[benjikan]

"What Pentax Needs Now"...? Is a comprehensive and focused marketing strategy that is global in scope and universally consistent. It is what all of the major brands have done for ions, like Benetton, Nike etc. They must remain consistent for at least 2 years as to affect the public in such a way that when they see the advert or the message that it is immediately discernible, instant and without forethought...The campaign and the product become a melding of "1". BRAND awareness should be their primary goal. They must set a new paradigm that kick starts their message in such a way that it shocks the public into recognition of their "BRAND" name. It must be totally off the wall and out of the box. Many will protest, but that is a good thing. Saying you are different is a simple matter of stating that "We Are Different". But being different is taking an action that is precipitated on an approach that is novel, inconsistent and irregular. I doubt if Pentax wish to take this course. They need to choose their media carefully as to target their desired market with pin point accuracy. There are very novel new approaches available that have yet to be utilized to accomplish this goal. I will not go any further, but will say that if Pentax wish to stand out from the crowd, they need to instill in the public's mindset something novel, titillating and unique to break with convention...

I have many specific operational methods that I have used for other clients to accomplish these goals, but...

There is my FREE advice.

Benjamin Kanarek

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Last edited by benjikan; 05-03-2009 at 03:32 AM.

[Pål Jensen]

Couldn't agree more....

[pcarfan]

Benjamin,

I agree...Pentax should put you in their payroll.

[monochrome]

Interesting

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Last edited by monochrome; 05-03-2009 at 06:29 AM.

[benjikan]

Interesting

Yes I agree...Ok. Now prove it!

[Cambo]

"What Pentax Needs Now"...? Is a comprehensive and focused marketing strategy that is global in scope and universally consistent. It is what all of the major brands have done for ions, like Benetton, Nike etc. They must remain consistent for at least 2 years as to affect the public in such a way that when they see the advert or the message that it is immediately discernible, instant and without forethought...The campaign and the product become a melding of "1". BRAND awareness should be their primary goal. They must set a new paradigm that kick starts their message in such a way that it shocks the public into recognition of their "BRAND" name. It must be totally off the wall and out of the box. Many will protest, but that is a good thing. Saying you are different is a simple matter of stating that "We Are Different". But being different is taking an action that is precipitated on an approach that is novel, inconsistent and irregular. I doubt if Pentax wish to take this course. They need to choose their media carefully as to target their desired market with pin point accuracy. There are very novel new approaches available that have yet to be utilized to accomplish this goal. I will not go any further, but will say that if Pentax wish to stand out from the crowd, they need to instill in the public's mindset something novel, titillating and unique to break with convention...

I have many specific operational methods that I have used for other clients to accomplish these goals, but...

There is my FREE advice.

Benjamin Kanarek

Yup...branding; they STARTED to do it, with their 'I am a Pentaxian' campaign, but then they fizzled out. They've kept the red design scheme, but that's about it...

Couldn't agree more....

Benjamin,

I agree...Pentax should put you in their payroll.

Yes I agree...Ok. Now prove it!

They certainly have a LONG way to go to reclaim even a part of their former glory; it's too bad they let themselves get in this position, but they're not the only company to do that; look at Chrysler, still putting out 5400 lb cars in the midst of the biggest gas crisis in history. I drove one of their 340 horsepower cars, and it was totally gutless because of the ridiculous curb weight - it needed 340 horsepower just to feel adequate. Small wonder they didn't survive - management was just TOTALLY out to lunch.

Anyway, in retrospect, Pentax has come along nicely since the K1D disaster, they've been scrambling, but the K10/20 cameras were somewhat revolutionary in features set, they just really need a REVOLUTIONARY marketing scheme to go with this new batch of cameras coming out. My recent pessimism over the fate of the company has subsided now, and has given way to optimism about Pentax's direction now; this camera looks very intriguing, I just hope it's not more BS like the recent 'White Plastic Camera' debacle...that was just stupifyingly bad; good for a handful of 14 year old girls, but really, really bad for the loyal Pentaxian photographers wondering if the company was going under as it has been silent for so long...and then then big announcement was a white plastic camera identical to their black one!



A brief step backwards, but it's onwards and upwards now.

So Ben, have you seen it, or have any inside info at all? Can you give us a few winky faces if this is something really good that we all should be looking forward to? Or should I put my FA* glass up on Ebay and bail before the bottom truly drops out?

Just curious. Looking forward to the 21st, ladies & gentlemen.

Cheers,
Cameron

[dopeytree]

The trouble with the I am a pentaxian adverts were that they mainly were for current and past pentaxians nothing to do withpicking up new recruits and thats the whole point of a marketing programn to create brand awareness and bring in new folk.

I still think if they could be bothered to market to students they'd be sorted, as many students don't have a massive budget and would love the primes etc fro their size.

