Panasonic Addresses the "Who Are You?" Question at CES

The global electronics company showcased a few nonmainstream products including small electric commercial vehicles and HarleyDavidson LiveWire motorcycles powered by its batteries These days the company has pivoted from consumer electronics the ubiquitous radios and dorm stereos of the 1960s to more behindthescenes roles including one as a Tier One supplier to automakers battery packs and infotainmentThe result is that the public has a fairly blurry concept of what Panasonic actually does although Tesla publicizes Panasonic as its battery supplier many other automakers keep it quiet To this end I sat down with Sallata a former Xerox executive and asked her what the company hopes to achieve with quotWhat Moves UsquotquotWe did research on what people knew and didn39t know about us to figure out how to best connect with future buyersquot Sallata said quotWe found out that among other things younger people really enjoy and follow the Olympicsquot Panasonic has been a supplier to the Olympics for 30 years and it will showcase Phelps and his Michael Phelps Foundation which works with Boys ampamp Girls Clubs to teach swimming and encourage healthy lifestyles at the 2020 Olympics in TokyoIn addition to Phelps pictured below Panasonic has enlisted another swimmer fivetime Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky whose quotDive Into STEMquot digital program offers science education for schools is also powered by Panasonic quotIt39s about giving backquot Sallata said adding that the company encourages its employees to take off 40 hours a year to work for the philanthropies of their choiceIt39s also about giving consumers a clearer view of who Panasonic is today quotWe39re becoming more of an 39ingredients39 brandquot Sallata said quotOur challenge is to catch the public up on what kind of enterprise we are nowquotThe company still makes consumerfacing products including cameras home security systems pencil sharpeners and TVs but much of its best work isn39t branded under the Panasonic moniker For instance the company makes the Uconnect infotainment systems that I recently tried out in Jeep and Maserati cars owners need to click through a bunch of information screens to see that Panasonic is involvedIronically automakers do showcase their infotainment partners but only when they see a marketing advantage for their highend luxury cars Brands such as BampampO Bose Bowers ampamp Wilkins and Fender are audiophile convincers The Panasonic name isn39t negative to buyers but it39s not enough of a valueadd that the carmakers would eschew the benefits of selfbrandingPanasonic will never replace Apple in the public consciousness and as it pivots to a strong supplier role it isn39t trying to achieve that goal But Sallata wants the public to recognize the brand and to have a positive image of it as a caring companyI also talked to Scott Kirchner head of the mobility practice including autos at Panasonic It39s what39s inside that counts he said Consumers are paying more attention to what the car offers in connectivity and infotainment than what39s under the hood increasingly an electrified powertrainAt CES a number of exhibitors including Chinese EV startup Byton Sony which showed its own car the ConceptS and Panasonic itself via the Karma SC1 Vision Concept on its stand embraced the concept of the fullwidth curved screen stretching all the way across the dashboard It certainly has a quotwowquot factor though Kirchner acknowledged that the feature will work best when cars are fully autonomous and drivers are freed from the tyranny of actual driving The screens can be powerful home theaters host incar video conferences complete with PowerPoint and also take over from the smartphone in displaying fitness tracking information personal schedules and morequotThe screens are beautiful and aligned with the brandsquot Kirchner said quotAutomakers will figure out how to integrate them into their future productsquot He pointed out that Panasonic39s current technology actually supports the deployment of 11 separate screens in a car We might see them in the form of camerabased rearview mirrors and rearcamera displays that can actually look through towed objects such as trailersMuch of this is future tech but Kirchner said that cars will quotabsolutelyquot be autonomous in the near future with fleets leading the way quotWe39ll see it before we see flying carsquot he said Automakers and suppliers are working on interiors for autonomous cars that can be configured as in front seats that can be flipped to face the passengers windows that can become fullsize display screens folding worktables and moreAlso coming from Panasonic and others amp8212 and of use while we39re still in the driver39s seat amp8212 is an enhanced headsup display that will paint guidance on top of what the driver is seeing through the windshield For instance instead of a robotic voice saying quotTurn left in 1000 feetquot the driver will see the turn as a guiding arrow in the view ahead This enhanced turnbyturn guidance will also have the ability to showcase animals pedestrians or vehicles that could be or already are in the driver39s waySurveys strongly suggest that consumers want all this and more Infotainment will increasingly be a powerful brand differentiator Kirchner said quotWe39ll see more screensquot he said quotTech without a purpose is fool39s gold but my kids prefer to take the car that supports Apple CarPlayquotClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Panasonic Addresses the "Who Are You?" Question at CES

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Jim Motavalli

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