Kodak's Gustin: Keep it Simple
By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 9/2/2002
NEW YORK — Consumers have precious little time and if vendors are to spur the phenomenon that is digital imaging they must be more cognizant of consumers' time crunch, said Carl Gustin, chief marketing officer and senior VP, Kodak.
"We have to get in tune with our customer's time constraints," Gustin said. "The funny thing about the current economic situation is that although the markets are down, productivity is up, so people are still very busy."
Gustin, an eight-year veteran of Kodak, said his challenge is to keep customer enthusiasm for digital going strong. "There is an initial surge when they buy the camera where they are wildly enthusiastic, but it starts to decline after they've shot for a while." He chalked up the waning enthusiasm to confusion over how to save, organize and print images after they've been captured.
Asked whether he believed the IDC theory that the uncoupling of the digital camera from the PC was a key to growing the industry, Gustin agreed.
"Cameras can't stay shackled to the computer," if the cameras are to be even more widely adopted, Gustin said. "Imaging is a way of life for people, but it still has to be easier to use. Most people don't understand why the megapixel is the benchmark."
While the current line of Kodak digital cameras (the EasyShare system) is tethered to the PC, Gustin said upcoming product lines will "smash" the PC-centric concept.
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