The Impact of Digital Marketing on Brand Image: The Case of Kodak

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Eastman Kodak Company, focusing on the impact of digital marketing on its brand image. The report begins with an introduction to digital marketing and its role in brand building, followed by a historical overview of Kodak's establishment and evolution in the photographic film industry. The main body delves into Kodak's areas of failure, including poor management, lack of capital, overexpansion, changing consumer behavior, lack of innovation, late online entry, and failure to adapt to market trends. The report also examines retail trends and competition, highlighting competitors like Fuji and Sony. A SWOT analysis and Porter's Five Forces analysis are conducted to assess the company's internal and external environments. Recommendations are provided for Kodak to re-establish itself in the market, emphasizing the importance of innovation, aggressive marketing, and diversification. The report concludes by summarizing the key points, highlighting the rise and fall of Kodak in the digital era, and referencing relevant sources.

The impact of digital
marketing on brand
image of KODAK
company

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
KODAK..................................................................................................................................3
Areas of failure.......................................................................................................................4
Retail trends and competition.................................................................................................5
SWOT ANALYSIS................................................................................................................5
PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS................................................................................6
RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing refers to promotion of products and services through the use of
electronic media and internet. It is also known as online marketing as it uses various
digital mediums such as emails, social media,text messages,SEO etc. to market
products. Digital marketing has contributed in building brands all across the globe as
advertising play a important role in enhancing brand image. Various platforms are used
to promote products ,these all help firms to connect with target customers in a efficient
manner. It also improves communication between organization and customers.
Consumers are more aware today and firms can efficiently gain brand awareness by
use of digital media. This report covers the impact of digital marketing on brand image
of Kodak company and why did fail in the digital era? It also covers the current retail
trends and the competition faced by retailers. SWOT analysis and Porters five forces is
also done to know the environment affecting business. Recommendations are also
been stated for betterment of business.
MAIN BODY
KODAK
The Eastman Kodak company was established in year 1892 on May 23. It was
founded by George Eastman, Henry A. Strong in America. It is best known for
photographic film products. It deals in various other segments also like Print
systems,Enterprise Inkjet Systems,Micro 3D Printing and Packaging,Software and
Solutions. In 20th century,Kodak was the most dominant in photographic films. Earlier
when company started its business it followed the business model of selling
inexpensive cameras and consumables likes chemicals, and paper. Company used to
sell the camera created by its founder George Eastman which was a leathered covered
box camera preloaded with 100 exposure roll film. It was reloaded with fresh roll film at
the cost of $10. Customers who knew photo processing could buy $2 roll films and this
easy use and cheap cost made access to general public .Kodak developed the first
hand held digital camera in 1975 but did not launched,in 1990s it planned to move to
digital technology and launched the DC-20 and DC-25 in 1996. Company thought it
would face no threat from new technologies but after boom of technology era in 2000s

consumers started to switch to companies which were offering digital products like
Sony. In year 2001 firms sales start to drop contributed by September 11 attack. Kodak
spent resources to study consumer behaviour to know that women are keen lover of
digital photos but do not like to shifts in computers. Kodak developed products which
eased the shifting of photos to PCs. In year 2005, it was ranked as no. 1 seller of digital
cameras in US. Despite of high growth company faced challenges from Asian
companies who were producing same products with less price(Casey, Ribaux and
Roux, 2019). Company used strategy to invest in digital technology and services to
boost profit margins but they were of no use and company filed bankruptcy in 2012 in
US court and stopped production of digital cameras and picture frames. I t stills sells
cameras under the brand of JK Imaging Ltd. Company sold its patents for $525,000,000
to Apple,Google,Amazon and other companies In September 2013 Kodak raised from
its bankruptcy and closed some businesses. It now operates in personalized and
document imaging under the separate company Kodak Alaris. Recently in covid 19
company announced to enter into pharmaceutical business(Benkheddoudja and et,
al.,2022).
Areas of failure
Business face challenges every day and if they fail to cope with it the business
suffers. If they are not be able to compete with competitors and new technology they
are likely to fail. Kodak is one of the them. Here are some reasons why it failed-:
 Poor management- Kodak which was a famous company failed due to
managements inability to forecast digital photography future in spite of having
world class researchers.
 Lack of capital- Kodak was leader in this industry but after launching several
products in span of 20 years from 1991 to 2011 it faced shortage of capital.
 Over expansion- Company expanded it products portfolio, that they were not
been able to concentrate and eventually failed in many businesses (Kücher and
et, al., 2020).
 Change of the customers behaviour- Customers seek quality products in less
price and Kodak was late in adapting new technology and Sony,Canon captured
the market.

 Lack of innovations- Kodak had lack of vision to see that digital technology
products will take over the market and it did not innovate new products
 Late online entry- Competitors of Kodak were selling their products online but
company focused on retail stores and entered online market very late which
significantly affected its business.
 Lack of flexibility in market trend and changes- With the rise of digital
photography, company was unable to change according market trends and
failed.
 Ignoring competitors- Company thought its analogue cameras could beat the
competition but digital cameras introduced by its competitors took the market
share
 Economic reasons- Kodak competitors were selling 20% less colour films which
affected company's business.
 Non attractive range of products- Kodak lacked innovation in products and
continued to sell old products whereas its competitors were launching high end
products(Antony and et, al.,2019).
Retail trends and competition
Competitors
 Fuji films- Company was also producing cameras alike Kodak but Fuji
introduced disposable 35mm camera to public before Kodak and gained
success. Company changed its operations when digital era came and it
diversified it products range and remained in market by tackling new businesses
with new products.
 Sony- Company produced image sensors and after 1990s it stared to innovate
digital products like DSLR and systems camera. They innovated new products in
less prices and captured the market share share of Kodak.
Retail trends
 Online presence- When Kodak was the leader in camera business its presence
was only at physical stores but as technology grew and products started to sell
online, company did not changed its policies,but its competitors adapted this very

