Simon Yam and Canon Marketing Strategy in Malaysia free essay sample

In 1996, he conceptualized a slick, provocative coffee table book entitled â€Å"Simon Says†. The book, done for charity, featured the many sides of Yam in a visual diary that included candid photos of celebrities (Simon Yam Biography, 2003). Yam is also active in charity work. He donated and helped fundraisings for many causes, adopted kids from Thailand, financing their education and living expenses through adulthood and more. For his great image, Yam had earned a lot of endorsing opportunities from a wide range of products. 1. 2 Product (Canon Cameras) Canon camera is a well known Japanese brand that it’s main company also produces other optical products including camcorder, printer, photocopiers and more. They are famous for their high quality and reliable products (Wikipedia, 2008). †¢Canon EOS digital single lens reflex camera (Appendix 1. 1) The Canon EOS autofocus 35mm film DSLR camera system was introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650 and is still in production as Canon’s production. We will write a custom essay sample on Simon Yam and Canon Marketing Strategy in Malaysia or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Later on, Canon released numerous models for the Canon EOS systems, such as Canon 550D, Canon 500D, Canon 5D and more in this series. Canon EOS DSLR cameras are professional cameras and camcorders that give high resolution and produce high quality photos and high definition videos, because it uses a bigger sensor than compact cameras. It is often used by professional photographers, cinematographers and photography students or photography lovers. It competes primarily with the Nikon F serious as well as other autofocus SLR camera systems from Olympus, Pentax, Sony, Leica and more. †¢Camera Digital IXUS ultra compact camera (Appendix 1. 2) The Digital IXUS (IXY Digital in Japan and PowerShot Digital ELPH in US and Canada) is a series of compact digital cameras that is line of APS cameras. There are also numerous models of IXUS camera range, which are released with different specifications and different prices. Canon Digital IXUS are compact cameras that are more affordable to normal users who need a camera to capture pictures for different purposes. It can also be used as a video recorder to record the special moments into short video clips. It faces competition from other camera producer companies as well as Canon EOS system. . Marketing activity of Simon Yam 2. 1 Simon Yam with Canon Simon Yam has become the endorser for Canon Cameras Malaysia for 18 years. Through times, he has done several TV advertisements and prints advertisements with Canon Cameras that have been released to the public in Malaysia. Other than that, Yam also participated in a few remarkable marketing activities of Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn B hd. Yam has attended the opening ceremony of Canon Boutique in Subang Square, SS15 Selangor on 29th Sept 2011 (Canon Malaysia, 2012). (Appendix 2. 1) Yam visited the Yayasan Sunbeam Home(Orphanage) in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on behalf of Canon Camera Malaysia to present Canon IXUS cameras as gifts to the home and spent the day with children. (Appendix 2. 2) Yam also attended Canon Malaysia’s 25th anniversary in Midvalley Mega on 12nd April 2012 (Motorsport, 2012). As a great endorser and a loyal customer, Yam also done a short movie using Canon 5DMKII, and he often talk about Canon cameras and his enthusiasm towards photography on television shows. 2. 2 Other products that Simon Yam is currently endorsing These products are all with a higher price range, including luxury products. Brand namesDescription OMEGALuxury Swiss watch EMGRAND (EC8)China automaker marquee (PC AUTO, n. d) (Appendix 2. 3) KINWAIChina Furniture 3. 4P Theory related to Simon Yam with Canon Cameras Malaysia According to MarketLine, camera is leading the photographic product market, with more than 60% of the overall market sales in 2010. Growth is expected to accelerate at a rate of more than 3% yearly, bringing the market to over $65 billion by 2015 (Reportlinker, 2010). With the increasing demand of cameras, Canon definitely stood out amongst other camera brands. Refer to the 4P theory charts of Canon Cameras below to take a glimpse of its marketing strategy by assigning Simon Yam as the endorser. Product †¢Well known Japanese brand camera †¢High quality and reliable †¢Canon EOS professional cameras †¢Canon IXUS compact cameras Price†¢Ranging from RM1000 and above †¢Suitable with Simon Yam’s HongKong superstar’s elegant image Promotion†¢TV and print advertisements †¢Press conferences †¢Opening ceremony †¢Celebration of anniversary †¢Charity works †¢Camera launching Place†¢Camera retailers in numerous shopping malls in Malaysia †¢Canon boutiques †¢Easy access to online purchase at Canon Malaysia website 4. Evaluation and Critiques Dato’ Lee Chong Wei, the international badminton player who is currently 30 years old, has been chosen to be compared with Simon Yam in evaluation of the best endorser for Canon Camera. This is because they both are popular and have a wide range of fans in Malaysia. Dato’ Lee has become the national hero in Malaysians’ heart as he had recently won the silver medal in Olympics London 2012, and he is also the world’s no. badminton player in the world (Badminton World Federation, 2012). These earn him many opportunities in products endorsing offers from many companies, such as Faber Castell, Yonex, and 100Plus. Although Dato’ Lee seemed to be a great endorser for Canon Cameras in terms of his popularity and great image, he doesn’t have a enough brand appeal for Cano n as compared to Simon Yam. Simon Yam as a photographer himself, is a living example of a loyal customer to Canon Cameras. On the other hand, Dato’ Lee is never known for his photography skills nor enthusiasm for photography, making him irrelevant to Canon. Next, it is inappropriate for Dato’ Lee to endorse the Canon Camera in terms of the price of the products. The price of the products that Dato’ Lee endorse are all less than RM1000, while Simon Yam endorses goods that are with higher price range. Canon Camera as a considerably expensive goods itself, would of course choose Simon Yam as the endorser, as it suited Simon Yam’s elegant and trustworthy image. 5. Recommendation Simon Yam can increase the brand awareness more by promoting using social networks. For instance, uploading pictures he captured using Canon camera onto his Facebook Fan Page. Yam can also publish another photo book including the photos he took using Canon Camera. Yam can increase the brand experience by having a fan-meeting with Canon Camera users, and exchanging photography knowledge with the fans from Malaysia. 6. Summary The use of celebrity as part of marketing communication strategy is fairly common for major companies in supporting the corporate and conducting great brand imagery. â€Å"The appointment of Yam came from his passion for photography and his great personality that suit the brand†, said image communication products division assistant director Simon Wong from Canon Malaysia (The Star Online, 2009). Yam definitely made best celebrity for endorsing the Canon Cameras because of his enthusiasm towards photography and cameras. Furthermore, the wide range of fans he attracted with his great image and attitude outside and inside the movies also makes an advantage to Canon for widening its consumer market. The attractiveness, likability and trustworthiness that Simon Yam possesses can ultimately aid Canon in lifting up their brand awareness and brand exposure in Malaysia, or even in the Asia Pacific.