[lesmore49]

I sometimes worry that Pentax will eventually fade away.

Not because they can't make fine camera bodies and lenses....no not at all. The bodies and lenses are excellent.

They can't seem to market worth a darn.

I don't know what the issue is....money, lack of effective advertising....maybe both of these things and something else that I maybe missing.

I've had Pentax since 1968, but also Leica, Mamiya, Olympus, Canon, Zeiss, etc. I'm a camera junkie...so therefore I'm not a typical customer.

In 2006-7 I decided to change over from film to digital.

I spent a lot of time reading articles, both print material + internet. I also spoke to many photographers, camera store staff, tried Canon and Nikon, then decided to go with Pentax when the K10D came out.

Reviewing Canon, Nikon and Pentax equipment at the time, I came to the conclusion.that Pentax offered excellent, comparative quality for better prices.

But I did research. Many new to photography, don't research....they go with whatever make has the most in stock and is on sale.

I confess that being an old guy, I don't understand the new stuff like tweets, phone advertising, etc. Where do younger people...late teens- twenties....get their info on products that trigger them to buy stuff.

So what do you think Ricoh-Pentax needs to do, to plumb into the the newbie or experienced photography market ?

[monochrome]

I sometimes worry that Pentax will eventually fade away.

It isn't a questi0on of can't; it is a question of won't, and where - Why won't Pentax market more effectively?

Pentax primarily markets in Japan. Pentax markets quite effectively in Japan, using television, print and all the traditional tools. They use music celebrities in commercials to appeal to young buyers and colored cameras to stimulate sales in that segment. Apparently this marketing strategy is working.

They really don't do any significant marketing in North America and apparently little in most of Europe. Eventually they might embrace western markets again - but eventually is probably quite some number of years away. The infrastructure here to support visible marketing is nonexistent and extremely expensive to rebuild, and it will take many years to do, if it can be done at all.

Personally I am not at all confident we will ever see 'marketing' in the west, as we define the term, from Pentax, but that decision just might help the company to stay afloat. Ricoh will not allow Pentax to fade away, as you put it. Their best interest is to grow the brand at a consistent pace over a long period of years. Investing many millions of dollars in a speculative advertising and marketing program, beginning now and extending over decades, would be rejected by Ricoh's shareholders.

[j0n4hpk]

Here's a suggestion to Ricoh: contract professional photographers in the sport field that use Pentax (auto racing, tennis, baseball and basketball) for important televised events; create something like a "Ricoh / Pentax Moment" showcasing a spectacular photo of each event from the photographer (Why we should only see CaNikon shooters in the sidelines?); advertise on sports TV news programs (Pentax and Ricoh advanced products), outdoor activities TV programs (Pentax and Ricoh entry-level products) and sports and outdoor activities' news websites. Yes, Ricoh: this means budget for contract photographer(s), two different TV spots of 30 seconds and internet campaign. ("Somebody help me!"-paraphrasing The Mask.)

[monochrome]

Here's a suggestion to Ricoh: contract professional photographers in the sport field that use Pentax (auto racing, tennis, baseball and basketball) for important televised events; create something like a "Ricoh / Pentax Moment" showcasing a spectacular photo of each event from the photographer (Why we should only see CaNikon shooters in the sidelines?); advertise on sports TV news programs (Pentax and Ricoh advanced products), outdoor activities TV programs (Pentax and Ricoh entry-level products) and sports and outdoor activities' news websites. Yes, Ricoh: this means budget for contract photographer(s), two different TV spots of 30 seconds and internet campaign. ("Somebody help me!"-paraphrasing The Mask.)

1. I imagine very few sports/action photographers (in the sports you listed) use Pentax.
   1. None of their near-pro cameras is optimized for sports/action
   2. Pentax does not have the support infrastructure for profssional sports/action. Canon rules the support space, followed by Nikon.
2. Advertising on sports television is ridiculously expensive - it requires very high product cash flow to justify BEFORE the advertising is bought, which Ricoh / Pentax simply doesn't have. Television advertising is done long after a product has been through the early-adopters and acquirers phase; it happens when a product is well into the followers phase, to extend and deepen the product selection. Pentax is barely an early-adopter product in the west.
3. Sponsoring a photographer is perhaps possible, but you have to do something to make the sponsorship known to consumers, which means doing 1. and 2. - which they won't do at this time.

Pentax simply is NOT going to market the way Canon and Nikon market. The brand isn't big enough to do that.

