Business

Monday Buzz: Adding Diversity to Stock Photos

A new stock photo service aims to showcase more racial and ethnic diversity. Also: Avoid these common media interview mistakes.

Association budgets don’t always allow for original photography, so many association editors and marketing pros turn to stock photography services for content and marketing materials. Frequent stock photo users quickly run into a common issue: There’s little diversity in these collections.

A new stock service called TONL, set to launch in August, hopes to solve that problem—not only by providing photographs with subjects of different races and ethnicities, but also with updated modern aesthetics.

“We want it to look as professional yet modern and relatable as possible. And so we took our time thinking about the right contrast and brightness and saturation and things like that,” co-creator Karen Okonkwo told The Outline. “When you’re dealing with people who are from different ethnic backgrounds, it’s typically more darker skin or olive complexion. So we just found a filter that we felt made those stand out more.”

Okonkwo says feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “I want people to go out in the world and look at people for their character; the color of their skin [and] their ethnicity is just a bonus to all of that, not an indication of who they are.”

Master the Interview

Association leaders often have to get in front of TV news cameras to talk about their group’s latest initiatives and campaigns. That can be a daunting task for many.

Events Uncovered shares a few mistakes to avoid in your next interview.

Don’t just try to wing it. “Many people who do media interviews think it is a simple Q&A session, while it is hardly the case,” says the post. “Lack of preparation for the interview will disorient your mind, and it will be clear to your audience that you are not prepared.”

The post also recommends avoiding filler language like “umm” and “like.” And don’t make your responses so canned that they sound like a sales pitch. Instead, “aim to share an inspiring behind-the-scenes story or insights, and you will enthrall your audience.”

Other Links of Note

Do you know the best time to open and close event registration? The Expo Logic blog provides some guidance.

Infographic of the day. MarketingProfs shares what you need to know about Google’s latest search algorithm update.

How should you hold your team accountable? Chip Bergh, chief executive of Levi Strauss & Company, shares his leadership advice with the New York Times.

(TONL screenshot)

Raegan Johnson

By Raegan Johnson

Raegan Johnson is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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