LPA FUTURES 2023 / BIKINI LISTS
Each week in the run-up to LPA Futures 2023 we shall be interviewing one of the competitions fabulous Partners. Up first is head honcho of Bikini Lists, Ross MacRae. Bikini Lists provide a comprehensive, constantly updated art buyer database, and is a must have for any photographer seeking clients within the Advertising, Design and Editorial worlds. Here’s what he had to say!
What first inspired you to start Bikini Lists?
In the mid 90s I was spending so much time trying to keep track of my own Design and Illustration clients,
plodding around Soho with a portfolio by day and doing the work by night, that I thought :
"There are 1000s of people doing exactly the same thing... What we need is a central database we can all access... and it needs to be online and up to date..."
And there wasn’t one.
How did you come up with the name Bikini Lists?
We wanted something quirky and memorable... That would resonate with the creative industry
How important is having a whole database of contacts for a new photographer?
Essential!
You could do what I was doing back then, spend your days finding out about all the Agencies, Brands, Magazines, PR Companies & Publishers you want to work with by calling them, checking websites for client lists, trying to work out who's working there and what they do and maybe end up with 5 or 10 names with contact details, before giving up...
OR you could let us do that for you, leaving you free to get on with what you do best - shooting great work...
If you are just starting out - you won't have a network of contacts yet.
Your future clients are in the list - you just don't know who they are yet and we can help with that.
How do you advise they make the most of Bikini Lists to get clients?
Just get it done! and by that I mean have a plan and stick to it...
1. Use the Bikini platform to identify people who are right for your specialities... Your Dream Clients.
2. Create super-targeted lists for these contacts, split by region, sector, genre and type of client held.
3. Promote the Right Content to the Right People in the Right Way.
4. Be Consistent - promote to these groups once every 3 - 6 months.
5. AND - Most importantly - Do your follow-ups - connect on networks, give them a call, post on social.
What do you think is the best way to approach agencies they want to work with?
In reality there no one best way... The approach(es) you make to any prospective client will depend on what it is you want to achieve :
More awareness? A meeting? A click through to your web site? All of the above?
Getting your work in front of people who have a need for your type of photography is crucial.
Don't promote your food work to Agencies who don't have food clients!
Send super-targeted email campaigns that make it easy for recipients to see your work and click through to your site.
Make online connections with the right people at your dream clients - Linkedin in is great for this.
Email them directly - with a link to your site and 10-15 words about you and your work. Ask them for feedback.
How on earth do you stay on top of updating all those contacts!?
We have a team of industry-savvy researchers around the globe who check companies and contacts on a rolling 90 day cycle...
We call the companies, check websites, check the trade press, keep up to date with creative industry awards, check social platforms...
We've been doing this for over 20 years - we know how to identify and verify people who need to work with great photographers
You have been in the business for 20 years, in that time how have you seen 'contacts’ change and do you think people are now using the lists in a different way?
The biggest changes for Photographers using the platform have been the switch from film to digital, the expansion of online media and the increase in demand for motion content.
These changes have made a difference to how they identify and promote to prospective clients and our lists have evolved to reflect that.
There are fewer contacts with the title "Art Buyer" these days, more "Art Producers" and more "Integrated Producers". The days of people sending generic email campaigns to 10,000+ contacts are thankfully over.(Those should never have been sent in the first place). People now send much more bespoke promotions to super-targeted lists - Sending the Right Content to the Right People in the Right Way.
More and more Photographers are now promoting to Direct Brand Contacts: Marketing Managers, CMOs, Brand Managers at Brands
- and these brands often have in-house Creative and Production teams.
What's in stall for Bikini Lists next?
We never stand still - the only constant in our industry is change - so we'll be expanding our coverage, adding more data-sets, adding more features, keeping up to date with what our customers need next and finding new ways to keep our lists as relevant as ever.
Find out more here:
https://www.bikinilists.com/freebie.asp?referrer=lpafutures
A big thanks to Bikini Lists for providing each of out LPA Futures 2023 winners with a UK art buyers data base licence for 12 months.
Find more infomation on Futures here.