The Random Camera Project

Background

Getty Images is the world’s largest image provider and as a leading source of creative products, it is important that whenever it communicates it does so in a way that is interactive, inspirational and, above all, creative.

The Random Camera Project set out to inspire through the idea of random association – by showing one creative person the world as seen through someone else’s eyes.

Idea

It is common for creatives to browse through photo libraries hoping that an unexpected image might lead to a surprising new idea.  It was this insight into the creative mind which drove the direction of the creative concept: Random Inspiration.

The team were determined to avoid the cliché of mailing out a USB stick or a stress-toy, an object of little use and even less value. Instead they wanted to get people involved and inspired.

300 cameras were mailed out to creative people in Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong and given a simple brief. Take pictures of anything and everything with the camera and then return it. Getty would process the photos but would mail them on to another creative, mailing someone else’s set of pictures in return. At the same time, all images were uploaded onto a website (http://gimages-sea.com/random/) for public sharing and viewing.

Results

The results have been nothing short of amazing: Getty received more requests for cameras than they had to give out. News of the project spread well beyond the target market of creative people to other professionals in the media industry. Originally intended for Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, the cameras have made their way as far as New York. The number of named contacts for Getty’s sales teams has tripled.

Our Thoughts

In trying to engage art directors in agencies here, there and everywhere, Getty is a fairly frequent user of direct mail. One idea from Germany was to mail art directors a ‘cemetery if ideas’. This was a rather bitter reflection of the truth, that well over nine out of ten ideas will die. But how much more affirming of the creative spirit is this? It got people actually creating, then sharing, then being inspired by each other to go and create some more. And all using the medium Getty specializes in - photography.

What started out as a brief for a piece of short-lived collateral has turned into a long-lasting example of brand experience.

Presumably the thousand-plus shots that were taken are now all available from Getty Images – at a price. So it’s an idea that could pay for itself in more ways than one.