITH THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE AS the “OFFICIAL HDTV” OF
THE NFL
Samsung
Inks Historical Alliance And Features Four Legendary Quarterbacks - Dan Marino,
Troy Aikman, Boomer Esiason and
Steve Young in National Ad Campaign
Ridgefield
Park, NJ – Samsung Electronics America, a global
innovator in High Definition TV, and the National Football League (NFL), the leader
of sporting entertainment, today announced an official multi-million dollar deal
for the 2005 and 2006 NFL seasons.
Samsung, the Official HDTV of the
NFL, also unveiled its national ad campaign including TV commercials,
print, online and in-store exposure featuring four legendary NFL quarterbacks.
In addition, Dan Marino, Troy Aikman, Steve
Young, and Boomer Esiason
will represent each
of Samsung’s market share leading HDTV categories -- LCD, Plasma, DLP, and
SlimFit.
To celebrate the new
relationship, Samsung kicks off its first of two NFL on-line promotions called
the Samsung NFL HDTV Challenge. This promotion will provide on-line visitors a
chance to win a trip to Super Bowl XL.
“This is an
exciting time for Samsung, the NFL, its fans and all NFL viewers to unite behind
the world’s greatest game viewed on Samsung High Definition Televisions,” says
Peter Weedfald, Senior Vice President, Sales
and Marketing, U.S. Consumer Electronics & North American Corporate
Marketing, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. “We feel privileged to team with the NFL and
our All-Star quarterbacks who are all coveted leaders in sports entertainment.
NFL games on a Samsung LCD, DLP, Slimfit or plasma HDTV are a long-awaited
matrimony and an experience millions of viewers and fans will fall in love with
for decades to come.
“In a continuous
effort to align our brand with key leaders in the industry we are pleased to
partner with Samsung, an innovator and global leader in consumer electronics,”
says Phil Guarascio, NFL Lead Executive-Marketing & Sales. “Samsung High
Definition TV brings a new level of excitement and realism to the NFL at home
experience enhancing fan enjoyment.”
“I'm thrilled about my
relationship with Samsung, a brand of excellent products truly representing
premium quality and life enriching home entertainment.” says legendary
quarterback Dan Marino. “I spent 17 years in the NFL and I know that fans will
appreciate how a crystal clear Samsung HDTV helps them appreciate the vibrant
colors of the field, and the energy of the game.”
Samsung will also have
the ability to leverage their NFL association within the home audio
entertainment system, DVD player, and DVD recorder
categories.
Valkor’s POV:
It would seem that having the NFL in your corner backing your product is a great idea especially now as the days go by, HDTV’s become cheaper and cheaper and more available to consumers. (Samsung’s own 27” LCD TV is in my range of $1500) and eventually most everyone will have an HD-TV simply because… well not because of the government and FCC making the push, but simply because it’s time. Analog TV has served us well throughout the years of its existence and believe me I am grateful. However HD is here people and it’s time we start embracing its wide-screen glory for the powers that it will give us. And what better way to boost the sales of HD sets and really show off the power of HD than to have NFL back it up. And if you haven’t seen an NFL game in HD then you are missing out, especially if you are a fan. Trust me, its freakin sweet! Dan Marino was on hand to make the announcement and with his pro buddies (Not present) Troy Aikmen, Steve Young, and Boomer Esaison, will represent HD-TV in all it’s glory from the LCD to the DLP. Now one odd note about the event, NBA’s Isiah Thomas made an appearance and I got the chance to meet him; however it is kind of odd that an NBA pro would make an appearance at an NFL event hmmmm?? Anyway it was a great time, I know I enjoyed it and I wanna thank those in charge of the event for letting us come on board. Remember if it’s gonna go down, TOV will be there.
Krush’s POV:
Ok, this week was a week that I will never forget. If a nuclear explosion occurred, and the
entire tri-state area was engulfed in flame and toxic poison, and the only
people that survived were lawyers, and Jehovah witnesses, I’d still be a happy
camper. Why, you asked? Well, I rubbed elbows with big dogs, and
celebs. I, WE, had the opportunity to be
apart of one of the biggest announcements in the history of sports, and
electronics. The executives of Samsung,
and sports legend Dan Marino finalize a deal in an initiative to promote the
NFL and high-definition television.
Why is this important?
If you have to ask yourself this question, you need to go back into the
forest, re-dig the hole you came out of, lay in it, and drop the boulder that
sealed you in for the thousands of years you’ve laid in ignorance of
technology. If you watch sports, you
know why this is important. If you play
Madden ’06, you know why. If you’ve seen
Episode III on DVD, you know why. We’ve
all watched some kind of sport on television, and we’ve all wondered about
watching it on a bigger screen. The
bigger the screen, the more life-like it feels.
Well, this is exactly why the initiative with the NFL. It’s the promotion of Samsung’s television
line with the live action-packed program of sports. In the grand scheme, former Dolphins great,
Dan Marino, has become the official spokesperson of Samsung’s T.V.
promotion.
In a sea of journalists, executives, spectators, and special
guests, one thing stood out the most. If
this is a promotional attempt between the NFL, Samsung, and Dan Marino, what
the f*** is Isiah Thomas doin here? One
minute, I see Dan snappin pictures, doing interviews, making promos. The next thing I see is Isiah Thomas just
sneaking up behind in jeans and Kenneth Cole shoes shaking the hands of Dan and
the executives. Then all of a sudden,
the executives of Samsung pull Isiah aside, and a ton of handshaking and
laughing started to happening? Can this
be the beginnings of a deal with the NBA?
Hmmmm, this makes one wonder.
With the push on the NFL, its only natural to put the NBA on the same
platform. Or, could this be an exclusive
deal for the New York Knicks? Could this
be exclusive deals to include major Knick players like Stephon Marbury, Eddy,
Curry, or James Crawford for commercial deals?
I see a potential volcano boiling away to an eventual eruption. We’ll keep you posted on the development of
this.
Isiah Thomas isn’t a stupid man. He sees potential profit. And with Samsung and Dan Marino in town, its
just a matter of showing your face, and Boom!
We have Deal! I don’t think it
was a coincidence he was at the presentation.
My gut feeling tells me that we’ve just entered the ground floor of a
major deal with the NBA. In recent
years, we’ve seen a decline in popularity of Basketball against Football. This maybe the perfect start to re-vitalized
the interest, and make a little cookie to boot!
By the way, my partner Valkor just so happen to catch a
picture with Mr. Thomas. Congrats
Val! YOU GOT THE PIC BIATCH!