Canon to go local

Canon India, a subsidiary of Canon Singapore, is expecting to increase its sales revenue from Rs 380 crore in 2006 to Rs 550 crore by the end of 2007. Even as it celebrates 10 years of its existence in India, Canon claims to have already tapped a significant portion of this target. In the first half of 2007, sales revenue has reached Rs 240 crore, the company claims.

As a part of its 10th anniversary operations in India, Canon is planning to change its advertising strategy in the country. So far, the line of thought for communication released in India erupted from its headquarters at Singapore. But now, to increase sales and strengthen the Canon brand, the company feels it needs to “Indianise” future advertising communication here. As a part of this strategy, Canon will segregate various Indian cities and use local communication. For instance, it is currently running a campaign called ‘Aamchi Mumbai’ in that metropolis.

Konishi adds, “Our new advertising strategy clearly revolves around decentralising the communication strategy and exploring multiple strategies. Reaching out to various markets within India using a local style of communication is the way forward.”

Canon plans to launch a new TVC in September. However, the TVC will not feature cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who was roped in as brand ambassador in December 2006. Canon does not rule out the possibility of using multiple brand ambassadors in the future, much like it does in China.

Konishi says, “In India, the situation is far more complicated. We are still not sure of the best way to advertise and our experiments with various strategies continue. In Singapore, for instance, we do not use any celebrities as it is not a celebrity driven market. In Hong Kong, we use two brand ambassadors. In India, with its diversity in language, culture and needs, the use of more than one local celebrity is an option that cannot be ruled out.”

At present, Canon operates in three portfolios in India. In the digital camera category, it claims to be a market leader with 27 per cent market share, followed by Sony with 22-23 per cent and then Nikon. In the photocopier category, Canon claims to have 23 per cent market share, followed by Xerox. In the printer category, Hewlett Packard is the clear leader, with close to 70 per cent market share; Canon holds only 10 per cent. Canon is expecting 30 per cent sales across all categories.

Canon intends to increase its advertising spends by 6-7 per cent of the targeted turnover for 2007. At present, the media duties for Canon are shared between Allied Media Integrated Communications, the media arm of the Percept Group, and Dentsu Media. The creative duties are split between Percept H and Dentsu Communications.