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Research Title:
AN ASSESSMENT OF MARKETING STRATEGIES OF DIFFERENT PHOTOGRAPHY
STUDIOS IN THE UNIVERSITY BELT

Authors: Edward Bash S. Tiangco, Janina Cornista, Honeylee Barairo, Kathy Mercado, Mark
Uy, Jayson Boongaling, Nerissa De Veas

Date Created: April 18, 2017

What was studied?

It was all about the assessment of marketing strategies of different photography studios around
university belt. The group established a marketing elements to be use in solving the problems
and searches for alternatives to be able to know the satisfaction reference of the respondents.
Moreover the group used research designs such as; interview and survey questionnaires to
answer the common problems and thought of the consumers. With this, the group make findings
about the customer’s needs and wants on a certain Photo Studio, and make recommendations
and conclude a new marketing strategy.

What was the significants of the Study?

Discussing the University Belt Photography industry, particularly the present strategies

that implies to their success, the results of this research paper will ultimately benefit multiple

sectors/people:

1. Today’s businessmen and entrepreneurs:

a. Start-up photo studios - The findings may serve as a basis of criteria for

marketing strategies against competitors who have established their market

share.

b. With similarly-featured business environment – results from the study may

provide marketing strategies in which they may gain knowledge from in order to

improve operations.
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2. Photo Studios Establishments -- the study will benefit the studios we have interviewed.

Provide them with the profile of the consumers, opening opportunities for improvements

on their marketing planning.

3. Aspiring Entrepreneurs – give valuable information to new entrant in the Photo industry.

Guide them in creating a marketing strategy.

4. Academic Institutions – help them in finding a valuable and affordable photo package for

their students.

5. Marketers – provide a relatively new topic, vital in improving the photo studios of today

Review of Related Literature

Dronetography is the Future!

I’ve been doing commercial photography for more than 10 years now. When I’ve

gone full time in 2007 and put up my photography studio Imagesmith I never thought I’d

be doing video. In 2008 Canon released a full-frame DSLR which is capable of shooting

1080p videos. From then on we acquired additional bodies that shoot video, we also

invested on motion sliders and jib cranes for that cinematic effect.

About 2-3 years ago, the aerial drone quadrocopters craze was born, from the china

made ones to the reliable Dji brand. I almost invested on the Dji Inspire 1 which is

fantastically looking drone, the Phantom models are less to be desired back then

because of its crippled features to complete the FPV rig. During those times, I was

really tempted to invest in but my tech-geek instincts said the current tech is expensive

for what you get and anyway our clients are willing to rent helicopters and planes.
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Forward to June 2015, I got the Phantom 3 Professional by Dji it is one of the few

Phantom 3 units to arrive in the Philippines. The technology it has and price are perfect!

Perfect timing so I had no excuses.

Its good to feel like a newbie again! I’ve never been too excited on a workhorse

equipment since my first DSLR. During these past 3 weeks I’m getting better and better

on flying the drone, I now understand its limitations and shortcomings so thats why I

need to fly more and augment that. I’m now mastering the different moves (cinematic

moves) that we can use at work. I just got the 2 extra batteries and now I can fly this for

more than an hour.

I have used it several times already for work and practice. I’ve shot these aerial

footages during a recent project in several locations in Quezon City while shooting the

“100 Things To Do in Quezon City” coffee table book and during the pre-nuptial photo

and video shoot in Anilao Batangas.

The weather is pretty bad right these past few days, unpredictable, hazy and windy. But

once it clears up I will continue playing this exciting new work toy.
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Methodology

SUBJECT

Our research is all about the assessment of marketing strategies of different

photography studios around university belt. In this research paper, we conducted surveys to find

out if the target segmentation done by the focus-establishments do match the patronization that

is measured due to frequency of visit of the targeted markets. We also conducted the profile of

consumers’ satisfaction. Our research paper help us to distinguish the marketing mix of the

focus-establishments. We interviewed different photography studio to determine the SWOT

analysis of University Belt and to know the methods used by successful photo studio

businesses in order to find a commonality in them and thus establish a key creating a new

marketing concept.

