Survey Says...

Several weeks ago I sent out a brief survey to all of the people on my e-mail list, asking a few basic questions. Since Archetype Images is all about helping performing professionals and small businesses to target their marketing images, I wanted to determine the best places to focus my own marketing efforts. Of the nearly five-hundred people on my list, approximately ten percent responded. This is, of course, a wildly unscientific survey. To date, most of my marketing efforts have been focused on Craig's List, PerformInk, and direct mailings, so, it's not entirely surprising to find that the people on my mailing list would also favor those sources for finding work.

Much of the results were expected. I knew that most of my clients and potential clients are in the Chicago area, but I was surprised at the number of responses I received from New York and Los Angeles. I also had a fair number of responses from cities such as Detroit and Milwaukee.

Of the fifty-three responses, thirty-five said they found work on Craig's List, twenty-eight referred to PerformInk. Twelve mentioned Model Mayhem, and eight are listed with TalentHunter. One person mentioned the League of Chicago Theaters website.

Fifteen people were affiliated with actors' unions, and twelve of those were only with AFTRA. Eight were with Actor's Equity, and nine were SAG. The remaining are non-union.

Only fifteen identified themselves as actor/models. Eleven are exclusively models, and the remainder consider themselves only to be actors.

Most clients are listed with multiple agencies, with the most popular being Charlie's Talent, BMG, and Encore.

However, the most surprising responses came to the question about which agencies were viewed as the most helpful. Of course, actors and models tended to find the agencies that represented them to be the most helpful, but eight percent of the people who responded took the opportunity to express disappointment with Chicago agents in general. There was no agent or agency that was singled out. Rather, there was a consistent expression of frustration at the lack of professionalism and a low sense of business ethics.

Of course, that has been the lament of Chicago agents about the Chicago acting community for more than twenty years. Almost every Chicago agent will tell you that the Chicago talent pool has the reputation of being somewhat provincial, that the talent in Chicago does not take the business seriously. It was surprising to learn that perception is reciprocal in some quarters.

So, thank goodness for Archetype Images! Our mission is raise the level of professionalism within Chicago's talent community. I've been quite fortunate over the last few weeks to work with some astonishing talent. And it is our goal to help these dedicated professionals refine their approach to the industry by creating topnotch, emblematic marketing images that at once distinguish the artist from the crowd, and communicate who that person is artistically and professionally.

I want to extend my thanks to everyone who participated in my impromptu survey. With the coming of spring comes a renewed sense of commitment. Let's work together to raise the level of our art and our business!