By Patrick Avenell
SYDNEY, NSW: Nikon has joined in the high stakes game of digital imaging poker, announcing a new masterbrand and above the line advertising campaign.
Panasonic and Canon have already put their cards on table, whilst Samsung is also preparing a big money splash into the category in early April. Now Nikon has launched its “I Am” masterbrand (which it calls a ‘brand identity’) and a longterm advertising push for all Nikon products.
Here’s Nikon Australia senior marketing manager Nick Segger.
“‘The Nikon brand has a long and highly regarded heritage in professional photography. The intention of the ‘I Am’ campaign is to allow casual photographers, holiday makers, parents, party goers and anyone else who loves taking photos or movies to feel the excitement of capturing that special moment using a Nikon Coolpix or DSLR camera,” Seggar said.
“For the average person, photography is about sharing and self-expression, rather than the individual photo. The ‘I Am’ campaign creates new relevance by bringing to life the experiences of photographers of every level.”
Nikon has enlisted some starpower to generate buzz around this campaign, with the Japanese camera specialists signing up former Take That backing vocalist Robbie Williams and English chef Jamie Oliver.
‘We can deliver leading-edge digital cameras across both our digital camera ‘point and shoot’ range and our high-end SLR range,” continued Seggar “We are confident that our new campaign coupled with a new product line-up will allow us to grow market share and generate excitement around taking and sharing quality photos and videos.”
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Unsurprising, and to a certain extent worryingly, growing market share is the plan of all the big camera companies at the moment. Canon is looking to hold onto to its overall #1 position (with executives today telling Current.com.au it has hit 70 per cent value share in some months), Panasonic is continuing to move up the charts with its aggressive Lumix strategy, and Samsung seeking to step out of its domination of the entry level segment and take share in the hybrid space.
With all these major brands all seeking increased market share, the fear is that digital imaging will soon resemble the flat panel market, which has been called “a disaster” by leading figures within the supply sector.