PARTICIPANTS

The participants in our research paper are the professionals, households and

students. In our survey form the students has the biggest percentage in terms of occupation

profiling. We had 113 student respondents coming from University of the East, Far Eastern

University and Philippine School of Business Administration. There were 75.3% of students

respondents. The students prefer the ambience and equipment having 3.5 weighted mean as

the factors for improving the services. We also had another respondents which is the household

having 12.7% and the professionals having 12%. We only have 19 household respondents and

18 professionals who answered our survey. They both chose the quality of photo as the factors

for improving the services. The household weighted mean is 4.8 while the professionals

weighted mean is 4.8.

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Profiling

Table 1. Raw Data and Percentage of Profiling results of Gender, Occupation, Marital Status,

Age, and Educational Attainment of our following participants which are Students,

Professionals, and Households.

Gender Raw Data Percentage

Male 74 49.3%

Female 76 50.7%

TOTAL 150 100%

Occupation Raw Data Percentage

Student 113 75.3%

Professionals 18 12%

Household 19 12.7%

TOTAL 150 100%

Marital Status Raw Data Percentage

Single 114 76%

Married 25 16.7%

Others 11 7.3%

TOTAL 150 100%

Age Raw Data Percentage

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17 – 21 68 45.3%

22 – 27 50 33.3%

28 – 35 32 21.3%

TOTAL 150 100%

Attainment Raw Data Percentage

Graduated 26 17.3%

Under Graduate 107 71.3%

Post - graduate 17 11.3%

TOTAL 150 100%

RESEARCH DESIGN

This research was conducted using the Descriptive Method. Descriptive research is

used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It does

answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred. Rather it

addresses the "what" question, specifically in summary:

1. What criteria of a photo studio affects a customer satisfaction?

2. What maybe the key for creating quality to customers?

3. What marketing strategy should be implied to improve the photo studios’ service?
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In able to collect these data, the researchers employed the following methods:

1. Observation /Research

a. To determine the SWOT analysis of University Belt as a place for establishing

a photo studio

b. To identify the focus-establishments (based on the criteria discussed below)

c. To distinguish the marketing mix of the focus-establishments

2. Surveys

a. To conduct a profile of consumers’ satisfaction

b. To find out if the target segmentation done by the focus-establishments do

match the patronization (measured in terms of frequency of visit) of the

targeted markets

3. Interview

a. To determine the SWOT analysis of University Belt

b. To distinguish the marketing mix of the focus-establishments

c. To know the methods used by the successful photo studio businesses in

order to find a commonality in them and thus establish a key to creating a

new marketing concept.

Research Instrument

The researchers distributed a survey questionnaire which contains three parts:

customer social class profile, business criteria relative to the photo studio establishment

and the importance placed by consumers on identified satisfaction factors.

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The group classified the respondents according with the most preferred factor of

consumer satisfaction based on the different social class they belong in. This will

be helpful to profile the different photo studio and its business scene.

Professional 13,000 – 45, 000

Household 26,600 - 60,000
(Since not all students have stable monthly/yearly income they
Students are not considered to be in the salary bracket, hence, will be put
on the same bracket with the households.)
The factors considered by the group are the following:

● Quality of Photograph

● Packages and Promos

● Price (affordable /equates overall service)

● Service (friendliness and initiative of employees)

The focus of the respondents are students and professionals because the group have

determined that they are the primary class that avail photo studio services and because

of the overwhelming size of their population within the University Belt.

Another part of the survey focused on the frequency of consumer visit, in the following

time frames:

● At least twice per year

● At least once per year

● At least once every couple of years

● Maybe every five years

● More than five years

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The researchers will also interview personnel, specifically managers, from the focus-

establishments. A one-on-one interview to discuss how their marketing methods is

conducted, and the findings shall be discussed at the later part of this paper.

Lastly, observation and research was conducted to provide for the market research and

industry analysis for different Photo Studio within U-belt.

Statistical Treatment of Data

In this study, the following tools were used in the analysis and interpretation of data:

● Observation /research –a SWOT analysis can be seen in the later discussion

● Interview –a summary of answers is provided in the findings

● Survey –percentage was used to compute the frequency of visit of the

consumers. Weighted mean was also used to calculate the given influence of the

consumer satisfaction factors.

