The Hindu Business Line : Canon to `Indianise' brand for better reach

To enhance presence
To organise road shows across 100 cities/towns in 100 days from February next
Ad spend to be about 33 per cent higher than the current year's Rs 40 crore

Coimbatore , Nov. 28

Close to completing the 10th year of its entry into this country, Canon India has started drawing up plans to `Indianise' its brand for better reach in the coming years. It had signed up cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as its corporate brand ambassador for driving the campaign.

"We are now planning to penetrate into smaller towns and cities. The strong point in our campaign is the brand ambassador, who would help connect to people in smaller towns. And Sachin, according to us, is not just a popular icon, but trustworthy, reliable and relevant one too," said Mr Alok Bharadwaj, Vice-President, Canon India Pvt Ltd.

Sachin, he said, would be endorsing all Canon products such as copiers, digital camera and printers.

While the ad-campaign strategy is being worked out, he said the company is planning to launch a solid search in a promising market by organising road shows across 100 cities/towns in 100 days from February next.

When asked if Canon India had tied-up with any agency for `Indianising' its brand, Mr Bharadwaj said, "Dentsu is our agency. Their team from Singapore and our team in India would debate on the plans and strategy at the off-site meeting scheduled for the end of this month."

After establishing its presence in major metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kanpur over the last decade, Canon is eyeing markets such as Coimbatore, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Indore for penetration.

It has achieved a business volume of Rs 400 crore this year, recording a 30 per cent year-on-year growth. "We recorded a 38-per cent growth in copier sales, 169 per cent growth in camera and 16 per cent in printer sales. Although printer as a product recorded lowest growth rate, the all-in-one printer sales alone shot up by 257 per cent. We will focus on this category," he said.

When asked about the investment on such brand promotional activities, Mr Bharadwaj said it would be at least 33 per cent higher than the current year's budget of Rs 40 crore. The company is planning to air Sachin's message through the electronic media for better reach. "We are planning to buy time in local media," he added.

New products

On new product rollouts, he said the company added 85 new products to its list every year.

"Our category-wise focus this year would be on camcorders, which is growing very well, and the surveillance camera (security camera), which we recently launched for both the residential and corporate segment.'

Mr Bharadwaj said only about 3 per cent of its total business was from the sale of camcorders.

It is hoping to take it to 5 per cent next year.

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