BANKRUPTCY-THREATENED Eastman Kodak and the PGA Tour extended their Official Marketing Partnership through 2016 – building on a previous five-year renewal signed in January 2009.
Beginning this year, Kodak's partnership with the PGA Tour, valued by Frontiers at up to $2.5m, will be structured around Kodak's strategic focus on its business-to-business segments and will put greater emphasis on client hospitality and entertainment.
As such, Kodak will not renew its sponsorship of the Kodak Challenge, the competition which rewards the PGA player with the best composite 18-hole score from 30 of the most picturesque holes on the Tour with a $1 million pay cheque.
"This extended partnership will allow us to better meet our changing business objectives by expanding our PGA Tour tournament presence both domestically and internationally, a shift that is important to Kodak and its global business efforts," said Pradeep Jotwani, Chief Marketing Officer of Kodak.
Jotwani’s strategy is clearly led by head office, which is currently trying to sell imaging patents worth around $2bn-$3bn to prevent Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States.
For the company that once ruled the camera film market, the future is based on consumer and commercial inkjet printing, says chief executive Antonio Perez.
Kodak currently ranks fifth world-wide in the printer market, according to technology data firm IDC, with a market share of 2.6% in the first nine months of 2011.