Company: Kodak Imaging Network
Contact: Camilla Bravo, Senior Director of Worldwide Brand Strategy
Location: Emeryville, CA
Industry: Photo Services, B2C
Annual revenue: Confidential
Number of employees: 200

Quick Read

Photo-storage and sharing site KodakGallery.com and digital-marketing firm EVB understand that there's a quasi-superhero side to all of us, or so we'd like to believe as we constantly attempt to cram more pursuits into a single day--a nearly universal pursuit to which many can relate.

That common experience helped the companies turn their campaign, based on OfficeMax's "Elf Yourself," into a viral-video marvel of its own. KodakGallery.com enabled users to upload their pictures and transform themselves, or family members and friends, into humorously depicted superheroes of everyday life.

Close to two million unique users took up the offer, and more than half went on to share the resulting videos with others, generating a surge in traffic and sales on KodakGallery.com.

Challenge

Formerly known as Ofoto, Kodak Gallery is an online digital photo developing service that allows users to view, store, and share their photos, as well as order prints and specialty photo products such as calendars and mugs.

Because competition in this industry has grown, with sites such as Snapfish and Shutterfly gaining market share, Kodak wanted to launch a campaign in 2008 that would "engage customers with Kodak Gallery in a new and unexpected way," said Camilla Bravo, the company's senior director of worldwide brand strategy.

The company wanted to regain consumer mindshare and elevate brand perceptions, generate widespread awareness around the Kodak Gallery brand, and drive traffic to its site.

Campaign

Intrigued by the OfficeMax "Elf Yourself" campaign, Kodak turned to San Francisco digital advertising agency Evolution Bureau (EVB) to construct an online campaign that would tie into the company's core product: photos.

The resulting campaign, called "Make Me Super," launched at the end of September 2008 and centered around an interactive Web site (MakeMeSuper.com) where users could upload photos from their computers or Kodak Gallery accounts and quickly turn themselves, family members, and friends into suburban superheroes.

On a single Web page, users needed only to upload a photo, select a gender, and type a name... before being entertained with a two-minute video starring the newly created superhero, in spandex suit and cape, conquering everyday tasks—such as tending the yard, parallel-parking, finding a great sale—in (not quite) super ways.

Below the video, Kodak Gallery products (such as a mug, mousepad, and playing cards) featuring the user's superhero image were displayed; users who selected products were prompted to sign into their Kodak Gallery accounts or create new accounts. A new browser window would then pop up and take the user to KodakGallery.com, where the selected items would already be waiting in the shopping cart.

That approach represented an important improvement over the "Elf Yourself" model, because it showcased relevant products. Still, EVB and Kodak Gallery were careful to not be heavy-handed or push the sale.

Users were also given options to send their superhero video to friends and download the video and a static image to their desktops and Kodak Gallery accounts.

To drive awareness and traffic to the site, Kodak and EVB also launched the following: