In my last blog on Innovation I used the Kodak DS-3500 Scanner as an example of great innovation that transformed the industry. One of the reasons I picked that particular product (aside from its huge success) was that the product was old enough (launched in 1998), such that I didn’t have to worry about anyone complaining about me disclosing things like market share numbers or investment $’s anymore. However, right after publishing that article, one of my colleagues pointed out that 19 years later, the Kodak DS-3500 Scanner was STILL being referenced in the industry as a major event, and he showed me a recent Document Imaging Report that reminisced about major product launches at past AIIM conferences (Association for Information and Image Management).

Specifically, in his recent AIIM 2017 Highlights report (May 2017), Ralph Gammon references the DS-3500 scanner, saying that “one of the most popular questions I still get related to AIIM Conferences is “did you see anything interesting?” This harkens back to AIIM events of old, when it was more about the expo and less about the conference, and plenty of vendors used the event to debut new products and technologies. Who can forget Kodak’s “Jam the Scanner” promotion in the late 1990s, when it introduced its workhorse 3500 production scanner—offering a then cutting-edge free digital camera to anyone who could come up with a set of pages that could gum up the works.”

In my blog (Innovation – Only the Results Are Magic!), I specifically mention that the 2 major features we baked into the product were robust paper handling and image processing, both identified during our Voice of Customer discovery phase. I also mentioned that when we verified the solution w/ customers, we discovered a real wow factor w/ the paper handling – people were so impressed w/ what the scanner could handle, it became a game to try to jam it!

So, we decided to capitalize on that reaction, and we used it as a theme when we launched the scanner at the 1998 AIIM show. We had 6 scanners lined up in a row, w/ a monitor above each that showed the images of the documents being scanned (no smoke and mirrors), and we challenged the show participants to try and jam the scanner. If they successfully jammed it, they got a brand new Digital Camera (as Ralph points out, state of the art back then), but if not, everyone got a consolation prize – a canvas tote bag containing the documents they tried to jam the scanner with, and a jar of jam that said “The Only Jam You’ll Get from Kodak”.

It was brilliant! Most AIIM shows of the past were pretty serious events, but our booth turned this AIIM show into a really fun and memorable experience, with lines of people crumpling, tearing, taping, stapling, and otherwise mutilating documents to try to jam the scanner … and even though we gave out very few digital cameras (less than 10 over the 3 days), people had a blast, everyone was smiling and laughing, and the DS-3500 was off to the races for #1 market share.

In the end, the innovation and commercialization excellence we built into the DS-3500 scanner delivered a great product with a phenomenal ROI, but perhaps even more importantly, it created a positive aura for the Kodak Scanner Business that lasted for decades!

Here’s to your success!

• Pete