lars worth of goods and services in my nearly thirty-year career as a pro-
fessional photographer. Not all of that money was spent as well at it could
have been, but I’ve learned and grown from my experiences.
At this point in my career, I’m very selective about what I give away—
and when. The last thing I want to do is spend a day away from my studio
during my busiest season. I carefully evaluate the cost of donating goods
and services. I want to make sure that my business benefits from the do-
nation, but I also want to ensure that the charity benefits equally, if not
more.
In the case of the Celebration of the Woman campaign, my studio had
the opportunity to donate nearly $3,000 to the Forbes House. That is a
significant amount of money; however, I wish it could have been more. I
truly support and applaud the Forbes House. The victims of domestic vi-
olence need a safe place to reside until their lives stabilize. Even though this
event is over, my desire to help this particular charity lives on. I will con-
tinue to look for ways to help the Forbes House serve those in need.
Once the campaign was over, I needed to send out one final press release
to the community. This release showcased the results of the event and
helped me gain favor with the local media that did not print or present in-
formation regarding the event. I had my public relations coordinator send
out a press release that recapped what we did to raise money for Forbes
House, and it expressed how much money we raised for the cause. This
helps lend credibility to future press releases and helps to ensure that local
media outlets will listen to phone messages, read letters, or read e-mails
when they see that a press release came from my company. You can view
the “results” press release in Appendix B.
During the scheduling process that led up to the event, we changed our
on-hold message. Whenever we placed a client on hold, they would hear
more information about our studio and the Forbes House event. The com-
plete script is located in Appendix C. We update our on-hold script at least
once a quarter to reflect current specials. This valuable tool ensures that
our clients are always learning something about our studio, even when they
are on hold. Be sure to select music to accompany the script that matches
your studio’s brand identity and the message you are trying to get across.
For example, soft piano music accompanies information about boudoir
photography. Rock/alternative music accompanies our senior on-hold
scripts.SPECIAL EVENTS 109This four-image set of samples repre-
sents a portion of my interpretation of
the Celebration of the Woman theme.
The top-left image shows intimacy and
curiosity. The bottom-left image shows
interest and an emotional connection
with the viewer. The top-right image is
designed to be playful and fun. The
lower-right image has a hint of shyness
and shows off some curves. Each image
represents one small part of a woman’s
personality. Imagine how excited her
significant other will be to see the im-
ages! Participating in this event offers so
many opportunities to feel good, which
is important in difficult times. Clients
felt good about themselves, it feels
good to give to a worthy cause, and it
feels good to do something for that spe-
cial someone.