Shutter Shudder

Photo marketers are getting their promotions into tighter focus this year.

Film sales are falling as digital photography catches on, the economy falters, and consumers travel less after Sept. 11. That has led marketers to rethink how to revive both classic brands and new technology — which translates into more advertising and p.r. and a tighter rein on promotion. “It’s a hell of a lot more effective to do product-specific advertising than promotions,” says analyst Ulysses Yannas of Buckman Buckman & Reid, New York City.

Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, NY, is shifting marketing money to media advertising and streamlining promotion to run fewer campaigns and better align them with the company’s ad theme, “Share Moments. Share Life.” Kodak’s mixed marketing budget for 2002 includes advertising, national and regional promotions (which get whittled down this year), and sponsorships.

The company’s biggest platform this quarter is its longtime Olympics sponsorship, which this time centers on a mail-in offer for collector pins featuring gold-medal Olympians from past Winter Games. Consumers get a pair of America’s Gold pins (one to wear, one to share) for two proofs of purchase from film, processing, instant camera, or photo CDs. (Fans in Salt Lake City for the Games next month can redeem proofs locally.) Consumers specify which of three sets they want. Eric Mower & Associates, Rochester, NY, handles.

The offer introduces the tagline “Capture the Moment. Share the Spirit” to dovetail with the year-old ad tag. “This is the first promotion to catapult off the ad theme,” says Kodak director of marketing communications Diane Peterman.

Kodak is finalizing plans for a summer tie-in with Coppertone, its second joint promotion with the sunscreen brand. Last year, consumers who bought Coppertone and Kodak products got a free beach bag. “It’s a great partnership. Sun and summertime is what [the brands] are all about,” says Peterman.

A fourth-quarter campaign for Picture Maker kiosks centered on a 16-page booklet offering tips for using photos as presents. Only about five percent of consumers are aware of Kodak’s photo-editing system (September 2000 PROMO), but “once people use it, their interest skyrockets,” says Peterman. The booklet (with coupons) was designed to boost sampling at the 21,000 kiosks in stores nationally.

The retooled marketing plan comes after a restructuring in November that divvied up the company by business category (photography, commercial imaging, components, health imaging, and entertainment imaging) rather than geography. That makes business units more autonomous — and more accountable for sales.

Kodak may restore some consumer marketing dollars after drastically cutting back from $570 million in 1999 to about $450 million last year. “My distinct impression is that they’ll change [ad cuts] in 2002,” says Yannas.

Of course, “if Kodak advertises more, you better believe Fuji will,” predicts Yannas.

Shooting Back

Fuji Photo Film USA, Elmsford, NY, is traveling the nation in a truck through February to launch its FinePix digital camera. The 10-month Picture of America tour lets consumers try the camera and have their photos taken to be stored, printed (on the U.S.-landmark backdrop of their choice), shared online — and incorporated in a digital mosaic with all photos taken on tour. A Picture Yourself a Winner sweeps gives away a $15,000 camera, TV, and computer package and smaller prizes of cameras and TVs.

“We wanted to demystify digital technology,” says Fuji senior marketing manager-digital products Eric Thorng.

The tour’s 100,000-plus visitors spend an average 20 to 25 minutes touring inside the truck, which visits event venues, retailers, and retail headquarters — the last to give lessons on what services consumers need.

“I can see retailers being leery of digital photography, because they invested a lot in APS [Advanced Photo Systems] and it never took off,” says Thorng, whose in-house team developed the tour; Advanced Marketing Services, Portchester, NY, executed. (Edelman Worldwide, New York City, handles the sweeps.)

This fall, Fuji added a Web site to its 10-year-old PhotoPals program with Scholastic, Inc., which lets kids nationwide exchange photos and letters. The site pairs up students and suggests activities based on a set curriculum (this year, it’s environmental issues), offers information for parents, and gives Fuji a year-round presence. Scholastic handles.

Kodak spent $62 million in measured media in the first half of 2001, relatively flat compared with the $123 million it allocated for all of 2000, according to Competitive Media Reporting, New York City. Fuji spent a mere $1.2 million in the first half, down from $16.5 million in 2000, per CMR.

