STRATEGIC PARTNERS
The popularity of digital photography and customers' need for instant photo gratification has led to new innovations in photo kiosks.
When Kodaklaunched its first kiosks for photographic print reproduction late in 1995, it got a strong reaction, in more ways than one.
"It was great. The product really took off right away," says Kodak's worldwide marketing manager, Megan McGinn. "But we also found a lot of consumers telling us that it was not approachable, that they thought it was something they shouldn't be touching."
That's because the original kiosks, installed in retail photo specialty shops, weren't really kiosks at all. They consisted of a computer screen, a CPU much like those in personal computer systems, a flatbed scanner and a thermal dye-transfer printer. All of this was placed on a counter top without much fanfare.
Consequently, a lot of would-be customers figured they'd be messing with the shop owner's computer if they fooled with it.
"That's where it started to evolve into a walk-up kiosk," McGinn says, "to make it approachable."
Mission accomplished.
Today, nothing's quite as approachable, or prevalent, as photographic service kiosks. The units offer what Kodak calls "digital gateways" for consumers and increased profit potential for retailers. Kiosks are rapidly growing as a consumer access point for printing and accessing digital images, as well as copying and re-purposing traditional photo prints.
Kodak has more than 18,000 kiosks in the United States and more than 30,000 around the globe, the world's largest installed base of such units. By comparison, its chief rival, Fuji FilmCo. USA reports having approximately 1,650 kiosks deployed in the United States. Fuji's worldwide figures were not available.
The numbers, not to mention the variety of services the different kiosks offer, keep rising with no end in sight. Kodak recently launched one new version and is poised to test market still another kiosk exclusively for digital cameras, Kodak is working to stay ahead of a game that's attracting several new players.
"You see a lot of people getting into the industry these days," McGinn says. "They've seen the success we've had. There were a ton of new manufacturers at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show in Orlando in February. I would say a dozen or so. It's really exploding."
The workhorse of Kodak's kiosk line is the Picture Maker, which offers customers the ability to print copies from traditional film prints. Now more than 70 percent of the units also offer printing from a digital camera card. Kodak introduced a new upload feature between the Picture Maker and its Kodak Photonet Online site. Fujifilm's kiosks also have Internet connectivity.
Hitting a big target
Just how hot are the kiosks? Kodak's biggest-ever national ad campaign for the Picture Maker, featuring television and print ads and promotions, generated more than 600 million consumer impressions in 2000. The advertising and other marketing initiatives have raised consumer awareness by nearly 50 percent. Once aware, the customers remain loyal, according to Kodak. The company surveyed customers and found 95 percent of Picture Maker users who responded said they'd use it again.
Who uses the kiosks?
"Our target market is women," McGinn says. "It's the `soccer moms,' women 25 to 45. They have children, usually a full-time job and are very fast-paced and active. So convenience is really important to them."
Kodak invested heavily in market research on different designs and color schemes.
"We wanted to know what was the most approachable look," McGinn says, "and that's how we came up with what we have in the market today. Back in 1996 computers were a bit intimidating for many. It still can be at times. So the more we made the kiosk look inviting and fun, and not like technology or a computer, the more appealing it became."
The current Kodak Picture Maker has the firm's familiar blue-and-yellow design and is much smaller than the first fully-contained kiosks produced in 1996. Those were Godzilla-like by comparison: nearly six feet high and between 36 inches and 48 inches wide and deep. Retailers, ever protective of their precious retail square footage, clamored for a smaller footprint.
"So we scaled it down to what it is today," McGinn says. "We pretty much cut the size in half."
Getting small
Kodak, which has always supplied its own technology for the kiosks, originally farmed out actual construction of the cabinets. Those early Kodak Copy Print Stations were marketed under a sub brand of Photo Impressions Copy Print Station, it later was called the Image Magic Copy Print Station.
When Kodak decided to make a smaller unit, it moved the entire construction in house. The first Kodak Picture Makers were deployed in late 1997 and 1998.
