In May, our team engaged with clients in a variety of ways. The Client Outreach department, consisting of Michael Weber, John Wynn, Iva Mikulandra Barkiđija, Hanna Quevedo, Lana Jergović, Laura Wontor, Denise Florendo, Sara Maričević, Craig Oppenheimer, Bryan Sheffield, and Andrew Souders produced some noteworthy updates.
We added 129 companies and 496 people to our database this past month. Additionally, we updated 1,695 companies, 2,605 people, and sent out over 775 emails to producers, art directors, creative directors, marketing managers, and photo editors. Below are some examples of the projects our team has been diligently working on.
In my second month with Wonderful Machine, I moved into the role of updating the oldest profiles on our WordPress site and their corresponding data records in our vast database. This role involves reviewing client profiles to make sure all information – websites, social media, addresses, email address, services, and more – associated with each reflects the current state and activities of the client company. We are always adding new client companies and agencies to our database and, because the companies in these industries are always evolving, those which we have already amassed might have undergone mergers, shifted their focus, expanded operations, changed names, relocated, and so on.
A database with 16,735 entries requires constant maintenance to prevent it from becoming obsolete, and we are working every day to keep the information we provide as up to date as possible. At the end of this month, for example, one profile update for a branch of the Publicis Groupe in Indianapolis led to a complete update of the 22 branches that we have in our database. Publicis is one of the largest advertising agencies in the world with branches on almost every continent and is always changing. In the time between updates, some branches closed, relocated, changed their websites, phone numbers, or shifted their social media presence. A lot can change within a company in a few years. Now, all of our records for Publicis from around the world are up to date, and our clients will now have the most current information to serve their needs.
In the month of May, my role was to evaluate and update the oldest Client Publications records that we have in our database with correct and up-to-date information. As a general rule of thumb, we like to keep as many Publication records as possible, even those that are small-time operations, since most Publications will require photography of some prescription. Wonderful Machine is able to build custom, tailored lists for our photographer friends using this information, so it is important that it is kept as up-to-date as possible.
This month, I embarked on a new endeavor of updating our Agency records, instead of Publications. In my new role, I am responsible for maintaining accurate and up-to-date information about various agencies. During my journey through our Agency records, I stumbled upon a few agency groups that boast a global presence with offices scattered across the world. Some agencies in the group maintain distinct websites and separate social media profiles for each of their offices, while others opt for a unified website and social media presence across all locations. The coordination required to manage such a vast network is truly mind-boggling, yet remarkably, they seem to have mastered the art of seamless collaboration.
I must say that identifying potential prospects amidst these sprawling agency networks can prove challenging at times. However, there is this amazing feeling when you are done with one agency group and go onto another like, “pfft piece of cake!”
This month, I have been updating Client profiles focused on Brands. I caught myself immersed in Leaf Group (an internet company in Los Angeles), fascinated by the nine publications they run. It is always so interesting to me how a parent company can grow in so many different ways. Leaf Group has publications about cute pets, design, politics, interior design and architecture, health and traveling, all under one brand. It is always exciting to think about our photographers and how much they can do for brands like this one. Our team is very dedicated to finding the best companies for our photographers. Studying the market in this way is an example of this important work.
Last month I did our outreach process on the records for People that work at Agencies, and also on the Company records for the Agencies that we have in our database. First, I was working on people who had a blank outreach date, and then I did outreach on the ones that were last updated in 2017. Since some Agencies hadn’t been updated since 2017, there were a lot of them I marked for deletion because they have since merged with another agency or had too few employees and no professional photos, or even because they were doing graphic design or just branding for other companies. In fact, I like updating Agency records much better than updating Publications, because they show a lot of higher quality photos and a lot of creative work that is a pleasure to see. And actually, I’m looking forward to my new role in which I will be doing our outreach process on Brands, because they are my favourite of three types of Client Companies that we have in our records.
In the month of May my primary focus was the Oldest Promoted role, which is focused around promoting our Member Photographers with the oldest “promoted” dates. My spare time was spent working on the Categories role, which focuses on fleshing out lists of specific types of Clients for our Photographers which will be available for purchase soon.
During the month of May, the Global Visuals Director of Condé Nast Traveller Magazine responded to my outreach email and requested a login to our website. He and his colleagues were interested to see how useful our photography search would be to them around the globe.
Additionally, the Creative Manager for Capilano University in Vancouver responded to my outreach email and expressed interest in setting up a meeting early the next month. I’m currently working to get something set up with her and the production team.
In May, I also reviewed our backend documentation on my role, for accuracy. This is important to do in order to make transitions seamless for future Wonderful Machine employees.
To conclude, a fun anecdote: I traveled this month to attend a wedding in Idaho. On one of my flights I was seated next to a gentleman from India who was currently working in Boston. We talked the whole flight (which is rare for me) about everything under the sun and especially about meditation! What started the conversation was what we both did for work. I found out that he works for a large pharmaceutical company (based in Sweden) called Recipharm. I jotted down the name of the company so I could look into it when I returned from my trip. Upon researching it, I added it to our system and am currently looking for a contact to add!
In May 2023, my role predominantly revolved around managing the OOO Replies in our Emailers inbox whilst hosting a handful of Client Office Hours calls where I met with Sara, Michael, and Lana (who I just virtually met for the first time last May!).
Since I’m currently focused on OOO replies, I’ve been in a position to add another round of new relevant contacts for the database that will greatly benefit our member photographers. A few examples include:
During the month of May, my primary focus was updating Company profiles based on their industry type. The first thing I did was make a list of the minimum number of employees we want a Company to have in each industry, in order to consider adding them to our database (employee count is one of our criteria for evaluating Companies). What helped, was that we already had a working list related to the employee count cut-off for each industry. The updated minimum employee count criteria will ensure that the future outreach process goes easier and faster for everyone in the Client Outreach department (and beyond!).
After completing the employee count update, I focused on improving our database by ensuring the inclusion of the largest Companies in each industry. This process took a while to complete, as we keep track of more than 100 industries. I reviewed the existing entries in our database and added new records that seemed like good prospects. This process enabled me to identify and rectify any gaps or missing information regarding the major Companies in each industry. I had a productive month in this role. I am confident that these efforts will lead to more effective deliberation, making it easier for Client Outreach department to evaluate companies in the future.
Here are a few items from May:
In May we worked on a multi-day documentary shoot for the Kenvue IPO with Member Photographer Benjamin Norman. Some of the current projects we are bidding on with clients include:
… and LOTS of photographer consulting on appropriate licensing fees and project estimate creation.
Now that we have a current list of all the Fortune 500 Companies in our records, I’ve been researching the best prospects at each, connecting with them to share our Shoot Production services and directory of Photographers. During this process, I’m also researching and connecting with good prospects such as art directors and creative directors for promoting our Member Photographers and our Consulting Team’s Client list builds.
This month, Wonderful Machine CEO, Bill Cramer and I had a call with a number of senior editors at Reuters News Media to demo our website and learn more about how we can support their photography needs for assignments around the world. We set them up with client logins to our directory, showed them how to create logins for their colleagues, how
to use the search interface to find photographers, and how to use the “favoriting” and sharing functionalities. They provided us with feedback on the website, offering insight on various features and specifics they’d like us to consider as well.
Have questions about how we promote our photographers? Check out our Membership page. Want to know how you can get the most out of your Wonderful Machine membership? Check out our Jumpstart page or just reach out!