Response Magazine

Cover Story

ners tabbed by Kodak, has led to a new interest in DRTV among many different Kodak divisions. And with the campaign set to resurface this month, it looks like direct response has a new set of believers at a company long known as the innovator in the photography market.

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From Lamdek, Allen transitioned into the company’s professional photography division. From there, he’s been one of the company’s best utility players. “I’ve been in the advertising and branding side, on the marketing side, worked in professional, consumer and digital,” he says. “I’ve worn a lot of hats in 23 years, but these past 18 months have been among the most satisfying during my tenure.”

But staying with the same company 23 years in an age like this is a rarity. Why did Allen stick with Kodak so long? “First, the brand has such unique equities, it’s hard to find another that can compete,” he says. “The consumers have an emotional connection to Kodak, which has been bringing their images to life for more than 100 years. The other thing is, the different markets the company serves

A History of Commitment

Kodak’s long history includes many firsts in the photography market (see sidebar). “Kodak invented the digital camera in 1976,” Allen says. “And, though most don’t realize it because the film part of the business overshadowed it until this decade, the company has been in the digital business, in either the professional or consumer market, since 1990.”

However, the company fell behind competitors in the digital market in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Kodak was surprised at how rapidly the digital market overtook the film market. Allen says Kodak was only the No. 7 digital photography brand in the U.S. as late as 2002, before bringing the EasyShare camera brand to life. Today, Kodak’s digital photography equipment is the No. 1 brand in

America — a position the Host Caroline Rhea came in prepared to shoot the long-form _company _has _grown _used _to DRTV show after using an EasyShare printer in her home.

“She was a convert,” says Rick Allen of Kodak.

throughout its history.

Allen’s personal history at Kodak reaches back 23 years. After earning an electrical engineering degree and working in that field for two years, Allen returned to school, earning an MBA in marketing and finance from Syracuse University. During his second year in the program, he was working at the IBM product center when he received a phone call.

“The caller was working on a venture team at Kodak and looking for MBA candidates with a technical background,” Allen says. “The new division was called Lamdek Fiber Optics. Being in on a new venture — everyone in marketing should have an experience like that. You have to wear so many different hats.”

afford you the opportunity to move and take on new challenges while still staying within the same corporate structure.”

Why DRTV?

In early 2007, Allen and his team were presented with one of those new challenges, when Kodak introduced a new line of all-in-one printers under the EasyShare name. Priced between $149.99 and $299.99, the EasyShare 5100, 5300 and 5500 aimed to “break the paradigm of how people would look at buying a printer,” according to Allen.