GR604 Student Project :: Polaroid—Visual Strategy Guide

Student Project— Rebranding: Polaroid

Visual Strategy Guide

Volume 01.

Alex Jang

2019

Student Project— Rebranding: Polaroid

Visual Strategy Guide

Volume 01.

Alex Jang

2019

This book is a part of a student rebranding project.

The information in this book is non-commercial, and the use of the resources is intended for educational purposes only. This book does not represent or reflect the brand Polaroid.

Contents

06 — 17

The brand—Overview The story of Polaroid New mission New objective Timeline Keywords Buzzwords

20 — 31

Strategy—Audiences Personas

32 — 41

Strategy—Competitors Current competitors Adjacent competitors Aspirational competitors

42 — 47

Strategy—New vision Past Polaroid Future Polaroid

The brand—

Overview 1

THE STORY OF POLAROID

8 In 1943, while Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid, was on vacation with his family, his 3-year-old daughter asked why she can’t see the picture he has just taken of her.

Polaroid has been a trusted global

was acquired by Impossible Project,

brand for more than 80 years and is

which had originally started out in

best known for its pioneering invention,

2008 by producing new instant films

the instant camera by its founder

for Polaroid cameras. The Impossible

Edwin H, Land. The company started

Project was renamed Polaroid Originals

in Cambridge and spread across the

in 2017, and the brand Polaroid still

world and was an icon of innovation.

remains as a separate brand.

Polaroid was a feisty, ubiquitous,

At the moment, Polaroid heritage

and pioneering brand, in many respects

brands symbolize, embody, and provide

Polaroid was the Apple of its time with

tremendous familiarity with quality

a “leader in Edwin Land, a scientist

products ranging from instant and

who guided the company as the

digital still cameras, high-definition

founding CEO for four decades”*. The

TVs, mobile printers and accessories,

original company suffered a long

apparel, and more. The company is

decline starting in the ’80s leading to

still dedicated to continually offering

bankruptcy in the 2000s.

products that ensure quality and

In 2017, the brand and its intellectual property of Polaroid Corporation

* History of Polaroid and Edwin Land from Boston.com, 2012-10-03.

function, making for a continuum of Polaroid brand values.

THE STORY OF POLAROID

9

THE STORY OF POLAROID

10 The most amazing and iconic invention of the Polaroid is a camera that people can see the results of their taken photography instantly. The unique aesthetic of the photography and its warm color became one of style, attracts so many people even today. People document and capture their moments using this camera and share them with families and friends. So, it was like the Instagram before Instagram, and before Instagram.

Even today, according to media and market research, about 3,881,000 or more people, age range between 20-55, own a Polaroid camera. They still use it to capture the moments and take a one-of-a-kind photo that can never be replicated and to share memories with others. Therefore, the original Polaroid Corporation disappeared while ago, but Polaroid is still alive.

V I S U A L S T R AT E G Y G U I D E

Instantly

share

11

unforgettable moments.

NEW MISSION

12

Our mission is to encourage people to build a special connection with others by sharing life moments instantly.

NEW OBJECTIVE

13 The new Polaroid will become more than a method for taking instant photography. It will expand its ways of capturing and sharing moments through various products and services.

For example, the new Polaroid will collaborate with a wide range of events, individuals, and brands so that people can experience life, new values, cultures in a fresh and exciting way and build special connections together. Through the new Polaroid platform, anyone can capture and share their authentic moments immediately.

TIMELINE

14

1930-1940s

1950-1960s

1970-1980s

1932 Edwin H. Land invents a plastic

1950 The first true black and white

1973 Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera

sheet-light polarizer.

version of Polaroid film is released.

is demonstrated.

1937 Polaroid Corporation founded

1956 The one-millionth Polaroid Land

1976 Polaroid sue Kodak for $1.6bn for

in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United

camera rolls off.

patent infringement.

States by Edwin H. Land.

1960 A long-standing artist collabora-

1977 Polaroid OneStep Land camera

1943 The concept of an instant pho-

tion project begins, the most notable

debuts. Polavision introduced—a color

tograph is inspired by a question from

being Andy Warhol.

motion-picture system.

