Vision A5 satellite television system.
A local technology company was among the hangers-on at Super Bowl XXXVIII,
conducting a “very successful” guerilla-marketing tour throughout Houston in
the week leading up to the event.
The marketing ploy showcased a Lincoln Navigator outfitted with a TracVision A5 satellite television system from Middletown-based KVH Industries. The vehicle, dubbed the “ultimate tailgating tool,” drew serious attention throughout the city, said KVH spokesman Chris Watson.
“We had to figure out how we could get a real business benefit out of our time spent in Houston and still get people to really experience TracVision,” said Watson, noting that the Super Bowl is a land of major, million-dollar corporate sponsorships.
The plan was to park the vehicle near major events – which ended up including broadcasting pre-game coverage from the main entrance to a Houston Rockets basketball game and a live broadcast across the street from ESPN’s outdoor studio – and draw the interest of passersby to the Navigator, outfitted with seven video screens, TIVO and an expanded sound system to complement the satellite television.
While bad weather may have kept casual observers from taking a closer look, Watson said the sole sales representative with the car was able to pass out several brochures driving through the clogged streets Super Bowl weekend and promoting the product to audio specialists and car dealerships in the area. Watson said one dealership that signed on to offering the TracVision sold its first unit within a half-hour after the KVH rep left the store.
The TracVision A5 is the only low-profile satellite TV system available for SUVs, minivans and other passenger vehicles. The product of three years of research and development, the system uses 260 individual antenna elements to provide reception of satellite TV services anywhere the vehicle travels throughout the continental United States. The antenna is contained within a 5-inch-high enclosure that mounts to a roof rack and is available at more than 800 retail locations. KVH already has a history within the RV and camper market, the first vehicles that were able to handle a satellite system.
“Once people see the quality of the digital picture, they’re sold on the idea,” said Watson, who equated the technology acceptance to people who were skeptical of the idea for cell phones. “They get over the idea of whether or not they really need it and realize there’s no reason they have to limit themselves to watching DVD or videotapes,” he said.
The people who gathered in Houston, whether or not they had tickets to the game, are certainly a segment of the market KVH is hoping to tap. Along with die-hard sports fans and season-ticket holders who tailgate regularly, Watson said the Super Bowl spectacle also naturally attracts “movers and shakers” – early-adopter entertainers with a bit of celebrity who want to have the “newest and the coolest thing.”
While it was the first time the company had a presence, official or unofficial at the Super Bowl, KVH does have some ties to the National Football League. The local company supplies the Fiber Optic Gyro sensors used by Sportvision for the “First and Ten Line” technology that allows a steady yellow line to be projected on television screens and lets viewers see the distance a team needs to move the ball for a first down. The sensors are mounted on cameras and able to project a steady line by calculating the exact motion of the field cameras.
Watson said KVH is hoping to eventually have a second equipped vehicle on hand for East Coast demonstrations at other major events. The company has been in talks with multiple automakers about the TracVision A5 being available as a factory-installed system and Watson said KVH is also focusing on developing a presence within local car dealerships who could provide satellite TV as an add-on feature within the financing of a car. KVH designs and manufactures several products with commercial, industrial and military applications that enable mobile communication, navigation and precision pointing through the use of its mobile satellite antenna and fiber optic technologies.
In January, Product Design and Development Magazine selected the TracVision A5 low-profile satellite TV system as one of the finalists in the publication’s ninth annual Engineering Awards program. The Consumer Electronics Association also named the product as an Innovations Design and Engineering Awards honoree during the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show.
