Polaroid: How to ignore your audience
Judging by the way Polaroid distances itself from the Impossible Project, you might never realize that the small Dutch film maker saved Polaroid and its beloved instant photographs from extinction.Polaroid, which suffered badly since the death of its inventive founder Edwin Land in 1991, could have completely lost the instant film -- a whole artistic medium, pop culture icon and technological marvel in one -- had the company not crossed paths with the Impossible Project's founder, Florian Kaps, a man described as a "crazy Austrian entrepreneur."
I read "The Impossible Project That Kept Polaroid Instant Analog Film Alive" because I like Polaroids, and I've been rooting for the folks who are rallying to save them. And that's pretty much it.
But I was surprised it also provided a bit of a business angle with an interesting snapshot of how to not listen to your customers. (You'll have to click through to read the whole thing. See especially the last heading "Losing a Loyal Audience: Is the OneStep the Wrong Step?") I guess we'll see how this all plays out for Polaroid.
