Posted on by Leslie

The Importance of Research

Today, I got this email:

Hey Leslie,

You were suggested as a person I might contact in regards to our crowd sourcing platform for photography. We launched a world-first service last year that has been helping global lifestyle brands bypass cheesy stock shots to access images that have never been seen/used online before.We have already been suppling images for clients such as Visa, Vodafone, EasyJet, Coca-Cola, Royal Caribbean, Expedia, Virgin, Mobil, Coors, Lexus and Johnson & Johnson and almost every major ad agency in New York. By using our site, you can post a brief for specific image content that matches your needs and have thousands of professional photographers submit images from their personal archives that are tailored to your request.

Perhaps this 90 second video explains it best:
http://www.imagebrief.com/faq

ImageBrief saves you hours of searching and taps you into a vast pool of fresh undiscovered images from around the world. The beauty is, if you don’t find an image you love, there is no cost or obligation whatsoever.

Please take a look at our collections to better understand the content we can offer:
http://www.imagebrief.com/collections

I’d love to help with your first ImageBrief request if you have one we can test drive? Happy to answer any questions you may have. Thanks so much. Looking forward to the opportunity!

 
Warmly,
Missy

—

MISSY MEEK
727 XXX XXXX
IMAGEBRIEF | NEW YORK
www.imagebrief.com
Besides being completely offended that someone I have never met started her email to me “Hey Leslie” (at least use “Dear Leslie” if not “Dear Ms. Burns”–Hey is not a proper business greeting, yes, even today) I love the bullshit line about having been suggested to her. Really? By whom? Why not write “Bob Smith suggested…” unless (gasp!) no human actually made a suggestion…
Anyway, I replied thusly:

Missy:

Apparently you have failed to do any research into your targets. A cursory read of my blog or Facebook page would show you that I am vehemently opposed to your exploitative business model and actively encourage all professional photographers not to work with your, or any similar, company.
Sincerely,
Leslie Burns

Not surprisingly, Ms. Meek did not reply.