Sony promotional items?

[robert_paul1]

At the risk of being charged of being negative towards Sony and/or their DSLR

plans, I wonder if anyone has seen any type of ads, commercials, or

promotional material produced bt Sony? Does Sony have any sales brochures out

there, other than what is available at their website?

 

I ask, because I just got the latest issue of Outdoor Photographer, and on the

back cover is a full page ad for the new Pentax K1000D, which was announced

after the Sony DSLR. The ad wasn't very wordy, but at least it was more than

I've seen from Sony. The issue has a hands on test of the new Sony. Also, I

went to dpreview.com and looked at the announcement about the new Canon DSLR.

Their website had a video of the Canon Integrated Cleaning System, designed to

remove dust on the sensor low pass filter.

 

So far, all I've seen of the Sony Alpha has been their static low

informational website. This reminds me of how hard it was to get any type of

sales brochure or information from KonicaMinolta. I hope Sony is planning to

being more aggressive in their marketing effort.

[drjedsmith]

Well, for starters, there is the SONY Alpha ad at the top of the www.photo.net page.<BR>

As far as print material, I did see SONY Alpha ads in two magazines at Barns & Noble. I don't remember which ones, because I was just browsing, but at least there are a couple out there.<BR>

I agree there needs to be more, but I think it will come. There were also review articles on the Sony Alpha in nearly every photo mgazine this month, so that's good publicity.<BR>

Jed

[robert_paul1]

Jedidiah, thank you for your observation. I was beginning to wonder if Sony was just going to depend on the reviews in the magazines, which are always positive. Right now it seems that Sony is going after those that are already vested in the 'system', former K/M AF owners. Many of these users are at least, somewhat informed with the major selling points. However, in the long run, they need to go after newbies to the DSLR market and their marketing efforts needs to be more informational IMHO. As I mentioned, I watched the Canon video on their new sensor cleaning system and I feel more informed about that than I do about Sony's system.

[bill_thorlin]

24 page full size ( A4 ) heavyweight high gloss promotional brochure with the emphasis on the colour black. Pretty impressive.

 

24 page handy pocket size reference guide with same black ambience. Neat idea.

 

Both obtained from local store.

 

2 full ( linked ) page adverts in the September edition of Practical Photography with the same black "trademark" emphasis. Also in prior editions but cannot be bothered to count them up.

 

Perhaps you need to get out and about more and broaden your reading base.

[robert_paul1]

Bill, it's funny, but it seems that just like it was under K/M, that the Euros get this type of things faster. When the 7D came out, I got more info about the camera from the website on your side of the pond. Now that Sony is running the show, I'd of thought that things would be different. But as your compatibility info showed, the Sony UK site has more info than there is on this side. I've tried to find that info on the Sony USA site, but I can't find it.

[peterblaise]

.

 

Agreed about Europe versus the US. All my European, er, British photo mags have much more about the Sony Alpha A100 than any US mag.

 

Sony has 2-page spreads with fine print and small pictures on "digital days" not even SONY digital days" and only if you draw yourself in to read 'em can you tell it's roving seminars comin' to your town. But is it? 9 towns only? The US is BIT - 9 towns only? And it's co-hosted by "Clarkson Hotels Worldwide" ... excuse me, what kind of photography are we used to getting from Clarkson, eh? Okay, PhoPhoto, American Photo and Adobe are also co-sponsors, but it's an easily passable, so what kind of spread! I don;t know what I'd get out of it, I'm put off that it's a newbie only affair and they'd bore me to tears. Okay, more fine print, "coming soon" to 9 more towns. Beginner $69, Intermediate $99, both $139, and 2 days are listed in the calendar, so I presume each is a whole day. They also promise hands on with Sony gear, but o mention of the Alpha system. Free interactive CD - wow! (sarcasm - can I get the CD by contacting Sony marketing directly anyway?) Prizes, breakfast munchies and lunch. NO GEAR in the ad whatsoever, and no examples of what they'll cover. They do say novice to pro (really? I wonder how many full time pros feel it's gonna be worth their time?), but I read it as mostly "a pixel is ..." and tips and tricks and "how to buy a digicam for mum ..." with demo booths to play with their lineup. More at http://www.digitaldaysphoto.com/ - SEE? NO SONY in the name!?! Anyway, the web page has W-A-Y more, including many, many chimping shots of attendees. By the way, this was the ONLY Sony ad in the PhoPhoto August 2006 edition that cover-paged and fully reviewed and tested the new Sony Alpha A100 -- "SONY SHOCKS THE DSLR WORLD! $899 10.2MP WOW!". Sony missed it - GREAT review and no place to buy it?!?

