Antoine Dreyfus's Posts
Kodak and Cities XL
I am not a gamer myself and I know very little about video games.
But I must say I have been very fortunate to work on the partnership we have just announced between Kodak and Cities XL.
Cities XL is a new video game in which the participant plays the role of the mayor of a city. And the mayor is a very busy man or woman: building the city, organizing the administration, ensuring the adequate level of equipment and public services throughout the city, taking care of the well being of the inhabitants, managing the traffic system, facilitating business growth, and collecting taxes.
From the first meeting I had with the Cities XL team and the first product demonstrations I saw even at a development stage, I was impressed by the quality and realism of the design, the variety of buildings available, and the numbers of parameters contributing to a very advanced and realistic simulation. I was also impressed by the additional excitement when you are going for the "Planet" mode, in which you can interact with other players through the web, organize trade between cities.... Cities XL is becoming even more attractive with this social community aspect, about which we are all at Kodak, some very strong believers.
Then I thought I was impressed because I was not very familiar with this gaming environment, and I started to look at what was already available on the market: I then realized that Cities XL had something unique and better than the competition.
And I thought it was a natural fit for Kodak to be part of this game.
Is there any city in the world where you can not see a Kodak sign or a Kodak shop? Of course not. So we need to be part of this virtual world too and we very happy to partner with Cities XL.
So what will Kodak will be offering to the Cities XL gamers?
First a retail presence. The mayors will be able to build a Kodak Express store within their city, because the Cities XL inhabitants will have some photo needs, just as every one! So if you want to cover all the retail's needs for your population, you better build a Kodak Express store in your city
Then Kodak is offering a unique landmark to the Cities XL mayors: the Kodak Theatre. The real Kodak Theatre is located in Hollywood, CA and this unique and state of art entertainment complex has since 2001 been the house of the Academy Awards. Needless to say, this is a nice jewel to build in your virtual city. And one which will contribute positively to the satisfaction of your population when it comes to leisure and arts.
But I must say I have been very fortunate to work on the partnership we have just announced between Kodak and Cities XL.
Cities XL is a new video game in which the participant plays the role of the mayor of a city. And the mayor is a very busy man or woman: building the city, organizing the administration, ensuring the adequate level of equipment and public services throughout the city, taking care of the well being of the inhabitants, managing the traffic system, facilitating business growth, and collecting taxes.
From the first meeting I had with the Cities XL team and the first product demonstrations I saw even at a development stage, I was impressed by the quality and realism of the design, the variety of buildings available, and the numbers of parameters contributing to a very advanced and realistic simulation. I was also impressed by the additional excitement when you are going for the "Planet" mode, in which you can interact with other players through the web, organize trade between cities.... Cities XL is becoming even more attractive with this social community aspect, about which we are all at Kodak, some very strong believers.
Then I thought I was impressed because I was not very familiar with this gaming environment, and I started to look at what was already available on the market: I then realized that Cities XL had something unique and better than the competition.
And I thought it was a natural fit for Kodak to be part of this game.
Is there any city in the world where you can not see a Kodak sign or a Kodak shop? Of course not. So we need to be part of this virtual world too and we very happy to partner with Cities XL.
So what will Kodak will be offering to the Cities XL gamers?
First a retail presence. The mayors will be able to build a Kodak Express store within their city, because the Cities XL inhabitants will have some photo needs, just as every one! So if you want to cover all the retail's needs for your population, you better build a Kodak Express store in your city
Then Kodak is offering a unique landmark to the Cities XL mayors: the Kodak Theatre. The real Kodak Theatre is located in Hollywood, CA and this unique and state of art entertainment complex has since 2001 been the house of the Academy Awards. Needless to say, this is a nice jewel to build in your virtual city. And one which will contribute positively to the satisfaction of your population when it comes to leisure and arts.
The winner of the MOFILM contest and more at Cannes Lions
This week Cannes hosted probably the biggest advertising festival worldwide.
On top of our participation at the festival to promote our film business towards advertising agencies and production houses, Kodak was also one of the 12 brands participating to the Mofilm user generated advertising contest.??
Unfortunately the Kodak entry into the finale did not make the top 3 among the 12 brands, but all the jury members with whom I have been talking here in Cannes told me we were very close... Does this mean a very unfortunate 4th place? We will never know for sure. ??
