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Online contests and humor are a significant part of Toshiba's new multi-platform ad and sponsorship campaign, which is slated to run on ESPN and ABC next year.

The inclusion of the contests and other online elements represents a shift in the company's usual marketing, which has not been as focused in social media as have campaigns for other electronics makers.

The bulk of Toshiba's campaign, called "It's a Game Changer," will run on traditional platforms and will include TV commercials that will air through 2010 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. These ads will feature fans wowed by the 'transformative' experience of watching sports on REGZA LED TV.

Innovative Play

The initial social campaign, which is running on ESPN.com, lets viewers vote for the "Innovative Play of the Week" online - a campaign meant to link Toshiba's innovation with unique sports plays. Fans also can vote for the "Innovative Play of the Year" as part of a product sweepstakes, which includes Toshiba prizes and as an ultimate grand prize trip to ESPN's Studios.

ESPN's ESPN.com and SportsCenter.com will be supporting the initial social media portion of the campaign with additional elements to be rolled out later.

Better Late than Never

While Toshiba has engaged in its fair share of online promotion, the Japanese electronics giant has not been particularly proactive in interactive social games and media. Compared with Dell, its presence on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter is minimal.

Toshiba, though, is making up for lost time with the ESPN campaign: Interactive games integrated with traditional campaigns are a popular approach for electronics manufacturers. Throw sports into the equation and many view it as a sure-winner.

A similar campaign, for example, was launched by Paramount Home Entertainment on ESPN in support of the October 20 debut of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" on DVD and Blu-ray. Fans were able to visit a special Transformers-branded area of ESPN.com to vote for the car they believed would finish first.