Have any of you ever been envious of social media influencers’ flawless Instagram feeds and blog posts? Fact is, most of them go beyond Apple/Android devices and use physical cameras to get that alluring effect and high definition photographs. If you’re looking for an option to get a physical camera, why not look to Fujifilm?

Background of company

Fujifilm Corporation, Japan  was founded in 1934 as Japan’s pioneering photographic film maker, while Fujifilm Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation, Japan, has been present in Singapore for more than 20 years. The principal activities of the Company consist of Document Solutions (47%), Information Solutions (39%), and Imaging Solutions (14%). We will focus on Fujifilm’s Imaging Solutions aspect for our project. 

Fujifilm’s Competitors:

We have identified Fujifilm Singapore’s competitors that are also in the market of providing imaging solutions to be Nikon, Canon and Olympus. All four companies are Japanese corporations with headquarters in Singapore, with one of their principal business activities being camera and lens manufacturing.

Why did we choose to do on this topic and particularly on Fujifilm Singapore?

1. Rise of Social Media

Photo sharing sites have gained popularity exponentially over the years, with top sites having a high number of users all over the world.

• Facebook: 1,712 million
• Tumblr: 555 million
• Instagram: 500 million
• Twitter: 313 million

*Figures as of September 2016

Great emphasis has been placed on photo and video sharing on the various social media sites in recent years. In 2014, Facebook has also announced its plans to focus on sharing largely through video content by 2019. (Check this out here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2844852/facebook-will-be-mostly-video-in-5-years-zuckerberg-says.html)

2. Impact of Social Media on Photography

With the rise of social media, opportunities abound for people to explore the field of photography, regardless of whether they are novices or experts. There is an observed trend of people who were initially non-enthusiasts, now having a newfound interest in photography. This emergence of social media platforms has also given rise to ‘social media influencers’ with aesthetically attractive news feeds.

These major improvements in technology have also resulted in smartphones gaining traction in the recent decade. Consequently, the initial large digital camera business has reached a mature state and profitability has been undone quickly by smartphone cameras.

3. Fujifilm Singapore’s Lack of Activity on Social Media Platforms

For most millennials, sharing through posting photos and videos on their social media accounts has been an integral part of their lives. Hence, social media platforms would therefore be a very effective way of reaching out to them. However, through preliminary research, we discovered that Fujifilm barely utilizes its various social media platforms effectively to engage consumers. This is especially so when compared to their competitors and even Fujifilm’s subsidiaries in other countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. As such, we have identified great potential in leveraging on social media to improve Fujifilm’s outreach, which leads us to our research question below.

Facebook:

Instagram:

Which brings us to our research question:

How can Fujifilm Singapore leverage on social media to widen its consumer base and shift the preferences of Millennials* from using cameras on handheld devices to Fujifilm’s camera products?

*For the purposes of this project, we have defined Millennials to be anyone aged between 18-25 in 2016.

Project Goals

Based on the problems we identified, here are our two main goals for this project

1. Changing tastes and preferences

This goal is targeted at social media users who desire “insta-worthy” photographs but are currently utilising only their Smartphone cameras to achieve this function. This is because they value the convenience and immediacy of an “all-in-one” handheld device and perceive Smartphone cameras as sufficient to meet their needs. However, our aim is to change this mindset and convince social media users of the value of a digital camera as superior to a handheld device.

2. Persuading potential buyers to choose Fujifilm

This goal targets non-enthusiasts who have discovered a newfound interest in photography through social media platforms and are considering investing in a digital camera. They possess the purchasing power and willingness but are undecided on their choice of brand. Our aim is to persuade them of the value that Fujifilm can offer, leading to the purchase decision of Fujifilm cameras over other competitor brands.

Value of Study

Our group believes that our study will bring value in these ways:

1. Value to Fujifilm Singapore: Build better engagement with Fujifilm’s customers and increase brand awareness of Fujifilm cameras and their product attributes, thereby increasing sales of the cameras
2. Value to Consumers: Provide consumers with more options to pursue photography apart from their use of handheld devices such as mobile phones.
3. Value to Future Researchers: To explore how increased brand awareness via social media can lead to increased sales for companies in the digital imaging industry.

Methodology:

To seek answers to answer our research question, both primary and secondary research will be conducted, as detailed below.

For primary research methods, we will be surveying millennials on their:

1. Current perception of Fujifilm Singapore
2. Needs and preferences/what interests them
3. Most preferred and used medium (i.e. Instagram, Facebook) and platform for capturing photos nowadays (i.e. mobile phones/digital cameras)

We will also conduct a focus group discussion to allow millennials to test out a physical camera and see what they like about it

As for secondary research, we will be conducting in-depth research on:

1. Millennials’ spending behaviour, needs and preferences, what they are influenced by, what they value
2. Fujifilm’s current social media activities
3. Social media activities that competitors are engaging in

To assess the effectiveness of our proposed solutions, we will be relying on the following metrics:

1. Increase in engagement rates

• Target: 20,000 likes on Facebook 
(with 50% increase in engagement)
as well as 2,000 followers on Instagram

2. Increase in brand recall

• Target: 50% higher recall rate
• Method: Comparison of results from pre- and post- campaign surveys

3. Higher click-through rate of website

• Target: 50% higher click-through rate

4. Increase in sales of Fujifilm camera products

• Target: 15% increase in sales revenue

Conclusion

Although Fujifilm Singapore has the capabilities to meet the needs of its target consumers, it is not utilising readily accessible mediums such as Facebook and Instagram to leverage on the current trends. Our team hopes that our proposal and future recommendations will allow Fujifilm Singapore to reach out to Millennials and revive the trend of physical cameras.