Panasonic announced the GF-2 today. Let's count the marketing mistakes:
- Higher numbered product is aimed at a lower target market (GF-1 is for enthusiasts, GF-2 is for compact user upgraders)
- Product won't be out until after Christmas, so all you do is tell people to not buy the GF-1's sitting on shelves.
- Bait and switch with compactness, one of the camera's main themes. Note that the first thing that the user does in Panasonic's launch video is to take the huge kit lens off and put a pancake prime on the camera. Hey, now it looks small! Sure, but now the person goes to the store, picks up the body with kit lens and thinks the camera is too big and the videos lied.
- I'm amused at the Customize the Quick Menu example they show: the user is creating a Quick Menu that is multiple screens wide! Not so quick if you have to scroll it to find what you want. Might as well use the regular scrolling menu.
- If the key feature of the camera is "small," then you need to show the benefit of that feature, not just proclaim the feature. As it turns out, the GF-2 isn't all that much smaller than the GF-1. Not enough to actually make for a tangible benefit once you put that kit lens on it.
- The pancake lenses appeal to the photo enthusiasts, not the compact camera switches, who want flexibility all in one package. Having a 28mm (equivalent) "kit" is targeting enthusiasts, not consumers. But adding a touch-screen is targeting consumers, not enthusiasts. There are wild contractions in the design decisions, and they show up visibly in the marketing.
Let's hope that Nikon's mirrorless camera, when it finally arrives, has a little more consistency in design and marketing messages.