gorilla advertising

mysteryscribe · Apr 27, 2007

Without going into the why of it.. there is a company on line who will print you a 3x4 ft banner for just over 20 usd delivered in the usa. You can get several lines of large print. Fewer lines larger print.

Why would you want one? They make great winshield covers to keep the sun out.. (legal when you park your car anywhere even the mall parking lot) You get almost free advertising just put your company name ... website... phone number and I like to put my price on it so people will have a reason to look on the web site.

This is gorilla marketing definitely not for the upscale photographer. But a very low cost and I assure you fairly effective advertising method for the mid to lower end customers that everyone else loves to hate.

msf · May 7, 2007

No website address?

Interesting. You could attach it to your radio antenna and have it flap in the wind as you drive. You could get alot more attention that way.

mysteryscribe · May 15, 2007

Of course you would have to reinforce your antana with a bit of rebar.

Now as to the implication that this is spam take a look at how long I have been here. People ask here all the time, "How do I get my name in front of people, whats the best website ideas ect ect."

The best advertising it seems to me is to get local people to look at your website. To do that they pretty much have to 1. need a service you provide. 2. Know that you are in the business... and 3. know how to find you... Yes you can put a small sign on your car door, but the banners are much larger and dirt cheap.

So yeah if you aren't shooting 5k weddings this might help you get your foot in the door. It won't reach as many people as the yellowpages, but it's like 25 bucks for a life time. I don't sell them and I don't care if anyone ever uses one or not.

If you understand gorrilla marketing it's using very low cost advertising and methods that are outside the mainstream. It's going to the book store with a bunch of card and slipping them into the bridal mags. Yes you do have to slit the plastic wrapper now and then and it is pretty close to being illegal... Hell it is illegal but it also works for one or two customers. These methods have been used for years. Take a look at the yard sale signs and house for sale signs on util poles, those are also gorrilla advertisng and marketing ploys.

However if you don't want to know I won't bother to mention anything else that comes my way.

I JUST THOUGHT I WOULD PASS ALONG SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HELP OUT A NEW KID ON THE BLOCK.

Usually spammers are noted by the post number 1 under their names. And the fact that they are pushing a particular company. I fall into neither category.

msf · May 15, 2007

Who is implicating this is spam? I was just saying theres no website address or any information on the company, just "there is a company". Usually when people talk about something like this, they provide information.

mysteryscribe · May 15, 2007

ah sorry there is so much spam in here it isnt funny. When I reread my post it sounded like spam to me, if I hadn't know me.

The company I bought two from is called 1/2 price banners I googled them up.. The banners are about the same everywhere I think

dewey · May 16, 2007

I think you hit it on the head - it depends VERY MUCH on the client you are after - if you're looking for $40 portrait shots with soccer moms guerrilla marketing may work. IMO it will ruin your reputation if you are a higher end photographer. I cringe at the thought of my business name spayed across a windshield at WalMart... too trashy.

mysteryscribe · May 16, 2007

Like I said originally not for everyone..... The 50 dollar portrait, which I can do in fifteen minutes in my air conditioned studio, is fine with me. If I wanted a five hundred dollar portrait, I wouldn't buy it from a sign on a telephone pole. Actually the photographer of one should bring no less of his skills to one than the other.
But to be honest somebody has to do both kinds. The mom with the three kids would can afford fifty bucks for a studio shot, is no less deserving of a quality product than is the five hundred dollar doctor's wife.
I personally wouldn't pay five hundred dollars for a shot for my business card... I did a lot of them for fifty bucks with this kind of advertising and yellow pages. Like you said, it's where you think your market is.
Every photographer would love to do 5k weddings in my town, but frankly there are about 35 photographer chasing those 100 5k weddings. Some of the photographers think they are above chasing jobs. Some will do the 2k wedding and the occasional 5k. Some think doing the 5k means they are lowering themselves to do the 2k and wont do it.
In the same value dollar, I did a few of the high end weddings when I was in business and a lot more low to medium low priced ones. Why? there were more of them and they were easier to get. I never much liked to wear a tux frankly. I got through over thirty years of wedding and portraits without ulcers.
But there should be no less striving for a quality product at either end of the scale. It's just a difference in philosophy. Kinda like lawyers, some go into corporations where the big money is to be found. Some become public defenders. Sometimes its about the qualifications of the lawyer but sometimes it's because the fit is better. I have a lawyer friend who does just real estate law. Why? because there a boat load of it and it's easy work.
But as I said before people here are always asking how do I get my name out. This might get you looked down on as a sleazy ambulance chaser type photographer but it does work.
I have said before and I will say it again, I use the walmart model. Give the same quality at a slightly lower price. If you do that you just need to get your name before the public and you will get your share. NOT ALL but most of the people buy with a cost plus benefit mentality. Can I afford it and is it what I need/want. You get some who feel that aren't smart enough to see a sample and decide what the quality is. Those people have to buy the most expensive wrench in the store to turn an ordinary bolt.
That's just my take on it.
Ps. I grew up in a poor family and never had a professional studio portrait made. Nor did any of my family. When I switched from trying to be a great artist I made the conscious decision that I would make a decent living with products that people like my mom and dad could have afforded. I know that goes against today's "Greed is good" thinking but it was my business model and served me well enough. I AM NOT LOOKING FOR CONVERTS JUST TO STATE A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW. Im a blue collar photographer at best.

I'm also not to offend others with different points of view.

msf · May 16, 2007

What prints/package do you offer for $50?

mysteryscribe · May 16, 2007

Package lol that was a long time ago...

I could give a 8x10 then thats all ...... Now that is $65 if I will even do it. I would give a digital file for 50 for use on a business card

A preachers head shot for $65 now ....like I said I dont do them anymore but I would for that I expect.

The trick is to get the job then run the price up to what they can really afford. "Yes maam I can make a 16x20 of that for 95 dollars more....

One of the things i remember was a low- high end photographer asking me about my low prices. But your packages have nothing in them. He said.

Thats right. Bare minimum.

But if she adds the bridal portrait, the album, the addition pictures for the family your price is no better than mine.

He was right. You can quickly run your price up to whatever the bride can afford. Most didn't buy all that I had to offer but some did.

mysteryscribe · Jun 3, 2007

Just a little update on the banner on the windshield. I finally got the one I wanted, so I put it on the car in my front yead the last two weekends.

I got one call each weekend and sent them to my website. The first one has called twice and the last one an hour ago. I may pick up one, or both, or none, since I have qualifiers for people I will work for.

Now don't get me wrong, I can only do that because I am retired and my wife doesn't want me to work much. I'm doing this out of boredom, nor for the money alone. When I worked at the studio business, it was cull nothing. Now I try to cull most of the work.

The point though isn't whether I get the job or not, it's that the phone rang. That's all any advertising can do for you, make your phone ring. The only thing they saw was a wedding package at a reasonable price, for this area, and a phone number. What I do with the call is up to me. I send them to the website which tells them if they want to call back.

The reasonable price is actually based on less services. As I said before, a pro who is working at this full time or even as a partime business can not afford to price a two hour shoot. I can and there are people who couldn't have a photographer at all, if it weren't for people like me.

This advertising method isnt for everyone. But it seems to work in the low end business.