Prominent Status Studios is a Miami creative production company working across numerous channels and categories. We create dynamic digital media for some of the world’s most admired brands.
Our all-star team of photographers, directors, producers,and cinematographers handles projects of nearly every scale and genre, from single-camera studio interviews to multi-camera, multi-crew commercial shoots, in multiple locations around the world.
The first big thing that really has to be addressed is the website. It doesn't work, it's unclear, and it's not user friendly. Fact is, in today's day and age, the first thing any brand or creative is going to do if you reach out to them is google you. Yes, IG is great, but it's not professional, it's not formal, and to be quite honest, in the business world is not real life. Having a strong workable and functioning website is the key to making you look professional, capable, and successful.
IT DOESN'T WORK
The biggest thing here is that it just flat out doesn't work. When you click the main page either off of google or off of your browser it comes up with an error page that downloads some file to your computer. Not cool. This is going to make people think that a) you're not legitimate, and b) that you might be a spam ware company. Get rid of that. The website should be easy to use, fast to open, and easy to understand. You shouldn't have to navigate to the info page in order for the site to work (which is the only way I could get it to work currently), and you certainly shouldn't have any broken pages on it (especially your homepage).
To fix this I would recommend getting in touch with a website specialist who will be able to work with you to completely redesign your site and ensure it operates optimally. I don't know anyone in Miami, but if you're willing to work with someone in Toronto I have a guy named Brad Dalli who is great at this stuff and runs a small business with select clients. He'd be able to help you. Contact him at +1-416-457-9753. This is his website https://dallidigital.com.
IT'S UNCLEAR
You don't have a clear mission or vision statement. While it's great not to limit yourself too much with a really narrow definition, I think you might have used brush strokes that are too broad here. Try to make it really clear not only what you do, but who you do it for. Include samples, visuals, and a section of 'PARTNERS, BRANDS, AND AFFILIATES" where you can include logos of your partners (almost like a digital media wall) and have each click through straight to their site.
You guys do have a large selection of samples on the site, but it's under the WORKS category, which isn't really a common term for portfolio, so a lot of people probably wouldn't think to click there to see what you do. Change the name of that.
IT'S NOT USER FRIENDLY
The best websites are the ones that don't take a lot of time or effort to navigate. It should be clean, clear and easy to use. The prompts should be simple and lead you directly to the next one. Also, you've got a super visual company but you don't have a super visually strong site - which is silly. Utilize both the photographic content and video content more to really maximize the visual impact you can provide. Also, you've got a lot of really cool creatives on your roaster right now. I'd recommend using your site almost like an agency page showing them off with an OUR TEAM page. Overall there are a couple different pages that you're missing that I think could be really beneficial for oyu.
I'd recommend having an:
- ABOUT US page
- WHAT WE DO page
- OUR TEAM
- WHO WE WORK WITH
- CONTACT US page
WHAT IS IT
A creative space powered by Prominent Status and located in the Wynwood core that facilitates growth and opportunity for creatives in Miami.
THE PROBLEM
The current problem with the loft stands in that it's not generating income. With so many artists utilizing the multi-purpose space and no one there actively governing it there is a lack of organization, business structure, and governance. As such, a lot of interesting opportunities to really utilize the space and the people in it are being missed.
SOLUTION #1: PROMINENT COMMUNITY CENTRE
At the current moment everything at THE LOFT is being provided for free to creatives. Essentially, it's being utilized as a community centre. This isn't actually such a bad thing as if we were to continue down this route there's actually a high chance we could start receiving tax breaks, government funding, and bursaries to keep it open. All that we need to really do is register it as one and call it like it is, a community space that isn't generating income.
Once that's done we can start applying for bursaries and grants from some organizations and businesses who are actively supporting community initiatives for the arts.
Below you'll find a list of some that I think might apply:
AGRIUM -
Youth; environment; civic, arts and culture; and health and wellness (They partner with Potashcorp who actually gave $3M to my speaking tour on Food Security a couple years back - they like to have a lot of input and credit given for their donations, but they're a super respectable organization and they have deep pockets)
Arts and community - Alternate ROOTS supports the creation and presentation of original art that is rooted in communities of place, tradition or spirit. We are a group of artists and cultural organizers based in the South creating a better world together. As Alternate ROOTS, we call for social and economic justice and are working to dismantle all forms of oppression—everywhere. Application for this one due on September 11th at 5pm
ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS -
Visual arts - The Foundation’s grantmaking activity is focused on serving the needs of artists by funding the institutions that support them. Grants are made for scholarly exhibitions at museums; curatorial research; visual arts programming at artist-centered organizations; artist residencies and commissions; arts writing; and efforts to promote the health, welfare and first amendment rights of artists.
THESE ARE JUST SOME EXAMPLES - MORE CAN BE FOUND HERE AT THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY GRANT SITE
In addition, if you want to really get a tax break, consider inviting in religious groups once a week for prayer services. I'm not sure if the rules are the same here, but in Ontario, if you have at least 10 people worship in your space one a week you don't pay taxes. Again, not sure what the rules are here, and you'd definitely have to formalize some things for this one, but it's an interesting way to save some money.
SOLUTION #2: GENERATE INCOME
While going the community grant route is great in terms of cutting actual expenses, it still leaves us with the issue of not generating any income, which I think for you guys would be your probable ideal outcome.
As we discussed, there are a few different ways we can do this in a quick and easy way that shouldn't scare away too many people but still provide you with a few different opportunities to recoup lost funds.
FORMALIZE MANAGEMENT
The biggest thing that's going to change the game for you guys (I think) is to hire a full time Studio Manager who can oversee all ongoings at the loft. They'll be in change of coordinating shoots with in-house photographers, managing shoots taking place internally, ensuring those utilizing the space are following the guidelines, and just making sure everything runs smoothly.
This person would ideally be a part of the creative community themselves and have past experiences managing studios. The ideal candidate would probably be a person who fits the Prominent "vibe" but who is also a respected professional within the industry who could bring a bit of "formalized industry clout" into the workspace.
They would be someone who would both utilize and respect the space and encourage others to do the same too.
After spending countless days integrating and observing the current environment it's my personal opinion that Joseph Rose would be a really good fit for this role.
