Marketing the Transformation. Introducing the technological innovation of Color Television to Germany, France, and Luxembourg

1967 was a year that saw the public debut of a fundamental technological innovation in Germany and France: Starting from the 25th of August and the 1st of October respectively, emissions in color were regularly diffused on national television. From this point onwards, consumer could see a steadily increasing number of programs in color, advertisers were able to present products in televised commercials in a different way, and the consumer electronics industry was provided with a new business opportunity. By using internal company sources from color television set producers like Telefunken or Loewe Opta, as well as magazine advertisements from all three countries, this research traces how companies marketed the technological innovation of color television to consumers. Through a conjoint analysis of internal marketing plans and the argumentation and imagery used in consumer facing adverts, it is not only possible to understand how companies tried to advertise and sell color television sets within the framework of the media ensemble of the 1960s, but also why companies chose to position themselves in the way they did, and which steps they took in preparation for the official start of their marketing campaigns. This would for example involve briefing retailers over a year in advance on the points they were to address when speaking with potential customers about the question of color television. Although the technological innovation manifested itself in the same way from the consumers’ point of view – meaning that color was introduced to the medium of television –, the surrounding circumstances were decidedly different between the three countries. The industry players involved, the media situation, the adaptation rates of black and white television sets, and even the color television standards all differed significantly, which makes it a worthwhile endeavor to investigate the extent to which these economic, political, and societal factors influenced consumer facing advertising for color television sets. The Luxembourgish case is especially interesting in that regard, as the Luxembourgish television broadcaster only started to broadcast in color in late 1972, while the Luxembourgish people started to buy color television sets alongside their German and French neighbors in late 1967. This was partially due to the geographical location of Luxembourg, but mainly due to the multilinguality of the country's citizens, which led to unique media consumption patterns that influenced the adoption and advertising of color television.