When I used to work in Marketing jobs I was introduced by one of my bosses to the concept of ‘meaningless marketing’.
He reckoned it was his concept, but who knows. He was a cool guy and I looked up to him (rare for me with my bosses) and he articulated it well.
Anyway, in a nutshell it was about how many businesses and brands and companies spend most of their marketing ‘real estate’ by making sure they’re saying all the things their competitors are saying, leaving little room to actually say the stuff that makes them stand apart.
We’re in a phase of our industry where we’re all seemingly being forced into this editorial box, so I thought it was a good time to bring this up…
Look, I’m not against awards. I seem to have lost industry friends because I’ve been labelled anti-awards. I’m anti-awards for me, sure. But I’m not against awards as a concept and they actually did my career a lot of good.
When I started out back in 2010, there were a handful of ‘award winning wedding photographers’ around. It was a goal of mine to be one. And I became one. But by the time I became one, so had everyone else (or that’s how it felt).
Over time, it started to feel like everyone’s about page, everyone’s tagline, everyone’s bio started with ‘award winning wedding photographer’.
So with the concept of meaningless marketing in my head, I stopped saying it.
If you’ve got one chance to make a first impression on a prospective client, why say the same as everyone else?
The last big ‘wave’ of meaningless marketing across the whole wedding industry, not just photo/video was this word: luxury.
I think we’re still in this phase actually because it ties in so closely with the editorial vibe.
But luxury isn’t mainstream. Luxury is a rare commodity.
And while wedding photography and wedding video are definitely luxury items (definition: an inessential, desirable item) that doesn’t translate to all wedding photography and video being inherently luxury as a product.
Or… let’s say it does… then the word loses all meaning.
And that’s what’s happened as “luxury wedding photographer” took over from “award winning wedding photographer” as the leading line of choice for about pages and bios.
You can be a luxury wedding photographer in the service you provide, the client experience you craft, the products you sell, your presentation etc for sure.
But the issue is that the label is arguably meaningless now because it’s used en masse by so many all throughout the wedding industry. I’ve worked at so many “luxury wedding venues” that aren’t luxury for example.
It’s a shame but in this day and age luxury is becoming a cheap word. Cheap and meaningless.
I recently deleted a shed load of content from my website, and lots of my work from 2011-14 was tagged as “fine art wedding photographer” because that was the first thing I thought I had to be.
Then I was a “creative wedding photographer” because I discovered Fearless.
Then I was a “creative documentary wedding photographer” because that’s what Chrisman Studios were and they were my heroes.
Then I was just a “documentary wedding photographer” when documentary became the trend leader.
Quick tangent: yeah that’s right, documentary was a trend just as much as editorial is a trend. I’ll help you get your head around that in a future newsletter issue.
Now “editorial” is the trend leader, and the pressure is so real to go there.
I know I’m not alone in feeling like if I don’t follow the crowds to editorial I’m a dinosaur and should just retire because I’ve clearly lost touch with the industry, clients, and life itself.
But I’m resisting the editorial trend magnet! Why? Because I’m not editorial. My heart isn’t editorial. I’m not sure I’m documentary either by its current definition. So I’m currently in the middle of an identity crisis…
So back to the point of this email… Meaningless marketing is when you say the same things as most of your competitors.
So how do you say something meaningful?
The first step is being aware of what everyone else is saying.
The next step is knowing what it is about your work and you that actually makes you a desirable option to an engaged couple.
The final step is making sure that all your marketing screams (in a non offensive way) those things.
Blend in or stand out. That’s the choice.
Thanks for reading my luxury award winning editorial newsletter.
Adam
PS – The only marketing qualification I ever took, I failed.
PPS – My wedding photography business is not thriving right now. I’m working these things out as I go. And as I get older, I question myself a lot more.