With experience managing a studio in New York already, and already invested years in building his personal network and portfolio, Joseph comes ripe with knowledge, experience, and connections that tie in models, brands and photographers in a way that I think could really benefit and formalize the Prominent community.
PERSONAL OUTREACH
Brand outreach is going to be key for you guys - as is always the case with new creatives stepping into the scene.
Cold calling. Cold emailing. Cold hustling.
Cold calling/cold emailing is the art of doing raw outreach with no previous connection made, to a person, company or brand you’d like to work with.
You don’t just want to make yourself and your services known, you need to, so cold calls and general outreach are key.
It’s going to be hard, and that’s going to be ok. Cold calls/emails are tough, and don’t always yield results. They say on average you have to reach out 7 times to an entrepreneur to make a deal, as they lives are often so hectic. Small businesses are the same. So don’t be discouraged if email chains go cold. Make sure you have someone on the case who can keep going back and checking in.
SAMPLE COLD SKYN EMAILS
Hey _________,
Hope you're doing well. :)My name's Ashley and I'm the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of SKYN Magazine (www.skynmagazine.com). SKYN is an online lifestyle and culture magazine that features some of the most beautiful girls around. With 248k followers ourselves we've got extensive reach, and when partnered with that of the girls we shoot, sometimes ranging in the millions, our extended media value is huge. I'm reaching out as I think there's a really interesting opportunity for collaboration between our brands.
As an online publication, we're constantly creating new content with prominent models, photographers, and influencers, and as such, find ourselves not only with an extensive reach but also a pretty neat opportunity to share that reach with other brands we know and love.
While models sometimes do come with their own clothing to shoots, more often than not, they actually ask us if we have wardrobe on hand that they can pull from. While we've dabbled with embedded shoots and collaborations before where products or clothing items were incorporated in the shoot purposefully, those were always on more of a one-off basis. What we'd love to do now is set up a more ongoing consistent relationship with a brand such as Runway Luxe
If you head to http://www.skynmagazine.com/media-kit you'll be able to check out all the numbers and data to give you a full picture of our extended reach. In addition, if you wanted to check out some of our past collaborations head to http://www.skynmagazine.com/collaboration-proposal.
While our own reach is great, we're constantly working with prominent models, photographers, and influencers who also have even larger ones of their own - which helps in ensure extreme media value for all those involved.
Some samples of recent models we've worked with over the past month alone have been:
Khloe | @Khloe | 1.8 Million Followers
Zahra Elise | @ZahraElise_ | 169k Followers
Holly T Wolf | @HollyTWolf | @572K Followers
Sarah MacDonald | @SarahMacdonalddd | @281k Followers
Vanessa M Fit | @VanessaMFit | 395k Followers
Kelly Kurves | @KellyKurves | @190k Followers
Mandy C Fit | @MandyCFit | @373k Followers
Kathleen Eggleton | @KathleenEggleton | @412K Followers
So as you can see, the potential for extended media value is pretty great :)Let me know if you have any other questions at all. Would love to get you on board.
All the best,
Ashley J. Hassard
Editor-in-Chief
SKYN magazine
www.skynmagazine.com | @skynmagazine
SAMPLE COLD PROMINENT EMAIL
Hey _________,
Hope you're doing well. :)My name's _______ and I'm the Account Manager for Prominent Status (www.prominentstatus.com). Prominent Status is a full blown creative and marketing agency that works with some of the most talented creatives across North America. With 77.2k followers ourselves we've got extensive reach, and when partnered with that of the creatives we shoot with, sometimes ranging in the millions, our extended media value is huge. I'm reaching out as I think there's a really interesting opportunity for collaboration between our brands.
As an Creative and Marketing Agency, we're constantly creating new content with prominent models, photographers, and influencers, and as such, find ourselves not only with an extensive reach but also a pretty neat opportunity to share that reach with other brands we know and love.
While models sometimes do come with their own clothing to shoots, more often than not, they actually ask us if we have wardrobe on hand that they can pull from. While we've dabbled with embedded shoots and collaborations before where products or clothing items were incorporated in the shoot purposefully, those were always on more of a one-off basis. What we'd love to do now is set up a more ongoing consistent relationship with a brand such as Runway Luxe
If you head to (CREATE MEDIA KIT THAT CAN BE LINKED HERE) you'll be able to check out all the numbers and data to give you a full picture of our extended reach. In addition, if you wanted to check out some of our past collaborations head to (CREATE A LINK TO A PAGE SHOWING PAST COLLABORATIONS).
While our own reach is great, we're constantly working with prominent models, photographers, and influencers who also have even larger ones of their own - which helps in ensure extreme media value for all those involved.
Some samples of recent models we've worked with over the past month alone have been:
Khloe | @Khloe | 2 Million Followers
Zahra Elise | @ZahraElise_ | 885k Followers
Holly T Wolf | @HollyTWolf | 639K Followers
Sarah MacDonald | @SarahMacdonalddd | 644k Followers
Vanessa M Fit | @VanessaMFit | 880k Followers
Kelly Kurves | @KellyKurves | 216k Followers
Mandy C Fit | @MandyCFit | 777k Followers
Kathleen Eggleton | @KathleenEggleton | @412K Followers
So as you can see, the potential for extended media value is pretty great :)Let me know if you have any other questions at all. Would love to get you on board.
All the best,
NAME HERE
Account Manager
Prominent Status
www.prominentstatus.com | @ProminentStatus
REEF’s SAMPLE BRAND OUTREACH LETTER (******DO NOT USE THIS ONE)
Prominent Status Influencer Consultingaims to offer comprehensive consulting services to brands, businesses & social media influencers to increase Brand Equity, Viewership and Sales. With having access to over 24 MILLION FOLLOWERS, PSIC focuses on providing personal and specialized influencer marketing services to meet each client's specific needs. The PSIC mission is to serve business clients that are in need of logistical, technical, and social influencer marketing strategy services, while coherently providing content creation through our on site 5,000 sq/ft bi-level studio manned with full production teams of photographers, cinematographers & curators.
