This past January, Clay Paky signed Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG) as the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky products in the US, English-speaking Canada, and Japan. On the Japanese market, PRG Asia immediately started planning a series of sales and marketing initiatives to promote the Clay Paky brand and products.
The first step was to organize a three-day seminar (April 22 – 24, 2008) at the Tokyo Design Center Gallery Hall for all Rental, Theatre, and TV operators exclusively focusing on the new partnership with the Italian firm.
An in-depth analysis of the Japanese market, considered vital for both brands, was presented at the seminar. Speakers for PRG Asia included managing director Kobayashi-San, senior division manager Hisao Tanabe, sales manager Tanaka-San, marketing manager Miki Sasaki and vice president John R. Swain. On hand for Clay Paky were the Japan and America sales and marketing manager Francesco Romagnoli and project support manager Giovanni Zucchinali.
A large part of the seminar focused on the technical aspects of Clay Paky’s current core business, the Alpha moving body projectors. Giovanni Zucchinali put on a live demonstration to highlight each product’s features starting with the Alpha Profile 1200, Alpha Spot HPE, Alpha Wash 1200, and ending with the new 300 W compact versions.
Front Row (From left to right):
Tsutomu Yamanaka – Lighting Operator
Junichi Takai – Service Engineer
Miki Sasaki – International Liaison Manager
John R. Swain – Vice President Prg Asia
Francesco Romagnoli – Clay Paky Sales Manager
Giovanni Zucchinali – Clay Paky Project Support
Junko Yamada – Support Technician
Kazuto Honda – Lighting Operator
Back Row (From Left to Right):
Rie Tanaka – Service Engineer
Akira Hasegawa – Assistant Manager – Sales
Yuji Tanaka – Sales Manager
Hisao Tanabe – Senior Division Manager
Shinichi Koshiya – Lighting Services Manager