[Clicker]

Gentlemen.....we are talking about Marketing? If there is any appreciable Marketing from Pentax it will signal a new direction, without doubt. My local hardware store does more Marketing in my small town that Pentax did in America last year. In my local tiny Metroplex of 4 Million +people, there is not a Pentax camera to be seen anywhere for sale that I am aware of....and even less Marketing...if that is possible. Maybe you guys know something I don't?
Regards!

The USA is a HUUUUUGE market even big name brands pick and choose which geographic locations to heavily promote their brand, i'm sure Pentax with limit funds (not sure now with Ricoh) like all the other brands will try and spend most of their media budget at the biggest photo specific geographic locations first where they can get the most value for the dollar.
When Pentax does their national campaigns they base it on tonnage first and this is usually based on the CPM of the traget market they want to reach *value...value...value*

Demographics of their target market would usually be in the biggest markets in the USA usually meaning the biggest populated cities with a high ratio of consumer spending on photograpic eqiupment; that said, buying media isn't cheap we're talking multi-millions on just ONE campaign to get adequate reach which never happens even with the biggest brands out there.

So basically Rupert although you have 4million+ that market is most likely puny in comparison to NYC, LA or San Francisco starting out at 30million+ reach.

AND it costs a lot just to reach the smallest of those three...the best Pentax has is you, me and other members in their respective locations to spread the word of Pentax by "word-of-mouth"

Every event i shoot now i tell them i post here and make sure they see my Pentax...hopefully they don't come looking to arrest me LOL

here in Canada the Pentax brand isn't as strong as Canon and Nikon hell even Sony seems to have more recognition and i personally think it wasn't because of PR but because the products were as advance as Canon or Nikon BUT that is slowly changing and if we start our local meets in bigger groups i'm sure that will help a lot...but realistically it's going to be a very BIG challenge for Pentax to boost it's brand in North America as Nikon, Canon and Sony have been front and center all this time.

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Last edited by Clicker; 02-25-2012 at 06:16 PM.

[MSM]

They need to keep it simple. " Buy a PRic-Bric!" (I am trademarking that)
Mark

[Clicker]

gentlemen.....we are talking about marketing? If there is any appreciable marketing from pentax it will signal a new direction, without doubt. My local hardware store does more marketing in my small town that pentax did in america last year. In my local tiny metroplex of 4 million +people, there is not a pentax camera to be seen anywhere for sale that i am aware of....and even less marketing...if that is possible. Maybe you guys know something i don't?
Regards!

they need to keep it simple. " buy a pric-bric!" (i am trademarking that)
mark

lol :d:d

[Tonto]

Ads in fashion and design mags, get a bunch of celebs to use them. Maybe they have one stashed in each of the oscar goodie bags this year! (actually a good idea but a bit late for that)
Ok seriously- visibility is what is required, so maybe product placements in movies and TV. No endorsements as such as you wan't people to ask "Oh what is that camera" rather than tell them. Give them out to influential people in the target market(s) who love taking photos and videos who arn't regular DSLR users.

[wlachan]

I know nothing about marketing, but from my consumer POV, marketing based on spec is so outdated and boring, it is a dead end. This is what MS does. Take lessons from Apple. Your ads don't have to bore everyone with spec, just show people what it can do in different classy ways and people will take notice. Stick with the old way and people will pass by w/o notice.

[Clicker]

Ads in fashion and design mags, get a bunch of celebs to use them. Maybe they have one stashed in each of the oscar goodie bags this year! (actually a good idea but a bit late for that)
Ok seriously- visibility is what is required, so maybe product placements in movies and TV. No endorsements as such as you wan't people to ask "Oh what is that camera" rather than tell them. Give them out to influential people in the target market(s) who love taking photos and videos who arn't regular DSLR users.

There's always some sort of payment with celebrities, movies and shows and it's never a garauntee they'll help promote the brand. They have to go thru channels meaning the agents.

[Clicker]

I know nothing about marketing, but from my consumer POV, marketing based on spec is so outdated and boring, it is a dead end. This is what MS does. Take lessons from Apple. Your ads don't have to bore everyone with spec, just show people what it can do in different classy ways and people will take notice. Stick with the old way and people will pass by w/o notice.

