If you’re selling document imaging technology today, it’s probably a good idea to keep your eye on Epson whether or not you’re carrying that line.
Earlier this month Epson launched a new national business brand campaign entitled “Cityscape,” highlighting its wide range of high-performance business products in key strategic markets. Using the tagline, “Where there’s business there’s EPSON,” the campaign showcases a wide range of innovative business solutions and underscores Epson’s deep-seated commitment to today’s business marketplace.
The approach for the campaign centers on images of futuristic city skylines that mash-up Epson products – robots, digital label presses, point-of-sale systems, projectors and business printers – with ultramodern architecture and iconic structures to generate science fiction-like imagery.
The first phase of the campaign kicks-off with airport signage simultaneously in New York (JFK), Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Denver and will extend to a range of media channels through the end of 2015. The Cityscape brand campaign will reach across business/financial print, digital, out of home, radio, TV, public relations, prominent venue advertising (Madison Square Garden), direct response, and across Epson social channels.
The next phase of the campaign will expand to include Epson business customers sharing real-world experiences of how they are using Epson products to improve operations. In addition, the campaign’s imagery will begin appearing in Epson marketing communications materials and on Epson’s online channels, including www.Epson.com/forbusiness.
Now that I’m paying more attention to Epson, I thought it would be interesting to learn more about this campaign from Larry Trevarthen, director, Business Imaging for Epson America, Inc., including how it might impact the typical document imaging dealer/reseller.
Is this a different marketing strategy for Epson than in the past?
Trevarthen: It is different. Fundamentally what we’ve got is a variety of technologies that are aimed at business markets, from our printers, scanners and projectors to our smart glasses as well as what we’re doing with factory automation robots. We want to make sure the business community can see the larger Epson and the variety of innovations we’re bringing to market. That’s what we’re starting with this multi-year campaign is to expand Epson’s perception in the business market.
When you say business market, you’re talking a broad business market based on the technologies you just shared with me?
Trevarthen: Absolutely. The business market is looking for a stable, long-term partner that’s going to continually bring innovation, new technologies, and new solutions to market. What’s interesting about what Epson is doing for the business market, it’s not only the IT manager, it could be the facilities manager as well; we’re taking the technologies, for example, that are in projectors and moving them into smart glasses. It’s the same fundamental technology. We’re taking the same fundamental technology in printers and using it in robots. It allows for the scalability of the technology and shows that Epson is an innovator and is going to be here for the long term.
Will all your technologies get equal play in this campaign?
Trevarthen: Yes. There are radio spots that rotate across five or six technologies; we’ll rotate them across printers, what we’re doing with receipt printing, what we’re doing in robotics, what we’re doing in projection, etc. We’ll cover all of the technologies individually because as you know, a brand is made by the products that support it and what we’re doing in this campaign is highlighting both of those. Here’s what the Epson brand is and here’s the products that support it so the business community has the same strong and rich opinion and knowledge of Epson that the consumer market already has.
My readers encompass the traditional office technology dealer, some of whom may be selling Epson products, how might this campaign be relevant to them?
Trevarthen: The reason it’s relevant for them, for an IT manager, an office manager, what they’re looking to do as I mentioned before is to partner with a company that they know is going be there for the long haul, is going to continually bring innovation and new technologies, new solutions, and a full suite of products to market. They’re not looking to buy [one] product, they’re looking to buy a whole portfolio. This [campaign] highlights that Epson is more than just consumer printers. It’s a company that’s going to be in the technology industry and continue to innovate as markets innovate. That’s what they’re looking for first, and then they go down to the solutions and products. What we need to highlight for them is the broader picture of what Epson has that hasn’t necessarily been out there as strongly as it needed to be before.
How will you gauge the success of this campaign?
Trevarthen: Increased awareness, increased preference, and increased adoption of Epson. Fundamentally, how we’ll gauge success is the perception of Epson in the business community, with customers, with IT managers, being embraced at a more rich level across all the products and categories we serve.
