The story of Polaroid offers a fascinating insight into the evolution of camera technology. Once a titan of the photographic industry, Polaroid failure to innovate and anticipate the shift to digital led to its bankruptcy, but a return to analog processes has breathed new life into this former giant.
This excellent documentary from Business Insider examines Polaroid’s history, examining where it went wrong. The parallels with Instagram are intriguing, and while the social media giant is using its pivot to video to ensure its dominance, for Polaroid, the same shift in the late 70s was the beginning of its downfall.
Today, the reconstructed company seems well placed given the renewed interest in analog processes. Film cameras seem to be increasing in popularity by the month, with processing labs reporting steady growth while YouTube channels discussing old cameras and experimental film types continue to gain subscribers.
The name Polaroid — synonymous with instant photos to the extent that some don’t realize that it’s a brand — carries a cultural cachet, and while Kodak seems keen to put its logo on a random array of products and dramatically shift its business depending on what comes along, Polaroid appears to understand that ensuring the appeal of its brand depends on maintaining a link with the values its products generated during its peak in the mid-1970s.
