Photography Industry –

Commercial Photography

Finding a niche

New product segments and business models will likely boost industry revenue over the coming five-year period. Greater demand for highquality photography at special occasions and sporting events will provide additional revenue for participants. Sports and church directory photos have outperformed the portrait market over the past five years because they cater to an individual’s sense of identity and unity within a group, as highlighted by the PMA.

Over the next five years, demand for photography in segments other than conventional portraits will likely drive overall growth in the industry. Family and school portrait photography, which currently accounts for nearly half industry revenue, is expected to grow only modestly. Wedding photographers are also expected to experience little demand as marriage rates decline and couples spend less on weddings.

Conversely, commercial photographers are expected to experience higher demand.As corporate profit continues to be bolstered by improved economic conditions, total advertising spending will grow over the coming years.

Greater demand from commercial design agencies such as graphic design companies, will also boost business for non-traditional photographers. Demand for specialized services, such as architectural, wildlife, and sports photography, is also anticipated to increase in the coming years.

Commercial photography

Commercial and industrial photographers create images for commercial purposes, such as advertising, marketing or instructional brochures or publications.

A major chunk of commercial photographers' revenue came from still-life photography for various products and catalogs. Another important source was from photographing people (i.e. fashion shoots and corporate photography). Meanwhile, a small segment of the revenue was based on other specialties, such as architectural photos of buildings and landscapes, and technical photos of cars and machinery.

Commercial photography also includes photographers for medical, legal, passport and aerial services. In 2017, this segment is estimated to account for 30% of the market and has grown strongly over the recent period.

This segment is largely dependent on total advertising expenditure, which closely follows the movement of the overall economy. Driven by improved economic conditions over the period, total advertising expenditure has risen, stimulating demand for commercial photography services.

Additionally, the ongoing adaptation of businesses to social media has also benefited this segment, as companies have hired photographers in recent years to take professional photographs of their products or facilities and upload them to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Commercial Photography

Commercial, industrial and technical clients are anticipated to represent 30% of total revenue in 2017. Businesses typically employ industry services for marketing and advertising purposes and, to a smaller degree, to obtain photographs for publications such as annual reports, brochures, and instructional materials distributed to employees.

Demand from the business and commercial market is closely linked to trends in advertising and promotional activities and expenditure. The largest source of revenue for commercial photographers in the past five years came from advertising agencies and design companies.

The publishing industry, which licenses photographs for use in textbooks, novels, and comic books, is another significant market within this segment.

This segment's share of the market has increased over the five years to 2017, as rising levels of expenditure on advertising and marketing have boosted demand for commercial photography services.

The Photography industry has a low level of concentration, with the four largest photography companies in the United States collectively generating less than 20% of total industry revenue. Small establishments dominate the industry, with sole enterprises accounting for over 90% of industry establishments.

Other factors that contribute to the low market share concentration are the low barriers to entry and the local nature of industry services. Photographers typically operate within a small geographic area, the excepting a few well-known media or similarly specialized photographers. So, the industry is not characterized by larger corporations but is predominantly composed of smaller, local companies or individual photographers.

Key Success Factors

Effective quality control: Ensuring that a quality product is always delivered is important to ongoing success.

Good project management skills: Good overall management and communication skills are particularly important to small operators.

Ability to provide goods/services in diverse locations: Many portraits and commercial photographic services are done on-site at the client's venue. Successful operators must be willing to travel to meet their clients' needs.

Having a good technical knowledge of the product: Photographers need to be experts in taking, processing and printing images, including in digital formats. Having a good sense of lighting, style, color and design is also important.

Receiving the benefit of personal recommendations: Recommendations from satisfied clients create a crucial marketing channel for industry participants.

Production of goods currently favored by the market: With instant and digital photography becoming increasingly popular, industry participants should be able to offer digital copies of photographs and video recordings to attract more clients.

Ability to quickly adopt new technology: Agencies must be aware of new technology in the industry and general trends in technology, new media and opportunities for advertising.

Access to a multiskilled and flexible network: Operators need to have access to a skilled workforce or network of contractors which includes directors, producers, artists, composers, cameraman, screenwriters, technical staff etc.

Business Overview

Name: XXXXX

Entity: Private Corporation

Registered Address: XXXXX

Business: Production and marketing strategies through photography, videography and advertising

Goals: To provide exposure on all channels to clients and create visibility to their products and services to consumers throughout the internet, social media, commercials, movies, video clips, advertisements, etc.

Location: Montreal, Canada

Geographical Focus: Canada

Target Markets: Fashion industry, small local businesses, freelance artists such as actors, dancers, musicians etc.