PSIC have created a one-stop shop for today’s influencers. With social media being the driving force of purchasing & behavior, we’ve designed initiatives to assist brands as well as audiences to reach the products and services they’re looking for. Studies show 8 out of 10 people will check their mobile devices for social media updates throughout the day resulting in hours of scrolling to read and interact. What exactly does this mean? More people are spending much more time on their mobile devices which gives more influence to today’s Social Media Stars. They’re actually more significant because consumers trust their endorsements because they’re much more personable.
Also, with the our collaboration with Seven Talent Agency, we championed branding campaigns for companies such asAdidas, The Travel Channel, Ciroc, Forever 21, Go Daddy and Uberto name a few. We’ve provided them with Brand Ambassadors as well as created content and product placement to establish their company’s awareness.
We aim to use our strategic partners to create as much traffic to our influencers. With utilizing our brand partners, our affiliates are shared across all partnered platforms creating a larger opportunity to gain more support and more followers. We’ve been following and watching your engagement for awhile and we would like to partner with you and expose you to our “Prominent Status Experience”.
After hosting influencers & photographers monthly, we’ve realized how much we’ve accomplished in a weekend from content to establishing multiple campaigns.
The Photographers to familiarize them w/ Miami & raise awareness to their followers if they have any in the area & the same for the guest influencer. While here, photogrphers shoot our influencers & the guest influencers shoot with our resident photographers which is approximately 10, so the content the influencer leaves with is Great. We provide Lodging arrangements as well as transportation & some guest eateries we’ve partnered with. If the influencer would like anything additional, the Guest can do so on their own. There’s also a Club hosting where the influencer can attend with guest from the area or they’re placed with other influencers. There is no monetary exchange for Anything mentioned.
We aim to create an experience & connect the influencer to our partnered brands and businesses. In return, the influencer introduces and documents their Prominent Status Experiences while here in addition to agreed scheduled content that’s posted in & on their stories/main page for promotions. We’re aiming for your experience to be shared with your followers, create some great content, work with various brands and get it all completed in a Weekend.
Are you willing to be challenged by our Prominent Status Experience? Please review a list of influencers we utilize asa part of our campaigns as well a our team of media production professionals below.
Brand Ambassadors
IG Account Influence
@emilysears 4.6M
@therealjkylie 2.2M
@ missbushimi 1M
@tamradae 1M
@kristenlive 405K
@nataagataa 582K
@alexisfallon_ 467K
Photography
JCSmooth @_jcsmoothphotography 187K
Eames @thisiseames 225K
Raul @raulshoots 69k
Joseph Rose @josephrosevisuls 44.2K
We can provide further details should you have any questions. We’re looking to mov forward with having you as our Guest Influencer this month. Should your have any further inquiries, please contact Shareef Nash at 786.606.5050 or via email at s.nash@prominentstatus.com.
Thank you for your consideration!
Al Pierson
Principal
Prominent Status Influencer Consulting, LLC
ASH’S EDIT OF REEF’S SAMPLE BRAND OUTREACH LETTER (******MAKE EDITS BEFORE USING THIS ONE)
Prominent Status Influencer Consultingaims to offer comprehensive consulting services to brands, businesses & social media influencers to increase Brand Equity, Viewership and Sales. (I WOULD REWORK THIS SENTENCE: “As a comprehensive consulting agency, Prominent Status Influencer Consulting (PSIC)– if you’re going to refer to it with initials later you have to introduce it with initials in brackets here) specializes in offering brands, business, and influencers opportunities to increase brand equity, viewership and sales.) With having (Delete having) access to over (Don’t bold access to over – only 24 million)24 MILLION FOLLOWERS, PSIC focuses on providing personal and specialized influencer (delete influencer here, you’re trying to pitch yourself as a company that also consults for businesses and brands – influencer boxes you in) marketing services to meet each client's specific needs. Out (correct to ‘our’) mission is to serve business (I would just say clients, not business clients)clients that are in need of logistical, technical, and social influencer (delete influencer again here, you already referenced you work with them twice, and stating it in this sentence boxes you in again)marketing strategy services, while coherently providing content creation through our on site 5,000 sq/ft bi-level studio manned with full production teams of photographers, cinematographers & curators.(You probably don’t need to say all this – the sentence is long enough as it is and most prospective clients wont really care what size studio you have, just that you have a comprehensive team of talented experts).
(Essentially, what)PSIC have (has done is)created a one-stop shop for today’s influencers (watch the wording, not exactly what you do, nor what you’re trying to do). With social media being the driving force of purchasing & behavior, we’ve designed initiatives to assist brands as well as audiences to reach the products and services they’re looking for(reword – it’s a convoluted sentence). Studies show 8 out of 10 (8/10) people will check their mobile devices for social media updates throughout the day resulting in hours of scrolling to read and interact(I see what you’re trying to do, but in order to start a conversation like this with the client here, you really need to a) be starting a new stanza or paragraph with it, and b) be posing them with a problem, not a solution first). What exactly does this mean? More people are spending much more time on their mobile devices which gives more influence to today’s Social Media Stars (This wording is off, sounds funny- you’re going wayyy too formal to way too casual). They’re actually more significant because consumers trust their endorsements because they’re much more personable. (Careful with your phrasing. Too many they’re their they’res. It just looks and sounds weird – like a tongue twister almost)
Also, with the (Delete “the”) our collaboration withSeven Talent Agency, we championed branding campaigns for companies (Careful what you say you’ve done – while it’s cool that you’ve worked with him and he’s done collaborations or paid sponsorships, they’re not actually “campaigns” – wording it in this way could result in a company asking to see the campaigns, which might not bode well if it wasn’t an actual one – the likes youd see on a billboard or in an actual magazine. I’d suggest going with our affiliated network extends to and has included” or something along those lines. – it references who you have worked with without exactly saying to what capacity) such asAdidas, The Travel Channel, Ciroc, Forever 21, Go Daddy (Watch the spelling on this one GoDaddy doesn’t include a space in their name – it’s important you know that if you’re saying you worked with them) and Uberto name a few. We’ve provided them with Brand Ambassadors as well as created content and product placement to establish their company’s awareness. (Specializing in maximizing efficiency, we provide talent as well as content creators to ease the creative process for our clients.
