3 Creative Ways To Market

In an effort to capture my young audience and engage them in my marketing campaign, I've chosen three platforms that all introduce a discovery element at their core. I desperately try to be inventive in whatever I seek out to do, so much that it can be exhausting, and I even question if the desired result is even worth it, but as an artist, it's what we hope to accomplish.

There was one movie this summer that I couldn't stop seeing. I, like a lot of people, were floored with total amazement at its' layered story. The script and the language are rich with interesting thoughts and eyebrow-raising ideas. The film is brilliant and it really made me think about the act of discovery. The movie proclaims discovery being genuine inspiration. That quote has carried a lot of weight in my mind for months. I thought, if I could get high school seniors to discover my photography on their own would it stick with them longer? On top of that, what if the way they discovered my work, provoked curiosity by being slightly mysterious in my marketing, which in turn would lengthen their act of discovery, as they would have to do a little of their own searching. When I hear a song on a commercial that I love, I am almost always compelled to look for it online, go to forums and search it out. When I discover the artist and song information I'm happy and satisfied. I wanted to convey the same experience to these seniors.

1. A sticker flood.

The local rock band Digital Summer's sticker-on-every-street-corner campaign inspired me to walk the same path, but attempt to leave my own personal mark. My stickers have different messages on them. They aren't all direct, they don't give the passerby an exact place to go, they just plant an idea. My hope is that this idea will initiate a personal exploration.

So one night a week, with my buddy Kelvin documenting our adventures (which is #3), we blanket the city with these white and green stickers. Here is a map of the damage so far. Where should we target next?

View The Liberation Sticker Flood in a larger map

In addition to my own participation in the sticker flood, I have been fortunate enough to have two Mountain Ridge students aid me in this purpose. So big thanks go to Claire & Torrin, for they have taken the responsibility to decorate the school campus with "N's" and the "Liberation" message.

2. A enigmatic journal.

I purchased a sharp, classic looking journal from Moleskine. I wrote on over 50 of its' pages with questions for the students to answer. When one student answers, he/she will then give the book to someone else, so they can partake. I loved the idea of this book where kids shared intimate secrets and insights to their lives anonymously, which would help them discover a little about who they are & who they're becoming. On the inside flap, is the book's purpose...

A few of the questions within the book:

What's your strongest passion?

Describe the most real threat to your self confidence.

Are you perceived how you want to be perceived?

If you've been in love, describe how you think it feels.

What makes you proud?

What's been your greatest challenge in high school?

I certainly hope this little black book makes its' way back to me after Valentines Day. The answers would be fascinating.

3. Teaser (less is more)

The most memorable movie trailer that comes to mind is the teaser for Cloverfield. I remember after it played before Transformers I had no desire to see the movie I was about to see, it had flushed away all my attention. I spent the next two hours distracted, recalling the first-person shots, and the frighteningly realistic feeling of panic and hysteria that was injected in me in just 80 seconds. And the catch: the movie had no title. No giant text at the end of the teaser to tell me what I had just seen. Just a day to look forward to, a release date. You bet the first thing I did when I got home was go online for an answer to what I had just seen. The height of my curiosity was at new levels. I was driven to the computer for understanding.

Kelvin and I are filming my guerilla advertising journey in hopes to raise even more awareness. In less than a week I will release a teaser on the liberation facebook page that will give viewers an inside look into our risky venture, and hopefully salivating for something more.

Much to look forward to in this next month! How do you guys market yourselves creatively?

Mountain Ridge Varsity Girls Volleyball -The Sports Collection-

Invisible magic wand duels, mustache faces, somber stares, uncontrollable laughing, cacti skin removal, only a few of the listless moments that this shoot brings to memory.

I had these girls hop a six foot fence so we could access a pretty desert landscape, covered in jumping cholla. Total troopers. As we raced the setting sun I got to capture the loud, youthful spirit that resonates in each one of these girls. Most were rousing, some were cheerful, a few pensive, but each was alive, a sight that left me brightened. On occasion, the age of the breakfast club can annoy me, and even frighten me (3oh3 fan clubs), but an afternoon dwelling in the arizona sun with a pack full of inspiriting volleyball players reminded me that the future is glowing. This is the Mountain Ridge varsity volleyball team.

Mountain Ridge Freshman Volleyball -The Sports Collection-

Constrained to a location isn't always the best of beginnings, but in this particular situation, it was to be expected. My subjects aren't at the driving age. They're at the age of social concernment, they listen to music by a girl who puts a dollar sign in her name, they laugh more than they talk, and most of all they have a zero tolerance policy for boredom. Most of the moments I shared with these girls helped me to understand them. A few things I learned... To the freshman boys: if you're looking for advice in the girl department, start working on your sarcasm. To the photographer who wants laughing: Act angry, mean face em, then in your most spirited, Rachel Zoe impersonation, you scare them, "I will literally melt your face off". Truth be told, they melted mine. This is the Mountain Ridge Freshman Volleyball Team.

Rachel Smith -The Senior Collection-

I first saw her when she was exiting a faded white GMC conversion van. You know which van's those are, they're the extra long kid haulers that look like NASA decided to add on a few extra parts moments before it left the assembly line. It's probably been their families go-to vehicle for countryside travels since George Bush was in office. The first one. So, she contrasted sharply with Mom's wheels. Her hair rogue red, begged for the attention that her eyes had been probably stealing for years. But when eyes come in true cobalt it's assumed that they're meant for spellbinding power.

When you meet Rachel it's safe to say you're unprepared. She smiled from the beginning, setting up the makings of a perfect shoot. Rachel is into literature. She eats twice a week at a fast food joint whose mascot is a cow (and he's happy because everyone is eating chicken), and she can afford that guilty pleasure because she's a ruby on the tennis court, playing and punishing peeps for Mountain Ridge. Somewhere in between a secretive, goofy hand-to-chin gesture she gave her Mom, and flashes of her dazzling, teethy smile I realized this girl was a delight to be around. A delight. This is Rachel Smith.