Sometimes corporate think is revealed in interesting ways. Consider NikonUSA's Valentine's Day ads, which have a headline for the Coolpix P7000 that reads "Serious shooters have never been known to travel light. Until now."
Wow.
First, this seems like an outright admission that the P6000 didn't appeal to serious photographers. Oops. Second, it explains why we're getting two-pound cameras at the serious end: because Nikon doesn't think we want lighter cameras. There's also a bit of self-fulfilling prophecy hidden there: if you think serious photographers only want heavy cameras, then you only build serious cameras that are heavy, and then serious photographers only carry heavy cameras. Third, the ad actually says nothing about the P7000 that would appeal to a serious photographer! (Well, okay, "stunning image quality" might, but that's a fairly empty statement on its own without support.)
So not only is the ad a total disconnect to its goal--i.e. it doesn't support the contention--but it reveals what Nikon has been thinking about serious photographers.
The irony is that NikonUSA's newspaper ads have been the primary driver of the company's sales success in the US in the past two years. No other company is doing as much consistent advertising that tries to create pull off the shelf, let alone tying that advertising to dealer incentives to increase the pull. The constant weekly drum of "instant rebates" and/or "instant savings" has worked for Nikon, but it won't work forever. Especially when it reveals your corporate angst and pysche so openly and fails to actually support its point.
Consider the line "Serious photographers can now travel lighter than ever" versus what NikonUSA wrote. It's a subtle difference, but one that simply says "we've extended serious photography into smaller cameras than before" versus the implied "we've been ignoring serious photographers' requests for smaller, lighter gear."
I've written it before, I guess I'll be writing it until I die: Nikon's marketing leaves a lot to be desired. It rarely executes at the level of the best in the business, and gaffs like this one are an additional friction that the rest of the ad has to break through. Right now Nikon uses dollars to break through ("Instant Savings of US$50"). They would be more effective if the ad text truly supported the sales push, though.