In Case You Wondered: Once Upon a Time on Instagram. Behind @kodakprofessional_europe
Today, many companies rely on Social Media for most of their communication, but often, they outsource this task to an agency or a full-time Social Media manager. Kodak Alaris, do it differently; a glimpse behind the scenes.
by Ludwig Hagelstein

Kodak Alaris distribute and sell all of Kodak’s still photographic film and single use camera products around the world.  For some years now, the company has run several Instagram pages to link with photographers using Kodak film, but it was not until October 2019 that a dedicated page to support photographers in Europe was created. This Instagram page, @kodakprofessional_europe, was born with a passion to link with, and showcase European based photographers and their works, with a focus on further building-, and interacting with the European film-community

With the introduction of the new account in 2019, Kodak Alaris have made a big step forward to increase its direct interaction with photographers and film-afficionados, not only sharing and presenting images shot on Kodak films, but also directly connecting to their customers, utilizing the best part of Social Media; the social one. Most importantly, the account is not being run by a marketing agency, or a dedicated social media manager, but by those, perhaps most involved in Kodak Alaris’s still film venture, Andy Church and Charlie Abbiss, both of whom have a deep rooting in the industry and an even deeper connection to the medium of photographic film itself.

The purpose behind the account is not only to showcase film and photography, but “to create a platform focused on European photographers” and “to create a voice for peoples individual reasons why they choose to shoot on film”.  According to Charlie, the level of interaction with photographers is fantastic and incredibly interesting, showing that there are not only one or two, but hundreds of different reasons to shoot film. 

 

Photograph by Raymond van Mil

Both Andy and Charlie often browse the wealth of images uploaded by the analog community using #KodakProfessional or #KodakFilm hashtags on Instagram, and they then approach the photographers, enjoying the exchange of thoughts on the medium every single time. Currently, to ease in the New Year – one that hopefully will be better than 2020 – and to celebrate the magic number of 35 thousand followers, Charlie and Andy have started a celebratory competition, giving away 5 rolls of film for 7 weeks to those entering. 

 

To participate, the only requirement is to post a photo shot on the type of Kodak film you want to win, explain in the caption why you want to win this film, and tag #KPE35K⁠ to be found. 

 

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