Day: January 19, 2016

Promos Of The Year 2015 – Booklet

There seem to be 7 popular types of promos (postcard, pack-of-singles, multi-panel, foldout, newsprint, zine and booklet). Of all 7 the booklet is the most difficult to get right. The printing and design need to be at a certain level to appeal to the advertising and editorial community but the real killer is the edit. Get it down to the best images, making a great sequence and stopping while you are ahead are all hallmarks of a great promo booklet. Here are many that I found compelling in 2015:

Mattia Balsamini

https://www.instagram.com/mattiabalsamini/

Promos Of The Year 2015 – Book As Your Promo

Is there any better promo than having a book of your photography to send out? Perhaps not, but the bar for photography books is so very high I wouldn’t attempt it unless a serious publisher and designer were involved. These photographers sent me amazing books of their work:

Peden + Munk

https://www.instagram.com/pedenmunk/

Promos Of The Year 2015 – Concept

The best promos are a combination of great photos, great design and great printing, but sometimes the concept behind the promo can make it extra memorable. Here are the unforgettable promos from 2015:

Justin Poulsen

https://www.instagram.com/justinpoulsenphoto/

Promos Of The Year 2015 – Artist Agency

Agents don’t have an easy job when it comes to promos. With a roster of photographers to promote you are always in danger of crushing your recipients and your bank account sending out mailers. I really enjoyed the simple large cards Giant Artists sends out for each photographer and their year-end book was superb. Peter Bailey Productions went the opposite direction with the smallest and smartest little book of artists I have ever seen. DS Reps are known for sending out a top notch promo for all their artists and this years is no exception. Well designed and edited it was something worth hanging onto. Finally, Gill Turner had a book full of detachable cards that was beautiful and useful for identifying people you might want to work with.

Giant Artists

https://www.instagram.com/giantartists/

Promos Of The Year 2015 – Commercial Studio

It would be unfair to put Armstrong Pitts and their amazing studio in any other category but their own. The production and photography in their promos is out of this world. Add to that the frequency in which they send out these behemoth marketing pieces and there’s really no comparison to anything else I’ve received this year.

Armstrong Pitts Studios

https://www.instagram.com/armstrongpittsstudios/

Promos Of The Year 2015

Several years ago I decided to photograph a few of the promos photographers were sending me and post them on Instagram. I was looking for a way to get on Instagram and I hated to have all these nice promos collecting dust in my office. The response to my little experiment has been nothing short or overwhelming. My mailbox is filled every day with wonderful promos from around the world. And the notes you have been sending with them have really meant a lot to me, it’s so good to hear from photographers in the mail again and to hear your appreciation for the promo feed, the blog and the websites.

I received so many outstanding promos this year I decided to go back and pick out my favorites and make a special post for each category that they fit in. Well, it got a little out of hand and I have hundreds and hundreds of promos to show you, but I think this could be the start of another great feature here at APE and maybe I can get a better handle on it for 2016.

Over the next 4 days I will be making 5 posts a day for my different categories with my “Promos Of The Year for 2015”, so check back often or come be overwhelmed with all the promos when you have a little time to spend looking through it all. 2015 has been a great year for promos.