Blessed be the marketers, for they shall inherit 8 x 10 glossy photos
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Many of the smartest marketing moves aren't made by the big brand names, but by smaller, shrewder companies who fly under our radars.
A few weeks ago, my parish announced a new membership directory, a kind of photographic "who's who" for our community. It would cost us nothing but our time; all we had to do was schedule our photo shoot. As far as we could tell, this was a parish effort. The photographer wasn't named at all.
On our scheduled day, my family and I found our church basement transformed into an impromptu photo set -- and then some. On either side of the hall were draped tables displaying family photos set in a variety of frames.
After our photos we're taken, the true picture developed. We sat at one of the tables to review our digital images on a laptop computer -- and to "preview" a number of photo packages we could buy for ourselves. Yes, we would get a copy of the directory for free. And a free 8 x 10 of the photo we selected for the directory. But we also had the opportunity to choose any number of elaborate photo/frame packages, including an oval photo mounted on canvas "and covered with five coats of acrylic sealer to last for generations."
What marketing genius! The photography group is Olan Mills, and their use of the church channel is absolutely brilliant. Now, I don't know the details -- whether my parish had to pony up anything for the directories, or whether it gets a commission on each sale. I suspect that neither is true, and that Olan Mills exchanges free directories for a sales opportunity that's hard to beat.
Think about it: What's gotta' be the hardest part of the photo sale? Getting people off their butts to schedule and participate in the shoot. In one fell swoop, the directory deal completely resolves the problem. In fact, the church "sells" the shoot for Olan Mills, bringing in bodies by the pew-load. Once captive, the prospects have little choice but to sit through the sales pitch as their images come up on screen.
We didn't buy anything (and we did notice that the nice old saleslady's attitude toward us shifted rather abruptly when it became clear that we wouldn't buy), but we were tempted. Frankly, we hadn't come dressed for a formal shoot: My daughters had smears of poster paint on their arms and clothes; I wore a Hawaiian shirt and shorts (my wife looked good, of course).
But man, what a great marketing set up! How are you creating scenarios in which other people do the sales for you?
A few weeks ago, my parish announced a new membership directory, a kind of photographic "who's who" for our community. It would cost us nothing but our time; all we had to do was schedule our photo shoot. As far as we could tell, this was a parish effort. The photographer wasn't named at all.
On our scheduled day, my family and I found our church basement transformed into an impromptu photo set -- and then some. On either side of the hall were draped tables displaying family photos set in a variety of frames.
After our photos we're taken, the true picture developed. We sat at one of the tables to review our digital images on a laptop computer -- and to "preview" a number of photo packages we could buy for ourselves. Yes, we would get a copy of the directory for free. And a free 8 x 10 of the photo we selected for the directory. But we also had the opportunity to choose any number of elaborate photo/frame packages, including an oval photo mounted on canvas "and covered with five coats of acrylic sealer to last for generations."
What marketing genius! The photography group is Olan Mills, and their use of the church channel is absolutely brilliant. Now, I don't know the details -- whether my parish had to pony up anything for the directories, or whether it gets a commission on each sale. I suspect that neither is true, and that Olan Mills exchanges free directories for a sales opportunity that's hard to beat.
Think about it: What's gotta' be the hardest part of the photo sale? Getting people off their butts to schedule and participate in the shoot. In one fell swoop, the directory deal completely resolves the problem. In fact, the church "sells" the shoot for Olan Mills, bringing in bodies by the pew-load. Once captive, the prospects have little choice but to sit through the sales pitch as their images come up on screen.
We didn't buy anything (and we did notice that the nice old saleslady's attitude toward us shifted rather abruptly when it became clear that we wouldn't buy), but we were tempted. Frankly, we hadn't come dressed for a formal shoot: My daughters had smears of poster paint on their arms and clothes; I wore a Hawaiian shirt and shorts (my wife looked good, of course).
But man, what a great marketing set up! How are you creating scenarios in which other people do the sales for you?
1 Comments:
Great idea Jonathan! Thanks for sharing this tried and true method. I wonder what sorts of stretching this will make us all do, to think about new ways to get in front of people in a non-threatening way.
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