We aim (again, don’t use aim. This is something you’re trying to convince them you’re already doing – not trying to do)to use our strategic partners to create as much traffic to our influencers (I think you need to have two separate statements that you send to the influencers and then to the brands – because reading that sentence a brand would be pretty turned off as it looks like you’re trying to use and leverage their platform to make your influencers more popular – which would in essence render them useless as influencers). With utilizing our brand partners, our affiliates are shared across all partnered platforms creating a larger opportunity to gain more support and more followers (Increase exposure or ensure guaranteed media value- is all you have to say).We’ve been following and watching your engagement for awhile and we would like to partner with you and expose you to our “Prominent Status Experience”. (Is this just to be sent to influencers? Because again, this wouldn’t look so great to a brand) (And even to an influencer, saying you’ve been “following and watching” sounds kinda sketchy – try something more like “As the current taste makers for the ____ (Insert location here)____ scene, we’ve got our fingers on the pulse of what is hot, and from what we’ve seen, that is definitely you. With high engagement and a decent following yourself we think you have the potential to really capitalize on your influence, and we’d love to help you do that.” (If you are trying to hook the influencers you need to stop talking as if they’ve already got it together, the whoel point is that they could, but only with your help).
After hosting influencers & photographers monthly, we’ve realized how much we’ve accomplished in a weekend from content to establishing multiple campaigns. (This who phrasing is weird. I would say something like “The secret to our success is our “Weekend Host” model.
The Photographers to familiarize them w/ (never use abbreviation like this unless it’s super casual and with someone you know personally) Miami & raise awareness to their followers if they have any in the area & the same for the guest influencer (this sentence isn’t so great as it knocks the photographer a bit with the “if they have any in the area”). While here, photogrphers (photographers)shoot our influencers & the guest influencers shoot with our resident photographers which is approximately 10, so the content the influencer leaves with is Great(no capital on great needed here) ( Also, I would just simplify the whole sentence and say something like “While here, creatives have the opportunity to shoot collaboratively with our exclusive in-house team thus increasing the value of the stay exponentially) . We provide Lodging arrangements as well as transportation & some guest eateries we’ve partnered with. (Weird sentence – “Not only do we provide lodging and transportation, but we’ve also partnered with select eateries allowing our creative guests the chance at the ultimate Miami experience). If the influencer would like anything additional, the Guest can do so on their own.(erase this whole sentence, it’s implied and should’t need to be said) There’s also a Club hosting where the influencer can attend with guest from the area or they’re placed with other influencers. (unless you’re merging this on as an option thing I would delete it – either be up front with them at in exchange for the hospitality guests are asked to host/attend one night – or, I would probably myself go with something along the lines of “We also happen to have partnerships with various local night life establishments, and look forward to being able to host you there as well on us.) There is no monetary exchange for Anything mentioned. (the way this is worded is odd – and since you already mention covering everything saying it here seems strange)
We aim to create an experience & connect the influencer to our partnered brands and businesses. In return, the influencer introduces and documents their Prominent Status Experiences while here in addition to agreed scheduled content that’s posted in & on their stories/main page for promotions.
Delete this whole thing – Replace with something like. “Why do we do all this you might ask? Well, to be honest, we just want to create experiences. Creating experiences so we can create opportuntiies. We’re all about paying it forward to those in the creative community and would love to be able to help you and your followers reach your full potential with this Prominent Experience.
Since our main goal right now is to try to get the word out about the program, all that we’d ask in return would be for you to post a couple posts documenting your experience with us while it’s happening. That way we can know for sure that people are seeing all the great things you’re doing and who you’re doing it with.
We’re aiming for your experience to be shared with your followers, create some great content, work with various brands and get it all completed in a Weekend. (This sentence it too informal)
Are you willing to be challenged by our Prominent Status Experience? (This sentence should be at the top and reworded )Please review (too formal “Check out a list…” ) a list of influencers we utilize asa (space between as and a) part of our campaigns as well a (as)our team of media production professionals below.
The layout of this is too long.Brand Ambassadors
IG Account Influence
@emilysears 4.6M
@therealjkylie 2.2M
@ missbushimi 1M
@tamradae 1M
@kristenlive 405K
@nataagataa 582K
@alexisfallon_ 467K
Photography
JCSmooth @_jcsmoothphotography 187K
Eames @thisiseames 225K
Raul @raulshoots 69k
Joseph Rose @josephrosevisuls 44.2K
We can provide further details should you have any questions.(You should have some sort of summative sentence here summarizing how great of a reach you have. – I mean, you did just list off a bunch of influencers ) – but reword with anyways to “If you have any questions, definitely don’t hesisate to ask” (except I would probably put this more towards the end of the paragraph) We’re looking to mov (move) forward with having you as our Guest Influencer this month. (Rework thie sentence – “We would love to extent the invitation for you to be our exclusive guest influencer this month” or something of the likes. Should your (you)have any further inquiries, please contact Shareef Nash at 786.606.5050 or via email at s.nash@prominentstatus.com. (here I would make it Hopefully this answers everything, but if you happen to have any other questions please don’t hesitate to contact our Principal ______ whatever your title is Shareef Nash at either ____ phone number or ____ email here. )
Thank you for your consideration!
(Don’t thank them for their consideration – they shouldn’t be considering you – they should be honoured and excited to be hearing from you – Try “Looking forward to hearing from you soon”.Al Pierson
Principal
Prominent Status Influencer Consulting, LLC
Include a website and IG page here
WHAT THE BRAND OUTREACH EMAIL SHOULD BE (***USE THIS ONE!)
HI ______(INSERT BRAND REPRESENTATIVE NAME HERE),
Hope you’re doing well.
My name's _______ and I'm the Account Manager for Prominent Status (www.prominentstatus.com). Prominent Status is a creative and marketing agency that works with some of the most talented creatives across North America. With 77.2k followers ourselves we've got extensive reach, and when partnered with that of the creatives and brands we shoot with, sometimes ranging in the millions, our extended media value is huge. I'm reaching out I think there's a really interesting opportunity for your brand, and I’d love to be able to make it happen for you.
