[Leica] Re:Another camera classic bites the dust

[mr.blather at gmail.com (D L)]

Believe it or not, I think Leica could learn a lot from LOMO: Here was
a toy that was incredibly well marketed.

The LOMO Club was, if I remember correctly, actually run by the
company that had exclusively rights to distribute the LOMO world wide
and it did a masterful job of selling LOMO as a lifestyle.

According to the hype, the LOMO wasn't just a camera, it was a tool
that went beyond photography (Lomography) and brought art to the
masses. You didn't need to spend a fortune on M4's and M lenses,
how-to books, or lessons. All you had to do was point and shoot and
you were an artist.

Even here in Japan people would gush when you mentioned LOMO (even
though most hadn't actually used one.) All of the marketing made LOMO
users feel part of a larger community. It made people who didn't have
a LOMO want to join the community. It made all of the above forget the
LOMO was basically a plastic toy you might get for subscribing to a
magazine.

You figure a company with Leica's history and name should be able to
find marketers at least half that good.