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Population and Sampling Data

To achieve the objective of this research, we decided to release 150 survey questions

to be answered by Students, Professionals, and Households. And this is our non-

probability results:

Table 2. Total ranking for the whole social class in rating the factors that affect customer
satisfaction
Rating Weighted
Ranking
Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Mean
Quality of
11 14 18 33 74 3.97 3
photo
Packages
6 16 23 40 65 3.95 4
and promos
Price 11 14 39 50 36 3.57 6
Ambiance 14 15 6 36 79 4.02 2
Place/
16 15 19 32 68 3.81 5
Location
Equipment 15 13 6 29 87 4.07 1
GENERAL WEIGHTED
AVERAGE
3.9

Overall, as we can see that out of the 6 criteria, equipment rated most highly, with an average
score of 4.07. Having the complete and newest equipment is the number one requirement in a
photo studio.

Table 3. Ranking for the household social class in rating the factors that affect customer
satisfaction
Rating Weighted
Ranking
Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Mean
Quality of 1
5 4 10 4.7
photo
Packages 4
2 5 4 8 4
and promos
Price 1 2 8 5 4 3.6 6
Ambiance 2 1 7 9 4.2 3
Place/ 1 2 5 4 7 3.7 5
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Location
Equipment 2 1 4 12 4.4 2
GENERAL WEIGHTED
AVERAGE
4.1

Table 4 .Ranking for the professionals social class in rating the factors that affect customer
satisfaction
Rating Weighted Ranking
Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Mean
Quality of 1
3 3 3 12 4.8
photo
Packages
1 1 3 5 8 4 4
and promos
Price 1 3 6 5 2 3 6
Ambiance 1 1 1 5 10 4.2 3
Place/ 5
1 1 6 4 5 3.4
Location
Equipment 1 2 2 13 4.5 2
GENERAL WEIGHTED
AVERAGE
3.9

Table 5. Ranking for the students social class in rating the factors that affect customer
satisfaction
Rating Weighted
Ranking
Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Mean
Quality of 2
11 26 76 3.4
photo
Packages 3
11 39 62 3.3
and promos
Price 21 45 47 3.2 4
Ambiance 5 26 82 3.5 1
Place/ 2
7 30 76 3.4
Location
Equipment 1 27 84 3.5 1
GENERAL WEIGHTED
AVERAGE
3.4

Services Raw Data Percentage Ranking

Graduation 75 32.6% 1

Wedding 41 17.9% 3

Party 60 26% 2
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Debut 35 15.2% 4

Business Events 7 3% 6

Advertisements 12 5.2% 5

Table 6. Raw Data and Percentage of Services catered by Studios

In the data we see most respondents would purchase a service for a graduation pictorial,
proving that students has the highest purchase rate around U-Belt.
Medium Raw Data Percentage Ranking

Word Of Mouth 53 30% 2

Facebook 68 38.4% 1
Yellow Pages or 10 5.6% 4
Online Directory
Blogs or website 46 26% 3
Table 7. Facebook is the most popular social media site there is right now. It is generally the
most used social media site by every social class.

Editing Style Raw Data Percentage Ranking

Clean,with normal 114 76% 1

colour photos and
black & white
Heavy 25 16.7% 2
Table 8. Raw Data and Percentage of Requirements for editing photos.

Packages Raw Data Percentage Ranking

A-la carte, choose 59 39.3% 2
individual items
Set Print Packages 91 61% 1
Table 9. Raw Data and Percentage of Requirements for Packages

Raw Data Percentage Ranking

Frequency of Visit
1
At least twice per year 60 39.5%
2
At least once per year 54 35.6%
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At least once every 3

22 14.5%
couple of years
5
Maybe every 5 years 4 2.6%
4
More than 5 years 12 7.9%
Table 10. Raw Data and Percentage of Requirements for Frequency of Visit

1. Social Class of U-Belt

It was found that a total of 72% belongs to the low social class.

