Pentax TV commercials

[steve_t.1]

<p>So over the past few evenings of watching random television shows on the major networks, I've seen commercials for Nikon and Sony DSLR/ILC cameras. (Maybe Canon can call up Andre Agassi and put a digital Rebel in his hands.) As a (non-militant) Pentax loyalist, I can't help but wonder when Pentax/Ricoh will be airing their TV commercials. Maybe with the price increase of their gear they can send some money to the marketing department... and the R&D department...</p>

<p><em>Pentax who?</em></p>

<p>Just an observation.</p>

[davidmantilla]

<p>You're assuming there would be a reasonable return on investment for those million dollar TV ad campaigns. Probably not. Pentax barely has any retail store penetration, so it's not like people who see the TV ad would find their way to a store that actually carries Pentax (I haven't seen Pentax at BestBuy, Sears, Costco, etc. for example).</p>

<p>I would instead focus my marketing money on promoting the Pentax k-x or Pentax k-01 at Costco for example. Have it side by side a Nikon and/or Canon at a slight discount, but good features.. I see $1400 Nikons on sale (and people buying them) there all the time. Shipping a palette or two to a few pilot stores would be worth it, I think. (This is assuming their customer call center is upto speed, etc., to handle any customer inquiries that would arise from their new customer base). See if it gets traction, if it does, then roll it out to key markets.</p>

<p>I think Pentax could use some analytics expertise, someone to help them crunch some numbers and better target their ads. Mass marketing won't work for Pentax. Targeting schools, students, moms and dads, even some Latino marketing would probably make more sense. It's all about identifying the customers -- demographics and psychographics -- TV ad spots don't let you finely target your customers, I think internet ads, Facebook, and (yikes, am I saying this?!) even social media would be the way to go for Pentax given its marketing budget relative to what Nikon and Canon spend on ads, sponsorships, celebrity endorsements, etc. Let's face it, there's an uphill battle to convince people who think Canon+Nikon = "good camera" , and "Sony" = "oh yeah, I have a SONY TV, DVD player, I guess they make good cameras too", that they should also consider a Pentax ("Pentax who?") I think there's a certain "personality type" for those who choose to go with Pentax, it's all about understanding what that type of person is, who they are, where they live, hang out (in real life and in cyberspace), who they are influenced by, and then get the brand and product messaging in front of them as often as possible. And make it easy for them to buy... I am spoiled living in NYC, there's a few professional camera stores w/ Pentax gear... if I lived elsewhere, I think my choices for finding PEntax stuff would be greatly limited. Internet shopping is great for brands and gear that you already know, for stuff you don't know, it's always better to be able to hold the product in your hand, even if you end up shopping online afterwards... (the "Amazon showroom" syndrome many retailers experience nowadays). </p>

<p>So I'm waiting for the day Pentax is selling in Costco. I won't hold my breath, but that route is what seems to make the most sense to me. Also the Pentax Gallery thingy should be more "social" and be better integrated in Facebook some how. Sometimes I think they should just run a campaign around "Pentax, Poor man's Leica".. piggyback off Leica's brand. LIke Avis.. "We're Number Two, We Try Harder" campaign that helped propel their sales and brand from nobody to somebody in the auto rental biz.</p>

 

[stemked]

<p>I have to agree with David. Cameras in general look like they are becoming more and more a niche market with most general public I know happy with their images off their smart phones. Pentax has often been criticized for not advertising enough. They have obviously done it a lot more in Japan than elsewhere. For example<br /> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rj5-49IW_U<br>

and what I think must be one of the world's worst commercials (I hope it translates better in Japanese)<br>

<br /> I have seen a few recent commercials on-line, beautiful Japanese models with cute Pentax digital point and shoots. Probably this is the business strategy that will work most effectively for them.</p>

[ukhov]

<p>Last time I saw Pentax and Ricoh together was old comedy movie "Fantomas" ! </p>

[r.t. dowling]

<p>David M.: rumor has it that Pentax is trying to get some of their cameras onto the shelves of Target stores.</p>

<p>My local Target has a standalone display for the Nikon "1" series cameras and it's quite eyecatching. It would be cool to see a similar display with the K-01 and whatever Pentax's current tough/waterproof P&S cam is called.</p>

[davidmantilla]

R.T., interesting stuff. I am not sure Target is

good idea, though. People may want to ask

a Target employee about the camera; high

chance that that person won't be able to sell

Pentax's virtues.

 

At Costco on other hand, no expectation

that an employee will help in purchasing

decision. It's on the shelf, there's a flyer,

price or something innovative may sway the

consumer -- good merchandising copy

required here. My dad recently bought an

Olympus Pen this way at Costco. Thought it

looked cool, interchangeable lens, half the

price of entry level Canon dSLR. No

salesman involved. He bought it. Why not

have Pentax there too?

[davidmantilla]

On more thing... I believe Vizio started thru

selling primarily thru Costco, back when it

was still a small startup company. No TV

ads, practically no publicity or ads, just

good products at compelling prices, right

next to big brand expensive TVs. Now its the

number 1 seller of HDTVs. Not sure Pentax

wants to compete on price alone, but I do

think there is an analogous opportunity to

compete directly against Canon and NIKON

(like Vizio did against Sony and Samsung) on

a Costco warehouse floor.

