We Go To College To Learn Photography, Where Do We Go For Marketing?

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. ~Attributed to Harry S. Truman

Whether you are an amateur, aspiring professional or up there with the pros; business marketing knowledge is an absolute must for successful dealings and transactions in your work. Through research and effort the process of learning begins, this is how we become better and this doesn't change when we are looking to become better photographers.

But how do we become better business men and women? The solution is convenient and simple.

The National College of Business is a vital key to success in every facet of the business world. Here are their beliefs:

NCB Intention
To increase the success of small business in Australia.

NCB Mission
To create an experience for everyone who comes in contact with us.
We do this by treating you as we would our best friend, going the extra-mile in whatever we do and adding value at every interaction.

Our Core Values
Attitude (Our people are positive, genuine and extra mile. They have great, can do attitudes)
Growth (Our people develop personally and professional, they are open to feedback and apply the principle of CANI)
Determined (Our people are up for a challenge and are competitive by nature)
Professional (Our people are well presented, organised and on time)
Others (Our people have a love for people and serve others to help them succeed)
Candour (Our people are honest and straightforward in attitude and speech)
Confident (Our people are confident because they are disciplined in their own life)
Fun (Our people are happy, enjoy a joke and create an experience)
Excellence (Our people do whatever it takes, they are committed to excellence and continually raise the bar)
Respect (Our people respect themselves and others)

What the NCB is committed to…
World class training, education and development for business owners and their teams that is street smart, practical, applicable and fun to ensure you get the results you want in your business and that you enjoy the journey along the way.
Support for business owners in managing the daily challenges of running a business…so you have a sounding board to assist you with the important decisions.
Access to professionals and resources…that give you the expertise and guidance necessary to

WIN the GAME of BUSINESS!
A positive, fun environment to train your staff in key areas so that you don’t have to do it yourself.
Providing nationally recognised qualifications in key areas of small business so that you know you are getting THE BEST information, that is real and applicable.

Classes are very detailed, friendly and well prepared with many options of achievements available at the end.

Their link is available when you click the National College of business logo.

BRIEF- Tradeshow/Seminar

Photographic Tradeshow and Seminar

Outline

Based in central Brisbane, the inaugural Photographic Tradeshow and Seminar (PTS) will be held on the weekend of Friday 23^rd October – Sunday 25^th October 2011 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane. This tradeshow will educate photographers and the broader design industry of the photographic trends of the past, present and future.

The event will draw together the beauty of the photographic art forms from all corners of the globe and throughout time. Drawing on inspiration from 1940’s Parisian street scenes, reminiscent of Coco Chanel, the event will marry in the technologies and photographic trends as they have evolved over the last 70 years.

Purpose

The purpose of the event is to draw together photographers and designers to encourage greater possible achievements with future collaborations. In the modern day, as technology advances, the photographic industry has taken on digital media as their primary source of displaying art. This event will encourage artists to explore the possible combination of modern and traditional presentations of photography. There will be new ways to encourage photographers to present their imagery on different surfaces across a broad range of media. These will encompass photography of all genres, from Commercial to portrait, through to Landscape and Fine Art.

Target Audience

The PTS will strive to bring together not only rising talent and photographic students but the entire photographic and design industry from Australia and the world around us.

Constraints

Various factors will require consideration prior to the event. The size of the venue, time frame for organization, OHS, insurance issues and technologies among others will be considerable constraints. Photographers and Technological experts will have their own constraints to consider for implementing the client’s concepts.

Location

The Tradeshow will be held at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre in the Great Hall.

Budget

The budget for the event will be unlimited, within reason. Sponsors will be a major source of funding for the tradeshow.

 

Areas of Responsibility

Marketing

-       Creation of brief

-       Sourcing of key speakers

-       Floor plan

-       Profit

-       Promotions/Advertising – Flyers, Database, Internet Marketing

-       Sourcing Sponsorship

-       Costing

 

Technology

-       Feasibility of concepts (Can it be done? How can it be done?)

-       Tradeshow exhibitors – New technologies

-       Equipment – 1940’s à Now

-       Technological forms of presentation (Projections, wallpapers etc.)

-       Costing

 

Photo imaging Trends

-       Creation of atmosphere, through imagery (What’s going to be displayed/projected to build the feel of the show – which locations of the world will need to be photographed to help build the Parisian feel)

-       Portraits – different styles and trends

-       Models dressed in styling from 1940s until today.