Social Class Number of Percentage Ranking

Respondents
Low 109 72% 1
Middle 20 13% 3
High 21 15% 2
Total 150 100%
Offerings should be targeted towards the Low Class (Students). However, there is a possibility
of niche marketing in order to target the other social classes.

Data Interpretation and Analysis

● Interview /Observation /Research: the marketing mix of the focus-establishments

shall be presented in this section. The 3P’s (product, price and promotion) are

presented in a tabulated manner, while the 4th P, place, is analyzed in the SWOT

form. The summary of interviews is also included.

Summary of the 4P’s of Marketing – This Chart shows the differences amongs the focused-

establishments on how they set-up their marketing mix. What products or services do they

specialize on, what are their price range and how do they promote their product/service.

Focus-establishment
Product Price (Php) Promotion
RELANS *Graduation Ranges *Website
from
DIGITAL *ID/Passport/PRC Pictures P125 *Word
to of mouth
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PHOTOGRAPHY
*Family Portraits P3,750 *Social Media (Facebook)
*Hair and Make-up *Branch
*Tarpaulin Printing

*Family Portraits
*Baby Shots
*Graduation *Website
*Pet Portraits Ranges P300 *Word to of mouth
GREAT IMAGES *Glamour Shots P12,900 *Social Media (Facebook)
*Glam Frames, *Branch
Coffee, Tables
Books, Portrait Bold
& Glam Books
*Graduation *Website
*Glamour Shots *Word of mouth
Ranges from P1,000
RED IMAGES *Solo Portraits *Social Media (Facebook)
from P7,999
*Family Portraits *Branch
*Kiddie Pictorial
*Word of mouth
*Graduation
LYRIC STUDIO P1,300 *Social Media (Facebook)
*Portraits
*Branch
Table 15. SWOT Analysis – This SWOT Analysis is mostly focused on the 4th P(Place)
Which was not included in the 1st table. Describing the diverse environment of the
geographical area of Univerity Belt and how will a photo studio be affected if it has been
established here.

STRENGTHS
1. Diverse Customer Base- Morayta is a
place where have different kinds of
consumer that it can be our customer
especially students.
2. Purchasing Power- As we targeting
students in U-Belt, we know most of
students carrying money just to fulfill their
needs.
3. Location – because of the volume of
students at U-Belt positioning the studio
near in their universities is a big
opportunity.
4. Fast return of investment – due to
demand of every customers especially
WEAKNESSES
1. Territoriality – photography studios
have established their own territory.
2. Security – some customers fear going to
U-Belt because of the notorious people in
streets and police visibility is weak.
3. High Cost Rent – by targeting students
at U-Belt expectedly a commercial cost
renting in location.
4. Business over population – currently
there are a lot of photography studios, the
reason why some customers are confused
in choosing the best studio that will suit
their needs.
5. Seasonal operations – some
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students in photo studios at U-Belt plus photography studios are experiencing

their repetitive availing of the service makes cases like fluctuations that correspond with
the investment return fast. the season

OPPORTUNITY
1. Social Media – there have been
developments in terms of attracting
customers, and one of the easiest and
effective way is by the use of social media.
( facebook, instagram, and twitter)
2. Continuous trend in photography –
people always have to consider the trends
in editing their photographs from classic to
creative
3. Technology advancement – due to the
improvement of the technology it may help
photographers by using cameras the lessen
their editing efforts
THREATS
1. Taxes and other legalities – by
changing, applying new tax rates, other
new laws legalities in terms of business
relating photography can affect the price of
the service.
2. Competitor’s advantage – by their new
kind of service especially technology that
catches the attentions of the customers.
3. Economy fluctuation – having an
economy fluctuation usually people
prioritize food, shelter, clothes, so
photography is not in their priority.

Company Interview: Red Images

We organized an interview with the Marketing Head of the Red Images to gather more

information on how a photo studio implement its marketing strategy. A survey question was

given to the interviewee. This questions will be based on how they improve their brand, what

specific measures do they take to have a competitive advantage and what possible marketing

trends do they apply to the business.

1. “Yes it definitely will improve our quality of service as well as the quality of our photos. Our

business development officer and operating officer canvass the latest equipment. Usually

decides to consider changing equipment every 3 years.”

