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robert evans Robert founded Robert Evans Studio in 1994 and serves clients in Southern California, working typically with couples in their 30s and 40s, with mid to upper incomes—often attorneys, doctors or celebrities. The majority of his wedding events are shot locally. A professional photographer since age 19, Evans has covered the weddings of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, plus events for Frank Sinatra, Christina Aguilera, Sugar Ray Leonard’s family and Bill Clinton. www.robertevans.com
Conversation with
There were 2,190,363 weddings in the United States last year according to The Wedding Report, Inc. By June 2009 we’ll be half way into a year fully designated as a recession. What does our current financial predicament portend for the industry overall? Will the engagement pace pick up or slow? Are wedding budgets up, down or postponed? Rangefinder magazine asked five prolific shooters important questions covering trends in the market. Each voiced strong concern about the economy and how it will affect their business. All are optimistic, citing bookings to be at least on par with 2008, as a result of more finely tuned marketing efforts. The featured photographers are adamant that price-cutting not be an arrow in their quivers. They instead opt to bring even more value or give complimentary products such as additional reprints. These questions were posed to each photographer. Here are key responses.
In the past few years what new products have you started to offer clients? Robert Evans: Among our studio’s newest products are what we call fusion videos: 3–10-minute dynamic multimedia videos created using the newest Canon and Nikon DSLRs. We produce each in various formats to allow customers maximum portability. They can view from a DVD or an iPhone and we also provide Internet-ready versions so they can share them on social media networks like Facebook, blogs or websites. Jim Garner: We’ve been focusing on creating beautiful large art books for clients, plus custom enlargements and signature prints. What’s exciting about the art books is that we are paid to not only photograph, but also to design these wonderful books. The books move beyond the realm of traditional photo albums to become something longer lasting and more easily shared with family and friends. Rachel LaCour Niesen: Slide shows
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THE PROS
By Martha Blanchfield
are a hallmark of LaCour’s service, although not a new product, per se. We approach weddings as storytellers, so slide shows become visual narratives of our clients’ weddings— complete, well rounded stories. Each slide show contains 150–200 images set to music with photos that include scene-setters, tight portraits to establish the main characters, event details, climactic moments, such as the first dance, transition shots and closing shots. We also include evocative photos that reveal more than the literal—they reveal the magic behind the scenes. Anthony Vazquez: Conceptual albums! We’re marketing albums that have a fine art feel with a strong focus on design. The looks are clean and sharp, with a direction that strongly borrows from fashion plus a touch of photojournalism. Describe a ‘hot’ marketing tip that you have recently added to your mix. Evans: We’ve been using iContact, an
email marketing service, to promote the studio and our new fusion videos. Not only can we create great looking, engaging multimedia e-newsletters that mimic the look and feel of our website, but iContact tracks recipients’ actions (open, bounce, opt-out, forward-to-a-friend rates, etc). LaCour Niesen: The hottest marketing tip we can share is a simple principle from Seth Godin’s book Tribes: “The first thing a leader can focus on is the act of tightening the tribe… A tribe that communicates more quickly, with alacrity and emotion, is a tribe that thrives.” We have applied Godin’s advice by tightening our tribe of key referrers. Marketing resources may be more limited during a recession, but you can leverage scarce resources more wisely by strengthening current relationships. Grow your network deeper rather than larger. We’ve seen more bookings come directly from a few key vendors with whom we have close relationships.
Jessica Scheufler: There’s definitely a surge toward Twitter and Facebook—with more new social sites being developed. In this economy people want to feel connected. While these social media hubs certainly cannot replace the face-to-face connect, they can keep the conversation going. For 2009 I think good old-fashioned face-to-face networking is the new social networking. Physically showing up at a small business and talking to the owner makes a huge impression and can lead to unique partnerships. Are client budgets up or down? Evans: Couples this year are certainly more dollar conscious. We’re not discounting, but we’re finding ways to give even more value, such as throwing in a large print as a gift. Garner: We’re not seeing a real change in budgets, but they are more selective and take a bit longer to make commitments. We have recently hired a person to focus
on client experience. They make the client feel safe in the investment they’re making. The most important things we can do are maintain prices, add value and consistently increase service. LaCour Niesen: Client budgets are down, but the real challenge has become the sales process. A year ago clients were more decisive—booking within one or two phone consultations. Today, closing a sale requires four to five conversations, minimum. In a bad economy, clients need to feel safe and in control. The more we can do to communicate a “we’re going to get through this together” message, the higher our average sale will be. Vazquez: Budgets are down, but clients are still willing to spend if you give them a reason. We have noticed some brides are shifting budgets. Services and products that offer a more lasting and tangible treatment, such as photography, are replacing certain big-ticket ephemeral items like flowers.