[Adam]

All I'm going to say is that Pentax is really missing out on a lot of publicity by not having a booth at PhotoPlus. It's sad, like the brand doesn't even exist!

I was at B&H today and the Pentax camera stand was the only one without a single customer browsing gear...pretty sad considering that B&H is the only store in the US to carry every single Pentax product.

Adam
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[Winder]

All I'm going to say is that Pentax is really missing out on a lot of publicity by not having a booth at PhotoPlus. It's sad, like the brand doesn't even exist!

I was at B&H today and the Pentax camera stand was the only one without a single customer browsing gear...pretty sad considering that B&H is the only store in the US to carry every single Pentax product.

They have a lot of work to do, but it appears that Ricoh is making a real effort to market.

How have click through sales been for the K-3? better than the K-5 or the K-5II?

[johnmflores]

All I'm going to say is that Pentax is really missing out on a lot of publicity by not having a booth at PhotoPlus. It's sad, like the brand doesn't even exist!

23,000 people attended PhotoPLUS last year.
13,000 people have watched this video since it was posted yesterday

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

Which do you think is a better allocation of limited resources?

[JinDesu]

23,000 people attended PhotoPLUS last year.
13,000 people have watched this video since it was posted yesterday

The New Standard of Performance - YouTube


Which do you think is a better allocation of limited resources?

Obviously a full frame camera, duh~

[Steve.Ledger]

And for a while I was thinking this might be a K-3 thread without any mention of a FF..

[Winder]

23,000 people attended PhotoPLUS last year.
13,000 people have watched this video since it was posted yesterday

The New Standard of Performance - YouTube


Which do you think is a better allocation of limited resources?

But of the 13,000 who have watched the video how many of them did it because they got the e-mail from Pentax and clicked through..... People who already own and use Pentax equipment...... People who are on Pentax's North American mailing list... I got the e-mail from Pentax, so I assume thousands of other Pentax users did too.... 13,000 is starting to look like a small number.

The people who attend PPE are mostly professional wedding and portrait togs who have no exposure to Pentax (unless they are old enough to have shot the 67II), but there will also be a good number of tech and industry bloggers there who will get a chance to play with the K-3 and write about it. PDN puts on the show and it would be nice to see a big write up in their magazine (or Range Finder).

[Alizarine]

Last October 16, Pentax Philippines came up with an event in partnership with the country's top photography magazine. I attended the event along with some other Pentaxians (and a whole lot more non-Pentax). They took the effort to show off the product even though it was a very small event - making us local Pentax shooters very confident about Pentax's bigger participation in future events.

The event was about shooting glamour featuring the Pentax 645D, hosted by... guess what, a Canon shooter. A Canon shooter promoting Pentax... nice.


I don't know how Ricoh manages its marketing outside Japan, but I guess Pentax-USA should've given PhotoPlus a good shot to promote products. It's a decent event in a big city...

[Adam]

How have click through sales been for the K-3? better than the K-5 or the K-5II?

It's too early to say, but there's no question that the K-3 will out-sell the K-5 II by a huge margin. The K-5 was already pretty successful though, so we'll see!

[awaldram]

You mustn't forget the US is a minority market for Pentax, I doubt Pentax US have a large budget and woudl imagine following the loss leader lens price debacle (when prices returned to world levels the screams could be heard from the UK ) their use of funds is closely monitored from Japan.
In this environment a large 'splash' at any US event is unlikely.
Pentax have a long hard road to get back credibility with their parent and trust from the market.
It seems to me their approaching the task correctly and professionally .

[derekkite]

It sounds like when Adam and others asked whether they would be there, the folks in the office asked, are we there? Why not? then did the best possible without a spot and short notice.

[RobA_Oz]

It sounds like when Adam and others asked whether they would be there, the folks in the office asked, are we there? Why not? then did the best possible without a spot and short notice.

