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•Five Greatest Brands Ever 97

Idea 55 – Kodak

The story of the next greatest brand, Kodak, has one major difference from the
previous two. Kodak has nurtured its brand not only on packaging, personality and
advertising, but also on its technical ability to be innovative and stay ahead in prod-
uct terms.

Once again the brand has been developed over more than 100 years, from its
founder George Eastman’s frequently ascribed quotation ‘we have made the cam-
era as convenient as the pencil.’ But despite huge changes in the technology of the
product, the consistency of packaging and advertising is again a striking part of the
brand’s success. The yellow packaging of its photographic and film materials along
with its logo is as well-known as any.

But what of the word Kodak? The name was registered in 1888 and Eastman
subsequently told how he created it. ‘I knew a trade name must be short, vigorous,
incapable of being misspelled to an extent which will destroy its identity and, in
order to satisfy trademark laws, it must mean nothing. The letter K had been a
favourite with me – it seemed a strong incisive sort of letter. Therefore, the word I
wanted started with a K. Then it became a case of trying out a great number of
combinations of letters that started and ended with K. The work “Kodak” is the
result.’ Sometimes great empires are built on genius being properly exercised and
channelled.

From the first camera advertised with the slogan ‘You push the button, we do
the rest’, through the immensely popular Brownie introduced in 1900, Kodak has
progressed to become a world leader in imaging technology with manufacturing
operations all over the world. It maintains its innovation with, for example, its de-
velopment of photo CD in conjunction with N.V. Philips of the Netherlands.