Archive for January, 2012
Is Kodak really out of the picture?
Jan 23rd
I feel sad for Kodak. A brand that defined an entire industry has been beaten by evolution.
But digital isn’t responsible for its demise; it was Kodak’s resistance to it and other change that saw the final nail in the coffin called bankruptcy.
Having never quite capitalised on the digital technology it pioneered, Kodak stood firmly behind its stand alone stores and print offers – trying to push its film brand.
Kodak, say analysts, also misunderstood the new ways consumers in which consumers wanted to interact with their photos. I hate to make this judgement, but it seems to have been the Yahoo of the photo world. Laughing in the face of competition and resting on the laurels that the brand was once the best in its field – surely that would be enough. And what about our loyal customers?
For a brand that created “moments” it certainly struck the rest of the world as odd when it left itself out of the picture. Indeed, missing the digital moment that would thrust it into the future.
Another aspect of that was online photo publishing, printing services that delivered prints to your door and department stores joining the bandwagon, printing photos for a few pence a shot.
Indeed, there were many things that went wrong for Kodak, but no real reason why it couldn’t have caught up if it tried.
Yet, even in bankruptcy, Kodak boasts some enviable strengths: a golden brand, technology firepower that includes a rich collection of photo patents and more than US$4 billion in annual sales of digital cameras, printers and inks.
It’ll be an interesting one to watch with some speculating that a revival isn’t completely out of the question.
But it sure would take one hell of a marketing effort to restore any faith in the brand.
For now, we’ll wait and see. In the meantime, here are some cute “moments” from a brand that will always be remembered as a pioneer, a ‘titan’ of the photographic and printing industry.
Not even Rihanna could save it…I guess it was love in a hopeless place.
How to be a digital ninja in 2012
Jan 16th
Looking to bolster your digital capabilities in 2012? There’s only one device you’ll need, and finally it is your mobile.
We’ve published many a headline over the years to the effect of “Is this the year of mobile?”
While we’ve all waited eagerly – knowing the broad capabilities our pocket devices hold – we have been disappointed year and year again.
But finally, it seems like 2012 is it for mobile.
And we’ve not waited because there hasn’t been cool stuff on mobile until now, we’ve just all been so caught up with devices that have come since mobile.
You have to remember that mobile is an old platform – reinvigorated perhaps by replacing ‘mobile’ with ‘smart’. The year of the smartphone has dawned.
Why?
Our insistent need to be socially connected at all times. But not only is social growing, content is.
Facebook currently boasts 800 million users worldwide. Of those, 350 million are using Facebook mobile – sharing news clips, photos and blogs.
We’ve said content is King before, but this will ring true more than ever in 2012 as internet users shy away from simple status updates.
Branded apps are also on the rise as smartphone take up steadily increases and the naysayers of the iPhone, HTC, iPads and other smart devices join the life of the living.
Brands have been trying to get into the pockets of consumers for years, but there has always been a challenge for some to do it in an organic, fun and engaging way.
So with the huge growth in online shopping outside of eBay, there’s never been a better time.
With this, brands will also become more creative when it come to geo-location platforms and there will be a smoother, more complete social integration.
I had never quite realised how much my phone could do until I was given an iPhone 4 recently. But it wasn’t until after my laptop and iPad were stolen in a break and enter until I realised I could actually do everything I wanted and needed to do from my phone – my iPhone 4.
I think others are starting to notice also…especially brands and marketers.
I can’t even catch public transport with checking the app to see how long I have to wait, go to dinner without checking out Yelp or start my morning without checking the latest specials on ASOS.
It’s an increasingly digitally mobile world.
How to get a brilliant new job in marketing this year
Jan 13th
“Whether you’re looking for a new job or looking to make your next rock star hire, matching talent with opportunities is a time-consuming process,” reckon the folks at LinkedIn.
Late last year the professional social networking site launched a real-time job seeker application – currently in Beta. Profile Matches, aims to make it faster and easier to find jobs and candidates.
LinkedIn members will also be matched with job opportunities that they might otherwise miss, and hiring managers and recruiters will see qualified candidates immediately after posting a job.
I have to say that the feature is actually pretty good. This new feature works best when you’ve filled out the experience, summary and professional headline sections of your profile with details about your skills.
It’s been a long time coming for LinkedIn when you think about it. The site already enables users to list whether or not they are interested in job opportunities – and recruiters have long used the site as their head hunting ground.
And it’s no wonder: LinkedIn adds around 10 new members every 5 seconds, according to the company’s senior vice president of product development, Deep Nishar.
LinkedIn has around 135 million users in more than 200 countries. That’s a lot of exposure and opportunity.
Furthermore, as of September 2011, LinkedIn counts executives from all 2011 Fortune 500 companies as members; its corporate hiring solutions are used by 75 of the Fortune 100 companies.
There are 528,000,000 search results for ‘Marketing jobs UK’ when punched into Google.
Searching for a job using social media isn’t anything new. And in the field of marketing, it’s almost a given. We are a networking profession after all.
In reading through the many stories of those who managed to secure their current gig through social media, the biggest trend seemed to be that a chance tweet, Facebook post, or online connection made all the difference.
Here’s a cool one from a few years back:
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