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Your Pictures Are Your Lifeblood.
Getting your marketing material digitized and working for you.
There is no doubt that photographs are the lifeblood of most organizations in the tourism industry. The best pictures create an emotional link between the viewer and the destination.
A great food shot will make your mouth water (figure: 1), a romantic couple on one of the white, sandy beaches of Bradenton, Florida (figure: 2), will take your imagination on a journey - and perhaps you with it (figure: 3) - so long as this emotional link is not ruined by a poor reproduction of the original.
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Over the last 10 years, the shift in technology has left many marketers in disarray.
All marketing material, also known as brand assets (from logos to pictures, advertisements and videos), has to first pass through a digital hub, where it is converted to digital format, before it can be published in magazines, newspapers, TV or web media. There is a great proliferation of file formats that you have to differentiate, and there is much confusion about what is appropriate for each intended use.
It is interesting to note that, as of 2004, digital cameras outsold conventional film cameras. Which raises the question: Are digital cameras good enough to secure the digital sampling required by offset printing for full-page magazine publication? The answer is: Probably not yet. Certainly not for lower-cost equipment.
It would not be rocket science to predict that, within the next three years, most professional photographs will be taken with digital cameras. However, for now, you have to pay careful attention to the true digital sampling capability of the cameras, not to be confused with the too often fanciful claims of the manufacturers. It would take a 14 mega pixel digital photo chip to replace the average 35 mm original slide.
For example, a 3 mega pixel camera can produce a picture with a color range suitable for multimedia and the Web, where 256 colors is all the color space required as opposed to the thousands of colors needed for the printed page. A picture may appear to be quite good on a computer screen or on a desktop inkjet print, but may turn into a disaster on the press. Still, a 3-5 mega pixel digital camera could well be the tool of choice for location scouting snapshots for the film industry.
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On the other hand, under carefully controlled conditions, there are some successful higher-end applications for digital cameras. Levis Fine Art Auctions needed to streamline the painting reproduction for their art catalogue (illustration: left). The issues were color accuracy, sharpness of details (so you could tell the actual condition of the paintings, could see cracks in the paint, the varnish, etc.) and speed of workflow. More than 650 paintings had to be digitized and press ready in record time. Equipped with a high-end digital SLR camera and 4 banks of calibrated, cinematographic lights, with walls, ceiling and floor repainted a neutral white, Levis Auctions were digitized to a T, at an investment of $20K. As a result, the catalogue features adequate reproductions of paintings, though not larger than 6"x6", like the one on the cover that sold for $1,750,000. (For more info on work of art reproduction on the printed page, click here.)
In order to capture both dark oil paintings as well as delicate, light watercolor nuances, several compensating interface curves had to be built. What this means is that the capture range of this high-end camera was not adequate to cover the full spectrum (color space) of all the paintings, despite the diffuse lightbox lighting technique.
I am often asked: What are you waiting for to buy a digital camera? Despite the technological progress in the last 3 years, my answer has remained: A 14 mega pixel chip, to ensure full color space capture sufficient to produce a 9"x12" printed page in a magazine. The chip should also be able to record a visual range of detail in the shadows as well as in diffuse highlights that is similar to or better than the average 35 mm film.
In my opinion, the new technology has to be better, cheaper and easier to use, otherwise, what is the point? Digital cameras do not see color the way film does, but rather, more like a heat sensor might. The software interface to translate the capture into a photograph is in constant evolution and industry progress there is moving at the speed of light, let's say. (For info on limitations of digital cameras, click here)
So, you see, while every new digital generation is getting better, we are not quite there yet. We may still have to rely for a while on the mid-range SLR cameras and inexpensive 35 mm film plus photo processing, despite the sluggish workflow, for most applications.
Yes, this article is about marketing. The labyrinth of pixels, color space and digital sampling (I will spare you the GIFs, JPGs and TIFs) will all come together in a moment and you will see how it can enhance your marketing skill, digitally speaking. If I have not totally discouraged you from buying a digital camera, and if you need one, here is a site (among others) where updated key information is available: www.robgalbraith.com. But, sorry, no equipment comes automatically with the keen eye of a professional photographer.
Since, for the moment, I am sticking to conventional film, here is what you should know about picture scanning and scanners. Just as with digital cameras, you have to consider the high-end scanner. But in this case, the price range for a scanner, capable of capturing the full color space of a slide in sharp focus with the photographic grain, starts at $20K and goes up from there. To date, with no exceptions, the color capture range of flatbed, desktop scanners is quite limited (due primarily to the CCD capture chip versus the PMT technology used in drum scanners - see more at www.FLAAR.org). They are, again, perfect for Web or multimedia work, but borderline for the requirements of the printing press and magazine SWOP standard (Standard for Web Offset Press). If picture digitization does not meet the SWOP standard, the reproductions risk being lifeless, blurred or muddy.
In a nutshell, in addition to the narrow color space capture, the basic problem with desktop scanners comes from the lack of focus to the photographic grain. Since film is naturally curved, a flatbed scanner cannot maintain sharp optical focus across the whole surface - either the edges or the center will be in focus, but not both. A blurry scan, just like an out-of-focus photograph, cannot be sharpened, despite any number of sharpening filters you apply to it afterwards.
