Silver: Niche Strategy
Photographers have been reaching out to art directors for as long as photography has been used in ads. And they all do it in the same way, mailing out postcards with samples of their portfolio. These printed promos end up in the exact same place – the recycling bin.
Toronto-based photographer Aric Guité approached Havas Worldwide Canada to help him find an entirely new way to capture the attention of ad professionals and showcase his talent.
They developed a direct media campaign called #CollabWithAric. To begin, the agency sat down with Guité and made a list of the top 50 art directors he wanted to work with. The team then took to Instagram, where art directors connect with their love for photography.
Havas combed through the Instagram accounts of creatives on the list and picked one iconic image from each. Guité then created his own photo that spoke to the art director’s image in a funny or thought-provoking way. He combined the images into one Instagram post on his new account @aricguitephotography. Guité also added personalized comments that referenced the original photo and tagged the art director.
The combined posts aimed to illustrate Guité’s skills, while also showcasing his sense of humour and ability to collaborate. Celebrating the art director’s original photo was a subtle way to ingratiate Guité to his intended target and initiate a conversation.
While Guité’s direct mail promos had a response rate of 5%, more than 65% of the art directors targeted in this campaign responded on Instagram or email. Guité received work from 20% of them.
Credits
Brand | Aric Guité
Agency | Havas Worldwide Canada
