Re: Kodak and Brand Building

[P3D Eric Goldstein <egoldste@xxxxxx>]

Gregory J. Wageman wrote:

> given that Kodak is
> losing the price war against Fuji, it is completely logical that they
> seek some other way to hold on to their dwindling market share.

I think price is part of the equation, Greg, but not all of it. I've
mentioned the consumer value equation before, and as the years go by and
I learn more and more about customer behavior, the more I believe in it:

(Perceived) Value = (Perceived) Quality/Cost

(In truth "value" and "quality" do not exist independent of the
customer's perception of them.)

There are many, many films available which are less expensive than Fuji
or Kodak, but they do not meet consumer minimums with regard to
(perceived) quality. This is where Fuji's brand building has paid off.

> It's also ironic, considering they sued Fuji complaining about trade
> barriers in Japan.  I guess their reasoning is "What's good for the
> goose..".

Not only is it ironic, it's just plain poor marketing. In our domestic
economy, it simply cannot work. They will not be able to control
distribution anywhere close to sufficiently to make this viable. It
could reasonably be argued that just this type of thinking is part of
what's got them into their current straights of declining shares in the
consumer products market.


Eric G.


------------------------------