The 2018 Marketing plan of the year- The buzzword filled BS that is KODAK's cryptocurrency
Shares of Kodak (KODK) have nearly tripled in value on Tuesday after the iconic photography company formed a partnership with Wenn Digital to enter the cryptocurrency and digital licensing markets. Though their initial coin offering won't open until January 31, 2018, Kodak and it's investors have already made real-world money through marketing itself as a forward-thinking blockchain company.
KODAKCoin, a photo-centric cryptocurrency to empower photographers and agencies to take greater control of image rights management.
“For many in the tech industry, ‘blockchain’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem,” said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke. “Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.”
In 1996, Kodak was the 5th most valuable brand in the world. In 2013 the company that went bankrupt. Kodak lost out in the digital photography revolution and is determined to be a player in future. However this a very interesting use of Crypto-marketing. In its own press release, Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke states "For many in the tech industry, 'blockchain' and 'cryptocurrency' are hot buzzwords". Kodak has created buzz and an actual rise in value through a simple well-timed press release without providing any info on the expense, revenues, or investments required regarding the newly announced image rights management system.
Kodak also has plans to install rows of Bitcoin mining rigs at its headquarters in Rochester, New York. Customers will pay up-front to rent mining capacity from The Kodak KashMiner further creating a revenue stream for Kodak.
Kodak is the latest in a series of companies to see its value jump after revealing plans for blockchain-related activity.
Many thought leaders in the blockchain/crypto world are calling BS on Kodak's great crypto plan.
"This is a phenomenon we saw back during the dot com days in the late 1990s where traditional companies would mention some kind of internet strategy and their stock price would jump- University of Cambridge Cryptocurrency & blockchain researcher Garrick Hilman
"it is unlikely that the cryptocurrency, which is simply a secure payment system for users, will generate revenues significant enough to be reported in its financial releases for years or ever"- Seeking Alpha
Update:
According to Coindesk, the Vancouver-based Global Blockchain Technologies Corp. announced today that it is investing $2 million in KodakCoin, the initiative announced yesterday by Kodak and WENN Digital, which is licensing the former's branding. WENN Digital, which is developing the digital media rights platform that was unveiled yesterday, is managing the sale of the tokens.
