Paid Placements

When photography is licensed for editorial use, public relations or certain other uses, there will often be a licensing clause that states that the picture(s) may not be used for “paid placements”. A few folks have asked what this means.

“Paid placement” is simply any use that requires the company to pay a fee to have the photo(s) published. Paid placement includes, but is not limited to, advertising.

One could argue that all business communication is a form of advertising but here are three general types of photography usage:

Advertising:

A business pays to have its message displayed or published. The business controls the message and the content (text and photos), as well as when and where that message is published. Generally, the purpose of advertising is to persuade the viewer to buy a product or service.

Advertising wants readers to take immediate action. A company usually expects an immediate return on their investment in that advertisement.

Marketing Collateral:

This is where a company uses the photos in a publication that it produces and distributes. This includes the company web site, annual reports, brochures and corporate magazines. Generally, the purpose of marketing collateral is to build and enhance the company brand.

Marketing collateral can be a mix of both advertising and public relations but the photography often tends to have an editorial slant.

With companies using Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media, the line between marketing collateral and advertising can be nearly invisible. It seems that photographers are starting to charge higher fees for social media use while companies are expecting lower fees since social media are “free” to use.

Public Relations:

A business does not pay to have its message published but rather it freely submits material to an outside publication for editorial use. The business does not control what gets published. Generally the purpose of public relations is to create an awareness of a product, service or the business itself, and to create goodwill for the business.

By having its message presented by a third party publication, (e.g. a newspaper), the business gains credibility, the so-called “media blessing”. Public relations doesn’t expect immediate action from the viewers. The photography should be editorial.

The photo licensing fee for paid placements, such as advertising, is usually higher than for marketing collateral or public relations use. This is because the purpose of advertising or paid placement is to directly influence sales and make money. The picture’s job is to sell a product or service. As such, the value of the photography is higher.

By contrast, the purpose of a public relations or marketing collateral photo is to convey information to the viewer. There’s less money and less risk involved for the business compared to advertising. But the purpose of public relations and market collateral photography is just as important as that for advertising photography.

Someone once said that photo licensing fees are like a salesperson’s commission: advertising pictures help make a high number of sales so they deserve a bigger commission for their work. But editorial pictures bring in only a small number sales so they get a smaller commission.