-       Surfaces to print on (3D printing opportunities, Sculptural prints, printing on fabric, wallpaper)

-       Projection technologies

-       Costing 

Thanks, 

Darlia Argyris, Renee Bosboom, Shaun Bedford, Nadine Mitchell, Julie Phillips

How commercial photographers market- The marketing mix

The marketing mix is essentially the different activities a business undertakes to promote their business and generate sales of their product. It could be advertising, direct marketing, sales promotions, sponsorships or other PR activities. Over the last few weeks I’ve been doing my research. I’ve talked to professional photographers, marketing managers and those good folks from the publishing industry. I’ve found out the types of promotions photographers have done and what they thought was effective. I’ve also asked the ‘art buyers’ about the types of promotions they have received from photographers and what they found effective.

Photographers

1. A killer folio
Having a strong folio of your work that shows off your skills, style, the diversity of your work, unique abilities and personality is a great starting point for a commercial photographer. This folio can be printed or displayed online. A key tip from photographers is to get help in putting together your folio. Ask peers, mentors or even a professional photo editor to cast their eyes over your work for objectivity. While difficult to do, according to both photographers and buyers, it’s very effective to deliver your printed folio directly to the decision maker and make a meeting to go through it one on one. A personal touch can help make you and your work more memorable.

2. Advertisements
Traditional advertising is pretty expensive. Advice all round on this front was if you are going to advertise then target, target, target! Make sure you pick media that is going to end up in the hands of people you want to hire you. Commercial photographers can advertise in sourcebooks or on the web in a fairly targeted way.

3. Direct marketing

This is the big one. Direct marketing activities include emails, email newsletters, printed promotions and promotional gifts. This seems to be where most commercial photographers spend the largest amount of money. (It also seems to be the approach that is most appreciated by art buyers).
There are a couple of keys to direct marketing. The first is to ensure you have a really accurate and targeted mailing list. You want to make sure your direct mail piece ends up in the hands of the person who can decide to hire you.
Second is frequency. You want to send out promotional material at a frequency that keeps you top of mind, but not annoying! The mix is different around the industry. Some photographers send out an email every month and at least two printed promos in a year, others swear by a print mailer every 4 months and an email every 2 it really depends on your budget.
Speaking of budget, direct marketing can be very expensive. For reference, Capture Magazine (Jan/Feb 2010) quotes that Melbourne based commercial photographer Jean Marc La-Roque spent approximately $22,000 producing 500 A4 books that he then sent out to prospective clients. It could have cost a lot more, La-Roque did a contra deal with his designer Richard Henderson to reduce costs.
FOLLOW UP- one of the biggest mistakes a photographer can make after sending out a direct mail piece is neglecting to follow up. It takes time and can be frustrating and even disheartening but it’s well worth adding that extra personal touch according to both the photographers and art buyers I spoke to.

4. PR activity including blogs and social media

This is really becoming a necessary evil for photographers right across the board. The best advice I’ve seen comes from American Photographer Lincoln Barbour. Who on his blog post marketing 101 says that there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. “ if you do it right, you’ll be rewarded with web traffic, great feedback, and a sense of interconnection to clients and colleagues. As a business, your social media interactions should stay on message, stay positive, and be useful to your followers.” ...when blogging “Blog about what you’re shooting. Blog about what new clients you have. Blog about anything related to your business.” http://www.lincolnbarbour.com/blog/2010/03/05/marketing-101-for-commercial-photographers/

Art buyers (marketing managers, advertising and publishing industry)

1. Folio
A strong folio is important for art buyers when choosing which photographer to hire. Most say they prefer to first see work online via a photographers website (mostly because this saves them time). A good folio, according to Capture Magazine (Jan/Feb 2010) must have ‘professional presentation with good design, concepts and images’

2. Advertisements
Art buyers say that while they may look at photographers advertisements when generating a ‘long list’ for jobs, they are more strongly influenced by the photographers folio. Personality is also important said one marketing manager. ‘We’ll end up working really long hard days so we need to make sure they are going to be a good fit personality-wise’

3. Direct marketing
Art buyers at top advertising agencies can receive up to 20 pieces of promotional material from commercial photographers a week. From my research art buyers seem to prefer receiving emails with a link to a photographers website. Having said, email promotions do run the risk of ending up as spam. One marketing manager stated that mail promotion with a personalised letter and examples of a photographers work were likely to be the most effective. “I believe mail would be the most effective as it's more likely to get read than other forms of communication. It's easy to bin emails or ignore unknown phone calls.”

In summary, again according to capture magazine, “the message in allof this seems to be that clients want to see a range of marketing activities from the photographers who want to work with them. The promos should be beautifully designed and produced. The key to marketing success is consistency. And of course your images have to be jaw dropping as well” (Julian Watt, Expose yourself to the world-legally, Capture Magazine Jan/Feb 2010)