Kodak’s New Marketing Approaches

Last night I was pleasantly surprised at the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (www.atlantaima.org). Their events and discussions are always good, but I went in somewhat skeptical about a solo speaker representing traditional corporate America. Jeff Hayzlett, CMO of Eastman Kodak, turned out an enigmatic speaker with great message. Here are a few highlights I thought I’d share:

  • Here’s the New Elevator Pitch: You have 8 seconds to hook me, 110 seconds to sell me (this is your 118; 118 seconds is the average elevator trip in NYC).
  • Kodak is “emotional technology.” It’s the only technology people will run back into a burning building to save. It strengthens relationships.
  • A year and a half ago Kodak’s home page looked like a coupon list for Office Depot. Today – it’s a great picture – the home page is about pictures…
  • Read the book The Goal.
  • Imaging the conversations that can occur (especially in social media) when you put people in equal standing.
  • Use Twitter as a source for new product concepts, R&D; product revolutions coming from customer tweets…
  • Consider the quintessential marketing case study analogy – the buggy whip business. Buggy whip manufacturers hated the coming of the automobile – it put them out of business. Instead they should have realized they were not in the business of an outdated technology, rather, they were in the accelerant business. In this frame are the brand and business opportunities…
  • Thoroughbreds require more attention. Nags don’t.

Thanks for reading, Jake Aull, www.zenofbrand.com