My first job out of college was working with a local PR agency, and our main client was a agriculture chemical company. As I mentioned in a previous blog, we had to travel in the field, collecting testimonials and taking photos of growers and their fields. The photos we took were used in the collateral we produced, we didn’t want to pay for the rights of a professional photographer’s work, and we were out there so we might as well make good use of our time. It took quite a few trial and error trips to start taking photos that we could use. We were also using strictly film because digital wasn’t as readily available, so we had to have a general understanding of what made a good photograph. We didn’t have the luxury of previewing the photo while we were out, we had to be confident when we got back to the office that there would be at least one good shot. This is just one example of when you are expected to wear multiple hats as a PR professional.
Now, this agency and others have contests where they ask growers and customers to upload and submit their own photos. It provides an additional way to connect with the customer base and allows the agency to receive some great photos to use. It keeps customers coming back to the site to see if their photo is featured and keeps the chemical company and their brands at top of mind.