2. “We make the trend for our customers and competitors. Unlike our neighbour studios, we

have better editing quality which goes through 3 quality control officer/editor, continuous

research on international trends.”

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3. “We set out price for different kinds of customer for customers with high demand for quality

we have our premium packages. And Epiphany for who is looking for budget friendly packages.

Price is set due to the camera and equipment used and in fact of their brand.”

Procedure

In the overall process of gathering data for this assessment, We’ve prepared a questionnaires

that will give us informations on what are the customers’ criterias in looking for a certain Photo

Studio and our participants are Students, Professionals, and Household within University Belt.

Also, we’ve constructed some questionnaires for our Personal Interview in Red Images to be

able to know more about their Studio and what makes them different to other Studios

How was the study conducted?

They conducted surveys to find out if the target segmentation done by the focus-establishments

do match the patronization that is measured due to frequency of visit of the targeted markets.

They also conducted the profile of consumers’ satisfaction. They want to distinguish the

marketing mix of the focus-establishments. They’ve interviewed different photography studio to

determine the SWOT analysis of University Belt and to know the methods used by successful

photo studio businesses in order to find a commonality in them and thus establish a key creating

a new marketing concept.

Results and Discussion

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The findings we have collected is carefully analysed from the results and information we

gathered from our respondents that follows the question on how to formulate a new marketing

element for the photo studios around University Belt.

1. What affects customer satisfaction based on the criteria that will be provided:

1.1 Quality of Photograph – This criteria has been ranked 3rd with a 3.97 weighted

mean average in our table 6. But based on table 7 and 8 for Households and

Professionals, their most preferred criteria would be the quality of a photo but it

will be advisable to focus on this criteria only if a studio is looking for a niche

market sinc they are just almost 25% of the social class.

1.2 Service offering – Based on table 10, of all the events/services that may be

offered, graduation pictorial is ranked 1st with a percentage of 32.6. This is

because 75% of the respondents in the U-belt area students, mostly graduating.

1.3 Price and Promos – Price is the least ranked criteria in table 6, having a total

weighted mean of 3.57. It seems that the respondents does not mind the price

too much. It shows that customers are willing to pay at a high price for a high-

quality shot/photo.

1.4 Ambience – In table 6, it shows that ambience is the 2nd ranked criteria for our

respondents. But as we look at table 9, which is the overall data collected from

the student respondents (75% of the total respondents), the criteria for ambience

is tied to equipment. So it seems that due to the long queue that students

experience during seasons for graduation pictorials. It is important for the

respondents that the studio shall have a nice and comfortable ambience that will

get their mind off the long queue.

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1.5 Place/Location – based on our team’s observation, most of the geographical

location of our target establishments are close to universities. Based on our

results, respondents don’t prioritize the location of studio as long as it’s

1.6 Equipment - Based on table 6, equipment is the ranked as the most picked

criteria having a weighted mean of 4.07. It is essential for a studio to be equipped

with the right and functional equipment to produce high-quality photos.

1.7 Frequency of Visit – based on table 14, 39.5% of our respondents visit or avail

the service of a photo studio twice a year. This is usually for formal portraits

and/or personal reasons.

2. What may be the key for creating quality for customers and can be an alternative element for

new marketing plan?

2.1 New Equipment – Based on our table 6, Equipment is ranked 1st with an average mean

of 4.07. So based on our observation and the data we gathered, having the high-tech

and functional equipment can give new style and edge in capturing images.

2.2 Alternative Marketing Concept – Most studios should always make an effort to keep up

with the trends in photography. Respondents are still looking for new photo shooting

concept.

2.3 Setting the right price – Customers don’t rely much on how the price is set. Customers

rely more on the total package and the quality of the photos.

2.4 Develop brand image – Developing a brand image can be done by establishing your

studio in a specific market in a geographical area. And it is highly advisable to create

a close relationship with schools/universities since students are the ruling social

class here in University Belt.

The 3rd question will be based on our company interview.

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3. What elements of the marketing strategies that these photo studio are applying to improve

their service?

1.1 Adapting to photography trends – For photo studios, following trends is a sign of

competitive drive of a studio and also it gives an advantage because customers

can be offered with new service/product.

