Rhoni Epstein, Artist Representative

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Rhoni Epstein Associates
Los Angeles, California
Assignment: Lexus

In addition to being a photographer's representative, Rhoni Epstein consults with other creative people to help them find their own personal vision and style and to find new clients and markets for their work. She also teaches marketing and self-promotion to graduating photographers at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

"Creative people are not necessarily great business people. Their creativity is what makes them special. Creative people tend to see the big picture and get overwhelmed by day-to-day business. ADBASE can break it down, bit by bit, and make business work for them," Epstein said.

"Susan Baraz and I work with a Dutch photographer named Dirk Karsten who's quite brilliant. I hadn't repped automotive photographers in several years and so, when it came time to rep Dirk, I went to ADBASE and created a custom list."

"Dirk came over from Amsterdam and we took him on a number of appointments based on my ADBASE list. It was great to be up-to-date and be able to call people - especially in L.A., where it can take an hour-and-a-half to drive to the next client. We went into Team One and Dirk was assigned a campaign within a week."

Life is fast. ADBASE is faster

Rhoni already knew the Art Buyer at Team One, Jamie Applebaum. But with ADBASE, she was able to research who the key art directors were, who had joined or left the agency, and who was working on the Lexus account.

"It's a business partner. You can immediately track who's changed, who's moved, who's got what accounts - it just refreshes you. This is a fast business. If you're like me, you don't have time to sit down and read all of the trade magazines. We're all so computer-oriented now. ADBASE lets you find out where clients have gone, or when you have a new photographer to rep, where to market him. For Jim McHugh, for instance, we have used the editorial database and also used lists involved with design."

"My life is very mobile. I was traveling in Boston this summer. I printed out my lists and I was good to go every day. It's great being able to use ADBASE on a computer on the road, get into the system and get the information you need. It's mobile, user-friendly even if you're on a dial-up connection."

Improve Your Mailings

"I remember when I started in the business. I started with the Red Book, and it was very expensive and cumbersome and involved hours of research and typing in lists. Now it's all at your fingertips."

"ADBASE helps photographers tailor their mailings to be more successful," according to Epstein.

"People need to research and show some respect for those
to whom we are marketing. With ADBASE you can
do that in seconds."

"Only the best mailers survive. I've walked into agencies and seen them piled up in the corner, or in the mail rooms, not making it to the art director's or art buyer's desk, because there are so many of them. With ADBASE, you can stagger your mailings. So instead of sending out 800-1,000 at a time, you can send out 100 every week or so."

Use ADBASE as a Research Tool

"ADBASE takes you out of your small world as a photographer and can make you a bigger player. And you can do it in the comfort and safety of your own studio," Epstein said.

"It's interesting sitting in an art buyer's office and hearing people call up and asking, 'Do you shoot automotive?' or 'Do you shoot fashion?' There's nothing more embarrassing than calling an art director and asking him what account he has."

"If you can't research it and get that information, then I don't think you have a business calling them. People need to research and show some respect for those to whom we are marketing. With ADBASE, you can do that in seconds."

"You can go from being a 'D' student in marketing to an 'A' student," says Epstein. "I just think people need to use it more. Don't save it for big campaigns. Open it up, have it on your desktop and use it. It really takes the confusion out of marketing."