Another read worth seeing over at Heather Elder’s Blog.  It’s the answer to her open letter from last week.

Dear Rep. – An open letter from an art producer

Heather Elder

Heather Elder has an impressive group of photographers in her care; most notably (to me at least) is Andy Anderson. Her site is worth a visit just to look at her stable of photographers.

However, here are short segments from her post – you must go to her site to read the good stuff, sorry.

1. When you ask me what our budget is, usually I don’t have access to that info, or I’m given a number that needs to include so much more:
2. Personally, I don’t kiss and tell, er– divulge who folks are bidding against, until after the job has been awarded
3. I try to offer feedback about creative calls, and estimates, when I have time.
4. I will always let you know when I am asking for a third bid, and your photographer has little chance of getting the job.
5. I don’t ever want to be the art buyer you jokingly want to charge each time I  make you triple bid for the hell of it, or revise an estimate 20 times.
6. What kind of art buyer doesn’t tell you that you didn’t get the job?!
7. Are you kidding—portfolio shows are one of the best parts about being stuck inside this cube, and not out on production bossing everyone around!
8. I appreciate the email blasts to alert me who is doing what. Unfortunately, my in box is inundated with them– half are from sub-par talent, and repeating weekly.
9. I wish reps/photographers would market the appropriate audience, once a month or when there’s truly awesome new work.

So now … go here:  Heather Elder Blog to find the context and some other goodies.

Heather Elder Represents 9 commercial photographers, hosts a stock inspiration website, a

Heather Elder

blog, and consults with a variety of photographers nationwide. She’s written an open letter to Art Buyers that deserves the attention of both photographers and art buyers.  I’ve highlighted the lead sentence in each of her 8 points.  It’s worth a read here.

1)   When I ask you for the budget, please know that I am only trying to get an idea of how to approach the project.

2)   If I ask you who else we are bidding against, it is ok if you don’t want to share that inform But if it doesn’t really matter to you, then I could really use the information.

3)   If you ever have feedback for me about the book, the site, the call, the estimate; any of it, I would really be appreciative.

4)   If I am just a third bid, please let me know.

5)   When we are not awarded the job, please let me know right away.

6)   I so appreciate when you let me come to your agency to brag about our photographers.

7)   I also appreciate when you spell out your expectations for a portfolio show – especially when it comes to what will entice the creatives.

8)   Please do not get annoyed with me when I send email blasts.  I know, I know you get so many.  However, these are one of the only measurable forms of communication we have nowadays.

Monetize ideas not ads. The idea economy needs a new business model but I’m not sure a “model” will be the end result.

When does a model become a franchise? The agency model has nearly become a franchise with various nameplates boasting proprietary creative processes and methodologies that – peel back the curtain – are identical.

Creative franchises are oxymoronic. If you’re a franchise it doesn’t necessarily mean that you share the name plate with other shops, but instead share their structure to the disadvantage of individuality.  Franchises don’t want individuality, they want structure with “plug and play” predictability.  If a part wears out, efficient replacement depends on a machine-like operation.

It’s easy to see the age old pendulum swing of fear (good economy: build your brand, bad economy: sell product) and the typical industry churn (grass is greener; look over there, ewww shiny) but this feels different.  This is different.

The idea has no time for bull shit.  A good idea needs to be made and made fast because it’s life cycle is being perpetually truncated with a fresh idea waiting to jump in line.  It’s a good time to be “a creative” with guts and a bad time to be an overgrown behemoth with an ocean sized turning radius.

It’ll be interesting to see if a balance is ever found.  It may just happen that the answer is imbalance rather than stability; when can we decide that a new balance is reached?

via Ad Age -  read about a trend that makes perfect sense to me:

Graf, Montague, Bogusky, Hirshberg — a Parade of Top Talent Departs Big Agencies, or the Industry Altogether

“Longtime agency watchers will say this kind of churn has always been part of agency life, but to dismiss the trend as part of some cycle is ignoring some key questions that agencies need to answer.” – Matthew Creamer

Great article, read more

I’m screwed. The flight is full. I need to go where I’m going but there are only middle seats. The guy in the middle is in no man’s land and no one wants to be associated with “no man”. Aisle seat gate keepers refuse to look me in the eye. The strategy seems to be: block the entrance with a briefcase.

