What does a brand stand for?

Quick, what do you think of when you think of Kodak?

Maybe you remember Kodak's yellow and red film packaging...or other photography-related products.

Kodak is changing its brand associations, and today it describes itself this way: 'Kodak is a technology company focused on imaging'. For consumers, Kodak offers digital cameras, movie cameras, printers and more.

Can the Kodak brand be associated with smartphones? Kodak is aiming for that market. Last year, its brand appeared on a smartphone made by Bullitt. The phone didn't sell well. Now the Kodak brand is about to appear on a new smartphone, to be marketed as having a very good built-in camera. The new phone is called the Ektra.

Everyone takes photos with smartphones and tablets these days, right? Some famous photographers use their iPhones and rely on the quality, and Apple is definitely promoting the photography aspect for social media ease and professional use.

In other words, Apple has successfully associated its branded phones and tablets with high-quality photography.

Can Kodak do the same for its Ektra smartphone?

Fujifilm thrives, Kodak struggles

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The Economist recently contrasted the financial woes of Kodak with the better performance of its traditional rival, Fujifilm. Kodak's yellow-and-red boxes were, at one time, stacked up in every photo shop and tourist kiosk throughout the US, Canada, and many European countries. Despite Kodak's strength, Fujifilm's green boxes--always a fixture in Asian stores--were slowly but steadily gaining ground worldwide, in part because the film was less expensive than Kodak's film.

Then digital imaging changed everything. Although Kodak developed some of the earliest digital cameras, it stuck to its highly profitable film business too long. It also moved too slowly to eliminate its profit dependence on traditional film products through diversification.

Now, even as its financial difficulties put it on the brink of bankruptcy, Kodak has sued Fujifilm for patent infringement (Fujifilm had sued Kodak a few months earlier). Kodak is also suing Apple and HTC for patent infringement.

Fujifilm, meanwhile, moved more quickly to address the inevitable ascent of digital photography. Not only is it introducing more sophisticated digital cameras for the replacement market, it has added many low-end models for first-time camera buyers. In India and other nations with growing economies, Fujifilm has increased its marketing budget and set aggressive goals for increasing market share.

Will Kodak survive? The picture is far from clear.