As we begin our 40th year, we’ve asked our clients to share some of their Workbook success stories, which we’ll post here on the blog. We’ll also reach out to creatives to ask them about their experiences with discovering and hiring Workbook talent. Our first story is from photographer Bill Miles. Thank you Bill, for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with Workbook.
One delight of the photography business is that you never know what to expect when the phone rings (or rather the inbox, in this day and age). Every now and then, a new opportunity comes knocking that opens the door to more opportunities.
I had been a Workbook advertiser in the (way) past, but a couple cycles of reps with their own ideas on marketing turned my marketing efforts in different directions of late. This past year, I decided to recommit to Workbook as my central marketing vehicle. I was reminded that, while you can’t be certain that advertising will generate work, it is certain that doing nothing will generate no work.
The Workbook staff made me feel like family immediately and offered helpful advice on creating the various portfolios, image captions, etc., to make an effective presentation. That said, I remained a little skeptical if such vehicles are still relevant in the modern age…until the phone rang three months later.
I had never heard of The Dalton Agency at the time, but my agent arranged a conference call with Creative Director Kevyn Faulkenberry. What followed is exactly why I love being a photographer. We wound up collaborating on a wonderful assignment for Change Healthcare, which provides IT solutions for the healthcare industry worldwide. It was a portrait campaign featuring some of their employees, shot at various locations in Atlanta, and included both print and video components. I love shooting video, so I get particularly excited about multi-media campaigns. Through the process, I developed a deep respect for Kevyn, who is not only a talented creative director, but an immensely respectful and kind person – the kind of guy you want to hang out with long after the shoot wraps.
Over a post-wrap cocktail, I inquired how he found me among the infinite pool of photographers. “The Workbook,” he replied.
So there it is – the system does work, I thought to myself.
The best part is our relationship continued into another project, this time for Susan G. Komen, directing a broadcast spot featuring a young mother who is battling stage 4 breast cancer. This work gained broad recognition for its creativity, honesty, and poignancy — but the deepest reward was the relationship that evolved with the patient, who went on to write an article about her story for Best Self Magazine, a digital publication which I co-founded and produce with my partner and writer, Kristen Noel.
And so it goes…as a door opens, myriad gifts may follow. I’m thankful for Workbook for opening one such door, and I hope for many more to come. And for those who may be on the fence regarding jumping in to a comprehensive marketing effort, I would say, do your research, do it mindfully, do it in a manner aligned with your style and brand — but do it. Opportunities are waiting.
Workbook Stories: A Look Back at the Past 40 years.
If you are a former or current Workbook client, please submit your story and we’ll publish it during 2018 as a part of Workbook’s 40th Anniversary blog series.
Tell us a story about a time when you got a job from Workbook. (500-1000 words)
If you get writer’s block, here are some questions you could answer:
Who was the client?
Where was the job?
What was the goal of the campaign?
How did you prepare for the project?
What was your favorite part about working on this project?
How did you first find out you got the job from Workbook?
What was your approach to the subject matter, either technically, conceptually, or both?
What is your favorite thing about Workbook?
How do you see Workbook helping artists now and in the future?