No man’s land is a term for land that is not occupied or is in dispute between parties that will not occupy it because of fear or uncertainty.

You’re fighting for real estate with no ability to define your space. There are no clear boundaries; no arm rests dedicated to your seat. Action appears to be at the fringes but the fringes aren’t accessible on your boarding pass; you’re a middle seat guy for this trip.

Without a pass one can only play at the fringes for short periods. You can sit on the aisle but if it’s not indicated on the boarding pass you’ll soon get busted back to the middle. In the middle you are unrecognizable, uncomfortable, ignored, assigned token worth, or dismissed out of hand no matter how very good you are.

Some how you need to reserve that aisle seat; get in that exit row with A/B choices.  Ride the middle for a while but if your a traveler and get the middle seat on every trip, I may suggest you use the exit slide. You’ll need to create an authentic story of a fringe player and live it.

Here are some of the famous “middles”:

Middle America is beloved but horribly abused, misunderstood and misquoted.

Middle class is a proud group but one whose definition is unclear and shifty. My father was one and so am I, but there couldn’t be two more different people in the same category.

Middle Management, even the name sounds unimportant. “Hi, I’m a middle manager” – I can’t imaging a greeting more apt to inspire escape. Having been one once, I know what a lonely position this is. You have all the responsibility with none of the position power or ability to directly affect things on the ground.

Middle Name: It’s rarely used and less often recognized as you. Those without one don’t miss it all that much.

The Middle Aged are typically lost in a crisis of neither starting nor finishing. They’re stereotypically on a bridge to nowhere, upset by their aimlessness while lamenting dreams unfulfilled.

Middle of the Road has a firm reputation for boredom and a dead lock on the inadequately mundane result.

Middle Ground is impossible to defend, but then, no one will attack you anyway since you have nothing remarkable to offer. Well, that is unless you are in the way of some fringe element trying to cross your path.

Middle Passage: Synonymous with death to would be slaves. At the very best it meant months of torture followed by a lifetime of servitude.

The Middle Man is always in danger of being squeezed out; Rumored as worthless. There is even a word for eliminating him: Disintermediation [an economic term for cutting out intermediaries] and is considered a method for gaining efficiencies.

Middle Child: There is a syndrome attached to this position, one defined by a sense of not belonging. Need I say more?

Middle Urinal: As the middle airline seat is to travel, it’s the last resort for queued personal relief. There is an instant calculation upon entering a men’s room: “Which of the remaining spots is least likely to attract a neighbor?”

Everyone should know Seth Godin – there is no disputing he’s perpetually reserving an aisle seat.  If you haven’t seen his presentation from 2003 you must view it. If you have it’s worth a revisit – I’ve viewed it half a dozen times at least.  It’s seven years old but will remain fresh in seven more, with the possible exception of the Hummer – it may not be here but the message is still dead on accurate. He speaks of the middle brilliantly and is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Here is a 1 minute marketing course – very well done by CakeGroup.com

I had a chance to talk with Creative Director and Copywriter Mike Allen about his career in Advertising and get some of his thoughts on branding and creativity.  Here are 10 minutes from that discussion.

As this embedded spot for American Airlines demonstrates, Mike gives voice to a brand’s essence.  This spot and two others in the campaign ran shortly after the 9/11 tragedy.  Worried that the country didn’t need a reminder of plane flight or the of who’s company mark was stenciled to the side of the terrorist weapon, American Airlines was on the verge of canceling all Advertising for 6 months.

The alternative was to show the emotion of what plane flight means to those who chose to travel; don’t show planes, show what planes can do besides fly into buildings. It’s easy to see how the “We know why you fly” campaign was born from these early spots written by Mike.

Additional 30 sec. spots in the Campaign from American Airlines 2001:
“Friends”
“Family”

Summery of Mike Allen’s Advertising History:

His 24-year advertising career includes creating brand-building work for American Airlines, Bank of America, Nortel Networks, Subaru of America, the U.S. Air Force, Bell Helicopter, Terminix and Bennigan’s while at Temerlin McClain in Dallas, TX.

From 2003-2009, He was ACD, then VP/Managing Creative Director at Rockett, Burkhead & Winslow (RBW) in Raleigh, NC, overseeing work and writing for BB&T, Biscuitville, Wavecom, Queens University of Charlotte, CORT Furniture and Old Dominion Freight Line across all media channels.

Kevin McKeon via StrawberryFrog.com

Your product launch offers awareness for its unique value. This accounts for most advertising.  Ok, now we know your product is there; you have my attention, educate me. It’s been repeated 1000 + times: “nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.” But I’ll change it a little for the internet age: “nothing kills a product like a bad product.”

There. I’ve summed up conventional advertising in one paragraph, and brought it into the crowded, abundant, consumer centric internet years. Now it’s all about ME, keep your damn interruption marketing to yourself, I’ll find you when I want something you got. Unless ….

Unless you give me something authentic of real value for free, like say … social equity? I’m my own broadcaster on the social network and I want social media love. I want to be the guy for whom others create a “bring back [your name here]” fan page if I disappear for a while.

With infinite choice comes a need to embed your product  into culture. If you’re really successful you become the culture, like #43 is to NASCAR. Hint: Start with quality.

In my campaign I’m going to give away personal brand equity – touch my brand and your perceived social value goes up in your tribe.  Touch my quality and you are quality – nice!   I know you want it – who wouldn’t?

A general guide:
1) Find out why they’re there and want to be associated with your brand?
2) Understand who you’re talking to and contribute to their experience by adding authentic value.
3) Remember that in the new landscape, everything is social – no one likes to be sold to, interrupted, or be the subject of a marketing prank.
4) And – now here’s the hard part – keep the social equity your giving prospects immersed in yours.

Repeat after me: real value, authentic value, social value.  Additionally, remember that the value is for your tribal prospect, not you.  In my tribe people come over to eat, not watch YOU eat, and they’re proud to have eaten my food.  Build personal brand equity for participants, immerse your brand into the culture to build advocacy within the tribe, and – if possible – add material reward that is portable all while generating real social brand equity for individual tribe members.

Fast Company Magazine has a nice simple article describing what successful and not so successful brands are doing to create advocates. “Five Steps for Consumer Brands to Earn Social Currency” by Ben Paynter

1) Advocates Trump Followers
2) Context Matters
3) Not Every Brand Should Be Social
4) Social Tools are a Means Not an End
5) Gimmicks Marginalize Trust

Embedded is a short video with boutique ad agency, Strawberry Frog’s Executive Creative Director Kevin McKeon explaining why he considers everything they do to be social.

StrawberryFrog Creative Director: “I Consider Everything We D… – The funniest videos clips are here

Presented by AIGA Raleigh and PermissionToSuck.com

Recorded Version Online April 20, Eastern Daylight Time (USA)

The event will be held on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm (EDT) at Burns Auditorium in Kamphoefner Hall, NC State College of Design, Boney Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605

Sean Adams

[via AIGA Raleigh]
Join us for an evening of insight and inspiration with Sean Adams, as he discusses the evolution of the AdamsMorioka brand. He will talk in depth about their self-promotion practices and how that relates to business.

As he describes it, “This will be a frank and honest discussion answering some of the questions I’ve heard over the years. How did we start? Is it true we’re media whores? If so, how did we do it? How do we decide what to work on? Has Noreen ever abused me? And any other question you may have, but would be afraid to ask.”

Sean Adams has been recognized by every major competition and publication — from Communication Arts and Graphis to AIGA and the New York Art Director’s Club.