Suppliers: Studio equipment and furniture suppliers, display item suppliers etc.

Competitors: Reverse Project, Fh Studio, Kika

Owners: XXXXX (President) & XXXXX (Client Relationship Manager)

Shareholders: XXXXX (60%) & XXXXX (40%)

Investment: CAD 350,000

Uses of Funds: Studio space lease and refurbishment, Studio set-up, equipment purchase, initial marketing & operating costs.

XXXXX is a diverse company which provides individuals and enterprises a mix of production and marketing strategies. They create content for clients that allows them to expand their business by building a strategic marketing and advertising plan, taking their visions and bringing them to life through photography and videography.

The company will offer services such as:

• Content creation with photography and videography

• Marketing and Advertising Plans

• Multi-channel promotions

• Social Media Development

Service Features

Comprehensive Service Package

In an industry where photography and videography services are distinguished from marketing services as two separate segments; XXXXX blends these services to provide a comprehensive package to clients.

Studio Rent

Photography and videography are an essential part of advertising and marketing. Hence, the company will open a studio where clients can rent studio space, shoot and develop pictures and/or videos and receive advice from the company’s marketing consultants and effectively market their products and services. Stary will focus on helping a company’s production of visual marketing strategies.

Marketing content

The company will create content for its clients based on their marketing ideas and build a marketing campaign around an idea using the expertise of their photography, videography and advertising skills and services.

Promotions

The company will help clients promote their products and services through various channels like social media, print media, etc. Based on the visually appealing content developed, the company will help the clients with multi-channel promotions.

Social Media Development

The company will help each client create a customized strategy for social media. It will create powerful images through its photography, editing and uploading these to popular social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. It will create video content that resonates with the target market and ensure it is shared repeatedly across various social media channels.

Customized marketing strategies

The company will come up with customized and intelligent marketing and advertising strategies for specific clients to ensure they gain the maximum mileage out of such promotions and are able to reap the benefits of the company’s services in the form of increasing brand awareness, increased sales and increasing popularity.

Target Market

Fashion Industry

The primary target market of the company will be individuals and businesses in the fashion industry like apparel, accessories, jewelry and footwear businesses.

The company will work with clothing and other brands in the above businesses by doing photoshoots of their products (clothes, shoes, accessories, jewelry) and creating visuals for their collections.

As it grows, the company will look to tie-up with large companies to create commercial photoshoots of their products.

Small local businesses

The company will cater to this segment, which is the biggest chunk of the target market. It will help local businesses like restaurants and cafes, grocery stores, professional service providers, florists, health and beauty stores etc. to market their products and services in a unique way and stand-out from the crowd.

Freelancer artists

The company will make music clips for musicians to create the perfect visual for their beloved songs. It will carry out photoshoots for models and help them create a portfolio for themselves;

Suppliers and Partners

The primary suppliers of the company will be providers of studio equipment and other supplies like display materials and props etc. for photoshoots and videos. A few of the reputed suppliers in Montreal are:

Studio Economik is a retail and rental store specialized in high end pro-audio equipment. Their products include studio furniture, audio and video equipment, and accessories etc. They have products for rent as well as for sale.

Studio Specialties is a a manufacturer of seamless paper and other specialty products for the photographic and visual display industry. The company is headquartered in Montreal and operates showrooms in Montreal, Toronto, and Los Angeles.

Their customers range from photographers to visual display professionals and to the display departments of major retailers, theme parks, shopping centres and film production companies. “Studio” is dedicated to providing its customers with eye-catching products at reasonable prices and, above all, with excellent customer service.

CowboyStudio Canada, specializies in professional photographic lighting and studio equipment for the photography, film, and video industries. It sells high quality photography supplies and accessories at an affordable price.

Products include camera accessories, lighting equipment, backdrops, reflectors and light modifiers, flash lighting, studio accessories, tripods, etc.

Montreal, Quebec

The company has wisely chosen to open a studio in the city of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada.

Montreal has the second-largest economy of all Canadian cities based on GDP and the largest in Quebec. The city is an important centre of commerce, finance, industry, technology, culture, world affairs and is the headquarters of the Montreal Exchange. In recent decades, the city was widely seen as less important than that of Toronto and other major Canadian cities, but it has recently experienced a revival in attention.

Industries include aerospace, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, printed goods, software engineering, telecommunications, textile and apparel manufacturing, tobacco, petrochemicals, and transportation.

The service sector is also strong and includes civil, mechanical and process engineering, finance, higher education, and research and development.

Montreal is a major center of film and television production. The headquarters of Alliance Films and five studios of the Academy Award-winning documentary producer National Film Board of Canada are in the city, as well as the head offices of Telefilm Canada, the national feature-length film and television funding agency and Télévision de Radio-Canada.

