The Challenge
In EMEA an estimated 300 billion images were taken in 2016 (241 billion were taken on a smart phone). This newbehaviour has had a significant impact on Canon’s hardware sales.
Canon and the camera category are facing a truly game changing challenge where consumers do not have thenecessity to buy a separate camera, and tech companies (i.e. Google with Google clip etc) are bringing new AI driven
camera technology offering a different proposition to the consumers, cluttering the market with new competitors.
Hence, no longer were Canon the leaders of the imaging category, but they were challengers.
In addition to this, whilst their current core audience are typically older (35+ years old), Canon have identified a newaudience, Adventurous achievers (16-34 yrs old, younger & adventurous) as a key audience to grow their business.
Whilst this new audience holds the key to success, they perceive Canon as niche, inaccessible, too hardcore and nota brand for “me”. Canon had lost touch with these audiences and required to build their brand amongst the noiseand clutter of the imaging category.
This challenge required Canon to review their total marketing activity across their entire business and ensure thateverything Canon did was consumer centric and focused toward the new audience but also capture opportunity with
the existing / in-market audience. This would range from their communications platform, to their website design,planning with consumer journey in mind, etc.
To spear head this evolution, a new brand proposition was created “Live for the story”. This is a mantra, it’s aboutliving in the moment and embracing the now no matter how insignificant. It’s your story and it’s truly living for the
story.
Our challenge was to embed this proposition to our key audience and drive re-appraisal of the brand and relevance.