Edwin Land’s daughter, Jennifer.

1963 Polaroid releases the Model 100

1981 Polaroid 600 series film and

1947 The first public demonstration of

Land camera, the first fully automatic

cameras introduced.

instant film—peel apart, is made in New

colorpack film and exposure control

1983 Polachrome, PolaPan, Polablue

York City.

camera.

and other transparency films were re-

1948 The Polaroid Land Camera Model

1965 Polaroid Swinger camera is

leased alongside the “Autoprocessor”.

95 is released and sells out for $89.95.

released and is extremely successful

1986 Polaroid Spectra camera system

with a younger generation.

and film introduced.

1937 Sep 13

1956 Sep 27

1977

The Polaroid Corporation is formed.

The one-millionth Polaroid Land

The Polaroid OneStep Land camera

1947 Feb 21

camera, a Model 95A, comes off the

debuts. This inexpensive, fixed-focus

Edwin H. Land announces his invention

assembly line.

camera becomes the best-selling

of the instant-picture process in New

camera in America shortly after it is

York City.

introduced.

TIMELINE

15

1990s

2000s

2010s

1990 Polaroid awarded $909 million

2001 Polaroid files for Federal bank-

2010 Polaroid appointed Lady Gaga as

from Kodak lawsuit—short of the $5.7

ruptcy protection.

“Creative Director” for the company.

billion Polaroid had cited in lost profit

2002 The Polaroid Holding Company

2012 Polaroid “Classic” range an-

and interest in 1988.

is acquired by Petters Group Worldwide.

nounced in collaboration with Polaroid

1991 Edwin H. Land dies.

2005 Polaroid’s manufacturing oper-

Corporation.

1996 Camera-to-television prototype

ations are acquired by Flextronics and

2017 The Impossible Project (TIP)’s

released.

almost outsourced to Chinese factories.

largest shareholder acquires the

2008 Polaroid announce the end of

Polaroid brand.

instant film manufacture.

2017 TIP rebranded as “Polaroid Orig-

2008 Polaroid Holding Company(PHC),

inals” NewPolaroid OneStep 2 camera

operating as the post-reorganization

and updated I-Type film released.

Polaroid Corporation files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid criminal investigation of its parent company.

1996

2008 Feb

2017 Sep 13

Camera-to-television prototype was

Polaroid cameras officially cease

The Impossible Project rebranded

introduced, but it wasn’t successful as

production, and Polaroid announce the

as “Polaroid Originals” NewPolaroid

previous products.

end of instant film manufacture.

OneStep 2 camera and updated I-Type film released.

KEY WORDS

16 Immediacy is one of the Polaroid’s unique identities with its other characteristics⁠—originality and simplicity.

Anyone can share their authentic memories instantly using the Polaroid’s platform, and it’s one of the strong propositions of the brand itself.

KEY WORDS

17

Instant

Share

Moments

Capture what is happening right now

Be connected to others by sharing your

What you are experiencing now will be

through Polaroid.

moments and stories.

your memories.

BUZZWORDS

18 To describe the brand and explain the services of the brand, these words are used widely. They show the overall aesthetic of the brand and deliver the general explanation of the concept of the brand’s solutions at the base level.

BUZZWORDS

Fast

Share Special

Original

True

Fun

Connection

Real

Unforgettable Express Snap

Easy

Nostalgic

Innovation Experience Sentimental

Story

Instant

Memory Creativity

19

Stra-

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21

Audiences 2

PERSONAS

22 Our future audiences These eight personas are reliable and realistic key audiences of Polaroid.

Through the difference perspectives, having a better understanding of the specific needs of the target audiences is possible. The future audience of Polaroid is anyone interested in building connections with others by sharing their moments and experiences.

PERSONAS

23 The online-active teenage

Brianna Johnson Gender

Female

Country

US

Age

17

Marriage

No

Occupation

Student

• She shares most of her life on social

• Sometimes, she goes to concerts with

media because it gives her feeling that

friends to bond with them because

she is connected to her friends.

sharing moments matter to her.

• She often wears plastic beads accesso-

• She keeps small things such as old toys

ries made by herself because it makes

and journals because she wants to

her more unique.

preserve the nostalgic memories.

