Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/09/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Karen-- Oh, it's okay. We all get a little heated now and again. Part of being passionate about stuff. And when we are talking about Leica, well, we get a little more than passionate, don't we? My preciousssssssssssssss, indeed! ;-) Yes, Leica's national budget is teency-weency. They have managed to get some very good product placements, though, and I've seen lots of those. That's great, but it still does require PR help to get that kind of exposure. I think it would be great if the dealers could form a cooperative association to work together to help each other out. I help the dealers in my region when I can, and they do the same for me. We mostly help each other with product exchanges when Leica is out of something. Some are more open to this than others. The Southwest region is pretty far-flung, in terms of location. We have the largest land area, but the smallest population. But dealers do in-store demos on the Leica Days events, and the regional managers come in during those times to show equipment and do clean and check events, and that helps out with sales. Those are usually pretty profitable days for dealers. I do something along those lines, though being virtual, I can't invite people into the store. I do other kinds of services, though, that my clients like. There needs to be some creative grassrootsy-type guerilla marketing for Leica. Really out of the box stuff, because Leica is out of the box. I still like the idea of an ad campaign featuring famous images from famous Leica photographers, like HCB's man jumping the puddle, etc., or Doisneau's couple kissing in the street, really famous images that everyone has seen, with simple copy like 'Photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson. Engineering by Leica.' I think I said this already earlier today. Anyway, I have no idea if the estates of those photographers would allow it, but it would be fun to educate people by connecting the dots in that way. Ah, dream on! Kit -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+leicagalpal=earthlink.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+leicagalpal=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Karen Nakamura Sent: Monday, September 27, 2004 3:46 PM To: Leica Users Group Subject: RE: [Leica] RE: Leica donation to students >Okay, humor well-taken. And per my note to you off-list, I think this thread >veered off into a direction that wasn't what I'd originally proposed. My >original thought was that Leica could take in used cameras from customers, >perhaps a trade-in situation, and then refurbish those for resale at >reasonable prices to photo students. I think the 'donation' part of it had >more to do with giving up profits, rather than outright giveaways of brand >new cameras! I think some on the list think I meant that Leica should be >tossing new M7s to college students totally gratis! Not so! Kit - Sorry! I think we both got a bit hot under the collar. :-) I think your revised idea is a great one! It wouldn't provide a tax deduction for the buyer, since you're getting a credit on your donation. But it helps keep the market value of used Leicas up at the same time as benefitting students. Hasselblad did this at one time with their 501CM and 203/205 bodies -- trading in an old 500C would get you a few hundred in credits. Hassie and Leica share a similar problem in that their bodies are so well built that their current models are competing against cameras built in the 1960s. The difference between what you propose and what Hassie did is that Hassie put the 500C's it collected in the garbage -- more accurately it cannibalized them for parts, but took a collective loss on them. Regarding advertising campaigns, I don't think Leica USA has any budget for national advertising. But it would be nice if all the Leica dealers made a collective effort to show what the cameras could do in the stores. Imagine if each store had beautifully done 13x19 prints of a local LUGger in the entranceway. That would inspire people coming into the store to think of the possibilities. Karen -- Karen Nakamura http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/ _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information