Great insights… much appreciated. I respect all your points… and really don’t disagree, only to say how unfortunate the whole situation is. However, to my initial point, it’s for the same reasons you list that makes it difficult for those trying to get into agenccies to land assignments. If I understand you correctly, there’s not enough time for AB’s/AD’s to properly review a promo, spend a few minutes on a web site, and especially to meet in person. Thus, it must be less time consuming and safer to call the same photographer you used last week for the portrait shot, to now do a still life shot. I might be the right guy to shoot still life, but because the AB, AD, CD have not met me, it’s an understandable risk the agency is not prepared to take – so, again, it’s Safe Guy (who perhaps shoots mainly people) on speed dial that gets the call. This is especially true of agencies who have no AB, or where the AD is the sole decision maker. Safe wins. Not because he/she is best suited for the assignment at hand, but because there’s apparently no time to properly evaluate the photographers.

I just wonder why the aversion in Toronto to shaking someone’s hand and looking them in the eyes and saying hello. If they don’t like me, fine… that’s one less photographer on their radar they need to worry about, and one less agency I need to worry about. But I sense in Toronto there’s less value placed on personality and meeting someone face-to-face than in the US. I find that very odd.

I also notice how much more time AB’s and AD’s in the US take in the selection process. More importantly is their courage to take some risks – as long as it’s for the betterment of the creative/ad. They are not afraid to take a stand and sell a photographer to their colleagues, account person and client. I’ve yet to witness that here to anyt significant degree. In fact, I see the opposite – it’s fear that makes AD’s go with Safe Guy. And I believe that’s the primary difference between agencies in Canada vs the US. I believe it’s not that US agencies necessarily have more staff or time, it’s that they don’t make decisions based on fear.

Just my take…..

Your pal,

Anon.