Case Study: Abby’s
Note: Everything here is fictitious, even when real names of establishments or people are used.
The Client
The client, which for this case study we will name Abby’s, is a fastfood chain. They have been operating for 5 years. They started their first restaurant in Central Luzon, and now have 15 branches all over Metro Manila. They hope to open new franchises in the major cities of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. They have been very profitable the last couple of years, since they started franchising Abby’s.
Abby’s has a new marketing manager, Becky. She is 25 years old. She was an Account Executive with a multinational ad agency, but lost her job when the agency downsized. Becky is advising the owners of Abby’s to produce posters for all the stores, and to have print ads in magazines and newspapers. She has also advised them to launch TV and radio commercials – the first time that Abby’s will consider doing so. They also hope to use the materials for non-traditional media like Internet. Presently, they have no presence on the Web.
In order for them to grow, they believe that they need a celebrity endorser. They have just signed up a young and popular movie star with the same popularity ranking as Judy Ann Santos.
Becky is eager to please and impress her new employer. She told the owners of Abby’s that she knows photographers, and can get them to do a lot of work that they need – including menu displays – without much extra cost, because “anyway, it’s digital.” She also claims that to save money, they will have to schedule the photo shoot with the TV shoot. She has also promised the owners that she can get the photographer to give them copyrights so they can use the pictures over and over again.
She has advised her employer that a photographer would be willing to charge a low day rate considering that he would have “bragging rights” in photographing their celebrity endorser. She estimates it would take two days to do the following:
a. 20 different food set ups, to be photographed individually on plain background, for drop out
b. “unlimited” shots of celebrity endorser in various situations, including one with the store staff
c. not yet sure – but the client wants a photo of the endorser with her family (parents and siblings) eating at the store.
Becky thinks she should ask for two sets of DVDs – one for her file (so she can build up a photo library) and one to give to the freelance artist who designs for Abby’s.
Again, in order to save, they are not hiring a professional food stylist but will ask Abby’s cook to prepare the dishes.
At the celebrity endorser’s insistence, they are hiring her favorite make up artist – a well-experienced make up artist for advertising requirements. They also said yes to hiring her fashion stylist – who styles for Penshoppe ads.
The celebrity endorser’s contract is for one year, renewable for another year, with payment for the first year paid upfront – 50% upon signing of the contract, and the balance after the shoot. She stipulated that she would have to be paid 100% more, if Abby’s would open stores abroad and use the materials with her in them.
The Photographer:
Sam is 30 years old, married with a 5-year old daughter. She will start school in June. His wife works as a salesgirl at SM Valenzuela, but would have to stop working at the end of May as she is due to give birth in June.
He has been doing photography since he was in college. He went to PUP and finished Political Science. He owns a brand new 35mm dslr, a 5D Mark 2, which was a gift from his parents, who live in the U.S. He has a 28mm to 135mm zoom lens. He does not own any lights, but he is thinking of buying a set if he would get this job. He would “borrow” the money that they saved up to pay his daughter’s tuition to invest in lights. He does not have a studio, but he knows he can rent one in Makati, near the client’s office.
He does not have a permanent assistant, and would either hire one for the shoot days, or maybe get volunteers. Since he does not have a car, he would have to take a taxi to and from the studio.
His computer has been acting up lately, and he might have to buy a new battery for it. He would also need to buy additional memory cards and batteries for his camera.
He has done a couple of food photography assignments before, and has taken photos of people at events. He has assisted at a wedding, and has done executive portraits for an annual report so he thinks he can manage talent shots.
Becky and Sam met two months ago when Sam presented his portfolio to the owners of Abby’s, who was introduced to him by his brother who supplies them with buns for their burgers.
Sam is a member of the DPP. He took up basic and advanced photography at Fort Santiago under the Federation of Pilipino Photographers Foundation and short courses on food photography and portrait photography at the Philippine Center for Creative Imaging (all paid for by his parents).