Despite having 35% of the DSLR market, the brand had just 8% of the EU compact sector and in some markets the situation was even worse.
The challenge was to drive sales of compact cameras while also not alienating the core DSLR consumer base.
The insight was that Nikon was perceived as a conservative brand. Consumers knew they made high quality products for the professional market but as a result thought their compacts would be too expensive.
The brand's success in the professional market was actually isolating them from the more casual consumer. The brand was regarded as old-fashioned and unapproachable.
Rival technology brands such as Panasonic and Sony, as well as Nikon's key competitor Canon, all performed much stronger than Nikon both in terms of brand awareness and brand perception metrics.
If Nikon wanted to perform as well in the compact sector as it did in the DSLR segment it would have to build an emotional connection with the brand that could run alongside the respect it generated among more serious photographers.
The first insight was that technology has democratised photography. A cheap camera phone suffices to make someone a photographer.
The second insight was that photography now plays a much more important role in our lives thanks to the ease of sharing. Digital platforms have made photography more social than ever before. A major reason for taking pictures is now to share them with friends and family online.
This insight was applicable to both the serious amateur who posts creative work on Flickr to receive peer recognition and the social recorder who posts on Facebook to generate 'likes.' The bottom line is that a key motivation to take pictures is the ability to share.
The campaign strategy used this understanding to create a more emotional connection with both target groups. Nikon would incentivise sharing, encourage it, and inspire it.
For the first time, the brand would have a presence in social media with dedicated spaces populated by our two target groups: Flickr for serious hobbyist D-SLR market and Facebook to reach out to social photographers.
Nikon would provide the platforms to let both groups of consumers show who they were.
Nikon would be the first photography brand to really get to grips with the social media space a democratic platform for an art form that had become democratic encouraging all consumers to be truly creative.
Nikon would not set any barriers to participation. All the participant needed was a camera or a camera phone and the winners would be selected for their ability to meet the brief not the light metering or composition.
'I AM NIKON' pages were set up on Facebook and Flickr, using ads to drive traffic to our pages on Facebook and Flickr to swell the numbers in our respective groups.
Simple "What camera do you own?"-type questions were used to build interaction with the sites. Regular updates included tips on how to take better pictures and new product launches.
The pages ran in six European markets; moderated with an agreed tone of voice (more serious on Flickr and more playful, without losing our authoritative edge, on Facebook).
Once the groups were large enough, Nikon launched "WHO ARE YOU WITH NIKON" competitions on both platforms.
On Facebook, the user was given freedom to show us exactly who they were. The competition would be judged on the best link between "I AM" and the picture. The content it created was used to create galleries and used in status updates and the finalists decided by the number of 'likes' they received.
On Flickr, the more serious target audience liked a challenge, so the brand set specific tasks. A dedicated microsite was created by Yahoo to house the competition and advertising was used to drive more traffic to the "I AM NIKON" Flickr page.
Every Friday, Nikon created massively popular showcases highlighting the best work on both sites.
The campaign successfully brought the more emotional, creative attributes of Nikon to the fore.
More than 560 000 unique visitors were attracted to the Facebook page and users have uploaded nearly 40 000 Photos and have "liked" entries 260 000 times.
The Facebook community grew from zero to over 75 000 thousand photography fans from all over the world, moderating over 3500 user comments during the campaign period.
As a consequence of this page's rapid growth, each new status update receives in excess of 90 000 in-stream impressions, driving click-throughs to other properties. This saves us around 2500 per week in equivalent media spend to reach these fans with fresh content.
Since the start of this social strategy, Nikon has added an incremental 617,295 video views for the YouTube content through sharing on Facebook and on the blog, with users watching on average 3 or more videos.
On Flickr our community, despite only being open since March 2010, is already in the top 2% in terms of group size, with more than 8500 members. Members have now contributed nearly 80 000 inspiring photos, with 200 more added each day.
Nikon's share of the compact camera market has doubled in our six key markets.
WHY IS THIS ON CREAM? Nikon makes fantastic use of what Facebook and Flickr can offer ultimately inspiring a wave of photographic democracy.
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