Japan Camera 1 Hour Photo has returned to television with its first campaign in 12 years.
The company had been relying on radio and print, but felt it was time to reinforce its brand image with television.
Jennifer Buchanan, marketing and advertising manager for Japan Camera, says research showed consumers knew very little about the photofinishing firm.
‘They knew our name and in some cases knew we started one-hour photofinishing, but they didn’t know enough about us,’ says Buchanan.
The need to drive sales is another reason for the high-profile campaign, says Buchanan who goes on to explain that the advertising combines both retail and image components.
‘Going in with a brand spot by itself doesn’t increase traffic in the stores,’ says Buchanan. ‘In this competitive environment, it wouldn’t be a good choice to do one or the other. We needed a combination.’
Buchanan sees Black Photo as Japan’s main competitor, although Astral Photo has the strongest position in Quebec.
The most recent industry numbers have Japan Camera running number two in the marketplace behind Black.
All of the players in the category including Japan, Black, Astral and MotoPhoto, have faced increased price competition over the last four years from big box, club, drug and grocery stores that use photofinishing as a loss-leader.
The introduction of new photo technology, such as digital and the Advanced Photo System, however, is giving companies like Japan Camera a fresh opportunity to position themselves as experts against those retailers who don’t specialize in photography.
Buchanan says Japan Camera is positioning itself as an expert by teaming up with brand name suppliers such as Nikon and Canon.
A number of 30-sec. commercials were created with the first 22 seconds reserved for the image portion and the remaining eight seconds filled with product sell.
Japan Camera is carrying through its partnership strategy with efforts such as cross-promotions with retailers such as Toys R Us and Burger King.
As well, Buchanan says the company’s affiliation with Air Miles has been underutilized and she is planning some promotions with the other partners in the loyalty program.
Japan Camera’s new campaign comes from The Communique Group of Toronto, the company’s agency for the past four years.
Chris Stavenjord, creative director, says the agency wanted to create something different and ‘cute,’ in an effort to reach the client’s primary target, women with children.
The resulting creative is a 30-sec. extravaganza that features twin baby boys doing an impromptu synchronized swimming routine in the bathtub in front of their parents.
‘An unexpected moment is something magical,’ says Stavenjord of the thinking behind the creative, ‘and if you’re lucky enough to capture one of those moments, you’re really going to care about who develops your film.’
The positioning statement is ‘Give us your memories. We’ll make you smile.’
Stavenjord says although the there were only a couple days of shooting, the pre-planning by director Jeff Eamer, a former advertising copywriter, and the staff at production company Spy Films was extensive and time-consuming.
‘When [the children] appear to be upside down, it’s really the set that’s been built upside down. We had little girls from ballet class in harnesses right-side-up and dangling so they would appear upside down to do the kicks.’
The campaign will run during the summer.
New executions will be created for the next big picture-taking season, Christmas.
