Stewart Henderson
Vice President of Marketing
Digital Imaging Division for Samsung Opto-Electronics America, Inc.

Market research has shown that with all of the advanced features that manufacturers are packing into point and shoot cameras these days, consumers can be intimidated when looking to purchase a new camera. Not surprisingly, this intimidation can manifest itself at specialty retailers, where potential buyers may be inundated with too much information if they are not well-versed in digital photography. Conversely, when shopping at a big-box retailer, consumers may not be able to speak to anyone to get enough information about their options.

To address this issue, Samsung found an innovative solution to educate the camera buying public in an unobtrusive manner and in relaxing environments. Last month, a fleet of six BobCar Mobile Showrooms hit the streets of New York City and Boston, starting at the summer hotspot Hampton Beach, NY. The Samsung Mobile Showrooms, easily maneuvered onto sidewalks and other high-traffic areas, also hit events like the Live Earth Concert at Giants Stadium, The Today Show's Morning Concert, and baseball games at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. While attending these events and participating in leisure activities, consumers had the opportunity to see, touch, and experience the latest cameras offered from Samsung. The mission for the attending staff was more to provide information versus closing on camera sales. This of course, enabled passer-bys to linger and learn without feeling the pressures of someone attempting to close a sale (as consumers made the choice to purchase, there was a wireless internet connection that allowed them to do so via local partnered retailers).

The Mobile Showrooms are more approachable and user-friendly than larger promotions staged from 18-wheelers, where products are often viewed from afar or behind glass.

"The opportunity for the placement of the Mobile Showrooms in the future is virtually endless," said Stewart Henderson, Vice President of Marketing, Digital Imaging Division for Samsung Opto-Electronics America, Inc. "The BobCars can be included at local store grand openings, town fairs, and pretty much any size event one can think of. In fact, the BobCars were even included in the Cape Cod 4th of July parade."

"People were initially drawn to the cameras by their design, mega pixels, and zoom features," said a Samsung Brand Ambassador. "But once they looked at all the options, they wanted to know more about face-detection, image stabilization, scene-modes and other features, which Samsung is at the forefront of."

Visitors were able to get a hands-on demonstration of features available in the L series and NV series of point and shoot cameras at these Mobile Showrooms. The NV series boasts an innovative Smart-Touch interface, eliminating the bevy of buttons that can confuse and intimidate users, along with large LCD screens, and other advanced features. The L series features a wide array of in-camera photo- and movie-editing features and a number of fun features, like creating a composite, adding photo frames, highlights, and more, all without the use of Photoshop.

With consumer promotions such as the Samsung Mobile Showrooms, it won't be long before people associate Samsung digital cameras with the expertise that is already associated with Samsung's consumer electronics line.

Samsung Experience

Retailer Quotes...

• Willoughby's: "This is really an effective marketing strategy. People check out the products before they come into the store, as soon as they come in they ask more questions and before you know it, they are leaving with the product. While the showrooms were here we completely ran out of stock of the K10D's, I had to go to Camera Land to pick up an additional 8 since people were coming in and asking for them and we didn't have any more".
• Camera Land: "You guys are great; we have been selling Pentax cameras all day while you were here. We sold a total of 28 Pentax cameras today alone. Please come back anytime!"
• B & H: "You guys are very knowledgeable about the Pentax products; people came into our store excited about the Pentax line and often bought them. We really need some help in our Pentax booth; can one of you guys please train one of our personnel?"
• Adorama: "This is a great set up, really draws your attention! Give us more!"
• J & R: "Whatever you guys are doing out here, keep it up, because it's working! People are coming inside the store and asking for Pentax this, Pentax that. Can we get this car inside the store? This showroom is great and would work well inside our store!

Consumer Quotes...

• "I recently updated to my K10D, it is truly a great product." (Adam, New York)
• "My Pentax is my baby, so happy I bought my K100S!" (Rich, New York)
• "You are telling me that I could have bought this camera for less than what I paid for my Sony? This shake reduction feature is the best and the zoom, wow, this zoom is great!" (Consumer with the Z10).
• "When I take pictures with my camera am a decent photographer, but every picture I take on this camera makes me seem like a pro. I took pictures of pigeons and they look great, pictures of cones and they look great also, take a picture of me, maybe it will give me a makeover!" (Consumer with the K10)
• "This is really great, most people who work at stores like Best Buy don't have the time or the knowledge to explain all the features. You guys really sold me on Pentax!" (Buyer at retail)
• "I just bought a Nikon, seems like I paid $900 more for nothing." (Upset Consumer)
• "This really helped me on my Christmas shopping, I was dreading going to a store to find out info about SLRs, those guys are always busy and rushing to make a sale, thanks for this!" (Buyer at retail)
• "Its cold outside and these cameras must be really strong to withstand the elements. My Nikon needs to be in its pouch to work in these conditions!" (Buyer at retail)
• "This is what I call highly effective marketing, I was going inside (Camera Land) to buy me a camera anyhow but you just sold me on buying a Pentax." (Buyer at retail)