As a creative marketing agency, we're constantly creating new content with prominent models, photographers, and influencers, and as such, find ourselves not only with an extensive reach but also a pretty neat opportunity to share that reach with other brands we know and love.
While scrolling through Instagram, your brand caught our eye as one that was definitely on to something great, but also one that could probably benefit from a little extra boost – one that we actually specialize in offering. As a comprehensive consulting agency, Prominent Status actually specializes in offering brands, businesses, and influencers unique and exclusive opportunities to increase their brand equity, viewership and sales.With access to over 24 million followers, Prominent Status focuses on providing personal and specialized marketing services to meet each client’s specific business needs and personal marketing goals. Our affiliated network extends to and has included brands such as Adidas, The Travel Channel, Ciroc,Forever 21, GoDaddy, and Uber, to name a few.
What we’d love to offer you however is the opportunity for a custom influencer fitting,where our team of in-house marketing analysts assess your individual brand, and place you with one of our exclusive high-reach influencers, and one of our select in-house photographers (all established influencers in their own right as well). It’s an exclusive service that’s been proven to be ridiculously effective, and we’d love to be able to offer the select opportunity to you!Some samples of recent influencers we've placed with clients with have been:
Emily Sears | @EmilySears | 4.6 M Followers
The Real J Kylie | @TheRealJKylie | 2.2M Followers
Miss Bushimi | @MissBushimi | 1M Followers
Tamra Dae | @Tamra Dae | 1M Followers
Kristen Live | @KristenLive | 405k Followers
Natalia Garibotto | @Nataagataa | 582k Followers
Alexis Fallon | @AlexisFallon_ | 467k Followers
If these impress you, wait until you see our team of in-house photographers! Our personalized Prominent Status photography roster includes:JC Smooth | @_JcSmoothPhotography | 187k
Eames | @ThisIsEames | 225k
Raul | @RaulShoots | 69k
Joseph Rose | @JosephRoseVisuals | 44.2k
So as you can see, once we combine our exclusive influencers with our influential photographers, the potential for extended media value is pretty great and can do wonders for any brand affiliated with it. :)Let me know if you have any questions at all.
I think you’ve got immense potential for some really significant growth, and I’d love to be able to make this happen for you.All the best,
NAME HERE
Account Manager
Prominent Status
www.prominentstatus.com | @ProminentStatus
WHAT THE INFLUENCER OUTREACH EMAIL SHOULD BE (***USE THIS ONE!)
HI ______(INSERT INFLUENCER NAME HERE),
Hope you’re doing well.
My name's _______ and I'm the Account Manager for Prominent Status(www.prominentstatus.com). Prominent Status is a creative and marketing agency that works with some of the most talented creatives and popular influencers across North America. With 77.2k followers ourselves we've got extensive reach, and when partnered with that of the creatives and brands we shoot with, sometimes ranging in the millions, our extended media value is huge. I'm reaching out I think there's a really interesting opportunity for you as an influencer, and I’d love to be able to make it happen for you.
As a creative marketing agency, we're constantly creating new content with prominent models, photographers, and influencers, and as such, find ourselves not only with an extensive reach but also a pretty neat opportunity to share that reach with other influencers we know and love.
As the current taste makers for the Miami scene, we’ve got our fingers on the pulse of what is hot, and from what we’ve seen, that is definitely you. With high engagement and a decent following yourself we think you have the potential to really capitalize on your influence, and we’d love to help you do that.With access to over 24 million followers, Prominent Status focuses on providing personal and specialized opportunities to meet each influencer’s specific needs and personal goals. And with our prominent affiliated network, that is totally possible. Some samples of past affiliates included: Adidas, The Travel Channel, Ciroc, Forever 21, GoDaddy, andUber, to name a few.
Every so often when we see great creative fits we invite them down to stay at our Prominent Status Studio in Miami for a weekend of collaborative content creation, and after carefully assessing you and your platform, we’d love to extend that invitation to you!
While here, creatives have the opportunity to be flown out to Miami, stay at our prestigious Prominent Status Studio Loft, shoot collaboratively with our exclusive in-house team, and be exposed and promoted all over our extensive social network – free of charge.Not only do we provide lodging and transportation, but we’ve also partnered with select eateries allowing our creative guests the chance at the ultimate Miami experience. We also happen to have partnerships with various local night life establishments, and look forward to being able to host you there as well on us.
Some samples of recent influencers we've worked with recently on similar experiences have been:
Emily Sears | @EmilySears | 4.6 M Followers
The Real J Kylie | @TheRealJKylie | 2.2M Followers
Miss Bushimi | @MissBushimi | 1M Followers
Tamra Dae | @Tamra Dae | 1M Followers
Kristen Live | @KristenLive | 405k Followers
Natalia Garibotto | @Nataagataa | 582k Followers
Alexis Fallon | @AlexisFallon_ | 467k Followers
If these impress you, wait until you see our team of in-house photographers! Our personalized Prominent Status photography roster includes:JC Smooth | @_JcSmoothPhotography | 187k
Eames | @ThisIsEames | 225k
Raul | @RaulShoots | 69k
Joseph Rose | @JosephRoseVisuals | 44.2k
So as you can see, once we combine our exclusive access with our influential photographers, the potential for extended media value is pretty great and can do wonders for any influencer affiliated with it. :)Let me know if you have any questions at all.
I think you’ve got immense potential for some really significant growth, and I’d love to be able to make this happen for you with an experience like this.All the best,
NAME HERE
Account Manager
Prominent Status
www.prominentstatus.com | @ProminentStatus
COLLABORATION PROPOSAL PAGES
Old school pitches included a lot of info in the pitch email it self. Whether it was name dropping, stats dropping, or anything in between. They included attachments and powerpoint or PDF’s with all sorts of info that sometimes got read, sometimes got trashed, and more often than not would actually render your actual email useless as it would so often be marked as spam. What I’ve found though is that while a taste of info is great, it’s way better to be able to provide a link that the client can follow that will directly lead to secret page on your site with all the info they need.
What’s great about this is that it’s intriguing (people like pressing buttons), they see it as something optional they can do, rather than just being bombarded with facts and figures, and it allows you to edit it easy at your convenience as numbers or people change (Which I’ve noticed happens a lot in your neck of the woods).
