Courting corporate branding clients.

[Jri]

Hi all,

Just something I'm mulling over;

Say you have a corporate client that you'd really like to work with/produce something for/bag for your portfolio. How do you go about approaching them?

Outside of the 'corporate' sphere of clients, I've enjoyed mixed success in going after clients like bands, restaurants etc by producing examples and using the angle that I think my style of work would match their business aesthetic and going on from there.

So, when it comes to dealing with the big boy budgets and corporations that don't exactly turn on a sixpence just to suit the whim of possibly doing a full rebrand - how do you get to them as it where?

Presumably it takes a lot of wearing them down and getting your name about, as with all clients, but what's the opening gambit with these guys?

 

[Paul Murray]

It really depends on the type of client and brands you're going for and the service or skills you provide. Big brands tend to have art and creative directors who look to hire fresh talent to give their campaigns new life every so often. If you have a unique style or approach then there's a chance you could be 'head-hunted' if they see your work. Take this example of a recent NYT cover with an illustration by Stanley Chow (who primarily is known for his unique celebrity caricatures).



In this interview it's stated that the art director was responsible for getting Stan involved, presumably for his skill with faces, but also because they wanted a style that would mock Trump (whilst also working on a round balloon). There's probably a dozen artists who could have done something for the cover that would be just as good, but Stan's style and technique likely had something to do with it.

Some less well known but still 'big' clients may enjoy flattery followed by an offer they can't refuse. Telling them you noticed their work/product in a publication (that's the flattery) but noticed a vital flaw that could be losing them customers (the offer) is a good way to get them to agree to let you send a proposal for whatever the hell it is you do. This is perhaps more for services that favour consultation rather than just creative, visual outputs – UX/UI, marketing, etc. It's also a more corporate approach, basically cold-calling.

I think it's really trial and error, I don't think there's a single trick to get at any client, it all depends on what they do/sell, who runs it, how they source talent, etc etc. More importantly, like everything in this industry, it's about knowing people. Connect with art directors, send them updates of your work every 6 months or so to ensure that your book is to hand on their desks. If they know about you, and they like your work, and it fits their brief, they'll call.

 

[@GCarlD]

To be brutally honest, you need to know someone that works for the big corporation that can get you in or have worked for them yourself. Quite a pessimistic view, and it's cliche to say but it really is about who you know. Yes, you may approach them and get lucky, but the chances are they are going to go for someone who works, or has worked for them, or someone within or associated with the corporation that has recommended Jack or Jill to them.

I have done quite a bit of work for large corporations in the past, but only because I was working for a company at the time who they always turned to, to fulfil their design briefs. Now as a full-time sole trader, if I approached these corporations, they wouldn't bat an eyelid. Corporations tend to stick to what they know works, they are not going to hire me when they have reliable design studios (like my old one) they use that always produce the goods. It's rare they can afford to take such risks with someone 'new' unless they are highly recommended by someone within, and even so...