Dear Benny,

Many thanks to you and your team for putting together a successful and professional program for us. As you know, XOHM WiMAX is a new service that launched in Baltimore in October, 2008. WiMAX technology is complicated to understand and the benefits are sometimes difficult to realize without a full immersion experiential component.

By utilizing three XOHM-branded Bob cars across the Baltimore WiMAX footprint, we were able to successfully communicate the technology, educate consumers within the coverage area (our direct targets) and show real-time demonstrated benefits of the products and service. Thanks to a coordinated effort and great team work, we were able to measure success, adapt as needed and get great brand awareness over the course of our 14-week program. Our "XOHM Cars" even marched in two major parades in Baltimore – needless to say, they were a hit!

I knew we had made the right choice to go with Bob Car just a few weeks into the program when I wore a XOHM shirt into a local Baltimore hotel. The receptionist shouted, ‘You work with those cute green cars I see everywhere – I want one!" This was exactly the kind of un-escapable awareness we were hoping to create.

Thank you so much for your commitment to excellence, your positive attitude and for your dedicated, friendly and professional team. We look forward to your continued success and our opportunity to work together again as we launch new markets.

Best regards,
Kevin Martini
Director, Field and Event Marketing

January 2, 2008

Dear Ben,

I wanted to thank you and your very professional staff for their efforts in putting together the Pentax "BobCar Promotion" in Manhattan this past Fall/Winter.

As you were aware, when we met at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier in the year, I was looking to develop a promotional event to promote Pentax products in the critical New York market and tie in our key dealer advertising while targeting our flagship SLR product line directly to the consumer without breaking the budget. I am pleased to tell you that the mobile showroom was a huge hit, not only with the consumers and dealers alike, but with our sales people as well.

One of the best features of the Mobile Showroom is that it gave us the ability to place the display strategically around Manhattan at various events and also directly outside the locations of our key retailers where consumers could see live demonstrations, and more importantly, handle the products. In addition to this, the consumer could ask questions and discuss their picture taking needs with your expertly trained staff. It was like having a "touchy feely" billboard that was mobile.

The result of all this was that in tracking the sales with consumers who visited the BobCar, using special coupon incentives, redeemable at any of our authorized retailers, we were able to compare the individual dealer advertised sales last year vs. the sales with the BobCar tie-in this season. The results were impressive. Same store sales vs. last year increased 300% to 400% in all product categories where the BobCar was present at a dealer event. As a result of this, Pentax will be rolling this out again this year on an expanded key market basis.

Again, I would like to thank you and your staff for your expertise in putting this together and assisting in making this promotion the most successful Pentax event in recent memory.

Best Regards

Paul Caliendo
Northeast Regional Sales Manager

"The Olympus display is amazing! Being that we are located on 5th Avenue in NYC two blocks south of the Empire State building there is a built in huge flow of pedestrian traffic. The ingenious Bob Car mobile Olympus showroom is a tremendous attention grabber that diverts traffic into sales and shoppers into buyers! The Olympus Mobile Showroom Staff are extremely professional and well educated on the Olympus line of products; our customers are impressed with the entire package. Each time the Showroom is parked in front of our store, there is a significant sales spike for Olympus products. I look forward to having the Bob Car visit us again, especially in the current economic environment, it really is a tremendous value add to a photo specialty dealer like Willoughby's!

Joseph I. Douek, Willoughby's, Owner

"Having you guys in front of our store was great for business! The Olympus Showrooms' staff raised awareness of the Olympus products, and customers were asking for Olympus products after seeing you guys outside! As you can see now, two (2) gentlemen are purchasing Olympus cameras! We welcome you guys any day! This is a great idea!"

