Olympus joins Minolta in brand name heaven

[pierces]

Japan Industrial Partners, the company that acquired the rights to the Olympus brand and established OM Digital Solutions has decided that "OM System" is a better name than the iconic "Olympus" that has been seen on cameras since the 1930's. I wonder if they will strip "Zuiko" from their excellent lenses since it means "Light of the Gods" and they just removed the god's mountain from the brand? 

 

It's hard to predict what the impact on the brand will be. The cameras and lenses are good and as long as that remains the case, people will still want them. The industry pundits and established "pros" mocked Sony when they rebranded Minolta cameras after the 2006 acquisition and later with the shift to mirrorless, declaring the line as doomed. How did that work out?

 

Oh, well. The changing face of photography and associated reduced demand is taking its toll.

 

I wonder what industry-shaking news is next?

 

 

Dave

 

[CaptJerry51]

Thanks for posting this news.  I'm sure the decision came after numerous focus groups and hundreds of thousands of dollars of consultant fees.  Maybe fits into some grand long-range strategy.  I didn't think the name was broke.  So why fix it?

[Hezu]

6 hours ago, CaptJerry51 said:

Thanks for posting this news.  I'm sure the decision came after numerous focus groups and hundreds of thousands of dollars of consultant fees.  Maybe fits into some grand long-range strategy.  I didn't think the name was broke.  So why fix it?

I think this might be partially due to the fact that Olympus as a company hasn't ceased to exist, it continues to produce some other products than camera equipment.

[pierces]

4 hours ago, Hezu said:

I think this might be partially due to the fact that Olympus as a company hasn't ceased to exist, it continues to produce some other products than camera equipment.

 

That's an excellent point. Distancing the brand from the company that cut ties to your product line because the gastrointestinal endoscope department was more profitable was probably a good move.

 

Dave