Polaroid Corporation

Q.1) What market separations were bridged by Polaroid adding new consumer and Industrial products, developing new advertising, and changing its dealer programs?

Products Introduced Products used for

Flexible disk (Floppy disk) For personal computer market

Beta and VHS blank tapes For video recorder market

35mm auto process system 5 minute processing of colour and black & white

Palette Allows the personal computer to select up to 72 colours in the creation of a computer graphics hard copy on a 35 mm slide.

Flexible disk (Floppy disk)• 20 years warranty on

physical life of the disk

• Addition to this Polaroid was offering a unique data restoration service

Beta and VHS blank tapes• Tape is a high quality general

purpose blank Videocassette designed for multiple uses

• It has excellent extended play capability with great colour reproduction and sound

35mm auto process system• Process and develop your

35mm film anywhere due the device being highly portable

• Saves time take to give a film for development

Polaroid Palette• Can easily capture any image

from your computer screen onto a 35mm film

• User can also adjust the colours from a given range of 72 colours before capturing the image

• By developing new advertising campaign with Ogilvy and Mather which was consistent with direction given by market research the separation bridged by polaroid was the perceptual separation.

• By changing its dealer programs which meant to improve strained relationships with its retail outlets by granting dealers more flexibility, and giving better direct service the separations bridged by polaroid were spatial and perceptual separations.

Q.2) Why can the management of an organisation like Polaroid failed to respond for so long to its declining position ?

• Maximum revenue from Instant film • Perception that consumers will always want

permanent visual record • Culture of leadership believed in chemistry

and media

Q.3) Some analysts have said that Polaroid had “an instant camera mentality” for many years. What did they mean by this and what would the consequences of such an attitude be ?

INSTANT CAMERA

• Self developing film image• Based on a chemical process• Instant gratification to the customer

INSTANT CAMERA MENTALITY

• Innovations by Polaroid were slow• Polaroid leaders believed customers wanted a hardcopy print• The company had a bias against electronics• Resistance on making money on hardware• Fear from chemical and film people

CONSEQUENCES

Customers would opt for a camera creating value • Providing more storage to save pictures• Providing an option to choose pictures they would

like to print• Cost of buying expensive films would be terminated

This would lead to customers switching to other brands causing fall in demand for instant cameras

Q.4) How long will it take for polaroid’s new marketing orientation to yield improved performance ?

1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 19920

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Revenue $ in Billions

• New marketing strategy, the Spectra introduced in 1986 indicates that instant camera users wanted better picture quality.

• Annual revenues increased by 62% from $1.33 billion in 1986 to $2.15 billion in 1992.

• In 1990, Polaroid became market leader in instant photography and electronic imaging and manufacturer conventional films, videotapes, and light polarizing filters and lenses.