Bill, J & R Store, Manager

"Having the Olympus Showroom in front of the store helped drive in traffic and sell a lot of Olympus products! This is a great idea and a very effective marketing program! Consumer awareness and education of the Olympus brand increases with the presence of your team, and that translates into customers who have the power to make a purchase. This program should definitely be extended as it's a very good one!

Joel, CameraLand, Owner

"This showroom is a great initiative by Olympus! You guys drive in traffic from the streets and once inside the store, we are able to close the deal with them! We all appreciate you guys being out here and helping us bring in traffic and sell Olympus cameras! We would love to have you guys back here any day!

Kevin, PC Richard & Son, Manager

"It was very helpful to our staff to have the Olympus Showroom outside our store with your product experts. Not only do they assist in bringing in more sales to us, but they attract plenty of attention and drive in consumer prospects! The Showrooms make a great first impression with the customers, and increases their exposure to the Olympus brand. This helps drives sales of Olympus products. I hope you guys continue this marketing program as it is beneficial to all parties, the retailer, the consumers, and Olympus!"

Martino, Adorama, General Manager

"The Olympus Showroom is a beautiful setup and really portrays the brand in a professional manner. It is a fantastic idea to have a Showroom display outside the stores – after all, this is New York City! Consumers can be educated on the street, prior to entering the store. This moves product; I personally sell many Olympus products and today, with you guys here, business definitely increased for Olympus!"

Saul, B & H Photo Sales

Most Memorable Consumer Comments:

• "I’m amazed at my 1030 SW! I have dropped it countless times and it still keeps on working perfectly!"
• "These binoculars are so clear that it looks like things are just a few feet away!"
• "I love how small the E-420 is but the E-520 is perfect for me. I would recommend either of these great cameras to anyone"
• "How brilliant Olympus is that they created a crushproof camera. I just purchased the 1050 for my son!"
• "I really like the In-Body Stabilization in the E-3 because I don’t have to worry about what lens I use!"
• "The SP-565 has such an amazing zoom for such a compact camera. I think my husband is going to love this for all the vacations we take with the kids!"
• "Damn! I can see the top of the Empire State building with these binoculars!"
• "This 50-200 mm lens would go great with my Olympus camera!"
• "So basically I can go swimming on the beach and still be able to take pictures? That’s awesome!"
• "I already own an Olympus camera and I wouldn't trade it for the world!"
• "I enjoy the Showrooms you have; it really allows for a better feel of how the cameras will display pictures in real life/ light settings."
• "The panoramic feature on the Stylus is great! An ideal feature for vacationing!"
• "I enjoy the fact that these DSLR's offer face detection!"
• "The crush proof feature is great, now I can sit without having to worry about my camera being smushed!"
• "I love Olympus, I have an E-420 and it's awesome!"
• "We love Olympus!"
• "I've had an Olympus camera for about 7 years and it still works great!"
• "Wow that camera has 7x zoom!"
• "Oh my God you just dropped that camera and it still works? WOW!"
• "I'm from Spain, and this E-420 is good for my landscape shots!"

Most Memorable Consumer Comments:

• "Unbelievable! Great speeds, great price!"
• "You guys are great! I can truly say that I learned a lot from this experience!"
• "These showrooms are awesome! I've seen you guys all over town!"
• "You guys must have like 12 cars in Baltimore!!"
• "I've been doing research to purchase a wireless card and XOHM looks like a good option for me!"
• "Where can I pick this up? Wish you guys had stock of the devices for sale at the showroom!"
• "At this price point, I don’t think anything matches you guys in Baltimore!"
• "I picked up a home modem after seeing you guys a couple weeks ago!"
• "I can’t believe you are streaming video with no buffering!"
• "You sold me on this pick 2 package! Buying this right now!" consumer outside Best Buy who went into the store and bought both!
• "I’ve been hearing about you guys around town!"
• "I saw you guys driving around a couple times! Wondered what guys were doing, finally got to see the set up, this is great!"
• "Comcast is giving me so much trouble! This sounds so simple!"
• "No wiring in my house? This is great!
• "You can’t beat this price!"

Dear Ben,

Just a short note to thank you and your dedicated team at BobCar for bringing to us this idea and for the fantastic and successful execution of the Olympus Mobile Showroom programs you recently completed for us in Boston, MA and New York, NY.

As you know, our Executive Team at Olympus was so satisfied with the Holiday ’08 Program that we chose to extend the program through June 2009.

