By Claire Reilly
Samsung has outlined its digital imaging retail strategy for 2013, with the brand set to focus on connectivity and image sharing as one of the key selling points for its new camera line-up.
Craig Gillespie, Samsung Electronics Australia's business unit manager for digital imaging, spoke to Current.com.au today about the brand's focus in the digital camera category, and what retailers could expect from the brand this year.
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According to Gillespie, the power of Samsung's connectivity message across the "family" of Smart cameras can be summed up in three words: share, save and control.
"The message to sell on a retail level and the whole point of the Smart camera is not just that it's wireless and you can connect it, but it allows you to share, it allows you to save and it allows you to control the camera," said Gillespie.
"I can connect to a device, like my phone or my tab, to transfer photos, I can connect to my device and use it as a viewfinder, or I can use my phone as a wireless hotspot and actually upload directly to email, without having to go on the phone and then go from the phone to email or Facebook.
"So I can use my phone as a middleman, I can use it as a controller or I can actually walk into my house and set it up so all my photos directly transfer to my PC using my wireless network at home.
"There's a whole lot of functionality. In terms of getting that all across to the consumer in one single sentence, it comes back to the fact that it allows you to share, it allows you to save and it allows you to control the camera. So those three points are exactly what the wireless benefits are."
According to Gillespie, Samsung has found the most success selling these benefits by actually demonstrating them to consumers, whether they're interested in a $149 camera or a $999 camera.
"The remote viewfinder demonstration that we do takes about 2 minutes to demonstrate," he said. "We did some market research and the 'Wows' and 'Oooohs' and the instant appeal to the consumer in that 2-minute demonstration was enough that people were saying 'I need a wireless camera' or, 'What have you got in a wireless camera?'
"So the higher ASP products were being sold, and the functionality of the camera, the benefit to the consumer — consumers instantly got what it was capable of doing. It has real instant appeal for the consumer. When you're doing the demonstration, people say 'I get that, that's the value'."
The new line-up of Samsung Smart cameras features four existing models, including the NX20 (RRP $999) and NX1000 (RRP $649) interchangeable lens mirrorless models, the Galaxy Camera (RRP $599) and the compact EX2F (RRP $499).
Seven new models have been added this year. This includes the new NX300 interchangeable lens model with 3D shooting (pricing is yet to be announced for Australia, though it will sit between the NX20 and the NX1000), the top-of-the-line compact WB800F featuring Smart 2.0 features (RRP $329), the WB250F, which was launched in Australia today (RRP $279), the WB200F with CCD sensor (RRP $249), the WB30F with 10x optical zoom (RRP $199), the DV150F dual-view compact camera (RRP $179) and the entry-level ST150F (RRP $149).