veroman
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Mike Mahoney wrote:
When I first read this my first thought was does anyone actually use prints as a marketing media anymore? I think a good website and a marketing program to drive traffic to it is your best bet.
Yes, I do. And the reaction I get from the photo editors I meet with is quite positive. Most of the time I get something on the order of, "Wow ... it's been a while since anybody showed me prints. This is cool." My very first presentation was a portfolio of prints ... about 15 pieces. I've been working freelance for the magazine ever since.
Prints are tactile. You can pick them up, hold them, view them at any angle, run down the hall with it and show it to somebody without much difficulty. They're familiar to people who WORK in print, like design firms, ad agencies and the like. And they're (hopefully) color accurate. When someone views your work on the web, you have no idea if their monitor is throwing off the skin tones, making images too bright or too dark or too saturated, etc. A print portfolio puts you in control of all that and more.
A great web site is a must, but targeted marketing that gets the right people to your web site is expensive and VERY competitive. Your marketing materials and ads had better be the among the best out there if you really hope to get someone to remember who you are and your web site's URL.
After I show my book, I leave my card with name, phone, URL. 99% of the people I meet with go to my web site soon after the print presentation. Doesn't cost me much to get them there, and they almost always send me an email after they view the site to tell me they liked it or whatever. After that, whenever I make a change to the site or add a new shot, I send out an email to the people who saw my print stuff and get them to the site a second, third, fourth, fifth time etc.
Again, it hardly costs me anything to get the traffic there. And it all started with a print presentation that also cost me very little (except time; it is time consuming to make the calls and get together with a prospective client).
So, yes, some people still show print work. I doubt I'm alone in this. And I enjoy it. I enjoy talking about my work with the people who might hire me. We also get to talking about gear a lot of the time. I enjoy that, too. We talk rates and fees, too.
I'm sure there are certain kinds of photographers ... like wedding and portrait photographers and maybe photo journalists ... who might be better off using electronic media as their presentation method and doing steady marketing to drive people to their web sites (although word-of-mouth is still the best way to acquire new business).
But the original poster asked about ad agencies. Having spent almost my entire adult life in the advertising and design business, I think in-person presentations are a viable way to go if you can manage them. They're not the ONLY way ... and for some, not the best way ... but they're viable and worth a try.
- Steve
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