What is top-quality photography for a major advertising campaign worth? Evidently, art buyers at Campbell-Ewald, one of the largest advertising agencies in the U.S., think $2,500 for “all advertising” and “all print” rights is fair and reasonable, as evidenced by a recent negotiation for the use of one of Hans Halberstadt’s photos.
Halberstadt is one of those photographers with a very unique niche, developed over decades. He photographs modern military activities. His images are designed specifically for use in advertising, marketing brochures, trade-show displays and Web sites. He is a combat veteran and author of over 60 books, most on modern military topics. He has spent extended periods with Green Beret and Navy SEAL units, flown in most American military aircraft and participated in boarding operations on the high seas with the Coast Guard. He is the sole source of Navy SEAL photography worldwide, and his is undoubtedly the premier collection of model-released military images that comply with U.S. Department of Defense regulations for advertising and promotional use.
Recently, Halberstadt received an email from a senior art buyer at Campbell-Ewald asking for a quote on one image for "all advertising." Since she was vague and asking for a wide spectrum of use he quoted her $21,484 for "all advertising and marketing."
That produced a response saying that was too high, which was not a surprise to Halberstadt. He responded with an "all advertising" and "no marketing" quote of $18,000. Again, the buyer said that was too much. The two sides played price-quote ping-pong until the buyer finally indicated she could offer $2,500 for unlimited print media. Her client is U.S. Navy Recruiting and they do a lot of print.
The price was not the only problem. The buyer also wanted Halberstadt to sign a terms and conditions statement that essentially made him accept legal responsibility for any problems related to the use of the photo the company was trying to license.
Halberstadt told her they could not do business, and the agency ended up using something free from the Navy. After considering overnight how the negotiations had unfolded and the time wasted dealing with this issue, Halberstadt sent the art buyer the following note:
After considering the dialog yesterday regarding the unlimited print use of one of my photos, I would like to request that C-E not contact us again about licensing stock photography. The standard prices and SOPs for licensing images for advertising are both well known to us all. If you want iStockphoto prices, use iStockphoto pictures.
There is something rather insulting about a major advertising agency, working for a major client on an account worth millions, asking for unlimited use for ten percent of the standard fee.
Halberstadt told Selling Stock: “While I am used to dealing with unsophisticated clients who do not know what the rates and procedures are for licensing stock photos, it seemed quite odd that a major agency's art buyer, working on a major campaign worth many millions, would behave in—to my mind, anyway—such an unprofessional manner.
“The message I meant to send to C-E was that vendors can fire clients, even major ad agencies, and that they need me a lot more than I need them,” he continued. “I don't have time to play games with professional art buyers who aren't candid about their budgets. C-E has the U.S. Navy account, and I am the only vendor of Navy stock photography around, and the sole source of Navy SEAL photography worldwide. The art buyer should have learned what the rates for ‘all advertising’ and ‘all print’ were when she was in kindergarten. Offering 10% of standard rates without explanation is insulting and unprofessional. They can now go make their own photos or depend on the client to supply them.”
One of the important lessons here is that there are times when image sellers need to say “no.” Halberstadt added: “It is my opinion that the large photo agencies are unable to adapt to an evolving market and are going to continue to fail and fold. Because we're very small and have no debt to service, we don't have to take whatever clients offer, and tell a lot of them, ‘sorry, no deal.’ I'm content with our cash flow right now. I'm taking a harder line in negotiations than in the past. Nobody anywhere can offer the sort of images I have, period. I recently bumped our ‘corporate’ rate schedule up 300-percent over the FotoQuote figures, and if that means we loose some sales, no problem here.”