As far as we know, there’s no famous phrase or quote that reads, “You can’t kill them until they’re dead,” but we’d like to take this moment to attribute this quote to the Eastman Kodak Company. You know, the people who made film and cameras and for some reason, didn’t see cell phone cameras coming?
Last year at PaletzAdvisor.com, we discussed how Kodak had become an unfortunate example of a company that failed to remember what put it on the map. They lost their innovation and forgot to evolve, eventually becoming virtually irrelevant—or so we thought.
So, imagine our surprise when we found out that the company’s consolidated revenue (combining its main company revenue with its subsidiaries) was $1.117 billion in 2023. In 2024 Kodak has made close to that in the first three quarters. But how? We thought they were dead? Are people suddenly buying film and cameras again in an age dominated by digital photography? Have they gone back to trying to push out personal printers again? No.
Before we get carried away, we need to remind you that in 2005, two years before the iPhone, Kodak made more than $11 billion but dropped like a rock until filing for bankruptcy protection in 2012. During this period, they decided to stop producing digital cameras, pocket video cameras, digital picture frames and their ill-fated investment in inkjet printers.
But while you were sleeping, did you know that Kodak has now become one of the largest and most successful commercial printing companies in the U.S.? And look out, the company is talking again about rolling out new cameras and film for people who apparently have the urge to shoot still photos with – hold on – A CAMERA!
Millions of people also saw Kodak’s film appear last summer. Kodak film was used exclusively in the blockbuster movie Oppenheimer, and the company has made a good amount of revenue selling film to many movie companies.
Lessons for Any Business Owner
So, what can we learn here? First of all, don’t get caught napping when the world around you is changing. Kodak obviously downplayed Apple’s innovation and paid the price.
As a business owner, the world around you is constantly changing and the emergence of artificial intelligence should be a warning to you that you need to get onboard in some capacity or get left behind.
Secondly, we need to remind you to never stop innovating. Kodak is still alive today because it found something (commercial printing) to give it margins and market share. It found a way to leverage its brand but in a totally different arena. So far, it’s working. If your brand is struggling from a revenue or relevance perspective, don’t ever stop evolving.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you own a fictional donut company called Holes (there’s a Hole Donuts in Asheville, but we aren’t talking about them). Say you’ve sold donuts for 30 years but you’ve been overtaken by the big boys, Dunkin, Krispy Kreme or some designer donut shop down the road. But the people who you still serve come to you not just because of the donuts but because they love your coffee. You then decide to promote your specialty coffee through your marketing efforts and also add other food products like specialty sandwiches and croissants to accent the coffee sales which set you apart. See where we’re going here?
We’re not telling you to be like Kodak. We have no idea where that company will be in a few years. But use them as an example of a business and brand that refused to die by changing direction and innovating.
If your company is having a hard time staying relevant while bleeding cash, shake it up a bit. Find something you can do better or focus singularly on what you do best, even if you’re not doing it now. Kodak has always had a print shop business but they found out how to invest and market it to become an industry leader.