Announcing Rays Of Africa, a fresh, innovative and creative pairing of experienced South African photographers, Steve Bailey and Peter Wickham, who recently teamed up as the official photographers for the 2011 Safari Awards.
Steve Bailey
www.pbase.com/mashona
&
www.stevebailey.co.za
Steve, an experienced wildlife and naturescapes photographer has been in the business for several years and is known for his passion for quality. Steve has a unique style making him an outstanding artist of our era. Post processing of his images is sought after in the art world and with Rays Of Africa, it is envisaged that his flair will add artistic punch to marketing campaigns. Steve has also developed a unique HDR treatment of internal and external photography of Lodges, Guest Houses, Hotels etc, one of his clients being PAM GOLDING Property
Steve also has had many years of experience in the printing industry, a vital asset to Rays Of Africa.
Peter Wickham
www.proimpact.co.za
Peter has experience in the commercial and portraiture sectors of the business. He has a natural flair for marketing and a good understanding and feel for trends in the market. As a photographer, Peter has had enormous success in marketing campaigns he has been involved with. He has been rewarded with international awards for portraits he has taken. With a talent for extracting the best out of people, and his understanding of light (and how to use it), he has produced some outstanding cultural images. Rays Of Africa will be making use of his commercial and marketing talents together with his ample skills with camera in hand.
Why Rays Of Africa
Both Peter and Steve are possessed by Africa’s soul and both incredibly passionate about Africa. As sunrays penetrate, illuminate and warm, so we intend penetrating into Africa, Illuminating it for the world to see and warming the communities with successful marketing campaigns which will introduce an influx of much needed investment and spending by tourism into regions.
Why the Partnership
Whilst both Steve and Peter are superb photographers in their own right, the dovetailing of specialist skills gives Rays Of Africa a distinct advantage of covering all marketing related imagery with specialisation rather than adequacy. This will relate to superb marketing campaigns rather than adequate ones.
In this time of tougher economic times, it is necessary, and vital, to maximise marketing opportunities and then turning these opportunities into clients. Once that objective is achieved it is also then necessary to deliver information about your partnered and associated concerns to not only extract maximum benefit from each client, but to give them a complete and memorable package. This is the time to seize the phrase - we don’t just satisfy our clients, we delight them.
This adage is something that Rays Of Africa will also be aspiring to. Your delight will be shared by us as our delight. This is something that no money can ever buy.
Passion
Peter and Steve are deeply passionate about delivering a high quality product and that this is to be delivered on time. They strive to delight their clients in 3 ways.-, i.e.
1. Quality
2. Value for money
3. Service
Energy is conductive and we believe in spreading it positively. As a Ray in Africa warms and lights an area far larger than itself, so we would wish to conduct ourselves.
What is relevant in a successful marketing campaign
It is our opinion that the successful marketing campaign in tourism should include information about these sectors i.e.
- Cities and towns of tourism importance
- Accommodation and cuisine offered
- Cultural aspects of the population
- The landscape and unique features
- Business opportunities (if relevant)
- Wildlife and Natural highlights
- Tourism focal points in the area
- Transport (how to get to, and around in the country)
- Climatic considerations
- Specific highlights you can offer your clients. (Once you have sold the destination, you need to sell your specific venture)
Creating a romanticised text description of your lodge is of equal importance but images are usually what stay in the mind of potential clients. The ideal is that the imagery haunts the prospective client and forces them to think and dream constantly and incessantly about what you will offer. The importance on the visual stimulation of their dream cannot be over-emphasized.
A PICTURE CAN SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS OR MORE
Obtaining the reality of the dream will then secure probable re-visits from the same clients, or at worst, some great word of mouth advertising to their circles of colleagues and friends. Importance should therefore attach to the integrity of the imagery in promotional material, but to show this at its best. Rays Of Africa can do this for you.
Equipment
Both Steve and Peter use upper end quality Canon cameras and lenses and Peter uses Hensel studio lighting, which is relatively portable. Both brands are synonymous with quality, and therefore deliver the type of quality which is to be expected from Rays Of Africa.
Use of social networks
Without beating around the bush (no pun intended), the value of a mere investment of time in good, well targeted, social media marketing can add volumes to marketing potential. This media is often regarded as insignificant as the target market is predominantly the youth. WRONG
Many Companies and business’ have realized the potential of this media and are extremely successful as a result. The youth of yesterday are still using this media and the mere mass of people reached by these media is mind blowing. It should be a vital component of media to be utilised. Not only is it cheap, but incredibly successful.
Rays Of Africa will assist you in this media and can help setup these campaigns and advise on how to maximise your benefit from these networks. Like sunrays, they penetrate markets which may have never been even considered.
In conclusion
Why not discuss your needs with us, we believe the profits will outweigh the reasonable cost tenfold or more.
We are extremely excited about the prospects of Rays Of Africa being an important cog in your marketing wheel.
Of interest to smaller lodges and operators is that you can join with other similar sized organisations in your area and as such, reduce the costs significantly as travel costs as well as generalised area photography can be shared. We will be happy to accommodate small groups of approximately 5 ventures in an area.
We trust that you will find our proposal sufficiently exciting to enable further enquiry in this regard.
Warmest regards
The team at Rays Of Africa
WE ARE ON Facebook
Steve Bailey
+27 82 5546296
SteveBaileyPhoto@r63.co.za
www.stevebailey.co.za
and
Peter Wickham
+27 33 3473369
Mobile - +27 796707356
wickham@telkomsa.net
www.proimpact.co.za
Official photographers to the 2011 Safari Awards