"Kodak Moment" Updated for Social Media

Last week, brandchannel reported that Kodak was relying on defending its patents to secure a cloudy future. Well, that was last week.

This week Kodak is launching a new campaign designed to reinvigorate its brand, redefining the archetypal "Kodak moment," a phrase first used in 1961 that was meant to represent a special slice of life worth capturing on Kodak film.

Only this time, the campaign suggests, "The real Kodak moment happens when you share."

Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, chief marketing officer for Kodak, tells the New York Times that the new campaign focuses on "emotional technology" and demonstrates how Kodak wants to "come back to the core of who we are."

The real issue for Kodak, of course, is that the company holds an albatross squarely around its neck: the legacy of traditional film.

There is some good news, though. A survey conducted by research company Brand Keys in February showed that Kodak has increased its digital awareness lately; Kodak tied Canon for first place in the digital-imaging category.

The new campaign, featuring TV spots, a YouTube channel and a branded microsite at kodakmoment.com, is an attempt to capitalize on that awareness and make consumers connect Kodak images to sharing which, these days, is done digitally. Then Kodak can pitch its digital cameras, digital picture frames, and video cameras, all part of an area Kodak calls "consumer imaging.

The company will use video images on its sign in New York's Times Square, as well as a full range of media to support the campaign: print ads, television commercials, online ads, social media, and a specially created microsite, along with a promotional placement of a "Kodak moment" in an episode of NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.

Maybe the photo giant has some life left in it after all.