fcotterill
Well-known member
Previously, Nikon has let its marketing and services decline, and then reacted to the ensuing crisis. A pertinent example was the loss of Nikon's public profile at the Beijing Olympics, and recovery by 2012. The leading Nikon executive who lead the revival of NPS later admitted it was vital for his division to listen to photographers' needs, and communicate these with engineers. It appears this is not the a singular case of Nikon failing to respect this fundamental rule of public relations. More and more today, the whims of internet forums and youtubers magnifies such failures by a high profile brand.
With reference to the above, an excerpt from an interview (in 2014) with a former Head of Nikon UK is revealing: Hidehiko Tanaka, Managing Director Nikon UK, Nikon Owners Mag 2014 No 46
“The Beijing Olympic Games, held in 2008, had been far from a success for Nikon in terms of their representation among the ranks of professional photographers, so in his role as worldwide head of NPS, the pressure to reverse the situation at the 2012 Games was enormous…. Opening ceremony of London 2012 more than 55% of the accredited professional photographers at the Games were using Nikon equipment.”
“As I have this sort of background, I believe I have a better understanding of the needs of photographers and of course I have very good connections to our headquarters, which enables me to pass on information to the relevant people. Luckily I have a very strong NPS team here in the UK and as I speak English I am able to communicate with both them and the professional photographers we support, so I receive direct feedback. When I was head of NPS in Japan we had regular meetings with professionals to discuss our products and seek ways of improving them. This is how features such as Ethernet connections and wireless transmission came about and, if you think of the size of the WT-4 Wireless Transmitter and then the much smaller size of its successor, the WT-5, this is one example of the progress such collaboration can deliver.”
The launch of competitive cameras must have been no less important for Nikon to regain its profile and market share. By London 2012, Nikon had released its new flagship - the D4, and obviously the excellent optics (exemplified by 14-24 f2.8G, 24-70 f2.8G, 70-200 f2.8G, 200 f2G, 300 f2.8G and more). Nikon also released the important D600 and D800 by the end of 2012. Fat from its sales of Point&Shoots and also more affordable DSLR kits, in those years Nikon obviously had the organization, drive and resources to diversify its camera lines rapidly by 2013 (after D4): D610, Df, then D810 and D750 with D4s (2014).
With reference to the above, an excerpt from an interview (in 2014) with a former Head of Nikon UK is revealing: Hidehiko Tanaka, Managing Director Nikon UK, Nikon Owners Mag 2014 No 46
“The Beijing Olympic Games, held in 2008, had been far from a success for Nikon in terms of their representation among the ranks of professional photographers, so in his role as worldwide head of NPS, the pressure to reverse the situation at the 2012 Games was enormous…. Opening ceremony of London 2012 more than 55% of the accredited professional photographers at the Games were using Nikon equipment.”
“As I have this sort of background, I believe I have a better understanding of the needs of photographers and of course I have very good connections to our headquarters, which enables me to pass on information to the relevant people. Luckily I have a very strong NPS team here in the UK and as I speak English I am able to communicate with both them and the professional photographers we support, so I receive direct feedback. When I was head of NPS in Japan we had regular meetings with professionals to discuss our products and seek ways of improving them. This is how features such as Ethernet connections and wireless transmission came about and, if you think of the size of the WT-4 Wireless Transmitter and then the much smaller size of its successor, the WT-5, this is one example of the progress such collaboration can deliver.”
The launch of competitive cameras must have been no less important for Nikon to regain its profile and market share. By London 2012, Nikon had released its new flagship - the D4, and obviously the excellent optics (exemplified by 14-24 f2.8G, 24-70 f2.8G, 70-200 f2.8G, 200 f2G, 300 f2.8G and more). Nikon also released the important D600 and D800 by the end of 2012. Fat from its sales of Point&Shoots and also more affordable DSLR kits, in those years Nikon obviously had the organization, drive and resources to diversify its camera lines rapidly by 2013 (after D4): D610, Df, then D810 and D750 with D4s (2014).
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