The final thing it does that I think is super important is that it ensures that formatting always stays the same. When it comes to having a brand that caters to the elite or creative industries, image is everything - PDF’s and attachments often dont load properly on different formats of computers, but with a site, you can make sure that your site loads in whichever way you want to ensure that no matter what they’re viewing it on, they always see you at your best, not at your worst - especially if you’re offering them exclusive visual experiences (photos, videos, etc.)
GET PERSONAL - REAL PERSONAL
The unfortunate fact of the matter is that for as many “opportunities” as there are to work with brands, there are a million little (and not so little) companies that are dying to work with them. It’s hard for these brands to discern who is good and who is great, and as such, they often stick to tried and true influencers, companies or creatives who they know personally, who they know will get the job done, and who they feel a connection to.
This has been true both with both large advertising agencies I’ve worked with, large brands, small brands, brand reps, and PR agencies. They find their favourites not by the “followings” per say, and not always by the quality of work, but by the personal connection they’ve made with them.
99% of the best brand partnerships/deals/endorsements I’ve locked in either personally or for SKYN have been through connections that I strived for, relationships I fostered, and long games I played. I got really friendly with them over email, I went out for drinks with the reps, arranged coffee meetings, or hit the club - all in the hopes of nurturing relationship that would lead to financial fruits - which most did. It was the number one thing that really differentiated me from other Account Managers reaching out to them, and that made them want to spend their marketing budget with me, not because they had to, but because they wanted to.
THE NEED FOR AN ACCOUNT MANAGER
One thing I’ve heard a lot of is that creatives at your space love the opportunity once they arrive, but are honestly kinda sketched out beforehand due to the lack of efficient communication. Your messaging right now is vague, not really clear, either too simple or too convoluted. There also seems to be an issue with communication in general once conversations are started, which typically doesn’t leave prospective creatives with a good feeling to rest on. I think it’s probably just because you guys are really busy, which is what I’ve had to tell some of them who actually reach out to me for reassurance when they get worried. What I would recommending doing though is hiring an intern to act as a proper Account Manager who will specifically be in charge of maintaining relationships with prospective brands, creatives, models, etc. as well as those who you are looking to work with (or “courting”) and those you already have relationships with, honouring existing ones.
MEMBERSHIP
The biggest way I can see this Loft space really thriving is by turning it into a membership space.
Similar to that of Soho House, we'd have any and all creatives who would like to be a part of the community apply for membership and request access. The way they do it at Soho is that there is a general membership fee (typically about $250 a month for mature members and $80 a month for those under 27 years old), members pay this either once a year or on a month-by-month basis, and in exchange they have access to the space on a regular basis as well as gain a membership "card" that they can carry with them when they come to provide proof of membership. If members come to shoot security downstairs could ask to see their card and it would be a bit of a buffer ensuring that at least one person has it who is using the space that day. As with all things there's a bit of a sliding scale with it all, so some members pay full price, others pay half, and some are given a pro-bono membership as promotional collaboration with the creative themselves. The key here is that by starting up a membership program we can begin formalizing a database of who is using the space as well as begin collecting important things such as direct email captures and future outreach, handles, credit cards for damages/use, etc.
It's also an easy way to start enforcing rules with the members who do utilize the space. One thing I often see occurring at the loft is that there are often a bunch of bystanders that get invited to hang-out and chill at the loft, when in fact they're not actually creating anything. Soho solves this problem by only allowing members to bring a certain amount of guests into the space at any one time (3 in their case), and if members would like exceptions to the rule and the opportunity to bring more, they can, but they must formally request it with management. This is nice as it allows you to have exceptions to the rule for some while also being able to still enforce the rule for others.
Members could sign in when they arrive and each guest that comes with them whether makeup-artist, model, bts photographer, or friend would then have to sign in as well. This could all be done and tracked on the in-house iPad on the wall. Utilizing a simple App or site, members could log onto the app and input all of their sign in information as well as that of their guests.
TRACK SOCIAL POSTS
In addition, you can use a tracked membership list as a way to track members social feeds to see who is actually doing the quid pro quo posts in exchange for loft time. The fact is that you guys are providing a commodity exchange, yet not all parties are holding up their end of the bargain. If people are doing the targeted posts the way you ask, then great, they can continue to use the space, but if you discover that members are using the space without posting, you could then be entitled to charge them the full fee for renting the space, as they did not actually provide that which they promised while you did. The loft manager can be the person to oversee this and ensure that all posts are being made, and with all member's information on file and scheduled shoot times pre-booked it shouldn't be too hard.
Welcome to Prominent,
We’re thrilled to have you here. Before you begin, a couple housekeeping notes.
While this space is provided, it’s not done for free - just like our club, we work on an EXCHANGE basis. So you scratch our back, we scratch yours. If we give you the space, make sure you give us those posts.
* Creatives found not tagging/crediting the space will be charged a full booking fee“Mi casa es su casa” - …except it’s not.
While we want you to feel at home, please don’t forget it’s actually OUR home, so taking care of things is pretty important to us.
Respect everything in here, clean up after yourself, and leave the space just how you found it.Members are prohibited from hosting classes, workshops or private lessons in the studio - unless otherwise discussed.
We love that you’re smokin’, but we don’t want to smell like it. So please, no smoking in the studio. Projects involving smoke must have prior consent of a company representative. * Any scents, cigarette or blunt butts found will result in an additional cleaning fee.
Drop the beat… but not that loud. While we do live in a creative space where a lot flies, don’t forget we have neighbours too. So music has to be kept at reasonable levels, esp. after 11pm/
Fur friends are great, just not here. No pets allowed without prior consent of a company representative
Life’s messy, but our studio shouldn’t be. As such, all small and/or hard to clean material (confetti, hair cutting, feathers, food products, body paint, etc.) require approval from company representative. Cleaning fee may apply
Eat, drink, and be merry - …just not on our dime. While we definitely want you to feel comfortable, we can’t be footing everyone’s food and beverage bill. To make things easier we’ve stocked up a vending machine for you.
Maximum of 8 people in renter’s party. Total 15 people max in the studio at one time. Additional fee of $5 per each person over the limit will apply
CANCELLATION AND RESCHEDULING
No refunds for cancellation made less 48 hours prior to scheduled rental.
