[Leica] Russian Pres & S2

[steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour)]

On Jan 20, 2010, at 4:45 PM, Douglas Sharp wrote:

> 
> Steve, you wrote:
> 
> "maybe it's time for a real photographer to actually use their camera, and 
> convince us it's best"
> 
> Followed closely by a "So what" to my comment on the above.

my sincere apologies Douglas, my comment and it's terseness was in no way 
personal, and I'm sorry, rather it was an honest blurt at the thought that 
someone is actually using the camera, that anyone is using the camera... 
well,  I sure hope so...

now they have to convince us that it's best and worth the cost. We have to 
find someone who has actually bought one for use, has the insight to know 
the difference, and sees the difference.

let's get real...

by giving them out, an extravagant item, I dare say whoever got one would 
accept it and use it, you and I included,  even if we didn't like it, all 
the while with a smile on our face, even while wishing we could go back to 
our own favorite equipment....

time will tell if anyone who can afford the S2, will choose it, replace 
their former system, pay for it...show us their results, and convince us.

we'll see, and if we care let's look for some evidence of it, beyond the 
obvious examples of product placement that we have seen, which sadly only 
obscure the real questions of value and quality. 

I can't afford it, don't need it or want it, though I admit it may well take 
great photos, I don't like to be manipulated.

Remember the old sales line...Where's the beef ?

Steve


> 
> If one of the most prominent and respected photographers in Germany - the 
> home of many of the biggest and most prominent marketing and advertising 
> agencies in Europe (and the rest of the world for that matter) and 
> numerous up-market and luxury brands (Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche - to 
> name but a few in one single segment - and all represented by German 
> agencies), is plugging the camera, that is good news for Leica. As is 
> product placement by celebrities like Seal and well-known politicians like 
> Medvedev - he got them a free plug on the BBC website and many others and 
> is certainly popular with the new rich iof Russia, a market important 
> enough to motivate Leica to launch an official Leica Store in Moscow.
> 
> The S2 addresses a target group that is far removed from almost all the 
> enthusiasts and professionals who use Leicas for a living and represented 
> here on the LUG and similar lists.
> 
> In fact, currently I can only think of Tina and Doug who use exclusively 
> Leica equipment- and I presume Tina wouldn't really want to drag an S2 
> around on her travels.
> 
> Sadly, we must admit that almost all of us here on the list are no longer 
> an significant factor in the future economic viability and profitability 
> of the company that Leica is now gradually becoming, however much we love 
> the brand  - although, when I read how often their products and policies 
> are criticised and dissed by members of the list, we are almost certainly 
> a predominantly negative factor in the eyes of their PR and marketing 
> people - if they in fact take any notice of us at all.
> 
> Steve, Leica is not trying to sell you or me an S2, and most of the rest 
> of us are way outside the intended target group too.
> 
> Let Leica market things in their own way - they're apparently already 
> doing much better than they initially expected, despite the economic 
> crisis.
> 
> Their aim is to angle big fish at the top of the professional and special 
> editions market and net shoals of smaller fish at the bottom - we're in 
> the middle, and they were good enough to bait their hooks with the M8 and 
> M9 to catch this market segment too, as many of us have proved.
> 
> Their key targets are no longer the traditional US and European markets. 
> If you look at their recent interim report, the most prominent and 
> profitable current and futures markets are China, Russia and the Emirates.
> 
> Cheers
> Douglas
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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