• by Karl Greenberg , December 11, 2007

Kodak has inked a six-year deal with the PGA Tour. The agreement, starting next year, will put the Kodak brand on tournament courses, including new hi-tech digital boards. Kodak also gets hospitality-suites. The deal will include other marketing cross-promotional ventures, but neither PGA or Kodak is elaborating.

"As Kodak has transformed as a company, our marketing has also transformed," says David Lanzillo, chief spokesperson for the Rochester, NY-based company.

"Today [Kodak] is a company with a strong focus on commercial printing, consumer digital and professional photography, and motion picture products. That has prompted us to focus our marketing strategy and resources on activities that enable us to more directly interact with our customers."

Kodak gets branding on new Diamond Vision LED digital scoreboards, 11 of which dot the course at PGA venues. The company will also hold corporate hospitality and entertainment venues at different matches. The scoreboards show video, stats, logo animation and other graphics.

The company, which posted a 1% increase in third-quarter sales to $1.123 billion, has focused on consumer digital imaging this year. Kodak launched a line of inkjet printers early this year. Revenue from digital products grew by 16% for the quarter versus the prior year.

Kodak this year signed distribution deals for its inkjet printers with Circuit City and Sam's Club in the U.S., and Wal-Mart in Canada. The company says its inkjet products are in 7,600 retail outlets worldwide. Kodak remains focused on selling 500,000 units this year and achieving $1 billion in sales in 2010.

The company has been supporting its inkjet line with a print campaign, per Lanzillo.

The company will be a sponsor of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and this summer it launched the Kodak Inspiration Tour, a national mobile tour featuring a 4,000-square-foot interactive exhibit touting consumer photography, printing and display technology products.