• She gifts her DIY accessories to her

• She invites her friends and teaches

close friends sometimes because they

them how to make beads accessories

have a symbolic meaning of the true

because they ask and want to know

friendship as artifacts.

about it.

• She spends hours with her friends at the cafe near the school because there are limited options for a safe space where teenagers can hang out.

PERSONAS

24 The retire-ready teacher

Larry Jones Gender

Male

Country

US

Age

65

Marriage

Yes

Occupation

Pre-retired teacher

• He keeps all the yearbooks because he

• He shares his mind and thoughts with

remembers those as a valuable legacy

his wife after dinner because she is also

of his life and work.

the best friend of him.

• Sometimes, he video-calls and writes

• He rarely uses his social media because

letters to his grandchildren living in

the features are complicated to him,

another state of the country because

though it helps him to communicate

it gives him a special connection with

with his family and old students in

them as a family.

other cities.

• He feels a bit sorry sometimes because

• He has been a teacher in a public

it gets harder to find a chance to share

school in Atlanta for over twenty years.

the memorable moments with his

He believes that every kid deserves

family because everyone has their own

education because it is their right to be

busy life now.

persons who communicate with others.

• His recent hobby is gardening. He does it with his wife because it gives a unique sentiment and satisfaction that he spends time well.

PERSONAS

25 The urban traveler

Yuna Ahn Gender

Female

Country

South Korea

Age

28

Marriage

No

Occupation

Developer

• She is into travel for a long time

• She is learning Japanese and French

because of her curiosity about other

because she wants to understand more

country’s culture and sceneries.

about where she visits.

• She posts her moods and reviews on

• She makes many friends during her

her social media spontaneously when

travel and keeps in touch with them be-

she is on travel because she uses it as

cause the moments shared with them is

a personal journal.

so precious.

• Her social media is private, and limited

• She buys a small size book as a souvenir

people, such as her family and friends,

from where she visits because they

can access to the contents because she

remind her about each trip in the best

doesn’t want to expose the detail of her

way and inspire her for the next trip.

personal life to random people.

• She still sticks to a pencil and papers because she believes it’s one of the best ways to documents some experiences.

PERSONAS

26 The friendly writer

Lily Turner Gender

Female

Country

UK

Age

37

Marriage

No

Occupation

Writer

• She makes and shares music playlists

• She loves to go to galleries and see

on online streaming services with

other artists’ works because they give

others to communicate and refresh

inspirations for her work and keep

her mood.

her creativity.

• She feels rewarding when her work

• Drawing and taking notes is one of

communicates with audiences because

her habits because she doesn’t want to

it is the most important motivation for

forget the sparked ideas and mood that

her to keep writing.

would be the solution for her work.

• She has a simple blog posting her cat’s

• She is a member of a writer’s guild and

photos and life stories because she

organizes meetups sometimes for both

wants to let the world knows how

senior and new writers to inspire them

perfect her cat is.

with each other.

• She visits a nursing house every Sunday to meet her mom and has lunch with her because she wants to keep the special connection with her before time runs out.

PERSONAS

27 The working-home-away dad

Benjamin Tan Gender

Male

Country

Singapore

Age

44

Marriage

Yes

Occupation

Businessperson

• He misses family events sometimes because he goes on a business trip often.

• He texts his wife and children as much

• He works out regularly because he wants to stay healthy.

• He records vlogs of his daughter’s

as he can because it comforts him and

soccer games because he wants to keep

gives a warm bond with family when

them as memories and gives them to

he’s away from them for the work.

her a few years later.

• He spends lots of time with his wife and children when he returns home

• He has an old watch and cares about it so much because it was given by his

because he wants to share moments

father that helps him to remember

with them to strengthen the family

his father, a special connection, and

relationship.

good old memories.

• While he is away from his family, he spends most of the time by himself after business hours because it is tired out of meeting many people during work. He reads online news or watches movies.

PERSONAS

28 The exchange student

Abdul Aziz Abbasin Gender

Male

Country

Oman

Age

23

Marriage

No

Occupation

College student

• He feels alone sometimes and thinks

• Sometimes, he invites friends to his

nobody really understands him here

dormitory and serves traditional dishes

because his closest friends are all in his

because he wants to share his country’s

home country.

culture.

