*** Clarification ***
The promos I talk about below are not the 5 promos that Myles and I have officially picked. These are honourable mentions. Myles and I are milking the bejesus out of Monday’s promo call-in and will continue to post about them through the weekend. Think of this as the pre-game warm-up.
*********
As promised, Myles and I have come up with a list of 5 promos that we will discuss. But first, let’s look at your feedback. The comments mostly told us you liked Tony Fouhse, Robert Popkin and Peter Schafrick and my stats counter ranked you in the following order of actual click throughs:
1. Tony Fouhse
2. Robert Popkin
3. Darryl Banks
4. Daniel Wood
5. Tait Simpson
Before Myles and I start dissecting our 5 picks (wait for it…), I wanted to give some honourable mentions to a few photographers who are approaching the whole idea of a promo with fresh ideas:
To jog your memory:
Made of Stills – Identity from Made of Stills on Vimeo.
What the Sam Hell is in the water in Quebec that’s turning out such inventive mixed media approaches? A video promo for photography?
What I like: It catches my attention. I’m going to spend time with it (ie. watch it). It’s uber-unique. It shows me you can do other media and are interested in new directions.
What I don’t like: I don’t really get a sense of your photography. And for that reason, I’d like to share this:
© Maxyme G. Delisle, Made of Stills
© Robert Popkin
Many of you sent notes about Robert’s work and I agree- it’s lovely. Sending a book as a promo seems like a lot of work and expense and I’m sure it is. But, Robert had this to say about it’s success:
My latest personal promo is a series put together from a long term documentary project I have been doing. Some shots were taken as recently as six weeks ago, others go back as far as two years. The promo started out as a short run, essentially just for the agency and client that commissioned the job. An additional copy was made to show to prospective clients as well. After a great reception to the initial run, including a couple job offers, and some great word of mouth buzz, I am looking into producing more copies to circulate to more potential clients.
I realize you were asking for promos not books, but since this was a promo in the format of a book, I thought it might qualify. We chose a hard cover book format as this seemed like the most suitable way to not only showcase images that tell a story, but pay tribute to the people involved in the project. The book gives a sense of weight and time that could not be matched in another medium.
I want Robert’s next book to be about the dogs:
© Robert Popkin
3. Tim Gruber
No image? You’ve got to be kidding me, no image on your promo? OK, so the click-through better pay off because you are taking a mighty gamble here my friend. Wait a minute, this is a printed piece, so I’ve got to type your name into google? I’d better “feel something” indeed!
Intriguing or half-baked? Let’s see what Tim has to say about it:
I decided to use all text through as a way to hopefully cut through the heaps of imagery we all deal with on a daily basis. I’m hopeful that the response will be decent and drive a few curious people to my site. At the very least I hope it’ll inspire a few people that receive it to think about the power still and moving images truly have.
What I do like: I am intrigued! If this was an email promo, I’d have clicked for sure!
What I don’t like: I’m busy- it’s risky to assume that you’ve generated enough intrigue to get me to take the bait. I also think the design of this could have been much stronger. I’m also a bit disappointed that I actually didn’t get to see any of your photography on this promo. Shots like this would make it to my wall for sure (I had a hard time choosing- it took me 10 minutes to decide on this one):
© Tim Gruber
All the good work on Tim’s site makes me think a promo without an image is a lost opportunity. Tim: please report back on the success of this promo once it drops.
HMAb Promo Picks 09, coming up next.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m glad to see Made Of Still making the honorable cut! They are 4 young shooters working hard on getting their work out there. They did this promo for their official (awesome) studio opening.
As for what’s in Quebec’s water, I think it’s a mix of do-it-yourself, fun and taste. Or maybe is it poutine?
Myles and Heather thanks for throwing this together. This is working out to be an inspiring and informative set of posts.
I’ll be sure to keep you both posted on how it works out.
Seeing as we’re all in a visually driven field it was definitely a gamble to go with an image free promo. Prior to this I’ve been playing it safe in my marketing efforts so we’ll see where this goes.
For the new year I promised myself I’d stop playing it safe. This is one of those steps into not letting my fear of failure overwhelm me into not taking action. I might be setting myself up for one here, but it’s an idea I’ll keep playing with until I find something that hopefully resonates.
Thanks again,
Tim
I read the Tim Gruber promo (not even enlarged), because the large amount of white and black text did catch my eye, but with no imagery and my lack of time the day they were posted I didn’t actually go look at the photos. And like the promo says, you remember 1/3 of what you read… so i don’t know if I’d remember it!
Myles and Heather, thanks for initiating this post, and for the honourable mention. Photography promos seem to be an elusive area, where everyone is trying to do something different. It’s often difficult to see what other photographers are doing for their promos, let alone hear what clients really think about them. I’m looking forward to seeing where this discussion goes and learning more about effective ways to avoid a promo going straight to the recycle bin.
As for the dogs, I haven’t decided exactly what to do with that series just yet. I would like to use it in a promo piece, but have been focussing more on promoting my people work lately. I’d like to figure out a good strategy to use this series – one that supports my other work, instead of diluting it. I’ll be sure to let you know what comes of it.
Tim – It is so easy to play safe………and I am so guilty of it too
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