Grip and grins, and other crap

We always had a problem with Wal-Mart, when it comes to grip-and-grins. They'd give $500 to the local volunteer fire department to buy some new boots, or something, and then have someone from the organization call and set up the photo. We really couldn't turn 'em down, unless we wanted to appear greedy and insensitive to their cause.

 

I'd shoot a grip-and-grin for Wal-Mart if its execs signed an agreement to pay a decent wage and benefits.

 

Fixed.

 

But most publishers won't, given that Walmart hates advertising in newspapers. At two papers I worked at, the publisher was pushing us not to shop there because Walmart refused to do business with us (used direct mail instead).

 

It was more about the relationship between us and the group in the photo than about shooting a wally world photo.

 

we used to get wal-mart inserts and semi-regular advertising. of course we also ran wal-mart check grip and grins.

 

Grip and grins.
Hate em'. Hate taking them, hate laying them out and hate taking calls for them.
Saying that, here are a couple ideas
-have a policy about tha amount. Some papers it's $500, others maybe $1,000. That's a good way to weed out a lot of them out.
-save 5-6 of them and throw them all on the same page once a week or so.
- get creative. So Wal-Mart is giving $5,000 for a playground. Go to the playground instead and have the photog take a great picture of kids laughing and playing. In the cutline just say something about how the playground was made possible through the fundraising efforts of Wal-Mart. Usually that works for everybody. The only people it doesn't work for is the people who are only donating to get their big fat head into the paper, and if that is the only reason they're donating then maybe they're donating for the wrong reasons.

 

I have suggested the same thing at my shop, Canuck, when I have to shoot grip-and-grins on occasion. If a donation brings a park or helps with healthcare, it makes sense in my book to go out to those locations to see what the money will do.

But alas, all an advertiser wants to see is themselves in the paper handing over a check.

By the way, Canuck, I'll be cynical. Advertisers donate for PR reasons and not for the goodness of their hearts.