Panasonic Corp. has launched its first application to market its new line of electric shavers to the affluent iPhone and iPod touch demographic.

The electronics giant partnered with 360i, New York, for the creation of the application. It will be promoted via television, online and mobile advertising, as well as viral social-networking initiatives.

?We have two giants in this category, Philips Norelco and Braun, and by far they spend much more money than Panasonic, so it?s a difficult task,? said Walter Taffarello, Seacaucus, NJ-based group marketing manager at Panasonic Home and Health Co. ?We have to do something different, do some guerilla marketing and spend our money wisely.

?The iPhone has been surging in popularity, so we said ?Why don?t we do an app to launch our new line of electric shaving products??? he said. ?This is the first app made by Panasonic globally, so there was interest from our headquarters in Japan.?

Panasonic Corp., formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., is a multinational corporation headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. It is the largest Japanese electronics producer, selling under the brand names Panasonic and Technics.

Touch sheen
The application is designed to promote two new products?the Panasonic ES-LA63-S, a wet/dry electronic shaver with ulta-thin vibrating outer foil, and the ES-LA93-K, basically an upgraded version of the shaver featuring Nanotech blades and a cleaning base.

The first version retails for $299.99, while the second costs $399.99. Thus, the target demographic is affluent consumers, which dovetails with iPhone/iPod touch users.

The target audience is young professionals ages 25-45. 

?We felt that iPhone and iPod touch users would be more apt to interact with the technology," Mr. Taffarello said. ?These are high-tech shavers, so the right people are ones with smartphones like an iPhone who would be more interested in learning about these shavers.?

The BeardBuster shavers will be featured on various TV shopping networks.

Panasonic also plans to promote the shavers and the application on Panasonic.com, featuring links to iTunes to push people to download it.

360i is working on a digital word-of-mouth campaign featuring Facebook and YouTube, online and mobile banner ads.

Panasonic is working with mobile ad networks Quattro Wireless, AdMob and the Jun Group for the campaign.

Shaving price
The application launched Dec. 18.

However, Panasonic is planning to update it in a few weeks to include more features, including a promotion code for people who download the application for 15 percent off the electric shavers' price.

?In a couple of weeks or months we?ll regroup, see how many people downloaded the app, read the feedback and see if we want to do something else in 2010,? Mr. Taffarello said. ?We could possibly release a version for other smartphones, but it?s too early to tell.?