I'd be disturbed if that were the case, if I was in senior management in Ricoh Japan, or even Ricoh Imaging in the US. It's the job of marketing divisions to know about things like major trade shows, and to make a judgment about what to attend and in what form. They shouldn't have to rely on happenstance to alert them to opportunities.

[johnmflores]

But of the 13,000 who have watched the video how many of them did it because they got the e-mail from Pentax and clicked through..... People who already own and use Pentax equipment...... People who are on Pentax's North American mailing list... I got the e-mail from Pentax, so I assume thousands of other Pentax users did too.... 13,000 is starting to look like a small number.

13k after just one day. And Pentax, if they have their act together, will know how many have come from their email, or PentaxForums, or DPReview ,etc. I'll be curious to see how that number grows in the next couple of months and from what sources.

This long format infomercial is much smarter than the billboards they tried in the Upper Midwest or a traditional :30 for television (whose production costs might be similar but whose media cost would be huge). For a casual observer it is both informative and entertaining. I'd love to see lead-in ads for this video placed on other videos on YouTube (I.e, D300, 7D videos, etc...)

The people who attend PPE are mostly professional wedding and portrait togs who have no exposure to Pentax (unless they are old enough to have shot the 67II), but there will also be a good number of tech and industry bloggers there who will get a chance to play with the K-3 and write about it. PDN puts on the show and it would be nice to see a big write up in their magazine (or Range Finder).

Pentax had a good-sized booth last year (and a smaller one the year before) and I can assure you that a large % of attendees just walked by without noticing. So take that 23k, lop off 50% (or 60% or 80%, depending on how pessimistic you are) and you've got a better idea of how many people stopped by the Pentax booth. Sure, there's the blogger effect, but I bet that Pentax can handle this better and more cost-effectively by identifying the top 20% influential sites and developing relationships with them.

It's a trade show so you've got to spend even more $ to get a good location on the floor and more $ to create a buzz, whether it's a half pipe like Sony did or nude painted models like Unique. I've worked with the marketing departments of many companies and most think that trade shows are of dubious value but still do them because of inertia.

[Winder]

When does the fiscal year start for most Japanese companies? The Allen Birnbach promotion piece is the first of the marketing campaign. It might just be an issue of a new budget for the new fiscal year.

[Winder]

13k after just one day

13,763 as of today and the video came out 3 days ago, so if your number is right only 763 people have watched it since the first launch. The vast majority of those are people who clicked trough from the e-mail campaign.

So take that 23k, lop off 50%

OK so 11,500 people, but the majority of those people are not current Pentax users. Maybe 3% of the professional/enthusiast photographers who go to PPE have used or are using Pentax.

The show is a waste of money if your just going to setup a small table in the back corner and be invisible. Given the number of photographers who blog, making a splash at a show like this could generate 10x the exposure through social media.

The video is cool, but its just a targeted commercial and part of a much bigger add campaign. PPE is the last big event in North America and comes just as the K-3 is going to market. Its sad that Pentax didn't take advantage of PPE and the possible exposure.

[NicoleC]

I think black has a beautiful technical look, so that's my preference.
For those who have commented on the colour, you have been thinking kids and toys. Wrong !
There is a large and growing interest in photography from women and Pentax is being smart by trying to capture the female side of the market.

I don't think it's a women's thing. Granted I'm not one of those women, but there's a difference between matching $100 shoes to your outfit and a $1300 camera. And those with expensive purses and shoes and the money to indulge it don't seem to be a likely group to lug around ugly camera bags.

It might be a Japanese thing. Youth culture in Japan seems to be crazy about bright colors right now. Then again, so is my niece, so maybe it's just a youth thing.

I think the analogy about car colors is more accurate. Sometimes people just want something different. Enough to sway someone away from the favorite brand? Probably not. A Ford guy isn't going to buy a Chevy because he likes the new orange paint. But for casual buyers who aren't brand loyal (yet) it might attract them.