Full refunds for cancellations made more than 48 hours prior to scheduled rental.
No rescheduling fee with 48-hour notice
A rescheduling fee (1/2 deposit amount) will apply if notice is less then 48-hours prior to scheduled rental.
FULL RENTAL AGREEMENT
Please read over and sign the rental agreement and bring it with you for your studio session.
(*Here is a sample of one that could work similarly - you could make it digital as well so they just check best to sign)
THE iPAD
The iPad I see as being a huge asset as you'll not only be able to use it as a clock-in-clock-out device for creatives, but you'll be able to actually use it as an additional tool to generate new content, make sales, and increase publicity.
For example, some ideas of things you could do with the iPad would be:
PHOTOBOOTH: having a Photo Booth option with a prominent status filter automatically placed over it so that members and guests could take some quick "Photo Booth" style snaps, and send it to themselves via email before/after each shoot - then when they post it anywhere the Prominent Status logo would automatically be placed on top and you'd get some fun and easy promotional material for social.
WAIVERS SIGNED: as each guest signs in and identifies who they are and what they're here for you can use the submission form to double as a consent form that will protect you guys from any liabilities that might occur should anything go sour with the models/photographers/whoever in the future. You can also use it as a responsibility waiver for the member using the space to acknowledge that they are liable if anything goes missing, breaks, or is damaged.
FACEBOOK/IG LIVE OPTION: Since all iPads have cameras in them it would be an easy way for photographers/influencers/models to grab some stabilized footage for their pages on IG Live or Facebook Live. You could have a prompt that comes on after the form is submitted and it could say something like
"Thanks for registering, enjoy the shoot
Log on to stream your shoot live here."
From there you could either have them log in and broadcast it to their own pages or you could have it go directly to the Prominent Status Page.
BUY YOUR FAVES: Since we're all about supporting our own, you can also use the iPad to act as a tool where members/guests can buy products from our Partners such as SKYN, ____ swimwear, _____, _____, and _____. I'd probably stay away from encouraging them to go on Explore and visiting a site (the simpler you can make this shit the better), but creating an app or a direct homepage that pops up to a Shopify account could help focus their shopping experience.
EMAIL CAPTURING: Email capturing is huge - you've got a ridiculous network here and a really wide database yet aside from their IG's you really don't always have any other way of contacting them. Things like emails are huge as they allow you to reach a concentrated network, keep in contact and pitch to them directly. This would be great when wanting to tell people within your world about future events, sales, discounts, etc. In theory you could also sell this list to third parties for additional income, some companies do, but it boarders on wavy territory because it's kinda betraying customer trust. So this one's up to you guys.
MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS: Another draw for having a formalized membership would be to lure in members to utilize our other services. Whether it's photography, videography, modelings, etc. Any member of The Loft get's say 20% off any service from one of our affiliates, be that the bathing suit companies, photographers, model bookings, studio bookings, cooks, whatever.
While it's not a big problem, one of the little nuances that has definitely plagued the loft is the casual nature of which people just take what they like from The Loft itself. Whether it's water and food from the fridge, drinks from the cupboard, or even using up all the toilet paper, there's a whole lot of little things that get used and that add up quickly.
That's why a vending machine in the loft might be the quickest and best solution out there to help solving this little problem. By having a vending machine that has water, snacks, maybe a couple beers, baby oil and toilet paper rolls stocked, and priced at an affordable premium, Prominent will be able to recoup money spent and in turn, cut overhead costs.
HOSTING CREATIVES
One big thing that I keep hearing from both ends is that the hosting process is quite challenging. For this section, when I refer to hosting I mean Prominent hosting models, photographers, and creatives, and when I say challenging, I don't mean that it can't be done, I think you guys do the actual process well, but I think that there are a lot of pot holes that both the hosts (you) and the guests (the models/creatives) are running into that can definitely be avoided.
The first thing is formalization. I think you really need to get on formalizing your website so that you can really have something presentable to show not only the clients you want to work with, but the creatives you want to create with. Even Eames and I were apprehensive before we actually met you as the information that is out there is slim to none. Both in terms of who you are/ what you do, but also in terms of who you've worked with. I think it would be a really good idea to formalize your website to be really clear and concise, have an OUR TEAM page where you showcase both who you both are and what you do. You don't have to put up the whole team, but having the figureheads there definitely helps, and would help familiarize both your clients and partners with you.
I'd also recommend putting together a non-public or "hidden" invitation page that you can send to prospective photographers/models that you want to work with/fly in. The page could include a bunch of information such as: What you hope will come from the trip, what they're expected to do at the loft, where they'll be staying (so some photos of the space), who will be there, and maybe some testimonials from past well known models/photographers who have done the experience before talking about how great it was or how it changed their lives or provided new opportunities. While the internet is a great place for sure and one we all use daily, it's also a place we've been warned about since we were young, especially when it comes to going to meet people/stay with people we don't know. Even the biggest and baddest male photographers I know and bosses models out there are typically apprehensive when it comes to this thing, so building as much trust as you can out of the gate is typically a great idea.
Personally, I'd probably follow up that "invitation page" with a "What to expect" page where once they've agreed to come and you've got their tickets booked you put together a page that can include the details of what equipment you do/don't have at the loft available to them, what they should bring specifically, a packing list of clothes (ex. telling them there's a pool and a gym are great things to get people in the right headspace and bringing the right stuff so they're happy here), telling them about the club and maybe hinting that there's a good chance you'll be taking them there one night, what airport pick up typically looks like, things like that. A sample schedule would be a great way to prepare people so that they don't stress about the little things and can therefore, in turn, perform better for you once they arrive. It'll also help save you time by not having to field all these little questions here are there that probably take up a lot of your time.
