ASMP Meeting Marketing

May 20, 2008
Marketing, what works now!
An evening with Jeanine Fijol

The current photo marketplace is an increasingly scary and confusing place. The economic outlook is not rosy. Cheap and available stock images are sucking the assignment market dry. The photographic competition is stiff and increasing. The downward pressure on fees is devastating.

One thing is clear, effective and targeted marketing is the only way for most of us to succeed. Okay, easy to say, but what does that mean in the real world?

The digital landscape offers us more ways than ever to communicate: web sites, social networks, blogs, email, video, as well as on-demand printing for portfolios and promos. Photoshop lets us quickly and easily design on the fly. Fine, well and good, we do have tools and opportunities. However, taking all that into account, there remains the one big question, the 900 pound gorilla in the room, the mystery of the universe, the marketing holy grail. We all need to know the answer to a simple, yet complicated question: What Works Now?

The answers to that not-so-simple question will be what our next meeting will be all about. To give us insight into this issue, we are pleased to present Jeanine Fijol, a person uniquely suited to the task. Jeanine is the photography editor of Photo District News and is on the panel of judges for the PDN 30 issue. In her role as a PDN editor, she gets the world's best marketing delivered to her desk and her email in-box everyday. Her perspective is smart, fresh, and uniquely informed. Her recent presentations with the national PDN on the Road programs have blown people away.

You can be guaranteed this will not be the standard marketing program we’ve all been subjected to time and time again where the presenter dumps a grocery bag full of promos on the table and says, “These are the promos I got last week, boy there sure are a lot of photographers, doing a lot of mailing!”

On the contrary, Jeanine will truly show and tell. We will see samples of the best of the best and learn what makes them that way. This is not about cut and paste, or copy your way to success. This is about approach, attitude, and inspiration.

The program will be based on more than just Jeanine‘s highly informed opinons and taste. She also monitors and surveys a close network of associates, art directors and photographers to see what is exciting and inspiring for them. In other words real world advice from real people, boots on the ground, in the trenches, and in our business. This is what she does and she does it well.

We will see you there, could you be doing anything else more important that evening?

Note: Jeanine will also be offering a limited number of individual marketing/portfolio consultations. Please contact her directly for the specifics: jfijol@pdnonline.com
Date/Time: 20 May 2008
Social hour: 6-7
Meeting: 7
Admission: ASMP-MSP Members: $10
Students w/id: $10
Non-Members: $20
Location: Studio 1414
1414 Marshall Street
Minneapolis MN 55404