[stemked]

<p>I think Target won't work either. There are too many Target stores Pentax would have to really up its production line and if the cameras don't sell, their price would crash. <br>

I do wish Pentax would get back into more 'real' camera shops and get representatives to teach dealers about PENTAX'S product. The last time Pentax pulled their products out of a lot of the bigger stores they left a lot of bad blood with the dealers.</p>

[duane_mills]

<p>I agree that Pentax's advertising is virtually nonexistent and that a strategic marketing plan would grow market share. Canon, Nikon and Sony have larger marketing budgets and much more flexibility. Pentax, with a modest customer base needs to try a more innovative approach leveraging multiple channels. TV is very targeted because advertising time-slots are purchased with programming. Certain programs have specific audience demographics that are desirable for specific products. Unfortunately both the production budgets and and airtime pricing of the most desirable time slots makes it cost prohibitive for many companies. TV can work very well if you do it right but it's also just as easy to invest a ton of capital without any successful result if the creative is less than spectacular or the wrong time slots were selected (usually based on budget). In today's economy on-line TV commercials are out performing on-air TV commercials 3-to-1 because You Tube is both entertaining and a huge search engine.</p>

<p>Mass media in all markets is very fragmented. TV has been impacted by PVR, satellite and cable. Radio has been impacted by MP3 players and satellite radio. Newsprint has eroded as it's yesterday's news today in a world where the internet (aka splinternet) can provide news in real time but is also quite fragmented.Did you know that 68% of North Americans are interested in ad-blocking technology?</p>

<p>Social media has advantages, but it is first and foremost social. People want to be entertained with social media not sold to. Companies that fail with social media also forget that it's a discussion not a one-way push. Social is an investment in brand health but measuring conversion to sales is extremely difficult at best. The advantage of social is the ability to change the discussion - give people something to talk about and create buzz. Mitsubishi Canada has done this well with their "5 World Records" video. They don't have a Toyota or Honda budget but have been creative to punch well above their weight.</p>

<p>One of the largest mistakes most companies make is forgetting to leverage the existing databases of current and lapsed clients. These are people who have said; "I like your product", "I trust your brand", "I'll spend my hard earned money on your products". Starting with an already established trust and permission based relationship is the fastest way to grow. When you reconnect with existing customers they buy again 34% faster, the average purchase grows 25% over time and you reduce the possibility that they will purchase a competitive product or service by 49% (Source DMA Marketing Trends). It costs 11 times more to win a new customer than it costs to re-engage and existing or lapsed customer. Up-sell, cross-sell, referral and loyalty campaigns that are facilitated through 1-to-1 communication are the most efficient way to grow revenues quickly and maintain a stable long-term base. </p>

<p>The way for Pentax to start would be to begin targeted, personalized, campaigns to Pentaxians. Start with harvesting warranty data and connect direct. Maximize opportunity. If an individual has purchased a DA 40 ltd, send a thank-you and a personalized offer to also add a DA 21 or DA 70 to their lens collection. Maybe it's an offer for a free wireless remote if you purchase a flash. Perhaps it's trade-in offer if you upgrade your K-10D to a K-5. The possibilities are endless. Return on relationship is the new currency in the global economy. I believe Pentax is failing to capture it's share of wallet with existing customers.</p>

<p>The next step would be to create buzz. It doesn't have to be costly to be done right and gain traction. Below is a link to You Tube video produced by The Camera Store in Calgary Alberta. An independent retailer. The video was circulated by employees via Facebook and picked up by a few blogs. It went viral and 2.2 Million people have viewed it in just under a year:

<p>Connect direct and create buzz - the best ways to market on a modest budget.</p>

<p> </p>

[davidmantilla]

<p>Duane, great points. When I mentioned "Pentax should get someone w/ analytical capabilities" I was referring to the "leverage your existing customer base" approach you outlined in your post. From the outside looking in, Pentax has a lot of low-hanging fruit re: things they could do to improve their marketing capabilities. Seems shocking they haven't tried these already, I can only assume it's because they are understaffed or have no budget.</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Pentax has re-appeared in some of the few remaining camera shops. Cameraland in NYC had stopped selling Pentax, but now they do stock it. I handled K-01 and Q there last week. They have a couple of 645D's in their case too. They were also willing to match B&H/Adorama price.</p>

<p>I agree with some other posters here that Pentax probably needs a bit more brick & mortar retail presence before spending much money on TV advertising.</p>

[jeremy_corbin]

<p>Target and Walmart are a wash for buying electronics. Period.<br>

I worked at Target for 3 years in college and I was the most knowledgeable person they had in electronics. The electronics manager was always calling me over to help them explain cameras to the customers. We'd almost never sell DSLRs (maybe 2 a month), regardless of the brand.<br>

Most of their sales are pocketable cameras purely due to their size. They carry the entry-level Canon and Nikon along with the kit lenses. Nothing else. No Limiteds, Macros, or DA* lenses would be on their shelves. You'd see the K-r and the kit lenses and that's it.<br>

All-in-all, the brick and mortar stores like Target and Walmart can provide opportunity to get someone (someone that's already interested) started, but without the staff being trained to know as much about photography as video games.... it's a serious waste of time. I feel similarly about Costco and Sam's Club: If the kid has to look at the barrel of the kit lens to tell me the aperture of it... he doesn't know the product. He'll rely on his ability to see Ashton Kutcher hold a Nikon to recommend it. Maybe my particular Costco just doesn't spend the time to train their employees on their products.</p>

<p>Pentax customers are probably the best resource Pentax has. If Pentax can get them to make photos and videos, show off their work, use the nearly-free resources they have they could get something moving. How many of us saw Pentax promote <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CFoQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F9537950&ei=xoGtT9KqNYia9gTKgeWNDQ&usg=AFQjCNEd3tnXfXtGnQd-3jDCSQI4z5IYzg"><em>Uncle Jack</em></a> a few years back when the K7 came out? That was an excellent way to promote themselves using the work of their customers. It was a win-win for both artist and manufacturer.<br>

But what do I know? I'm not a marketing analyst.</p>