Photography for marketing

I often liken what we do in the systems integration business to what architects do. We take ideas, mix them with off the shelf items, and create amazing, working facilities that combine technology, workflow, ergonomics, and aesthetics into systems that often make visitors stop and say “Wow!”.  From broadcasters to Universities, from Fortune 500 companies to Government Agencies, the systems we build are often stunning visually, and often end up part of the company “tours”. They are showcases.

Architects understand this. They employ architectural photographers to shoot their projects and it shows on their web sites, brochures, case studies and magazine articles. These architectural photographers have spent years learning to capture the drama and “wow” factor of a space.

We’re in the business, but…

We are in the image business.  Whether you are a manufacturer or a systems integrator, we’re all about images, creating them, displaying them, transcoding them, moving them. Yet one of the most underutilized tools in our selling arsenal are the pictures we take.  We’ll shoot a few snapshots and then wonder why they don’t look as good at the shots we see in architectural journals.

This is not to put down the shots are installers and sales guys shoot. It’s just a reality that their main job is not to learn how to make a space photograph well, and most of them have not spent years honing that photographic eye or learning the particulars of how to shoot technical spaces (which have their own quirks that make them difficult to capture.).

 Some of us in the business (and I have done this when I did marketing for integrators) will piggyback on the consulting architect’s photographer.  In most cases though, those photographers shoot general spaces well, but don’t really understand what OUR customers want to see. And too, they are expensive. Prices of $500-$1,000 per image, plus expenses are not uncommon.  That adds up fast.

Some suggestions

So then, how do we get good pictures to help us sell, and how do we make them more cost effective for us all, manufacturers and systems integrators alike?  I have some suggestions.

• First, find a photographer that specializes in technical systems like the facilities we build. There are unique challenges to shooting these spaces and if you are going to spend money, you want someone who knows how to deal with those challenges. Those of us who have been around long enough to remember AF Associates, probably remember their gorgeous ads in the trade magazines. Good pictures sell.
• Second, make sure of what you are getting when you talk to a potential photographer. Many professional photographers sell you limited rights to the photographs. In other words you can use them for say, an ad campaign and your brochure, but unless you have full rights, you may not be able to use them for, say , a magazine article. So you or the magazine would have to buy additional rights (yep, more cash outlay) to use the same shots.
• Third, think multipurpose. Have your photographer shoot a LOT of pictures, with slightly different angles. If you are an SI and there are feature manufacturers in the project, get some good closeups of their gear, so you can offer them shots (manufacturers love this.), or if you are a manufacturer, get some good wide shots and offer them to your SI’s (who will love you for it.). Think about what a magazine would like to see, and shoot those too. Look for that signature shot that you can frame and give to your client, or hang on your wall.
• Think co-operatively. Manufacturers, SI’s, architects, builders, the press and even customers have a vested interest in having professional quality shots. Think about who you might partner with to pay for a photographer, and bring the cost down for all of you.  Some manufacturers may let you use co-op funds to get good shots to market them and your system.
• Leverage photographs to get magazine articles – Here’s what I have learned as both a writer and a photographer. if you have good images, the odds that a magazine will use your project in an article vs the guy who has a great system but so-so (or no) pictures, goes up amazingly.
• Leverage geography – If you are bringing in a photographer to shoot one location, you are already paying for his travel and hotel room for a day. So why not get the most for your photography dollar. What other customer systems are nearby that you can use him to get good shots for? Fill his days and get the most for your money.  

 Keep these things in mind as you think about your marketing efforts. And keep Quarry House in mind as you think about photographers. We’ve spent a decade learning how to shoot Broadcast and AV projects, and our pictures have appeared in ads, magazine articles, brochures and web sites. You can see some of our images here.We are less expensive than architectural photographers, and we know how to capture that "wow" factor. 

Tom

PS - Yes, I took that picture of The Speed Channel. You can double click on it for a larger version.