AdamsMorioka has been exhibited often including a solo exhibition at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Sean is President ex officio and past national board member of AIGA, and President ex officio of AIGA Los Angeles. He teaches at Art Center College of Design, is a frequent lecturer and competition judge internationally, and has been cited as one of the 40 most important people shaping design internationally in the ID40.

For further details go to the AIGA Raleigh website.

Things begin to go awry when I have no point of view; no opinion, no specific observation, nothing to reveal. I spend most of my time trying to uncover the problem, though once established, the rest is hard work that is relatively relaxing. I’ve discovered that most of my restlessness lies in finding the story not telling it.

I’m used to seeing life happen through a viewfinder; it’s my job, and probably why I leave my camera at home when on vacation or spending time with friends. I want to feel it without the camera framing it for me. The camera can keep me from seeing if I’m not careful; as soon as I raise it to my eye, I’m a professional and my craft dominates.

This whole “telling the story” thing has stalked me.  Photography, greeting cards, marketing, branding and advertising all tell stories. In my off hours, music, socializing, reading, listening – all involve stories. FaceBook is one big story made of short anecdotes from a select cast of characters.

I have a stream of self talk as I interact with anything. Looking at a photo or artwork creates a story in my head clarifying the memories it evokes, the emotions it churns or the actions I will take as a result of including this image in my life. Creating art is speaking the narrative.

A good photographer understands the craft of storytelling.  I think making a successful photograph usually incorporates at least some of these:

Slow Disclosure:
Like in films, each element of the story, revealed all at once, will cause the viewer to move on faster than it took you to take the photo in the first place. Framing, composition, angle of view, selective focus all contribute to the pace with which the viewer understands the story your telling with the image; too fast and their gone, too slow, and they’re bored.

Power of unanswered questions:
Learn to love the questions – there is power in the unresolved chord. Sometimes the story is in the details of the moment but the question it leaves behind can be equally as compelling. The best movie you saw left you talking about it long after you left the theater. Same goes for a photographic image.

Empathic Engagement:
The image isn’t about what you’re feeling, it’s about what your viewer is feeling. Cognitive and emotional integration of surprise, satisfaction, beauty, horror – or whatever the story’s point – needs to be empathic to be engaging.

It’s the discipline of storytelling that helps us build more meaningful experiences for the viewer.  Storytelling is deeply embedded in the way we understand things. Our world view helps us build expectations of our story’s plot, and the effectiveness of the spectacle can actually change the world view of others through a surprise resolution.

It all starts with a point of view.  Scott Simon tells us how it’s done.

Seth Godin's head

I’ve been reading Seth Godin since his second book Unleashing the Idea Virus 2001.  Linchpin is his most personal book to date.  In it he describes our current economic transformation from an individual’s viewpoint. Think of it as a pep talk for Purple Cows or a kick in the ass for the rest of the herd.

I’ve always thought of Godin as a marketing guy for the rest of us.  Idea Virus explained viral marketing, Purple Cow outlined market differentiation just as his others made marketing ideas clear and accessible.  Permission Marketing was a breakthrough since he was ahead of the curve and brought more new ideas to market with that book.

In Linchpin, Godin defines art as “The intentional act of connecting with someone else and changing them.”  While this might not be what many think of as art, it is a great definition when referring to the art of doing.  And really, is there any other kind?  I suppose there is the art of thinking but doing gets more results.

This is by far my favorite of his issues probably because in Linchpin, Godin covers nearly every point in the Permission To Suck Manifesto starting with number 1:

1) Snub expectations.  Excitement needs space; throw a few elbows if required.  Picasso’s friend and art critic, Guillaume Apollinaire, encouraged his cohorts to “innovate violently!   Much more risky for creative professionals, is to abide by rules.

Translated to words closer to his in Linchpin: To follow rules is to be a factory worker which these days is very risky since our factories are dying.

Piers Fawkes from trend blog PSFK interviews Seth Godin about his book Linchpin.