October Newsletter

Hello Everyone!


Welcome to Fall, and our October Newsletter! This month we are excited to sit down with Rick Robbins, of Simple Design Works, and talk about ways to incorporate photography into admissions campaign design.

With over 25 years experience in the design field and numerous Gold and Silver Awards from Admissions Marketing Awards, Rick knows the art of admissions inside and out. He's worked with hundreds of schools, from initial planning to focus groups, from press checks to final presentations. Name an aspect of educational marketing and Rick has hands-on experience. So we were very grateful that he could take some time from his latest projects to talk about integrating photography and design, and his idea of the perfect photo shoot.

PSP: How closely do you work with the photographer on any given admissions shoot?
Rick: When creating a shot list, I like to run it by the photographer as early as possible to get feedback. If there's something from the creative presentation that could be thematic, it's nice to talk through that as well.

PSP: Ideally, how early do you like to bring a photographer in on a project?
Rick: As early as possible.

PSP: What is the best thing the team for an admissions project can do to make your job easier?
Rick: Some of my wish-list items: Good feedback from the intial shoot list (both from the client and the photographer). A person on campus that can react quickly to any issues that pop up, and has the authority to make decisions on the fly.

PSP: Have you seen a lot of changes in the last year (in terms of time devoted to a project) as a result of the economy? Are schools more or less concerned with marketing to new students?
Rick: Budgets have been reduced, that's true, but there will always be a need for institutions to recruit students by way of marketing. And there's no better tool than great, authentic, real people and places images.

PSP: Are schools being more conservative in their marketing efforts, so as not to risk alienating potential students, or taking more risks to stand out from the crowd?
Rick: I think schools are being more aggressive in terms of new avenues to attract students: be it social media, enhanced web site experiences, and so forth.

PSP: What is your single favorite thing about an admissions shoot experience?
Rick: Let's see... well it is always rewarding to go with a pretty shoot list for x number of images and then to be blown away by additional shots - great photos at that. But the really rewarding thing is when the client is so appreciative of the dedication to getting the best visual stories during a campus shoot. That's priceless!

Thanks for the interview, Rick!

Thanks again for all of the suggestions and feedback that we are getting for the newsletter. If you have a suggestion, please send it along to: traceybrower@comcast.net

We'll see you next month, when we hope to take you "behind the scenes" on some of our latest shoots. In the meantime, check us out at www.phillipspears.com

And for you cutting-edge folks, you can now follow us on twitter: @pspearsphoto. And if you can't read the email version of the newsletter (or just want to see back issues) they are available at www.phillipspears.blogspot.com

Catch up with you soon,
Tracey