Licencing photos for public service announcements

A city office wants to license some of my images for a public service ad campaign. The first stage is going to be bus ads and maybe some online banners. Previously their bus campaigns have been running for 6 weeks. They would need 3-4 different images for these ads.

I have been told that the budget is tight but I should name my price. I would need some advice on this. I do want to get paid but I don't want to stress a good working relationship that might lead to more work in the future. Where do I start with pricing?

sipowicz wrote in post #17584787
I have been told that the budget is tight but I should name my price. I would need some advice on this. I do want to get paid but I don't want to stress a good working relationship that might lead to more work in the future. Where do I start with pricing?

1. People always say budgets are tight. If this is a council then they have money and if they don't spend it this budget round then they wont get it next round (as obviously they didn't need that much.

2. Have you previously done paid for for this organisation and did they pay the market price then? The reason I am asking is that I'm trying to establish if this actually is a "good working relationship" or not. The reason is that you shouldn't give a discount to a new customer in the hope of "future work" - unless that work is actually contractually agreed at the same time as the first project. Otherwise all you are doing is setting you future price at a lower than normal price point.

3. As for calculating what the prices should be; companies like Getty and Corbis have online calculators. Just sign up for a free account and use their calculator to get a quote for a similar image for the same media/usage.

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I have used the online calculators and got a rather shocked response from my source. They are not going to pay anywhere near the normal rates.

Pros:
- They like my images and will use them on the campaign.
- I will get paid.
- There is more work coming.

Cons:
- They do not understand how licensing works.
- I can not charge that much without severe sticker shock.
- I got my in through a person that I know in the organization and any friction would put pressure on that person.

I am thinking about giving them a 12 month non-exclusive license that I will try to renew later on. If I can get another campaign, then it will be worth my time.

sipowicz wrote in post #17599416
There is more work coming

Ain't there always. The percentage of such promises that actually materialise is minuscule; and if it does you will already have set a low rate for it by agreeing to a low rate now.

I am well aware of that. The problem here is that I can't really say "take it or leave it" without making my contact person look bad. It is already a solid relationship and they want me to do another campaign. They will agree to a non-exclusive editorial license which they have an option to renew next year.

Have you asked what they've paid in the past for similar licensing campaigns? That will give you a better idea than simply "we have a tight budget."

Also, I understand you don't want to stress your relationship with the insider but you can't worry about him. Certainly be considerate of the situation, and be diplomatic, but this is business and you can properly act like a businessman looking out for his interests.

I recently sold a one-time one-use license for one of my images to be used in a storefront. They're paying a lab to enlarge it to about 92" x 108" to be used as a "windowscape" in a shopping center. I directly asked my contact person, on the telephone, what their budget was. She said they had not done anything specifically like this before, and did not know. She then suggested a range of amounts they'd paid for prior projects. I took this info back to a friend of mine who is a commercial photographer and we picked a figure in the middle. We both felt it would be a fair rate, it was already one of my stock images, and I wanted to be seen as somebody with whom it is easy to do business, without giving the store away. I'm hoping for future work of course, but they never suggested any such thing.

sipowicz wrote in post #17599416
I am thinking about giving them a 12 month non-exclusive license that I will try to renew later on. If I can get another campaign, then it will be worth my time.

How about, "Be aware that, in order to generate the proper amount from this non-exclusive image, I'll have to place it in stock, & you might also see the image on your buses in a diaper ad?", or whatever works for that image. ; )

Well, despite the very very modest invoice that I sent them they were still sticker-shocked and they are now hesitating with the second campaign. They have already said that they will cut all the model fees and extras which will make it harder to get model releases from people. Oh well, I will see how this plays out.