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Kodak sells film, but they don't advertise film; they advertise memories.
Theodore Levitt
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Kodak focuses on promoting the emotional experience associated with photography rather than the product itself.

The quote by Theodore Levitt emphasizes how effective marketing transcends the product being sold; instead of simply advertising film, Kodak highlights the cherished memories that result from capturing moments. This approach underscores the importance of connecting with customers on an emotional level, suggesting that businesses should sell the benefits and experiences tied to their products rather than just the products themselves.

Themes

MarketingMemoriesEmotionsPhotographyAdvertising

In practice

Example use cases

In a marketing presentation emphasizing the importance of emotional connections in advertising.

More from Theodore Levitt

Organizations exist to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
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Ideas are useless unless used. The proof of their value is in their implementation. Until then, they are in limbo.
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Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariable does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse and satisfy customer needs.
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A powerful force drives the world toward a converging commonality, and that force is technology. … Almost everyone everywhere wants all the things they have heard about, seen, or experienced via the new technologies.
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You want to dig your well where you have the best chance of finding water with the least amount of digging
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The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. Without customers, no amount of engineering wizardry, clever financing, or operations expertise can keep a company going.
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