Polaroid unites with Blipfoto to revamp ‘online photo sharing’
Polaroid has tied with online photo journal Blipfoto to usher in what it claims is a “new era” in online picture sharing with the launch of a social network that encourages members to document their lives with just one photo each day.
The tie-up, dubbed Polaroid Blipfoto , promises an ad-free experience that allows users to capture their days in a single picture in what is effectively a relaunch of the popular Edinburgh-based daily photo journal Blipfoto . More than 5 million days have been recorded on the site since it launched in 2004, and Polaroid is hopeful the proposition can offer up a new twist to its stuttering shift into the digital age.
Changes to Blipfoto’s interface have been made to broaden its appeal alongside updates to its mobile apps. The service is available as a free app for iPhone and Android devices and can also be accessed online.
Photography lovers can pick between either a free basic account or pay for premium features. All members are encouraged to “be excellent to each other” in the hope of creating a community around their shared love of imagery that could unearth untapped marketing insights.
Joe Tree, Blipfoto founder, said: “We’ve experienced significant organic growth as our community has come to appreciate the unique value that our service brings. We’re empowering them to share their lives and preserve those little moments, which in time become precious memories, in a way they couldn’t before. With Polaroid Blipfoto, they have a place of reflection that they can look back on to relive memories and the emotions that accompanied them. Polaroid is recognized around the world and is synonymous with the kind of fun and sharing that Blipfoto is all about.”
Polaroid, which is best known for film-based instant photography, aims to use the servcie to help establish a digital presence for the brand. Efforts to reframe the business for a generation that shares pictures online almost instantaneously from their smartphones have been hampered by a tumultuous history in recent years. It has had to endure two bankruptcies and seen brand cut-through dull. However, there are signs of a more positive future for Polaroid on the horizon.
Minnesota’s Pohlad family acquired majority ownership of Polaroid last November in a deal worth $70m. The new owners promised to bring financial stability to the business that will pave the way for the next step in the brand’s resurgence.