Keeping up with the trend.

Jazz Hands!

For businesses generally, there are a number of methods to keep up with the latest trends.

RSS feeds
Magazine
Journals
Internet
Other businesses
Expo/Confrences
Seminars
Courses
Chamber of Commerce

Below are examples of above.
sbecouncil.blogspot.com

Over The Top Business Cards

Unlike the previous post displaying trendy effective business cards, some failed to meet their standards!
Often companies try to be too clever when creating their business card and can overwhelm the viewer or obscure essential details. Some cards can often miss the target group through uses of innapropriate imagery. Other designs, though creative, could be dismissed purely as a gimmick. In the below image of the USB card M++, conventional business card is taken to the next level, value adding to the business objectives.

Which business card work better, bland practicality versus creative impracticalitly?

Trendy Business Cards

Although business cards have been around for a while, a new trend in promoting your business is having "unique" business cards.
Rather than a plain dull rectangular
card, business' have opted for different textures, materials, shapes etc.
Here are a few examples below





This trend has become extremely popular, especially for the creative businesses such as artists, graphic designers and photographers. This is because they want their clients to see their creative side and actually enjoy taking their business card, keeping it and remembering them.
Do you think this trend works? And if you had the time and money would you have a "unique" business card made for yourself?

Nicole

Win Win or Lose Lose

The proliferation in recent years of online stock photography has seen opportunities for
both business marketing departments and professional photographers. The business of being a
stock clearance house hasn't done too badly either. All in all, it seems like a win-win
situation, with photographers meeting the increased demands of contemporary business'
visual media requirements.

Obviously there will come a time of market saturation, or product life end (the trend for
photographic images shifts) but it would appear on the surface, at least, that anyone can
have a go at making some cash from taking photos. Therein lies a problem, for both
photographer and corporate client base.

There are 3 main ways to distribute photos in the hope of making an income on a regular
basis. They are Royalty Free distribution (RF images may have small up front cost but few
restrictions on use), Royalty Managed (RM usually fetch higher sale value and provide
purchaser with greater exclusivity subject to more rigid usage terms) and commission (a
client provides a brief with specific instructions and varying amounts of artistic
interpretation on the part of the artist).

The last option above can include running a business with clients attending for specific
purposes, eg. portraits, or working continuously for large clients, eg. fairfax. The middle
option, RM is still mostly the realm of the professional photographers who are willing to
accept about 50% of the nett sale of images. One trend amongst high end RM stock houses is
to engage photographers for specific assignments, approaching commission basis work. Royalty
Free businesses will accept nearly anything, if you agree to take as little as 20% earning
from each image sold. However the artists rights are pretty much undermined as soon as the
image has been submitted as RF. So what are the problems...

For businesses the problems include balancing budget vs the right product. It is cheap to
get an image that may turn up in a competitors campaign next week. Also the marketing
department can spend significant time sourcing an appropriate 'cheap' image from
hundreds of RF distributors selling thousands of images. For the professional photographer,
it is the mind set of potential customers that there is a preferred option to expensive
commissions and also that their trade is being tarnished by hobbyists with post production
tools, muddying the waters and making corporate access to true professional work more
complicated.

How do you feel as an aspiring professional photographer? Is Royalty Free a chance to gain
notoriety and a place to express art that is not entertained by mainstream Royalty Managed
sites? Do you disagree entirely with the notion of stock libraries and want to avoid the
contractual nightmares in favour of running your own business? Do you love the idea of
Royalty Managed firms, with professional standards, and the chance to do what you love
without having to deal directly with clients? P-Mphotography would like to get your opinion
on business trends surrounding Photographic Stock Libraries. Owyn ;-]

On the same subject of emerging trends, we will discuss how business' must have an online presence. Whether it a personal website, social networking, advertising banners, direct sales and electronic business cards.
Online access to target markets is becoming essential. Higher band widths with increased quality means increased competition between competing business to provide consumers with interactivity and content, especially visual material including photographic images.


Here is an example of a contemporary site that features plenty of quality visual stimulus....



Here is an example of a business which has failed to keep up. ....


Do You have an example to submit to this blog ?

Impact of New Marketing Trends

Greetings Folks,

This week we will be discussing the impact on new and emerging trends in promoting a business.
Companies are using environmental issues to advertise their business, for example....
A new trend emerging is companies advertising on "Green Bags" (Enviro Bags).
-Nikon
-Cotton On
-Woolworths
-Coles
-City Beach
-Bakers Delight
-Fuji Film

The main advantages are:
-Advertising (People advertise your company for free)
-Promoting to all economic classes
-Recycling
-Adds a good idea about the company (Being Green)
-Mass production

The main disadvantages are:
-Cost and production of these bags
-Exposure time
-Disposable (People throw them in non recyclable bins)


What is your view of companies taking advantage of environmental issues to promote themselves?

Week 1 discussion also focused on a visual campaign that failed to deliver.
Suggestions included Rugs A Million (t.v sales ad), Hogs Breath (Hot Pants Promotion), Eclipse Mint (t.v commercial), Dominos (Cheaper Tuesday Cheerleaders) and Van Heausen Underwear (banned on brisbane buses)

Week 1 sees the discussion focus on the successful international advertising campaign of Sagatiba "The Pure Spirit of Brazil."
This alcoholic drink was introduced to the world through a classy iconic imagery of "Christ the Redeemer" otherwise know as "The Jesus Statue", situated high above Rio.
Billboards and static images supported this campaign as shown above.

Follow the link bellow to the production and behind the scenes of the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising campaign.
http://mefeedia.com/entry/making-of-sagatiba/12643944

Introduction

Hey everyone!

We have started this blog to discuss the business and marketing trends and emerging technologies in the photographic industry.

Our discussions will include firstly, examples of advertising campaigns, whether and why they worked or not.

Secondly, we will talk about the impact on new and emerging trends in promoting a business.

Lastly, a discussion involving ways of keeping up to date and informed on current and future trends and technologies.

We hope you enjoy and join in on our exciting weekly discussions.

BnM Club