The Olympus BobCars provided a solid foundation for our brand to visibly and loudly stand out from our competitors. Strategic positioning of the showrooms allowed prospective consumers to make an Olympus purchase decision immediately after the interaction at the Showroom. As just one example of many, Olympus outsold our competitors by a wide measure at this year’s Hunt’s Photo Show in Boston primarily due to the showrooms positioned adjacent to the event.

Genuine conversations between the Showroom’s Brand Ambassadors and prospective consumers gave us a rare opportunity to place our new line of cameras in thousands of consumer’s hands to demonstrate our points of difference and directly influence their purchasing decisions in advance of their actual shopping experiences.

These genuine connections helped increase Olympus sales significantly at dozens of our key retailers in Boston and NY City. Our retailers consistently reported dramatic spikes in Olympus sales during and after each showroom visit as well as dramatic increases in general traffic entering their establishments. Your trained Brand Ambassadors were very knowledgeable and represented the Olympus brand in a most professional manner. Potential customers loved that they could ask questions, touch, and experiment with the Olympus product line outside of a bland retail environment.

By investing our marketing dollars on a BobCar Program, we were not only able to support our retailers adjacent to their retail establishments, but also bring quality Olympus brand visibility to thousands of potential consumers at high profile events such as industry photo shows, parades, sporting events, and other high trafficked venues.

Thank you once again for the professionalism in making our program such a success for the Olympus brand! We look forward to the opportunity to work together again in the very near future."

Sincerely,


James DiCarlo
Executive Director, Sales

Most Memorable Philadelphia Consumer Comments:

• "This is awesome, perfect for my schoolwork!"
• "Does this work in the suburbs? I would love to use this on my commute home!"
• "Can I put this together with my other Comcast products?"
• "We heard everything from “Great for Parties…to Great for Business Meetings!”"
• "What other markets does 4G cover?"
• "Can I use this with a desk top computer?"
• "People were very impressed with the speed and how good the quality of the videos are from the laptop to the TV monitor…"

To Benny Cohen and the Bobcar Team,

I wanted to take a second and let you know what a help it has been having the Bobcar out in the field. Besides being a great tool in advertising, your team has proven to be top level sales people that are well versed in TMO and a true asset to the brand.

During the fourth quarter of 2009, I had the opportunity to work side by side with the Bobcar on a number of occasions. It was great to see the reactions that we would get from the potential customers walking past. The excitement for T-Mobile that it generated was incredible. I look forward to working more closely together in 2010 and getting the Bobcar to promote T-Mobile being in Radio Shack.

Lastly, I want to give a personal thanks to Ritch Vilas, Christopher Stuart, Johnny, Ulises, and Julian for being out there in the cold and working so hard. Without someone out there, there is no Bobcar!

Once again, many thanks and I look forward to working together and helping T-Mobile grow the business in 2010 and beyond!

Feel free to reach out to me at any time!

Best,
Daniel Kolodny, T-Mobile Field Trainer

“We recently had your Bobcar outside of our store on 10/25/2009 and the experience with the car was appreciated by us and our customers!

They helped drive traffic in the store by drawing attention with the out spoken colors on the car and by educating our customers on some of our products and services.

Also the $50 bonus per activated line, whether it was post or flex pay, was a great offer and helped us satisfy our customers even more!

Thank you,
Laura, Retail Associate Manager, Times Square

“I think this is a great idea, especially for Chinatown… Many of the people in this area don’t just walk into a cell phone store to find out about different rate plans and how it would benefit them.

Chinese people usually just go with what their family and friends have. But with the BobCar posted outside, and the many Asians constantly surrounding it, they get curious and ask.

With your help bringing them in, my staff and I are able to explain the service that they never knew about, and close the deal. I really wish you guys can be here all the time, it really helps bring tons of business to our store.”

Ameritel, Tom Chen, Flushing, NY

On 12/24/2009 I was lucky enough to have the BobCar come out to Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY.

Julian & Erick arrived around 11am and started doing their thing outside one of the mall’s main entrances. The day was a huge success as the BobCar team was able to drive business to our location with the $50 promo offering.

Customers found the BobCar to be very unique and were intrigued to stop by and see what was going on. That’s all Eric & Julian needed to get their sales pitch going. The BobCar team was very informative and knowledgeable as to T-Mobile products and offerings. They did a great job of directing the customer as to what plan would be best for them. They were very friendly and helped in driving incremental sales into my locations.

I was pleased with the event and enjoyed having them on site to help drum up business.

