Mr. Douaire, recently appointed general manager of Internet marketing, will be that guide, charged with marketing Internet products and services.
FOUR YEARS AT PEAPOD
Mr. Douaire spent the last four years at online grocer Peapod, with his involvement beginning when that marketer originated in 1994. As manager of marketing development for Tribune Co., Peapod's first strategic investor, Mr. Douaire, 37, acted as liaison between the two companies. He moved to senior VP-Internet marketing at Peapod, and in that position developed consumer marketing strategies with package-goods marketers such as Coca-Cola Co., Frito-Lay and Kellogg Co.
During his time at Peapod, the company reached $69 million in revenue, up from $8 million in its first year.
ALL ABOUT THE CONSUMER
For Mr. Douaire, marketing has always been about the consumer. That philosophy made his move from Chicago to Rochester, N.Y., an easy one.
Kodak's "vision is to facilitate consumers' ability to use and repurpose their memories -- their photographs -- on an individual basis and on a family-wide basis," he said. "It's a reflection of senior management's understanding of the opportunity that the Internet and the Web represent for consumers as well as Kodak."
The company's early online strategy has focused on marketing products such as Picture CD which, along with their prints, gives consumers processed prints on CD-ROMs, and Kodak Picture Maker, an in-store machine that enlarges and crops photos.
You've Got Pictures, a partnership with America Online, allows consumers to view and transmit developed photos via the Internet.
Kodak chose Mr. Douaire to fill the position because, as Senior VP-Chief Marketing Officer Carl Gustin said, "We wanted someone who had actually built an e-business or e-service from the ground up."
"It's the new way of doing business," Mr. Douaire said, "and part of my coming on board is to help this evolution."
SEVERAL VENTURES
As for marketing on the Internet, Kodak's e-business currently includes kodak.com, co-marketing initiatives with Internet service providers such as AOL and Intel Corp., and a licensing relationships with Petsmart.com that uses Kodak technology to allow customers to manipulate and e-mail photos of their pets.
Kodak's Internet initiatives do not yet contribute substantially to its $13.4 billion in annual sales, but with the hiring of Mr. Douaire, the marketer is out to show it's committed to a growth strategy.
"As with any other business looking at commerce capabilities," Mr. Douaire said,
