The Advertising Conundrum

I was tidying up the myriad of clutter in my studio today when my eye caught the Directory of Illustration No. 24 patiently slumbering under a bedcover of folders and papers since December. I picked up the thick hardcover book for a moment and made my way to page 256 to review my ad page once more before I will shelve it amongst my other beloved source books. I have to be honest, it is a terrific looking page showcasing my favorite illustration of last year, Dreamscape. I couldn’t be happier with how it looks on the printed page.

Periodically, I receive a call or e-mail from an artist in another part of the country who is considering paying for space in one of these illustration source books. The question arises, "Is it worth it?" After all, it is a very high quality book shipped to thousands of Art Directors and Designers all over the country, but it’s not an inexpensive endeavor and you’re flanked by hundreds of other artists competing for attention.

In this I can only answer from my own experience. Whenever I initially converse with a new client, I ask how they found me. Often, it’s from places I advertise, not only source books like The Directory, but also their respective Web sites and others like The iSpot and Portfolios.com. This helps me rank in a real-world sense the number of jobs getting commissioned from which source. For example, when my ad budget was a bit constricted last year, I decided not to advertise in the book that provided the least commissioned referrals.

There’s also an indirect factor that exists as well. In one case, a client said they found me in one of the source books, pinned up my page, and hired me two years later when the right project came along. There are cases where Art Directors see my page pinned up in someone’s office (like the previous case), look me up on the Web, and bookmark my site for future reference as well.

Now, don’t be fooled. You don’t suddenly start getting hundreds of calls once the book is published and distributed. Many creative professionals stash these books upon delivery and pull them out to review artists for a project in progress or simply to conjure up some creative inspiration. In this way, chronology comes out of the equation a bit as many folks keep these high quality books for several years, making long-term commitment an important consideration. Some years I can count the number of new source-book-referred clients on one hand, but many become loyal, repeat customers, which adds up over the years.

In the end, advertising in the source books is just one of the arms of my marketing octopus continually reaching out to grasp potential clients in a deep dark sea of potential art buyers. Upon reflection, I’m grateful as it has helped build my business over the years client by client, job by job. I find it has been well worth the investment of time and money.

Now, as I pry open a 3-inch wide space on the shelf and ease the heavy book into its place amongst the elite, bound collections of pages showcasing some of the country’s finest artists, I become introspective and think to myself:

I wonder if some creative right now in America—you know, in some expensively prestigious design studio in some fancy metropolis out there—is gazing deeply into page 256 of this very edition, contemplating the style and execution of my Dreamscape, saying to himself, "I gotta call this guy and see if he’s available to work on my upcoming project…"

Then, after seating the book back fully in line with the others, I go back to my desk and arrive at the sobering reality that I’m way behind on several projects. I should get back to work. But then the phone rings….