Given its eclectic architecture and broad availability of film services and crew members, Montreal is a popular filming location for featurelength films, and sometimes stands in for European locations.

The city is also home to many recognized cultural, film and music festivals (Just For Laughs, Just For Laughs Gags, Montreal International Jazz Festival, Montreal World Film Festival and others), which contribute significantly to its economy. It is also home to one of the world's largest cultural enterprises, the Cirque du Soleil.

Montreal was referred to as "Canada's Cultural Capital" by Monocle magazine. The city is Canada's center for Frenchlanguage television productions, radio, theatre, film, multimedia, and print publishing. Montreal's many cultural communities have given it a distinct local vibe.

Montreal is Canada's second-largest media market, and the center of francophone Canada's media industry.

There are four over-the-air English-language and five French-language television stations operating in the city.

 Business Set-up

The first and foremost part of the operations is to set up the company, take care of the legal formalities of company formation, receive funding, identify the perfect studio premises and set-up the same, tie-up with suppliers and purchase equipment, furniture, and other studio supplies etc. and get ready to commence business operations.

 Networking & Marketing

The next step for the management of the company will be to tap into existing contacts, network with people within the industry as well as the target market. This will include attending industry related conferences and events and measure the pulse of target market needs, create awareness about the existence of the company and how it is different from its competitors, and undertake other marketing strategies to spread the word.

 Recruitment and Training

The third step in building the business, and an important one at that, is to is to create the perfect team of knowledgeable and skilled people with the right blend of interest, motivation and experience to contribute to the growth of the company and build a reputation for the venture as a professional in the industry.

 Client Acquisition and Retention

The most important function for the business to sustain itself and grow is customer acquisition and retention. The management will devise focused strategies to acquire clients in specific segments of the target market through networking, marketing, and referrals.

The company will also strive to retain existing clients by addressing their advertising needs, ensuring they are satisfied, providing the best possible services at market prices and walking that extra mile to ensure they come back again as well as refer other clients.

 Project Management

Once clients are acquired, the management will ensure the team manages the advertising, videography and photography projects of individual clients with the utmost care.

It will adhere to deadlines, be professional, allocate time schedules and manage appointments efficiently and ensure that maximum benefit is obtained out of minimum resource usage.

 Growth & Expansion

The company will aim to grow and expand its business by venturing to capture wider markets, increasing their market share in the industry, getting repeat clients as well as referrals, providing a wider range of services, allowing for vertical and horizontal integration, as well as expanding geographically across Canada and the USA.

The management will recruit and train the team to help clients with their advertising ideas and provide top-notch services.

Competitors

Reverse Project is advertising agency that owns several affiliated companies. Working as an umbrella operation and providing the full range of services, RP is fully in charge of their clients’ marketing identity and public appearance.

The company provides a wide range of services from photography to branding, and from marketing to videography. The company also caters to local start-ups and small businesses.

Fh studio produces video and photography content for both blue chip and emerging brands, from small domestic businesses to huge multi-national conglomerates. They provide video production services like advertising films, TV and web commercials, corporate videos, web content, music videos, art films, traditional animations, motion design etc.

Their photography services include advertising and commercial photography, Fashion photography, Food photography, Product photography, Packaging and Editorials for print and web etc. In addition to the above they provide Turnkey solutions, Line production, Production team, Post production, Video & Photo studios, Equipment and so much more. They also have a fully equipped 4,500 sq.ft. studio available for rent.

Kika is a full service marketing, design, and web ​agency with extensive experience in research, strategy, design and technology.​ They maintain an international client base with offices in Vancouver, Montreal and Manila. Their services include photography services, video production services, website services, online marketing services etc.

Founded in 2007, Kika brings together the perfect blend of marketing expertise, creative talent and technical savviness to turn visionary ideas into extraordinary brand experiences that propels businesses beyond the competition.

Strengths

• Established business model

• Experienced Management

• Huge market demand for these services

• Unique blend of photography, videography and marketing services

• Demand for digital marketing expertise

Opportunities

• Growth of Montreal as a cultural hub of Canada

• Increasing freelance artists in need of portfolios and the company’s services

• Growth in small business owners

• Increasing demand from the fashion industry

• Opportunities for geographic as well as service line expansion

S W O T

Weaknesses

• Yet to establish a brand name

• Dependence on external funding

• Time and staffing constraints initially

Threats

• Economic downturns

• Regulations

• Risk of technological outdating

• Established competition

Milestones

Short-Term

• Establish the business

• Lease premises

• Refurbish premises

• Acquire and set up equipment

• Network within the industry

• Tie-up with suppliers

• Recruit staff

• Initiate marketing

• Acquire regular customers from small businesses

• Acquire regular customers from clothing brands

Long-Term

• Establish the brand

• Target market specific promotion

• Connect with larger companies

• Grow the team in Montreal

• Find and develop own studio to work out of

Year 2

Setting-up

Year 1

Year 5

Globalization

By year 5, the company will aim to have a nationwide presence as well as capture a section of the US market.