 

NO Sony ad at all in Amateur Photography 5 August 2006 - the issue with the Sony Alpha A100 review.

 

Sony MEMORY STICK ad in What Digital Camera 2006 - again the issue that reviews the Sony Alpha A100. Vendors do, however, position it prominently in their laundry-list advert spreads in the back - http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/ and http://www.cameraworld.co.uk/ (nice full pager with Sony material "what is alpha?" and "why choose alpha?" -- co-op paid for by Sony, apparently -- and http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/ for instance. But no Sony Alpha A100 direct advert from Sony here! :-(

 

Photography Monthy August 2006 has a terse 1-pager, all in black, direct from Sony on the Alpha A100 - again, an issue with a review of the camera. Same, well, more classifieds mentioning and showing it, including a full page ad for Which Digital Camera August 2006 showing the camera with the flash up and firing on the cover - nice. That's the FIRST Sony Alpha A100 ad I'd seen FROM SONY.

 

Nothing in Photo Techniques September October 2006 (starting to go web PDF due to lack of adverts - a shame!).

 

FINALLY include the Alpha gear in their Digital Days 2-page spread -- very small pictures of the camera and 19 lenses and 2 teleconverters -- in PopPhoto September 2006 (versus many, many Nikon full 2-page spreads!). PopPhoto REVIEWED the Alpha A100 here with the lens, by the way, and said, when testing the kit Sony 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 "... wait...for the Carl Zeiss...?...unlikely that any comparable Zeiss lens will outperform this excellent 1-70mm zoom optically...:! ! ! Nice! But NO SONY AD FOR IT!

 

Pro Digital Imaging September 2006 reviews the Alpha and Sony is a no-show.

 

More later!

 

Click!

 

Love and hugs,

 

Peter Blaise peterblaise@yahoo.com Minolta Rokkor Alpha DiMage Photographer

http://www.peterblaisephotography.com/

[peterblaise]

.

 

Mad typist hurries again! 1-70mm (70x) zoom lens - I'd buy it! Should read:

 

PopPhoto REVIEWED the Alpha A100 here with the lens, by the way, and said, when testing the kit Sony 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 "... wait...for the Carl Zeiss...?...unlikely that any comparable Zeiss lens will outperform this excellent 1[8]-70mm zoom optically...:! ! !

[chris_harley1]

Lots of adds in the UK.Seen them in newspapers,flyers for warehouseexpress and jessops and in most of the photography magazines.I think they're doing a great job here.

[._._z]

A recent interview with a top Sony exec said that they hope to snag 10% of the DSLR business by early next year, which would displace Olympus as the #3 manufacturer of DSLRs.

 

To do that they had better have a larger marketing plan in effect before the Christmas buying season.

[m.l]

I was very surprised to find a full page Sony 100 DSLR add in our newspaper this saturday (de Volkskrant, the Netherlands). That was a new experience for me, I never saw a Minolta add in another place than a photo-magazine.

[bill_thorlin]

Two things that may be relevant are - 1) Sony can promote this to a wider market by including it in sales material in the box of other products sold and 2) there is probably quite a wide consumer base logged/locked in to their websites.

 

It does seem from some of the comments that Sony Europe is doing a better job and in some 15 languages to boot.