In an age when signing up film stars and sports personas as brand ambassadors is the norm for companies to promote themselves, Canon India thinks otherwise. The company is roping in different personalities from every market segment it caters to. And it does so with style and precision. Recently, Canon India signed up ace fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar to promote its range of products in the camera segment.

The company feels that customers are most convinced when they get a person from the same fraternity to endorse the product. Innovation being at the heart of Canon’s new business thrust, roping in Kasbekar, is just one among the many creative marketing strategies of the digital imaging company.

With over 127 products in its basket, that includes photocopiers, fax-machines, printers, scanners, digital cameras, camcorders and multi media projectors—Canon India has created a “buzz”. Morphing from a camera and copier company, with a minuscule market share, Canon has moved aggressively and captured the number two-position in the inkjet printer and the scanner markets. With a turnover of Rs. 310 crore, and a market share of 30 percent, the company is now moving towards market leadership across product categories and plans to increase its marketing spend to Rs. 30 crore this year from Rs. 20 crore last fiscal.

“In a market driven by competition and changing landscapes, one needs to constantly think differently to survive and sustain and keep creating a ‘buzz’ every now and then,” says Som Gangopadhyay, Marketing Manager-Office Systems & Solutions, Canon India.

The initial survival game plan
Roll back to 1997, when Canon India was established only as a distributor of its products in India. With offices in seven cities across the country, it focused on selling mid-range and high-end copiers. The company targeted limited market segments—government and corporate and in the next two years, came up with products such as cameras, fax machines, scanners and printers.