Meanwhile, film sales dipped nine percent to $871 million for the 52 weeks ended Oct. 7, per Information Resources, Inc., Chicago. Kodak sales in food, drug, and mass outlets dropped 9.4 percent to $671 million, while Fuji’s fell 1.4 percent to $145 million, per IRI. Disposable cameras fared better, rising seven percent to $679 million for the period and led by Kodak at $432 million (up 7.3%) and private label at $122 million (up 11%), IRI reports.

Instant Recognition

Embattled Polaroid Corp., Cambridge, MA, keeps pumping out new products despite criticism from some analysts for relying too much on the “next great” invention to bolster sliding sales.

Its latest launch, Mio, targets adults with wallet-sized instant photos — sort of a grown-up version of the company’s teen hit, i-Zone (now the top-selling camera in the world).

Polaroid began limited distribution of Mio at photo specialty stores, Best Buy, and Amazon.com in fourth-quarter 2001, and this year has plans for a broader rollout into mass merchandise chains. Marketing support so far has been mostly p.r., with a short movie on Polaroid’s Web site via ad agency Leo Burnett USA, Chicago.

Then there are the i-Zone flankers: RadioCam, an i-Zone with a built-in radio; and Fortune Film, whose fortune cookie-style messages fade as the photo develops. Both target teens.

All launches have been getting modest marketing support as the company struggles to regroup after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October.

“With the Chapter 11 filing and the current economic climate, we’re scrutinizing every marketing dollar we spend,” says spokesperson Rachel Street.

Despite those problems, Polaroid’s Life of the Party sweepstakes continues through March. The six-month, instant-win effort dangles a grand prize of $100,000 to throw the party of a lifetime. Online gamepieces “eject” from the camera (players choose one of two models, the Joycam or the Spectra 1200FF, to play) and “develop” to show winning messages. In-pack pieces come with Joycam, Spectra, One-Step Express, and Silver Express models. Online and in-store gift and party tips support. DVC Group, Morristown, NJ, handles. Heavy holiday ad support via Burnett dovetailed with the campaign.

Despite problems with last summer’s sponsorship of the Backstreet Boys Black & Blue Tour, Polaroid may put together another music promo for 2002.

The company created a limited-edition Black & Blue i-Zone with stickers of band members and the tour logo kids could use to customize their cameras. A sweeps via DVC Group gave away a trip to the Las Vegas stop. But the tour had slack attendance, then went on hold for seven weeks while band member A.J. McLean went into rehab.

Still, that was Polaroid’s first negative experience following two big successes (with the Backstreet Boys in 1999 and Britney Spears in 2000) and the company likes music sponsorships as a platform to reach teen girls.

Polaroid spent $140 million on consumer marketing last year, says Yannas, about seven percent of its $1.8 billion in sales. (Kodak, by contrast, spent about 6.6 percent of its $6.8 billion in sales on marketing, according to Yannas’ figures.) CMR puts Polaroid measured media spending at only $19 million for the first half of 2001.

It’s a tough time to be in pictures.

Hurray for Hollywood

What’s the film industry without film? Kodak spotlights its Hollywood connection two ways.

The film leader re-upped for five more years of joint promotions with Universal Studios as “exclusive imaging partner” for the entertainment company’s five theme parks in California and Florida. Kodak sponsors attractions and can use the venues for promotions. First up is the launch of iConnect at Kodak.com, which lets consumers archive and share photos online.

Kodak has been a Universal sponsor since 1981, when it began hosting the Special Effects Stage at Universal Studios Hollywood. It added sponsorship of Universal Studios Florida in 1990 and the adjoining Islands of Adventure in 1999.

Separately, the company sponsors the Kodak Theatre, which opened in November and will host the Academy Awards and other Hollywood events. (The sponsorship deal is part of a $567 million civic renovation plan designed to make central Hollywood a shopping and entertainment complex hosting 20 million visitors a year.)

An October sweeps let consumers scratch instant-win gamepieces for a chance to win a trip to the theater’s grand opening, Kodak equipment, or movie passes. Players entered via Kodak.com or AOL’s You’ve Got Pictures, which Kodak sponsors. RealTime Media, Wynnewood, PA, handled.