[esrandall]

I don't see many Canikon TV spots over in the US, but they dominate the print ads. Maybe Ricoh feels the lead is too big over here, and that it would take too much time/cost too much money, to make a dent worth the cost. Maybe they're content to focus on the Japanese market. I'm not a long-timer like the majority of you all, but even to a newb like me, they don't seem interested in making a real mark in the US. Despite all of that, and coming up on my first year with my first DSLR (K-50) -- I have no regrets about the brand I went with.

[monochrome]

o a newb like me, they don't seem interested in making a real mark in the US.

They're interested but Ricoh can't fix in a couple years mistakes Pentax started making in the 70's.

The best way for Ricoh to get back into the US is to buy a camera-related company that already has infrastructure in place - something like Tiffen that already has a number of small brands. Brand roll-ups like Tiffen and LowePro (an offshoot of outdoor equipment maker LoweAlpine) are owned by families or Private Equity firms that might someday want an exit event. Ricoh certainly has the capital if such an opportunity arises - that may well be their strategy.

As movie cameras are shifted to digital the use of optical filters may diminish over time. Ricoh has a history of buying brands when the company is in decline, whose markets have shifted away from them, repurposing patents, manufacturing and distribution infrastructure. It would be deliciously ironic for Ricoh to end up owning Tiffen - a leading optical cine camera filter manufacturer - and directly compete with Hoya.

[Adam]

Ricoh is doing a much better job than Pentax under Hoya. They still have a very long ways to go outside of Japan, but I think they're on the right track.

Adam
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[monochrome]

Ricoh is doing a much better job than Pentax under Hoya. They still have a very long ways to go outside of Japan, but I think they're on the right track.

Certainly - but it doesn't seem visible yet to many Forum readers. The things Ricoh is doing here now are the things that have to happen first, before we can see the 'visible' marketing the OP is talking about.

[Miguel]

If the above is true enough with Japan being the primary audience for Pentax products, then in the US the brand is transitioning to cult status. At least among younger people who don't have memories of Pentax's heydays.
Perceptions and expectations of a cult brand are a little different.

M

[Adam]

Certainly - but it doesn't seem visible yet to many Forum readers. The things Ricoh is doing here now are the things that have to happen first, before we can see the 'visible' marketing the OP is talking about.

You're absolutely right. But at the same time, I think Ricoh is currently targeting users other than the majority of the folks who frequent the forum. They know that loyal/old-time Pentax users will most likely remain loyal, and in today's fast-paced market, they need to acquire/cater to new customers (with consumer products).

[stevebrot]

Pentax, why can't they market more effectively ?

Consensus among a certain subset of Pentax Forums members is that they are not as smart, wise, or experienced as the average forum pundit. If true, that is sad, sad, sad...


Steve

[beachgardener]

Do Ricoh want to market their cameras in the way that you seem to want them to? Perhaps they have a different business plan that doesn't seem to suit the wants of many here at P.F. I don't mind if they market how they wish as long as they keep producing some Pentax DSLR cameras and lenses from time to time in their usual high quality and seemingly small size, as such.

[kchamber4]

When the cameras were Pentax, camera stores were forced to either carry the full line or quit selling Pentax. At least that was what I was told at Wolf Camera. Wolf wanted to sell Pentax DSLRs, but only one or two lines and not everything. They also asked Pentax to create a private label Wolf Camera DSLR based upon the top of the line Pentax. Pentax said no to both. Now of course Wolf Camera is gone as well. (or at least I can't find them, locally). It looks like Ricoh is changing that by allowing Target to sell just one line of DSLR (K50).

I think getting Target, Best Buy, Fry's, etc to sell the K-50, the K-3, and perhaps the WGO or just one of these, would definitely help provide additional exposure. Of course, getting these stores to carry even on line, might be difficult. I've noticed that Walmart looks like it is discontinuing the sale of even the low end Nikon and Canons DSLRs.

[luftfluss]

I don't believe that traditional methods of marketing - TV, radio, and print - are as effective as they once were.

One traditionally effective method of marketing that continues to work: Payola.

Innovative products, and products that measure well, market themselves to a certain degree. People love having a singular number with which to determine a product's worth.

[Edgar_in_Indy]

I just about fell over when I saw a white Pentax K-50 on display in a Target a few months ago. Since then, I have seen the white K-50 at a couple other Target stores. Hopefully this is a good sign. It's hard to sell a camera when it's not in any stores!