Year 4

Stabilization

Year 3

Expansion

The focus of year 4 will be on expansion to other regions, and to offer a wider range of services. This year, the company will also venture out to target wider market segments, both geography wise and industry/business segment wise.

Year 3 will be the year of stabilization of the business model, by adding new clients, retaining existing ones and expanding the client and industry base. The ongoing marketing activities will continue, as well as growth in the range of clients will be achieved.

Marketing and Collaboration

The focus of year 2 will be to collaborate with established businesses, individuals, entrepreneurs, and others from the target markets and capture market share through strategic marketing efforts.

The company’s initial focus will be to register the company, set up the website, recruit staff, lease premises and create awareness about the services within the target markets.

Business Strategy

Strategic

• Penetrate the Canadian advertising market

• Gain market share

• Acquire a loyal customer base

• Retain customers

• Establish as a market leader in this space

• Network within the industry

• Low loading times

• Explore opportunities to branch out into other similar services in the near future

Managerial

• Establish operational procedures and robust processes

• Develop and maintain user-friendly website

• Provide high-quality services

• Customize services based on client needs

• Have a strong MIS systems in place to measure, monitor and control variances from plans (both financial, and non-financial)

• Attend conferences and events in the marketing space

• Deliver content to clients that will help them grow and expand

• Guide clients to reach their potential goal

Operational

• Identify and recruit well-trained and qualified staff

• Have a clear software development lifecycle

• Address client’s immediate requirements

• Understand client’s products and/or services to advise the most apt strategy

• Have clear policies for payments, refunds, customer issues and registration

Marketing Strategy

Website

The company will build a content rich website that showcases the services it offers, the team’s skills, successfully completed projects, contact details, etc. The website will be visually appealing with high quality photos and videos of the services provided, advertising and marketing ideas created etc. The website will also be SEO optimized with appropriate keywords to ensure all relevant searches lead to a landing page on the website.

Google AdWords

The company will invest in Google AdWords and Pay-PerClick advertising to drive traffic from search engines based on geo-targeting. This, along with SEO of its website will boost the search-engine visibility of the company.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO will bring paying customers to the company’s platform by honing in on those who search using key words relating to the company's services. The customers who visit the website through organic search are more likely to bookmark it and trust the brand. SEO is more of an investment than a cost.

Email Marketing

The company will collect and build a database of business email addresses, and send targeted emails with special and exclusive offers to potential clients.

Social Media Marketing

The company will employ social media advertising methods to tap into the large amount of information available on social media. It will stretch beyond demographic and geographic data and employ deeper interest, behavioral and connection-based targeting methods.

It will ensure an increase in the relevance of the company's ads to the target market and provide a level of personalization. The company will promote its brand by using social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

The company will post images and videos about their products, their uses, their benefits, etc. This will promote the products and enhance the brand image. The company will also introduce video advertising, which is more powerful and, at the same time, costs next to nothing to produce. SEO and advertising will start once the company’s platform is live.

Marketing Strategy

Networking and Partnerships

The company will reach out to its target market and network with prospective clients by making frequent visits to local businesses in Montreal and the wider area. This will introduce the brand and its services and create an opportunity to have a personalized relationship with potential clients.

Participation in seminars and conferences

The management of the company will participate in future marketing related events like seminars and conferences in and around the region to showcase its platform, build contacts and be updated about the latest trends in the industry and the market demands. A few of the events will include Montreal Digital Marketing Conference, DigiMarCon Canada etc.

Print Media Marketing

The company will advertise its platform through print media, especially in newspapers and industry related magazines. This will help create awareness about the photography, videography and advertising services it can offer a client.

Collaborating with Influencers

Word of mouth, press coverage and endorsements have long relied on one effective marketing tactic: third-party credibility. No matter who your target market is, the best way to earn credibility is to have people of influence tell others why they appreciate your product or service. Hence, the company will collaborate with influencers in the region to do the same.

Organization Structure

Note: As the company grows, the management will recruit additional staff members like: sound directors, camera crew, a photography director, editors, and many more. The company would offer a base hourly salary ranging between CAD $22,000 To $35,000 p.a..