Most advertising is based on lifestyle, i've only remembered one Apple ad and it was Get a Mac "Apple vs PC".

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Last edited by Clicker; 02-25-2012 at 08:59 PM.

[Tonto]

There's always some sort of payment with celebrities, movies and shows and it's never a garauntee they'll help promote the brand. They have to go thru channels meaning the agents.

Yup, thats how it works. Don't see any K-01s ever getting in any Columbian Tristar movies of course!

[Rmel26]

I could actually see the K01 being considered by existing micro 4 3 users. Now that I have the Olympus EPL1, i could see the advantage of having a pocketable micro 4 3 camera with a wide pancake lens and a K mount camera with a 40 or 70 limited.

I think Pentax main objective is to get more new users into the Pentax system. Their biggest selling point are the limited collection. Putting in the K5 sensor means they are positioning these at a much higher level than existing micro 4 3 offerings. I don't think not having an EVF is a serious disadvantage for K01 plus portrait prime. The CDAF can be most likely be optimized to focus on eyes, and no one wants to take portraits on harsh lighting anyway.

[johnmflores]

I had an interesting exchange with a Canon fanboy on the K-01

Digital cameras, point & shoot

I agree with you 100%. Many people ask me for camera advice when they are stepping up from a point-and-shoot. Their assumption is that the next step is a dSLR. Some like the idea because they want to wear a big camera around their neck like a trophy. Some have been bitten by the photography bug and you can tell that their first dSLR is just one step on a long journey. Others want better quality but are frankly intimidated by dSLRs and/or are busy with their lives and can't dedicate the time to learn what all of the buttons do. I can easily see myself recommending the K-01 to this last group.

[utopian]

I agree with you 100%. Many people ask me for camera advice when they are stepping up from a point-and-shoot. Their assumption is that the next step is a dSLR. Some like the idea because they want to wear a big camera around their neck like a trophy. Some have been bitten by the photography bug and you can tell that their first dSLR is just one step on a long journey. Others want better quality but are frankly intimidated by dSLRs and/or are busy with their lives and can't dedicate the time to learn what all of the buttons do. I can easily see myself recommending the K-01 to this last group.

definitely, and the k-01 is light enough too

[JFN]

Ads in fashion and design mags, get a bunch of celebs to use them. Maybe they have one stashed in each of the oscar goodie bags this year! (actually a good idea but a bit late for that)
Ok seriously- visibility is what is required, so maybe product placements in movies and TV. No endorsements as such as you wan't people to ask "Oh what is that camera" rather than tell them. Give them out to influential people in the target market(s) who love taking photos and videos who arn't regular DSLR users.

Yup, TV is the sh*t, put a K-01 in a <insert world famous rap-artist name here> video would probably be very efficient, or even better, in next "Sex and the city" movie.

[JFN]

Others want better quality but are frankly intimidated by dSLRs and/or are busy with their lives and can't dedicate the time to learn what all of the buttons do. I can easily see myself recommending the K-01 to this last group.

I think you're rIght on the money there, afaics a part of that audience is indeed included in the target group for K-01.

[spartan]

"think you're rIght on the money there, afaics a part of that audience is indeed included in the target group for K-01."

This camera is targeted to new users, not existing dSLR users. Based upon the reaction of people in this forum, pentax made a big mistake if it expected existing dslr user to get this.

[jogiba]

"think you're rIght on the money there, afaics a part of that audience is indeed included in the target group for K-01."

This camera is targeted to new users, not existing dSLR users. Based upon the reaction of people in this forum, pentax made a big mistake if it expected existing dslr user to get this.

My last two camera purchases was the Panasonic GH2 and GH1 and the only reason I pre-ordered the K-01 is because it's light years better than the K-5 in video mode for a much lower price. Why would a new user want a K-01 more than someone with many K-mount lenses that shoots in video mode more than still mode ? If you are a still shooter get the K-5. I bet 90% of pre-orders are from current Pentax K-mount users. The K-01 is the world's first mirrorless camera that uses the full line of DSLR lenses and on top of that has IBIS with all 25 million K-mount lenses out there.