1.2 Using the most advanced technology and equipment – Purchasing new

equipment for studio can be under the decision of the photo editor/

photographers. Changing equipment every 3-5 years is the right strategy.

1.3 Making new concepts of taking photos –Studios are aware and are slowly

adapting to new marketing photo. But it takes a lot of research since studios have

to invest a lot of capital for new equipment which help give new concepts in

taking photos.

Conclusion and Recommandation

Conclusion:

Based on the findings of the researcher, the following conclusions are given:

1. Respondents rely mostly on the equipment used by the studio/photographer, since it gives

the effect and lightings that changes the quality of the photo.

2. A studio should always keep up with the photography trends. But setting your own trend can

lead to great marketing advantage and edge against competitors.

Recommendation
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With businessmen in mind, especially the new entrants in the photography industry, the group

recommends the following based on the given research:

1. Establishing a photo studio requires a lot of effort. Market research, scanning and planning

are definitely needed in order to determine the factors that might make or break your business.

Gaining these information should be used to then establish market offerings to your selected

target market.

2. Since there is the presence of many social classes in University belt, any business is deemed

profitable. However, the key lies in utilizing the proper marketing mix, fostering good customer

relations and developing strengthening your core product.

How does it affect the problem based on consumer behavior?

They want to know if what was the consumers wants when finding a certain photo studio. Are

they after the Price? The quality of the Photos? The Ambience? They want to know the

consumers’ profile to have knowledge about their behavior.

SURVEY QUESTIONS

NAME(Optional): __________________ DATE:

__________________
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Welcome to our Marketing Survey! We would like to ask 5 minutes of your time to answer our
survey. This survey will be for the assessment of the marketing strategy of photo studio around
U-belt for our Marketing Research subject. We’ll make sure that your personal information will
be treated confidentially. Thank you!

Please put a check (√) in the box beside your answer for your personal profile.

1. Gender • 17 – 21
• 22 – 27
• Male
• 28 – 35
• Female
2. Marital Status
Part II. Check a box for each statement to show how degree of agreement. It will be ranked in the following
order: 5 – Strongly Disagree, 4 – Disagree, 3 – Neither Agree or Disagree, 2 – Agree, and 1 – Strongly Agree
• Single
• Marries
5 4 3 2 1
1. Quality of a photo should be 24.2 MP(1080 HD for video) with
18 MP sensor, 3fps continuous shooting speed.
2. In packages and promo, would you prefer to avail a complete
packages with inclusions of(hair and make-up, use of
wardrobe, raw copies, frames, printed copies.)
3. Prices of packages must range from P1000, P5,000
4. Occupation
considering the inclusions of hair and make-up, use of
wardrobe, raw copies, frames, printed copies.) • Student
4. The ambiance of photography studio must be comfortable. • Professional
• Household
5. For graduating students, location of photography studios5.must
Attainment
be accessible in University Belt?
• Bachelor’s Graduate
6. Is it essential for the camera equipment to be a HD • Under Graduate
camera, with lighting equipment together with reflectors.• Post Graduate and above

• Other
3. Age
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Please put a check (√) in the box beside the answer of your choice.

1. What occasion would most likely avail a service from a photo studio?
a. Graduation
b. Wedding
c. Party
d. Debut
e. Business Events
f. Advertisements

2. Which of these options would you use MOST when searching for and selecting a photo
studio?
• Word of mouth
• Facebook
• Yellow pages or Online directory
• Blogs or website

3. Editing Style: When you receive photo from a studio, what style of photo processing do
you prefer?
• Clean, with normal colour photos and black and whites
• Heavy, with textures, colour altering, and Photoshop effects
4. When ordering prints from a photo studio, do you find it more convenient to choose
exactly which prints and sizes you want in an a-la-carte format, or would you rather choose
a set package?
• A-la-carte, choose individual items
• Set print packages

5. How often do you generally avail services to take photos of for you, whether in a studio or
by using an on-location photographer (NOT including portraits taken at school)?
• At least twice per year
• At least once per year
• At least once every couple of years
• Maybe every five years
• More than five years