Inside Story

Throughout the store-display planning process, Ono paid special attention to the display of sample photographs. On today’s camera sales floors, spec data and special-feature information for many products are packed into the limited space in a way that is not necessarily easy for customers to understand. “Rather than saying a lot in words, I think we communicate best by showing the resulting photographs. We carried out consumer research to determine the example-photo subjects and display methods that are most useful to customers when they select a camera. In fact, this is what led to the “My Best Photo Eidea of displaying user photographs with comments included, Esaid Ono.

Displays directly communicate the virtues of Ricoh digital cameras

The position at which example photos are displayed was given particular emphasis. On the newly developed Ricoh Digital Camera display unit, a bold example-photograph display space extends 900 mm across at the height most visible to customers, thereby encouraging people to pick up and view the example prints of each product. The images are not printed with a printer, they are genuine photographs created one at a time as silver-halide prints. “I want people to come away with the impression that they can have more photography fun using this camera, Esaid Ono.

“I want to make cameras that make
people love photography more and
more each day." (Takashi Arai)

At Ricoh photo gallery Ring Cube, located in Tokyo at Ginza 4-chome, a one-day digital camera lending service is now in operation. “We initiated this program because we thought that if people have the chance to walk the streets taking pictures with a Ricoh camera and then view the results, they will consider buying it, Eexplained Takeuchi. “I think the act of shooting photographs with a digital camera has already become an integral part of people’s everyday lives. It is my hope that people will want to always have the CX4 close at hand, Ehe added, also indicating that he wants to have more user-participation promotions in the future.

RING CUBE

Planning staff person Takashi Arai had this to say about his future ambitions, “I want to continue to create digital cameras that provide both the responsiveness needed to prevent shutter chances from getting away and the creative features needed to increase the fun of picture taking itself. Ebr /> We hope you will look forward to the continued evolution of the CX series.