• He is a big fan of an action camera

• He uses his smartphone and cloud ser-

because the results are extremely real-

vice mostly because he lives in a school

istic and have the rawness of activities

dormitory and has no luxury for room

he has done.

to keep all the physical format records.

• He plays video games with roommates

• He participates in many activities

because it gives a feeling that he’s well

in the school because it gives him a

mixing with his friends.

self-satisfaction that he handles his job.

• He posts his daily life on SNS (Social Networking Service) because he is studying abroad and wants to introduce these exotic and intercultural experiences to his friends and family in the home country.

PERSONAS

29 The passionate artist

Martina Rodriguez Gender

Female

Country

Argentina

Age

52

Marriage

Yes

Occupation

Artist

• She still makes a birthday cake for her

• She is taking a computer class because

daughter because it’s their long-time

she wants to know more about modern

ritual that gives unique sisterhood.

technology and how to use it.

• She dances sometimes because it

• She likes to spend vacations by herself

gives her an immediate inspiration

because she thinks the quiet moments

and motivation.

are required for her creativity.

• She posts her works and life on social

• She mostly works in an analog way

media because she believes that is one

because she loves its physicality

of the best ways to communicate with

and how it feels when she holds the

other artists and random audiences.

mediums in hands.

• She volunteers as an art teacher to young students because it gives her a satisfaction that she is helpful for the community.

PERSONAS

30 The engineer dad

Ishaan Anand Gender

Male

Country

US

Age

34

Marriage

Yes

Occupation

Engineer

• He has tattoos of his wife and chil-

• He likes to try new devices because

dren’s name and birthdays because

he believes that he could learn about

he believes he has a special bond with

new technology from this challenging

them by doing it.

experience.

• He watches certain TV shows because

• He argues with his wife sometimes

most of his colleagues are into them,

because she is working in a different

so he wants to join the talks among

filed and has no background knowl-

the team.

edge of engineering.

• He often visits an online community

• He spends many hours in his garage

for people into mechanic because he

to make things because exploring and

likes to exchange his field information

thinking about a machine is his favorite

quickly with random people.

moment.

• The second child born a few weeks ago and he is busy recording every moments of the baby because he wants to document how he grow up day by day and keep those record as family history.

Be

connected by

sharing

moments.

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Competitors 3

COMPETITORS

COMPETITORS

35 Competitors research Knowing the brand competitor is very important. By studying the characteristics and strategies of the competitors, opportunities that the brand could discover chances to evolve will be increased. Also, some competitors might have a similar goal with Polaroid. This sight will help Polaroid to develop the market potential divergently.

COMPETITORS

Current competitors

KO DA K

Kodak is an American technology company that produces camera-related products and graphic communication services with its historic basis on photography.

36 SONY

Sony, a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, has diversified business includes consumer and professional electronics, gaming, entertainment and financial services.

I N S TA X

Instax is a brand of instant still cameras and instant films marketed by Fujifilm. Fujifilm produces a range of Instax Mini and Instax Wide cameras, as do other manufacturers.

LOMOGR APHY

Lomography is a commercial trademark of Lomographische AG. Its creators associate to a photographic image style and a film camera movement and community facilitated by The Lomographic Society International.

P E N TA X

Pentax is a brand name used primarily by Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for cameras, sport optics (including binoculars and rif le scopes), and CCTV optics.

COMPETITORS

37

CANON

Canon Inc. is a Japanese multinational corporation specializing in the manufacture of imaging and optical products, including cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, steppers, computer printers and medical equipment.

LEICA

Leica Camera AG is a German company that manufactures cameras, lenses, binoculars, rif le scopes, microscopes and ophthalmic lenses.

N I KO N

Nikon Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products.

O LY M P U S

Olympus Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of optics and reprography products. They are also manufacturing medical, scientific, and industrial products.

M I N O LTA

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. The brand is best known for making the first integrated autofocus 35 mm SLR camera system.

COMPETITORS

Adjacent competitors

SAMSUNG

Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones and smartphones and tablet computers.

