a portrait studio promotion part 2

In a portrait studio promotion, part 1, we learned how Daylight Photo Seniors, the senior portrait division of our commercial photo studio, came to be.

Having decided to jump into the senior photo business late in the season (in May 2007), we were already past the peak for bookings. We had to put the marketing machine into overdrive: test shoots with willing students, direct mail, positive word of mouth and viral videos on YouTube were created for linking from students’ social networking pages. The very best p.r. for the new portrait division was a nearly full-page feature we landed in The Cincinnati Enquirer business section. The phone began ringing.

Because we were past the peak for bookings we wanted to put a different sort of promotion in front of potential customers. We realized it may be a bit late to get attention using standard methods so we created the “BFF Special”, encouraging friends to come into the studio together for a discounted price. You saw the promotional postcard in part one of this post, here’s the companion video we produced for YouTube and internet distribution (subscribers click here to view) :

It was a fun promotion and, while the special itself didn’t sell in huge numbers, it did get us the attention we wanted. We began developing a style and a following. A few very popular students chose our studio and that definitely helped. We began getting referrals from happy customers and called in favors from our adult friends with children of high school age. There was clearly potential for “Seniors”.

By late summer the portrait division was showing promise and the commercial division had become very busy. Unfortunately, the first six months of 2007 had been tough for the studio. The commercial business was slow those six months, which was both good and bad. It was good because it allowed us the necessary time to develop the portrait business, bad because training and developing the new pursuits were draining available resources. We were now operating two very different businesses under one roof, trying to juggle the distinct challenges of each.

At the end of the year comes a reckoning, and in January of 2008 we looked back at a 2007 filled with many peaks and valleys. My business partner and I are, by nature, fighters for what we believe in and we believed in “Seniors”. But we faced two obstacles to continuing operation of the portrait division: funding and staffing. By the time we confirmed funds would be available, key staff had already begun pursuing other opportunities.

If we were to continue operation it would be with minimums of both finances and personnel. The numbers no longer added up and we had to acknowledge that Daylight Photo Seniors had reached the end of the road. A smart fighter has to know when it’s time to get out of the ring in order to fight another day. It was time to hang up the gloves on the portrait division, at least for now.

It’s been less than two months since the last day of “Seniors” operation and many positive things have happened since. Our commercial business has recovered nicely and is in the best financial shape we’ve seen in 3 years. The many long, hard hours of overtime worked at the end of last year are now paying off and new commercial work continues to steadily roll in. Our former manager now spends weekdays building her own home-based wedding / childrens portrait business. With the backing of her family she is working hard to realize her own dreams of business ownership. And prophotolife was created in the time I used to spend thinking of how to expand the photo studio. While the demise of “Seniors” was a loss in one way, we have all gained considerably in other ways.

But, just to clarify, we did put the division on hold, it hasn’t been completely retired. The property is still valuable and still there, waiting for the right circumstances to be revived.

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Just this past week an aspiring young photographer came by our studio and asked what had happened to “Seniors”. I recanted this story in my head, in a flash, and ultimately concluded that, despite the difficulties, it might still be operating if we hadn’t all been so weary from 2007’s journey. If someone had stepped forward with the ’spark’ necessary to continue we would have all dug just a bit deeper. I kept hoping it would happen but it just never did.

She went on to say, with enthusiasm and sincerity, just how much she enjoyed the photos and their style. And she said it all with, well, undeniable ’spark’. Yes, it was definitely ’spark’.

Hey, where are those boxing gloves? Maybe it’s already time to think about getting back in the ring…