Konica Business Technologies U.S.A. Inc. is spending more than $5 million on direct marketing to build brand and generate leads for its color imaging systems.
The Windsor, CT company is trying to get a slice of the market that so far has been dominated by Canon and Xerox, said spokesman Matthew Fox.
Late last month, Konica debuted a direct response television campaign on broadcast networks ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, as well as on cable networks CNN, CNN Headline News, MSNBC and CNBC. The 30-second spots are running mostly during morning news shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Boston, Cleveland and Dallas, and are set to air through August.
Konica also is running direct response print ads in The Wall Street Journal, CIO and Information Week as well as such industry-specific trade publications as Implant Graphics.
At the same time, the company is sending out a more than 500,000-piece lead-generation mailing to CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and purchasing managers from outfits ranging from Fortune 1000-sized firms to small local prospects like Kinko’s and Sir Speedy retail print and copy shops in these major markets, noted Fox. Konica used a combination of compiled and business magazine subscriber lists put together by its advertising agency, Glastonbury, CT-based Cronin & Co., for these mailings, he said.
All the ads give a toll-free 800 number and the firm’s Web address (www.colorforce.com). Company salespeople will make follow-up calls. The selling cycle can range from several weeks for a small shop to nearly a year for larger corporations which might have multiple installations, said Fox,.
On top of that, Konica is running an ongoing e-mail effort for the line to try to drive these prospects to the Web site. It will launch a promotional road show this summer with a demonstration model of the system mounted in a large truck.
Through this campaign, Konica is trying to get in on a market dominated by Canon and Xerox, especially as prices keep falling. “A few years ago, these systems — priced at about $55,000 apiece — cost 10 times as much,” said Fox, who declined to reveal revenue projections.
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