38 LG

LG Electronics Inc. is a South Korean multinational electronics company. LG Electronics’ products include home electronics, computer monitors, wearable devices, smart appliances, and smartphones.

MICROSOFT

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services.

LENOVO

Lenovo is a Chinese multinational technology company. It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells personal computers, tablet computers, smartphones, workstations, servers, electronic storage devices, and smart televisions.

H UAW E I

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational technology company that provides telecommunications equipment and sells consumer electronics.

COMPETITORS

39

ASUS

AsusTek Computer Inc. is a Taiwan-based multinational computer and phone hardware and electronics company. Its products include computers, mobile phones, multimedia products, peripherals, wearables, and tablet PCs

HTC

HTC is a Taiwanese consumer electronics company.

HTC began as an original design manufacturer and original equipment manufacturer, designing and manufacturing laptop computers.

X IAOM I

Xiaomi Corporation is a Chinese electronics company. Xiaomi makes and invests in smartphones, mobile apps, laptops, bags, trimmers, earphones, MI Television, Shoes, fitness bands, and many other products.

NOKIA

Nokia is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics company. Nokia was once the largest worldwide vendor of mobile phones and smartphones.

MOTOROLA

Motorola is a consumer electronics and telecommunications company. The company primarily manufactures smartphones and other mobile devices running the Android operating system developed }

by Google.

COMPETITORS

Aspirational competitors

I N S TA G R A M

Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service. The app allows users to upload photos and videos to the service, which can be edited with various filters, and organized with tags and location information.

40 TIKTOK

TikTok is a social media video app for creating and sharing short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos.

It allows users to create short music and lip-sync videos of 3 to 15 seconds and short looping videos of 3 to 60 seconds.

FAC E BO O K

Facebook, Inc. is an American online social media and social networking service company. Users can post text, photos and multimedia which is shared with any other users that have agreed to be their “friend”.

TWITCH

Twitch is a live streaming video platform. Twitch focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of eSports competitions, in addition to music broadcasts, creative content, and more recently, “in real life” streams.

YOUTU B E

YouTube is an American video-sharing website. It allows users to upload, view, rate, share, comment on videos, and subscribe to other users. It offers a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media videos.

COMPETITORS

41

TED

TED Conferences LLC is an American media organization that posts talks online for free distribution under the slogan “ideas worth spreading”. It has since broadened its perspective to talks on various topics and issues.

PERISCOPE

Periscope is a live video streaming app for Android and iOS. Users of Periscope are able to choose whether or not to make their video public or simply viewable to certain users such as their friends or families.

OCULUS VR

Oculus VR is an American technology company. It specializes in virtual reality hardware and software products. It specializes in virtual reality hardware and software products.

AIRBNB

A i r b n b, I nc . is an online marketplace for arranging or offering lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences. The company does not own any of the real estate listings, nor does it host events; it acts as a broker.

S TA D I A

Stadia is a cloud gaming service operated by Google.

Stadia would be capable of streaming high resolution video games with support for high-dynamic-range, to players via the company’s numerous data centers across the globe.

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New vision 4

B R A N D V I S U A L I Z AT I O N

44 Past Polaroid— Family oriented memory sharing.

B R A N D V I S U A L I Z AT I O N

45

Polaroid

B R A N D V I S U A L I Z AT I O N

46 Future Polaroid— Personalized instant memory sharing experience for anyone.

B R A N D V I S U A L I Z AT I O N

47

Polaroid

V I S U A L S T R AT E G Y G U I D E

V I S U A L S T R AT E G Y G U I D E

49

V I S U A L S T R AT E G Y G U I D E

COLOPHON

DESIGN

Alex Jang

alexjangdesign.com

alexjangdesign@gmail.com

SCHOOL

Academy of Art University School of Graphic Design Master of Arts

INSTRUCTOR

Hunter Wimmer

BINDING

Blurb

M AT E R I A L

Proline Uncoated #100

SOURCE AND CITE

History from polaroid.com

A Brief History of Polaroid from emulsive.org

History of Polaroid and Edwin Land from boston.com unsplash.com

Adobe photo stock

TYPE

Helvetica Neue Publico