In race for a bigger pie of the domestic digital camera market, Japanese camera

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major Nikon will launch its first television commercial (TVC) in India by April to take its brand visibility to the next level.

The company, which is slugging out with Canon and Sony in the domestic market for a stronger brand and market presence, plans to capture 50 per cent of the digital SLR segment and 15 per cent of the compact category by the end of this year.

Currently Nikon enjoys 45 per cent of the 15,000-units per year domestic digital SLR camera market and 13 per cent in the compact segment, which is at 1.2 million units per annum.

"We are aggressive with our marketing campaigns. We are coming out with our first television commercial(TVC) in this market in April," Nikon India managing director Hidehiko Tanaka said.

Nikon, which started its domestic subsidiary in 2007, has so far been focusing on below-the-line campaigns here.

"Unlike the rest of the world, the Indian camera market is growing and we see a lot of potential here. So we aim to get 50 per cent of the SLR camera market and 15 per cent of the digital compact market this year," Nikon Corporation head of Asia operations Nobuyoshi Gokyu said.

Though Tanaka refused to disclose advertising spend, he said Nikon will invest "significantly" on creating awareness about SLR cameras, including starting a 'Nikon School', an educational programmes on the equipment.