The problems with high-end drum scanners are mainly the high cost of the equipment and the expertise required to operate it. But, in spite of these drawbacks, a 9"x12" drum scan will capture the full range of the most richly colored slide, often even the underexposed one. On a drum scanner, your slides are meticulously cleaned and mounted in optical oil to fill in any fine scratches. A microscopic lens records the photographic grain in its minute details. SWOP standard curves are interfaced with the image capture to comply with the exacting requirements of the printing industry. Vivid color balance is guaranteed, the kind of color quality that is the signature of National Geographic or Sierra magazines, among others.
This is what travel writers and magazine editors want. If you produce digital images with cameras and scanners with narrow color space, you are limiting the use of your images to media that does not include magazine publishing.
Tourism and destination organizations go to great expense to prepare text and advertising copy for the press. All the "t"s are crossed and the "i"s are dotted. The quality control exercised on ad copy is usually equal to none. Likewise, no expense is spared in building a topnotch photographic collection. But in this case, the quality control management begins to fall short. It has been my experience that, after reviewing countless CD-ROMs and website Media Centers, despite flashy covers, expensive die-cuts and zoom-zoom media effects, very few (less than 2%) contain pictures that are in fact press ready.
This is what I found and it is not a pretty picture. Most pictures appear to be scanned in low resolution on flatbed desktop scanners, with at least one of the following defects, and sometimes several together: dust, heavy color cast, major color deterioration because of JPG compression, midtone and highlight loss of information - in short, a general lack of systematic color control. And to add insult to injury, a majority of scans are out of focus. Not at all the equivalent of pristine ad copy. Pictures that are labeled high-rez are often only 3"x5" - this will not get you a cover. Based on these findings, the marketing ROI is, in my opinion, questionable.
The cost of CD-ROM production, with designer jackets, averages $8-$10 each, not including shipping which can raise the amount by up to 200%. A production run of 2000 copies of a single CD-ROM could easily set you back $30K or more. And pretty soon it needs to be updated or replaced and you start again. For more information on scanning resolutions (high-rez, dpi, etc.).
Tourism and destination marketers make sure their logos are reproduced with scrupulous attention. However, if pictures are also their brand, their lifeblood in most cases, it is surprising how little quality management is in place to control their "cholesterol" level.
So, what is it that the travel writers and magazine editors want? It is the breathtaking shot that transports people visually to your destination. That for sure and more. I asked 10 magazine editors the question and here are some of their tips:
1. They want no email attachments. They worry about viruses or that the servers will be plugged. Many publishing houses automatically discard emails with attachments. In addition, pictures sent as attachments are either too small or suffer color loss from file over-compression.
2. They hate to be sent to website Media Centers, because the content is rarely updated, file formats and sizes are inappropriate, and the pictures can be downloaded by anyone, including their competitors.
3. They want to see thumbnails to help them make a selection. They want the assurance that the material is available immediately and that it is press ready.
4. They want their request responded to with custom attention. One said, "If I want pictures of scuba diving and undersea fish and wildlife, send me those ones, not something else."
So, here are our tips to help you to have your marketing material at your fingertips, ready to respond to media requests. But first you must believe in the power of the printed page. Free press is much better than expensive press. So, here are my tips for you, not only to help you as marketers to "think outside the box", but perhaps to persuade you to abandon the box altogether and to shift into action.
1. Digitize. Analog marketing material is a long way from being press ready. Have your material in the necessary formats, ready for all media. Ensure that quality control management is fully in place. Your pictures are your brand.
2. Customize your material on demand to respond to the specific requests from the press media. Tailor your response to their needs.
3. Create a budget policy to keep your material fresh and up to date. Review all aspects of your destinations yearly - sports, culture, events. Make scouting snaps of the missing links and hire a professional photographer to come up with striking pictures. Own your photos royalty free. They are your brand, acknowledge creators and buy only originals, not duplicates, or worse yet, inkjet prints. Inkjet prints create moire patterns when they are reproduced in printing.
4. Be ready to thrive on opportunities, large or small. If your media kit folder with its contents is too expensive to produce and costs too much to ship, it is a boat anchor. Get rid of it. Look at new technology that will do the same, is easy to use, cost effective and content flexible. It exists and will save you time and money. Work smart.
5. Do not invest your marketing budget in the development of technological solutions. You are a tourism destination organization. Use your money to market that effectively. Don't try to turn your destination website into an administration tool, publicity tool, statistics tool, press kit tool, etc., just because it's possible.
6. Don't have your material scanned and digitized by CD-ROM burner geeks. Request color matching proofs of your photo material from professional service bureaus that understand SWOP standards and color space management.
7. Use your PR and creative agency to be creative. Take control of your marketing material and have it at your fingertips, royalty free. Be ready to respond worldwide, 24/7.
8. Technology that works should not require you to be a technology expert. It should be simple and intuitive to use. You should be able to learn to use it within minutes. Remember that if you can't find your digital marketing assets (logos, pictures, video/sound files), you don't know what format they should be, or you are not sure that they are good enough, then they are certainly not "assets" for you.
9. Many new technology tools for the marketing industries make your life easy. Ask your peers. Often, the answer lies not with your IT staff or your webmaster, who are sometimes threatened by technology that does not require their constant attention for maintenance, such as ASPs and managed services.
10. Preserve your marketing assets. Your pictures (both prints and slides) fade and deteriorate with time, sometimes in less than 5 years. Have them scanned professionally on a drum scanner and keep them fresh forever.
So, what would it be like, if you could save huge amounts on your bottom line and get prime time media attention? ...
Nelson Vigneault, CEO, CleanPix Corp.