Troy Newsom, | •T•••Mobile• | Account Development Representative | Nassau County |

Bobcar Media:

We would like to say "Thank You" to you and the people of Bobcar Media for all of your help in the month of November in driving us towards more revenue and enhancing our customer's delight.

Our brand ambassador, John Hashimi, went above and beyond the call of duty.  His work with us generated more store foot traffic and lead to an increase in new lines of service.

We greatly appreciate all of the help that we received and look forward to working with all of you again in the future.

Thanks
again, W. Michael Hines, ASM T-Mobile, Jamaica & 168th St.

Dear Mr. Cohen,

“I would like to express my thanks for the dedication of Jonathan Diaz and his team. Between inclement weather, declining foot traffic in certain parts of the territory and a more challenging sales terrain overall, December 2009 started out tough.

However with the relentless efforts of Jonathan and Carmen, specifically with the 8th Ave stores, we were able to pull through the month with over 100% of our core contract goal. 

Many thanks to the team. We look forward to having them back to partner up with our Brooklyn stores in the near future to drive success!”

Regards, Stacia A. Webster, Account Development Representative, Brooklyn, NY

Most Memorable Consumer Comments:

• "Thanks for spending the time to go through all the different plans. I never would have known I was spending an extra $300 a year!"
• "I have a small business and 5 lines with Verizon. This is the first time I’ve thought about switching. You guys are really putting bugs in people’s ears!"
• "I keep seeing these commercials from AT&T about coverage maps, and I get dropped calls all the time. This is what I’m looking for, $50 cash back, nice phones, and great customer service! Thank you, I’m walking into T-Mobile right now!"
• "Amazing! Fifteen minutes and I’m done with Sprint. Thank you for the $50 cash back offer!"
• "It’s a great deal for people who aren’t already T-Mobile customers. I think T-Mobile has good service and you know what to expect every month."
• "I like the fact that the $50 cash back is done on the spot by you guys, and doesn’t require me to fill out a bunch of forms, provide proof of purchase, and mail it out."
• "This is awesome! I have never seen any other phone company promote their product like this. T-Mobile definitely wins in my book."
• "It’s a recession and every little bit helps! Happy to see T-Mobile is doing something for us!"
• "I never knew how significantly cheaper T-Mobile was than AT&T and Verizon. I always used to think that all the phone companies charged pretty much the same until I came across your truck. I’m glad I switched over."
• "Sprint had been holding me by dropping the price on my plan every time I tried to call and cancel, but this is it. You guys have better plans and I’m just done with them! I’m switching now!"
• "I was attracted by the car as I walked. It’s so sad that I’m overpaying!"
• "This is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this in my life! I wouldn’t have ever known this store was here had it not been for this car."
• "I stepped out of my house looking to buy a new phone – seeing you today tells me I should go with T-Mobile!"
• "Bobcar is eye catching. I was just walking down the street and saw it from a mile away! I just had to come see for my own eyes what it was all about!"
• "The difference in cost between my Verizon plan and the same T-Mobile plan is huge! Getting myself a new BlackBerry and T-Mobile right now!"

Most Memorable Consumer Comments:

• "You just put me over the edge to switch to SanDisk. I was going to try to save money by going with a lower quality card." [Customer, Outside Adorama]
• "The evolution of memory cards is unbelievable! I already have a large collection of memory cards; now it I have to add a couple more!"
• "You really don’t know the difference and impact of a memory card until you compare them side-by-side like you just did. Unbelievable!"
• "I saw you guys last week! I ended up buying a new SanDisk memory card!"
• "Thank you for showing me the speed comparison. I’m going inside for an upgrade [J&R]
• "I show you mine [SD Memory Card], and you give me that Water Bottle? Deal!"
• " I’ll be getting a 64GB Pro card because I am shooting a lot of HD video now, and I can fill a 16GB in one shoot!" [Adorama]
• "Thank you for helping me understand that there really is a difference in memory cards – I’m a SanDisk convert now!"
• "I’m visiting J&R to buy a camera; you gave me some really great information about the type of SanDisk card I need to purchase."
• "I shoot a lot of music videos; I am actually going inside right now to buy the Extreme Pro Card! [Customer at Adorama]
• "Thank you for the information you provided about SanDisk cards. As I enter the field of paid photography, I know that I need to buy SanDisk to ensure my valuable data stays intact." [James in Union Square]
• "I am in the process of shopping for a new Digital SLR. It was so helpful to get this information. I will ask for SanDisk by name." [Steve, Wall Street]