Atlanta Pilot Program Indicates Strong Consumer Demand, Intention to Repeat Kiosk Use

LAS VEGAS, March 2- Encouraged by strong consumer acceptance, Eastman Kodak Company is continuing to aggressively support digital camera printing in Atlanta. The pilot program serves as a living laboratory to evaluate consumer behavior with digital camera printing stations located in many different retail locations - from traditional photofinishing destinations, hotels and gas stations to consumer electronics stores and copying centers.

The company launched its Digital Camera Printing Pilot program in Atlanta in November 2002, saturating the city with nearly 500 kiosks at various retail locations. Ongoing research indicates that nearly eight of 10 consumers exposed to this concept plan to try the service and 90 percent that have used it, intend to use it again.

"With the explosive growth of digital photography, Kodak is ready to show consumers how easy it is to print their digital camera pictures at retail," said Scott Auer, Vice President, Photofinishing Services, Consumer Imaging, US & Canada, Kodak. "With current digital camera users taking significantly more pictures than film camera users, we know this retail marketplace shows unlimited growth potential. Tapping this market supports Kodak's mission to drive output and make digital easier."

By using the Kodak Picture Maker printing station, consumers realize the easiest and most convenient way to print great pictures from their digital cameras. "For Kodak, providing a digital camera printing solution at retail means delivering a solution that consumers will remember and purchase again," Auer added.

In the Atlanta pilot, nearly 90 percent of consumers believed their prints were as good or better than photos from traditional photofinishing. This high satisfaction demonstrates Kodak's commitment to driving quality solutions for consumers and retailers.

In today's market where 15 percent of households own a digital camera, Kodak's results to date in Atlanta are tracking better than expected in overall print volumes and total number of orders submitted. In fact, some stores have averaged daily print counts that are 35 percent higher than expectations. As digital camera penetration continues to grow, consumers will look more and more to retail to print their digital pictures, representing a large growth opportunity for retailers and Kodak.

"We will continue to discover whether consumers are more likely to print digital pictures in minutes, in an hour or overnight," Auer said. "Even in the early stages of this pilot program, we know that once consumers are aware of the retail printing stations, a strong intent emerges to use them repeatedly."

Kodak launched a full-scale marketing campaign to drive awareness, trial and sales in Atlanta, including television, print and radio advertising, promotions, point-of-sale merchandisers and public relations activities.

The new television advertising began airing last month and extends the award-winning "Share Moments. Share Life.�" campaign. The commercials demonstrate how the Kodak digital camera printing stations make printing from any digital camera quick, easy and convenient. The television campaign either met or exceeded all of Kodak's criteria for persuasion, awareness and enjoyment, increasing the likelihood that consumers will seek out this new service to print their digital pictures.

Expanding the Kodak Picture Maker Modular Kiosk Family
The Picture Maker family includes three modular stations: the Picture Maker Order Station, Picture Maker Digital Station and Picture Maker Print Station. These stations provide a simplified modular approach for retailers needing to scale according to volume, grow high-margin consumer photo services and connect these photo offerings to a variety of imaging equipment through a common hardware and software platform. All three types are being used to understand consumer preference in Atlanta. Specifically, each kiosk provides the following:

• Picture Maker Order Station: Allows consumers to preview and select their film or digital images and print them to the retailer's on-site digital lab system. This order station is now available as the Kodak Picture Maker Order Station LS, a new, slim version of the current order station, created in direct response to retailer requests for efficient space utilization.
• Picture Maker Digital Station: Provides consumers with a quick and easy way to make prints from any digital camera card; this kiosk allows consumer to enhance, edit and print images in minutes or write to a Kodak Picture CD.
• Picture Maker Print Station: Serves as the full-service member of the Picture Maker family bringing all of the functionality of the order and digital stations to the original Picture Maker. This kiosk accepts original prints, compact disk, floppy and digital media and offers popular editing-enhancement features. The Picture Maker offers print sizes ranging from ID size to 8x10. Images are easily printed or written to a Kodak Picture CD.