Today, 70 percent of Picture Makers also feature digital still camera memory card printing, more than any photo kiosk in the industry. The firm estimates it will provide full digital service in 80 percent of its units by the end of the year, enabling the kiosks to serve approximately 17 million digital still camera owners worldwide.
"We didn't start taking digital input from customers until '97, when we started incorporating a digital card reader," McGinn says. "At first we sold it as an accessory upgrade for those systems we had deployed without it. Later that year we started shipping product that came with the standard processor."
With digital still cameras becoming the rage, the importance of kiosks gains far greater significance, particularly with the expanded capabilities that digital offers.
"Getting photo-quality prints from digital cameras is as fast, easy, and convenient as getting cash from a bank ATM," says John Bay, general manager and vice president of Kodak's output products and services, Consumer Imaging division.
Each Picture Maker has a price tag of $19,995, though most retailers lease the equipment over a three-year period.
"The revenue for both Kodak and the retailer is from the media that goes through the equipment," notes McGinn. "To break even on your lease investment, you have to do 3 ½ print sheets a day. The average retailer is doing 10."
Fuji's rival to the Picture Maker is the Aladdin Digicam Picture Center, which debuted in May of 2000. A countertop system, it offers prints every 30 seconds once the process is set in motion. It also provides templates to make calendars and borders on the spot and, like Kodak, allows for various digital processing to CD-roms, floppy disks, and zip drives. Both can connect with the Internet to put photos online, and customers can crop, zoom, and engage in various other editing functions.
New units spark interest
At the Photo Marketing Association trade show in February, both Kodak and Fujifilm unveiled new units with an emphasis on digital. Fuji displayed the Aladdin Digital Photo Center, which features two new models, a tabletop and a floor-standing slim line. Both are designed to satisfy retailers' never-ending desire to save space.
Kodak, meanwhile, unveiled the "Digital Camera Print Kiosk Concept."
"This one is just for digital camera input," McGinn says. "You get a 4 x 6 print every 30 seconds. It's designed so that you walk up with a memory card, plug it in, and you could print your entire batch of photos from the card. It doesn't have the editing capabilities of the Picture Maker, which is more a full-service kiosk. This is designed more for those who want quick pictures."
For traditionalists who prefer to drop off their film, Kodak introduced the Picture Center. It's designed to eliminate the hassles of writing out information on a film drop-off bag by hand. Instead, a customer enters personal information on a touch screen, and then chooses printing options. The kiosk prints a label, which the customer attaches to the drop-off bag. Digital customers simply insert the digi-card and input the ordering information. Images are transmitted electronically to the lab. Kodak began shipping Picture Centers this spring.
It's the Digital Camera Kiosk Concept, however, that offers the most intrigue. Because it's geared for people wanting fast results, Kodak plans a limited trial of the units in traditional and non-traditional areas, such as resorts, national parks, and travel centers (perhaps even amusement parks), to test their popularity.
"If you can envision yourself on vacation, you've filled up your digi-card with pictures, they're all great shots and you don't want to lose themÂ… well, what if you could go to a kiosk in a hotel lobby and print them out immediately?" McGinn says. "Another part of the concept we've talked about is being able to write the images to a CD from your card. You could archive them that way, then go out and shoot more pictures on the same card."
Instant gratification, it can safely be said, has never been a bad selling point. What that might translate to in added revenue is anybody's guess. The smart money says to guess high.
"We haven't quantified it, but it's huge," McGinn says. "In our trade trial, we're going into hotels and a lot of places that aren't your traditional retail environments. A full service unit doesn't make a whole lot of sense in a lot of environments. So some may just be an order entry station while others may offer a full suite of services.
"There are a lot of channel opportunities out there. We want to be where the people are with their pictures so there's an outlet for them to print. Think of what ATMs have done for the banking industry. If you want to get some money out, you can pretty much go to any corner and do that. We want to have the same kind of access points for people with pictures."
Envision this: Kaanapali Beach on Maui, photo kiosks scattered alongside the oceanfront walkway that meanders down resort row.
"Outside?" McGinn says. "Sure. Anything's possible as we grow this industry."