They just need to also shout about the high profile pentax users much more so people realise.

[benjikan]

The trouble with the I am a pentaxian adverts were that they mainly were for current and past pentaxians nothing to do withpicking up new recruits and thats the whole point of a marketing programn to create brand awareness and bring in new folk.

I still think if they could be bothered to market to students they'd be sorted, as many students don't have a massive budget and would love the primes etc fro their size.

They just need to also shout about the high profile pentax users much more so people realise.

I think you are missing the point here. At this point in time it is not about, limited lenses, white bodies, cute accessories or what ever. It is about associating the brand with a mind set or image. Brand awareness is about specific attributes and characteristics that consumers wish to associate with. For consumers to adopt a brand there must be a "raison d'etre" to do so. Talking about this lens or that lens or this model and that model is not a "raison d'etre" it is the cataloging of their wares. That is all. Pentax must define their image and translate that in to a medium that those they wish to target can relate to and emotionally attach themselves to. I don't wish to waste anymore of my precious time on this, as I already attempted to do so in the past with Pentax. This is their problem and they are Big enough to know how to play this game...sort of.

[illdefined]

"Just hold a Pentax"

[monochrome]

My grandmother gave me a black KX and K50/1.4 kit as a college graduation present in 1977.

She called it, "A thinking man's camera."

That is what Ben is talking about; a camera for people who are somehow different than the norm, backed up by real differences from the mainstream brands..

Is Pentax interesting?
Is Pentax for interesting people?
If you use Pentax, will other people think you are interesting?

Is Pentax for people who think about what they buy and why they buy it?
Is Pentax for people who think about what they shoot and how they shoot it?
Is Pentax for people who think about what they do; who make choices rather than just following the (contrived) accepted wisdom?
If you use Pentax, will other people think you are discerning?

I think so - but Pentax needs to convince more people of that - and keep covincing them for many, many years.

[Philippos]

Hire the guys from Apple.
They're experts in selling the brand name, no matter what the product is.

[jsherman999]

.


Here's what I would have done at PMA when the K20D came out last year:

1) Put a kit together consisting of the K20D, grip, flash, and three lenses: DA 35ltd, DA* 50-135 2.8 and DA* 16-50 2.8.

2) Put the kit in a nice stainless Pelican case with foam cutouts matching the equipment, very slick looking presentation.

3) Do that, say, 35 times.

4) On the floor of PMA, get on a PA on a raised platform at your booth, and start reading off names of certain attendees that you know are present at the time - your 'spotters' have seen then come in. CNET reviewers, Popular Photography reviewers, Engadget people, certain pro photogs.

5) Give each of these people a kit.

Now, with reviewers, you can't say it's a gift - it has to be a loan. But you can make it clear to them that they can take their sweet time getting it back - and make sure to not give any specifics about who/when/where to get it back to, exactly.

This would grab all the attention at PMA for hours. People who weren't given kits would be jealous, possibly asking for one, asking to look at the kits that were given out. You'd steal the show for a while, all the press would be about you for several days.

Mail the remaining kits out to people like Mike Johnston and ctein.

After it cooks for a couple months, and all these people have been shooting with these exceptional kits for several months and their reviews have started to come out in the magazines and online - the K20D + those lenses would start getting smoking hot. CaNikonians who are fully invested in their systems would buy the K20D + a DA* or limited as their second kit. It would be hot, Pentax would be seen as dead serious and gutsy...

Lost opportunity. Maybe they can do something like that with the K-7.


.

[dopeytree]

I think you are missing the point here. At this point in time it is not about, limited lenses, white bodies, cute accessories or what ever. It is about associating the brand with a mind set or image. Brand awareness is about specific attributes and characteristics that consumers wish to associate with. For consumers to adopt a brand there must be a "raison d'etre" to do so. Talking about this lens or that lens or this model and that model is not a "raison d'etre" it is the cataloging of their wares. That is all. Pentax must define their image and translate that in to a medium that those they wish to target can relate to and emotionally attach themselves to. I don't wish to waste anymore of my precious time on this, as I already attempted to do so in the past with Pentax. This is their problem and they are Big enough to know how to play this game...sort of.

I think they should target the wider outdoorsy type not veryone in this category is over 40. Infact a lot are much younger and I would like to see pentax DO something! instead of evoking emotion attacthments with just current users they need to figure a way to evoke these with a wider audience. Otherwise how will you ever catch someone that would otherwise buy a nikon, canon, olympus, sony, panasonic blah blah...

I can't seem to attach items at the moment.. will attach the pentaxian add later

[jake123]

What's pentax's target audience anyway.

Just the hikers?

[falconeye]

Hire the guys from Apple.
They're experts in selling the brand name, no matter what the product is.

Apple excels in having a man with a clear vision. The marketing is downhill from there.