So congratulations again to Karima Salmi .... for her great film about Kodak's contribution to strengthen human relationships.??
A press conference was held yesterday with Spike Lee during which the winners were revealed. Spike Lee made some very interesting comments about his commitment and love for film, while recognizing that digital technology was giving an easy and affordable access for young talents to start expressing their creativity, something which was not possible at the time he started his career. ??
The top three winners were attending the session too. Three young guys who flew into France, coming from Los Angeles and Tokyo the same morning. They were so happy and excited that you could not read the flight fatigue on their faces. They were just smiling all the time, impressed by the recognition of their talent by a professional jury.??
The grand prize winner is a young Japanese guy who shot a Nokia ad. Although he is studying in a film school, it was the first time he shot a commercial. Interestingly, the creative insight of his ad is based on his personal life, when he and his girlfriend were living on two different sides of the Pacific ocean. ??
The ad for Best Buy, shot by a young American, came in second. A very well shot emotional piece of advertising.
??Interestingly enough, those 2 ads are about themes which are very close to Kodak's marketing stories : both of them talk about the use of technology in order to stay connected with their family, friends and relatives. ??Have a look at them on www.mofilm.com
Yesterday evening, there was a cocktail party on the roof terrace of one of Cannes hotels, followed by a dinner in a beach restaurant. A good opportunity to connect with some other brands, agencies and professionals of the advertising industry and tell them about Kodak's transformation and everything which is going on in our business. ??
During the dinner, the winning ads were shown, but also some fun ads which were submitted for the contest but which were censored by the brands - so we were part of the happy few who ever had a chance to see those.??
This morning an interesting workshop hosted by Accenture about web 2.0 and social networks. The trend is definitely there, some brands more advanced than others and Kodak's experience has been mentioned several times. Web 2.0 opens new dialogue opportunities with consumers, but requires also for the brand to deliver more content. And user generated content is one of the ways for the brands to get access to the content they need in an affordable way.
On top of our participation at the festival to promote our film business towards advertising agencies and production houses, Kodak was also one of the 12 brands participating to the Mofilm user generated advertising contest.??
Unfortunately the Kodak entry into the finale did not make the top 3 among the 12 brands, but all the jury members with whom I have been talking here in Cannes told me we were very close... Does this mean a very unfortunate 4th place? We will never know for sure. ??
So congratulations again to Karima Salmi .... for her great film about Kodak's contribution to strengthen human relationships.??
A press conference was held yesterday with Spike Lee during which the winners were revealed. Spike Lee made some very interesting comments about his commitment and love for film, while recognizing that digital technology was giving an easy and affordable access for young talents to start expressing their creativity, something which was not possible at the time he started his career. ??
The top three winners were attending the session too. Three young guys who flew into France, coming from Los Angeles and Tokyo the same morning. They were so happy and excited that you could not read the flight fatigue on their faces. They were just smiling all the time, impressed by the recognition of their talent by a professional jury.??
The grand prize winner is a young Japanese guy who shot a Nokia ad. Although he is studying in a film school, it was the first time he shot a commercial. Interestingly, the creative insight of his ad is based on his personal life, when he and his girlfriend were living on two different sides of the Pacific ocean. ??
The ad for Best Buy, shot by a young American, came in second. A very well shot emotional piece of advertising.
??Interestingly enough, those 2 ads are about themes which are very close to Kodak's marketing stories : both of them talk about the use of technology in order to stay connected with their family, friends and relatives. ??Have a look at them on www.mofilm.com
Yesterday evening, there was a cocktail party on the roof terrace of one of Cannes hotels, followed by a dinner in a beach restaurant. A good opportunity to connect with some other brands, agencies and professionals of the advertising industry and tell them about Kodak's transformation and everything which is going on in our business. ??
During the dinner, the winning ads were shown, but also some fun ads which were submitted for the contest but which were censored by the brands - so we were part of the happy few who ever had a chance to see those.??
This morning an interesting workshop hosted by Accenture about web 2.0 and social networks. The trend is definitely there, some brands more advanced than others and Kodak's experience has been mentioned several times. Web 2.0 opens new dialogue opportunities with consumers, but requires also for the brand to deliver more content. And user generated content is one of the ways for the brands to get access to the content they need in an affordable way.