Ideally there would be a custom secret "What to expect" page that you could alter and customize for each guest you have stay at the loft, which could include specifics like their name and photo, what time/day their flight is, who will pick them up from the airport, what night they're hosting at Exchange (if they are), what some house rules might be (make sure to posts once a day for example and tag Prominent Status), a schedule for the week of upcoming events, or times they can shoot at, etc.. It'll make them feel special and would be an easy thing to do to both help save your time and ease their minds, again putting them in a better headspace to make the most of the experience,
This would also be a great place to plug your in-house models/photographers to showcase who you have direct and regular access to, and where you can mention if they'd like to work with any of them to just let you know so that you can set it up. It'd make you guys look like the hero from both ends, and would only help your team grow and provide you with more content for the loft and/or club, so it's kinda a win win. Again, these are all things you have access to, do informally anyways, but making it really clear for those not a part of the program at this moment would really help to both legitimize what you do and make them feel like they're a part of it, increasing the chances that they contribute more to it.
The Club
The club is a big thing that I think we really need to focus on organizing - specifically in regards to the social.
Right now there are a whole bunch of people who are posting on the page, who are giving their input as to what should be there, and how it should look. Quite frankly, this doesn't really fly, as while they all seem to be GREAT with their own individual pages, it turns into a "too many cooks in the kitchen" thing when more than one is trying to input/control things.
ORGANIZATION OF SOCIAL
To start off with I'd revamp your description of the club to match those of your competitors. Both Liv (@LivMiami) and Story seem to run by the same social group as their pages mirror each other's both in terms of style, layout and verbiage. For both of their social descriptions it's something quite simple
LIV Miami
Dance & Night Club
For tickets, visit the link below
LivNightclub.com
4441 collins Avenue, Miami, Beach, Florida
Story has a similar one, and If I were you I'd follow their lead and do something simple and similar. You've got a lot going on right now with your facebook and twitter, descriptions of all ages or 21+ and all the rest. Cut it down and simplify it.
One of the big things that really set SKYN apart was the organization of it - not just how scheduled the posts were, but how organized the layout was. Fans and followers became used to seeing things in sets of threes which made them have things to look forward to.
Now I understand that with clubs it's hard to get three good photos of every scenario, but perhaps having a pattern could work such as: Promo flyer, exchange girl, promo flyer, club shot, promo flyer, exchange girl, etc. The idea is it gives the illusion of a more formalized branded presence.
There needs to be one person in charge of collecting all promotional material - whether it's flyers, photoshoot shots, club shots etc. and putting it together into a folder that can be given to and accessed by the social media manager. At the moment it seems as if flyers are sometimes posted in the group and sometimes not, the links that are shared are from one random night, and the photoshoot shots aren't being shared at all there.
PROFESSIONALISM
Be careful on how your staff are representing your club both publicly as well as privately. I've only been in the group chat a week and have already seen a couple really poor word choices that, if they got out, could really tarnish your reputation as a club. I understand that group chats are supposed to only be for those involved but don't forget that all it takes is a screen shot from someone for something to leak, and if some of the comments did get out you might greatly offend many of the people who you are relying on to keep the club open.
LAYOUT
The one thing that SKYN really had that a lot of other IG accounts didn't was structure. By sticking to the three posts in a row we really were able to differentiate ourselves, play with our creatives more (creating banner pieces), and just stand out. I know you page is a little more haphazard than that at the moment but I really think it could help add visual value by trying to stick to some sort of method. Even if it's not three in a row of the same/similar stuff, I think even by doing an every other kind of thing with flyer, girl, flyer, club shot, flyer, girl, etc. it could really help you. Unfortunately I find even when I try to do this on the page myself, often times others will come onto the page and posts flyers or selfies of the girls which mess up the order.
THE GIRLS
There needs to be a running and workable list of all the girls you've got working at exchange + their social pages. So often I find I have no idea who works there to post, and sometimes when I do figure it out I'll post about them only to find that they don't work there any more. It's confusing and deals with awkward messages from the girls after. I'd love if we can't organize a drop box with all their professional shots and links, if we could at least set up a running (and working list) that stays up to date.
The aim of the game is to turn them into a brand in and of themselves.
THE TURNAROUND
I’m gonna be real. You guys have an employee retention problem. And it’s in your best interest to figure out how to solve it. You’re losing employees way too fast on a way to regular basis for no apparent reason. Turnaround in the club industry is known to be prevalent, but not this prevalent. Find out why people keep leaving or being fired, then find out how to make it stop happening. It’s going to cost you way less to either get to the problem, or solve it (even if it’s with more $) than it would be to keep having to retrain new girls.
Figure out what it’s going to take to keep them or train them properly and make it stick.
GEOTAGS
- You need to get geotag snapchat/instagram filters - having this there will guarantee additional exposure for the club by anyone there who uses it
it’s a fun, relatively cheap, and easy way to add a little something special to your venue, without breaking the bank, plus it should cut costs on your advertising budget as it’ll ensure more people tag your venue and you get more exposure organically
Party hashtag display screens are the next best for this - you can have a specific hashtag for your venue #ExchangeMiamiClub (or whatever) and then have a slideshow rolling through the night on a wall in the club where anyone who tags that has their tagged photo display up on the wall instantly - people use it at weddings and events a lot and it increases posts by people like crazy as they get a kick out of seeing their post instantly there.
Super excited you guys are interested in doing swag - I think it’s a great idea that will definitely help solidify your internal community.
Out of the selection you sent these were my personal favourites:
The one thing I will say from speaking with clothing designers is careful not to get too caught up in insight jokes or personal slogans. Unless it’s something that makes sense to anyone who might see it, it shouldn’t really be there.
Ex. Your original slogan of “Don’t just watch me, watch me” was a little convoluted. It was complex, a little complicated, and didn’t totally read well.
This new “Watch me” on the other hand, actually works a lot better - although I still claim that in my personal opinion you guys would be better off with a plain and simple “Prominent Status” - it’s already a slogan in and of itself, it’s recognizable, and it’s on brand.
Personally I’m still a fan of the minimalist styling (like above) and to be honest would probably just kinda steal the formatting of it as I think it’s quite classy, and understated, which looks sophisticated with a very “prominent” name like “Prominent Status” - but again, that’s only me :)
Typically what I head most people do who are trying to hit on that graphic tee mark kinda like the samples you sent is check out what’s currently trending on FASHION NOVA. They’re pretty good at being on trend and ahead of the curve which gives you enough time to make something similar to what you’re drawn to there- and ensure you easily tap into the same market.
