SO THIS IS DIFFERENT... WHAT'S NEXT?

What’s Next?

If that question was posed to some ‘talking head’ they would begin espousing information and data with a self assuredness that makes most of us feel inadequate at best.

“Wow. That guy really knows his stuff.”

But he doesn’t. Not really.

No one knows what is happening contemporaneously and they sure don’t have a clue about what is going to happen. They cannot even tell us with any certainty what has happened to this point.

Ad agencies are notorious for being canaries in the coal mines and this article at Ad Age points out the tremendous roller-coaster rides many of those working on that side of the business face.

Brutal.

But then, we have lost far more than ad agency people to this.

And that is a fact.

The question on everyone’s mind is will they come back.

And the answer right now is “we don’t know”.

Mark Cuban spent an hour speaking with James Altucher, and even he admits that there is no magic mirror or fancy viewer that can help us see what is coming from this disaster.

This was not the usual top-down destruction of the economy.

That happens when consumers stop desiring or purchasing the services and products being offered. Something happens to the economy that shakes up the sales chain, and it just trickles out. Strikes, layoffs, challenging international trade… whatever.

The consumers stop buying and the businesses start laying off and then those people can’t buy if they want to.

But this one was created from the bottom-up. Consumers were happy, and the economy was humming right along. 2020 was shaping up to be a very big year for many of us.

But the economy was killed by an immediate shot to its heart.

Consumers didn’t lose interest, they lost access.

And that simply has not happened before.

Our reactions are naturally formed by our experiences so the government tried to help by the usual top-down stimulus which was the exact opposite of what they should have done.

Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, but that miscalculation has ramifications that will run deep for a long damn time.

It was a death sentence to many small and start-up businesses, and delaying of the inevitable to most of whom they gave the stimulus to.

Water under the bridge. Can’t be fixed. Done.

So – what’s next.

A few months ago I wrote a column on the “roaring 20’s” and how I thought it would be working out for us.

That column hasn’t held up well, but then again I didn’t see this coming from China and infecting the world.

Things changed, and we must adapt.

(And no, not for the “new normal”… fight against anyone who wants to make this horrible, dangerous, and fear-led “life” into anything but NOT NORMAL.)

Photographers I am speaking with are either sitting around moping, wondering what to do, tired of learning Photoshop – OR taking action that promotes themselves to clients who may be in the same boat.

I predict a lot of failed photography businesses… as well as failed business models in total in this industry. Agencies may take a while to recover. Big production companies may have to reorganize. The way things have worked in the past are being rethought and reimagined right now.

Across all sectors.

If you have wasted this precious prep time, I am truly sorry.

But if you are working hard, building up a portfolio, learning new tricks (animation, cinemagraphs, video, motion, audio, interview techniques, writing, graphic design, web design, pottery, watercolor… anything artistic) you are going to have a path when it opens up fully.

(Except Illinois who is promising to be in lockdown for another 9 months. Their return to the lifestyle of the 1700s will be very interesting to watch.)

What was… and what will be.

Reps:
Once the pinnacle of professional photography marketing, reps will find it hard to keep promoting their talent. The talent may be in all levels of disarray, and the clients even worse. The usual rep/agency relationship may have to be totally restarted anew.

In the meantime, photographers who are lean and mean, who are creative and have used their creativity to grow new things should be talking directly to the agencies they can reach and to the clients that they want to work for.

Still Photography:
Big studios turning out only stills will find a very different landscape when the dust settles. Clients are going to be wanting to spend money, but their needs are going to be quite varied – and you better be damned ready to deliver.

A friend in Phoenix had a client he had worked with steadily for over 10 years send him an RFP for a Ten Hotel shoot. He does these all the time, but this time they needed a few 2-minute videos. His response was that he was good with the stills, but they would have to find someone else for the video. They found someone else… who could do both. You do not have to become a videographer, you just have to deliver the goods… there are videographers out there you can hire to shoot while you DIRECT!

Waiting for the RFP:
The normal marketing situation is that we send out postcards and emails with our precious images on them and hope that by doing that we will attract attention. Some of us send out thousands (the not smart way) and some of us find a more targeted list of about 200 or so names.

Now you will be pitching one-to-one. Find a client you want to work for, and pitch the visual ideas you have. Become PROACTIVE. Let them know you want to work for THEM, not just looking for anything you can find.

One of my photographers found a client a few miles from him. Saw their website and knew he could do some great work with their product. He purchased a few cans of it, spent some time shooting them (straight, splash, conceptual) and ended up with some nice portfolio shots. He ALSO shot them so he could pitch them. And he did. Right to their marketing person (finding clients is a long and painful process, but one that can be done if you WANT to work).

Within a few hours, he got a very positive response.

A few days later he received a nice RFP and is awaiting their return to the office to begin the shoot.

This will be more work for us. It will. But it will be the difference between sitting and waiting and taking control of who we want to work for.

Clients will appreciate this form of one-to-one marketing because it is personal. And, guess what, it is what they are going to be doing as well.

You must have “a story”.
Just being an entity who makes pictures was once enough. Not anymore. Clients are going to want to know more about you, your motivations, your art, and what about you makes you special enough that they should hire you. If you need help with this, get it. But don’t fake it, discover it, and let it be the most authentic thing you have ever done. Bullshit is transparent.

Being On-Time is being late:
And we are not talking about showing up at 8:45 when you agreed to a 9 am meeting. It means showing up with more ideas, new ideas, ahead of the curve ideas. It means being ready to discuss the newest trends, delivering the hottest work, and to lead as a visual artist, not simply stay current or show up late with the same ol’ shit everyone else is delivering.

Make yourself indispensable:
Do more than was asked. Take the lead when considering the deliverables. Your clients need more from you than what you agreed to, so do it. When you do a job for someone, make them see how they need you to keep working for them. Do that by following this next rule…

Over Deliver:
Just do it. No, they didn’t ask for the cinemagraph, but you delivered one. They didn’t ask for 6 choices, but you did it anyway. The client wasn’t expecting a Facebook ad, or three Instagram ads, or a template for a product sheet along with your imagery, but hey – they got one. This will be a new way of working for many of us.

You can choose to ignore this stuff and continue to do business as it was. You undoubtedly have that right.

But those who do will be a leg up on you, and they will grow their sphere of influence more and more until their way of working is the norm and you look left behind.

Lots more challenges will be out there, as well as lots more opportunities.

Many of our known clients may be out of business or hunkering down until they can find more capital.

But there is another edge to this knife – the “how do we make sure this shit doesn’t happen again” edge. New businesses, new companies, new needs for visual imagery of all kinds.

From innovation within existing businesses to start-ups with visionary ideas we cannot even imagine yet, they are going to need what we do and we should be as ready as possible to assist them in any way we can.

I am not feeling defeated or pessimistic about our industry at all. It was due for a change, now we have the opportunity to make that change happen in OUR favor.

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If you are in need of a mentor or would like to work with me one-on-one, we can build your portfolio, help you develop your marketing skills, and kick your ass when you start to wander off the path. See my mentoring program here on the site. You are also welcome to call me at 602 814 1468 if you have questions.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash