April showers bring May flowers, and in our case, connections! Our outreach team has kept their foot on the gas, collectively making over 2,000 phone calls and emails to get our photographer’s work in front of brands, publications, and agencies. Throughout this process, our team carefully pruned and added to our database, keeping this massive resource as up-to-date and valuable as possible. On top of all this, we’ve also continued our more aggressive portfolio meeting strategy, showing more of our member’s portfolios to prospective clients.
Pat lead the charge, promoting our photographers to agencies. Throughout May, he made nearly 300 phone calls and penned 350 emails. He was able to speak with the decision makers from some of the most renown agencies in the world, as well as, a smattering of smaller boutique operations in the states. Pat received praise for the quality of our photographer’s work from agencies such as Full Contact & Team One. In particular, Pat recalls Martin Coppola from Lowe & Partners, Singapore raved about the caliber of our members stating,
These photographers are very impressive. We’re in the early stages of pre-production and will definitely reference them down the line.
Claire continued to research agencies to keep our database relevant and up-to-date. In addition to adding new contacts to existing agencies, she assisted Matt in targeting newer companies to the New York area, with a focus on Brooklyn. While Manhattan remains the “center of the big apple,” Brooklyn’s vibrant creative community has seen tremendous growth in the advertising area and merits further investigation. In total, Claire added 405 new entries that resulted in 60 conversations. One particularly fruitful connection came from a producer at 88Phases in Los Angeles who stated,
Wonderful Machine has a fascinating business model and I’ve forwarded your link to several of my friends in the industry who I think can use your services.
Producer Julia Hanley on the phone with a client.
Alex kicked off May by digital teching on a three-day food shoot in Knoxville, TN. He was subsequently responsible for handling all of the resulting assets – retouching 30 selects, and then delivering the final print-ready files. Between teching and retouching, Alex was able to add 16 new prospects, make 33 phone calls, and send 44 emails. Alex connected with the creative director of a national fitness brand who intends to take advantage of Wonderful Machine’s photographer network:
I’ve used Wonderful Machine to source a photographer for a past project. I’m reaching out today to see if Wonderful Machine might be able to help me find a photographer for a specific project; we need a casting photographer in the Chesapeake, VA area or someone willing to travel to the area for a 1 to 2-day casting shoot we are implementing in early July.”
Wonderful Machine was tailor made to handle requests like this and Alex was happy to point the client in the right direction.
Julia started the month in her new role as brand research, adding new and up-to-date contacts to existing companies. She continued supervising and training the outreach team on the most effective methods of connecting with clients. In total, she was able to add 204 new prospects and completed 402 outreach attempts while making 32 connections. Her connections lead to a few productive email conversations and two phone meetings. Jena Levy at Gerding Elden responded enthusiastically:
What perfect timing! We have need for photography right now, and I’d also like to hear about your services for negotiating licensing.
The conversation eventually led to an opportunity to bid for an upcoming project.
Last but not least, Matt’s new role as portfolio event coordinator had him reaching out to member photographers who haven’t yet created or sent Wonderful Machine their portfolio so they can participate in this complimentary service. In his efforts to set up portfolio meetings, Matt made a total of 145 calls and rattled off 131 emails this month. He was also able to add 15 companies/people.
That’s a wrap for May! Check back next month to see how we’re doing.
Need help researching clients? Email our project managers.
Have feedback about the clients we’re promoting to? Email Bill.