soon and when company entered online market ,the major share was already
with competitors(Yuzawa, 2018).
 Technology- Kodak has invented digital cameras in 1980s but continued to sell
old ones but when technology era started in 1990s competitors introduced many
digital products at cheap price. Company had lack of vision which made its
business suffer as they did not innovate(Bala and Verma,2018).
SWOT ANALYSIS
It is a strategic tool used by businesses to know the issues which company is
facing in its current environment.
STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
 Product portfolio- Company has
variety of products to offer in market.
It has all types of products for
industrial,personal and commercial
use,for ex-paper and
chemicals,graphic arts, x-ray films
and many more.
 Skilled workforce- Company
organises training workshops and
programs for its all employees and
has skilled workforce in company.
 Lack of vision- Company lacked
the vision of transformation from
analogue to digital and led to
huge losses in terms of
decreased market share.
 Virtual stores- Kodak which is
well known brand across the
globe, did not try to go online
while its competitors were present
on internet and this affected the
sales of the company and when
they adopted digital media it was
of no use.
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
 Adapting- Company must use new
technology to grab market share by
bringing digital cameras and smartphones
with imaging technology.
 3D printing- Kodak should launch 3D
printing machines as people are more
 Competition -After staying out of
the market for many years,it has
become difficult for the company
to compete with competitors who
have latest technology.

interested in this category.  Substitutes- With the change in
technology people are used to
use mobiles than cameras as
they are easy to use.
Kodak which one cared for its consumers but lacked vision for future growth.
SWOT analysis of Kodak has concluded that firm should focus on bringing new
products so that it can compete in market(Chen and et, al.,2020).
PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS
It is used to analyse the competitive forces of industry which affect the
environment of business.
Threats of new entrants- Kodak is facing challenges from new entrants as they
bring new technology and innovation which results in cost cutting,lower prices of
products. The force of new entrants is moderate in the industry. Kodak has to manage
all these to overcome the threat of new entrants. Company should innovate new
products to bring new customers to increase sales. They can build economies of scale
to lower the cost of product. Company should invest on R&D to create new products as
new players are less likely to enter in a market where industry keep defining standards.
Bargaining power of buyers- Buyers always demand quality products at cheap
prices which puts pressure on companies profitability. Power of buyers is high in this
industry as they are higher in number and powerful as they are demanding more
discounts and offers. Company can build loyal customer base to reduce the power and
keep innovating so that customers cannot demand discounts. New products will also
help to retain old customers.
Bargaining power of suppliers- All the companies in this industry buy the raw
material from various suppliers so there power is low. Kodak can build efficient supply
chain for supply of materials. They can innovate new products with new materials so
that they can reduce the power of suppliers. Kodak can associate with third party
manufactures so that it eliminates the powers of suppliers.

Threats of substitutes- New products are high threat to company as
customers switch easily to them who are offering quality products at low prices. To
avoid this Kodak should not only focus on products but on service quality also and
understanding the needs of consumers. Company can also increase switch cost for
consumers.
Rivalry amongst competitors- Existing players have intense rivalry between
them which leads in decrease the prices of products and industry profitability. Rivalry is
high in industry. Kodak should build some differentiation in order to compete and
collaborate with competitors to increase the share in market(Herhausen and et, al.,
2020) .
This analysis concludes that KODAK has to face many challenges in this industry and
to compete in market it have do some different.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Kodak for establishing itself in market must value back to its core brand. They should
innovate products which are of latest technology but are cheap in compare to
competitors. They should sponsor big events in order to grab customers attention and
do aggressive marketing. The company should not only on camera sales but diversify
its portfolio to pharmaceuticals,copiers,printers business and also they must focus on
becoming consumer centric brand.
CONCLUSION
This report covers how digital marketing impacts on Kodak. History of the
company and why it failed to sustain in the market is studied. Reasons of failure of the
company were studied in depth to know why world known brand failed? Study of the
forces of industry which affect the environment of business were discussed through
Porters five forces analysis and SWOT analysis to know the overall efficiency. Current
trends of the market are also studied and recommendation were given so that business
can do better. This report has covered all the main points of rise and fall of Kodak due
to new technology in the digital era.

REFERENCES
Casey, E., Ribaux, O. and Roux, C., 2019. The Kodak syndrome: risks and
opportunities created by decentralization of forensic capabilities. Journal of
forensic sciences, 64(1), pp.127-136.
Benkheddoudja, O.,and et, al.,2022. THE IMPACT OF FIRM INNOVATIVENESS ON
FIRM PERFORMANCE: CASE STUDY OF KODAK COMPANY. World Bulletin
of Management and Law, 9, pp.52-58.
Kücher, A., and et, al., 2020. Firm age dynamics and causes of corporate bankruptcy:
age dependent explanations for business failure. Review of Managerial
Science, 14(3), pp.633-661.
Antony, J., and et, al.,2019. A study into the reasons for process improvement project
failures: results from a pilot survey. International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management.
Bala, M. and Verma, D., 2018. A critical review of digital marketing. M. Bala, D. Verma
(2018). A Critical Review of Digital Marketing. International Journal of
Management, IT & Engineering, 8(10), pp.321-339.
Herhausen, D., and et, al., 2020. The digital marketing capabilities gap. Industrial
Marketing Management, 90, pp.276-290.
Chen, P., and et, al.,2020. Promotional pricing and online business model choice in the
presence of retail competition. Omega, 94, p.102085.
Yuzawa, T., 2018. The digital revolution and business behaviour: the case of Kodak
versus Fujifilm. Entreprises et histoire, (1), pp.37-50.