PHOTOGRAPHY COSTS
PHOTOGRAPHY COSTS
One of the fabrics that the single thread (the marketing message) must weave through is production cost. This refers to outside talent: ad agencies, writers, graphic artists, actors, voices, editors, producers, directors, and, especially in the Internet age, photographers. Photography and/or videos get your PR into the newspapers and magazines and make web sites and blogs sing.
It is an age-old problem of Marketing Directors – whereas non-marketing executives (bankers, lawyers, CFOs, COOs, CEOs, Presidents…all of your bosses) — can easily put a number on media space and time and accept those expenditures, they simply do not put value on talent. To them, an ad costs $20,000. That’s just what it costs. But spending $3,000 on production is simply unacceptable.
The ad could pull dozens, perhaps thousands of leads and bring in God knows how much revenue to the company…or it could bring in nothing and destroy your brand. The quality of the photo, the writing, the design – the $20,000 ad is based on these intangibles. And the ad will run five times, for a total of $100,000. That is completely acceptable. But $103,000 to make it all work is almost never acceptable.
And you know full well that if you use lesser talent, the results will be catastrophic.
This is a constant and major fight that every Marketing Director must win. Great talent makes you and your work successful. Poor talent makes you and your company a loser. Put your job on the line when you need to and budget in great talent. Never settle for less.
Ed Sucherman
THE MARKETING MACHINE
http://www.edsucherman.com/edsblog/
Congratulations on seeing the Emperor without his clothes. In an increasingly visual world imagery is the hook. “Good enough” but cheap is just, well… cheap. And in an increasingly visual world, with an increasingly visually-literate audience, outstanding photography adds value to your marketing and actually increases response. Would your favorite magazine jump off a cluttered newsstand without a compelling image on its cover?
What makes your marketing communications stand out? Production value, that’s what! No, it’s not inexpensive, but there’s a real difference between “price” and “value,” and those with the vision to recognize it are the ones who will ultimately succeed.
Joseph Pobereskin
Awesome work there. I must appreciate author as well.