Can Marketing be a Joyous Thing? Wait, What???
The Mushroom Man of Northern Virginia
We’ll answer the headline momentarily.
Before we answer the first question, there’s a second one. Today we return to our good friend Ian Triplett, and ask: Can we get to better know the man behind the mushrooms?
Yes we can. Here goes. Ready?
A brief refresher. Ian started 3 Cap Farms just three years ago with a tiny investment, growing super-delicious mushrooms, some of which you’ll see below. He’s steadily expanded his operations, and we agreed after some discussion that now was the time to expand his marketing and reveal The Mushroom Man of Northern Virginia.
OK then, what was the plan?
I wanted him to “emerge” from behind a curtain of his delicacies. Both because it’s sort of a coming out, and to have truly memorable and engaging images that he could use to promote the business.
He’d have to cooperate with a crazy plan, and we’d need some additional help to get it exactly right.
We talked it over the week before and picked a day when he was harvesting. Then I fabricated a structure to contain his bounty. Preparations made, I arrived on the scene.
With additional help from the wonderful Sarah, who has experience arranging flowers, together we filled a cardboard frame with four of Ian’s signature, seasonal varieties, i.e., Pioppino (the light brown capped mushrooms), Pink Oyster (self-evident), Lions Mane (the fluffy white mushrooms), and Popham Elm Oyster (larger, white capped mushrooms).
We’d already made sure the box fit Ian’s face and would keep the shrooms from falling through the middle. To ensure the delicacies would stay in place, we planned for Ian to lay on the floor while we carefully lowered the contraption over his face.
What else would we do, try to glue a bunch of mushrooms together so they would stay vertical while he stood upright???
That would have been… a lesser plan.
Anyway.
Here’s a look at how this was going to happen:
With everything built, lighting tested, positioning confirmed, we lowered the assemblage. Did final arrangement tweaking, propped box corners to keep the thing level, and started shooting. You saw this image last week:
Like it or not, I suspect you won’t forget it!
We didn’t just make one image of course, we worked with a variety of details and expressions, all of which could be used in different campaigns over time. Here are a few of them:
And voila. Joyous Marketing.
So beyond the technical setup, how does something like this happen?
Certainly collaboration, as we discussed last week. But what kind of person makes the most of any given situation, whether it’s making a new image or anything else worth doing?
I look for people who have certain characteristics in life, not just for photography. It’s a theme you’ll hear me repeat over time. Ian brings qualities to the party which may or may not be obvious in a given moment, unless you pay attention.
- Authenticity. He knows who he is and won’t hide from it.
- Vulnerability. We discussed last time.
- Playfulness. Duh.
- Intentionality. Said another way, “being up to something”. As he clearly is in every aspect of his business. We’re working on an article together that will elaborate on this.
Over time you’ll find that I profile diverse people who have common traits.
I hope you enjoy “meeting” each of my client friends over time.
Next week: A famous poet who works with businesses, and exhibits those qualities in spades.