HOW TO GET YOUR CAR FEATURED IN A MAGAZINE
By Tony Rabbitte
info@rabbitte.com.au

Introduction:
To the majority of serious car enthusiasts, having a car featured in a high profile magazine is the ultimate achievement. All your hard work and painstaking hours are immortalised on the printed page forever. It is the pinnacle of recognition of a job well done. It demonstrates in front of your peers that you have made the grade. But there are more benefits to having your car featured in a magazine than most people first realise. Sure, there are the bragging rights, but for those who have the insight to ‘see’ a bit further into the picture, a magazine feature can have the potential to create for you, the first steps towards becoming a known name in the game.

The benefits of having your car featured in a high profile magazine:
Collectively, if you were to speak to a number of car owners that have had their cars featured in a national magazine they would undoubtedly recite a whole range of benefits in having done it. Some of the benefits are:
National/international recognition for building/modifying an outstanding car.
- Recognition among your peers.
- The benefits of possible future sponsorship.
- Often higher resale value as the car is now famous.
- Some photographers send high resolution images of the shoot to the owner. These are printable up to large sizes.

How magazine exposure can help to attract sponsorship:
Many of the high profile cars getting around the show scene are sponsored in some way by businesses within our industry. Often they are wheel and tyre companies, audio companies, engine builders, trimmers etc. Some are relatively new businesses trying to establish themselves in the market while others are well established names who sponsor cars as a part of their promotional program. Either way, they all sponsor cars for one reason, publicity.

One way of attracting the attention of a potential sponsor is to demonstrate that you have previously had cars featured in a high profile magazine and that you have built up a relationship with a few of the magazines over time. If you have obtained previous exposure this will give a potential sponsor a greater level of confidence.

Sure, sponsors are car enthusiasts just like you, but they are also business people. They will not invest their time, money and credibility in a project that is unlikely to gain them good, positive exposure. There is only so much sponsorship to go around and the lion’s share of it will always go to the most eligible candidates. Getting your car into a national magazine will play a major part in helping you to get near the top of that candidate list.

What the magazines are looking for in a feature car:
There are a lot of magazines out there and they all try to focus on different aspects of the modified car scene. Each magazine has a different set of criteria that they are looking for in a feature car. The trick is to aim your car at the type of magazine that it is best suited to while at the same time, aiming as high up the food chain as possible.

In general, most magazines are looking for some or all of the following:
- Dare to be different: Magazines are always looking for cars that show something different that nobody has done before. Is your car an inspiration to others? Do people often comment on how they like the way you’ve done this or that.
- Engineering: Is your car well engineered? Does it have performance and other related features that other enthusiasts would find interesting?
- Visual appeal: The overall look of the car is vitally important when considering your car for a feature. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Every car owner thinks their own car looks cool and that’s fair enough, but when a magazine editor considers your car for a shoot he needs to make a judgment call based on what he thinks the majority of the readers might consider cool or interesting. If he gets it wrong too many times the magazine’s sales figures will eventually suffer.
- Attention to detail: So often we see cars that are almost there. They’ve got all the goods but are a bit rough around the edges. Admittedly these cars sometimes make it into the mags if they are strong enough overall but by paying attention to the finer detail you will dramatically increase your chances of being chosen for a feature.

Which magazines to approach first:
In most things in life you need to start at the bottom and work your way up, right? That theory is correct with most things but when trying to get your car featured in a magazine things work a little different. If you have a car that you feel is worth featuring then you should start by offering it to the top ranking magazines first. If the top mag knocks it back then go to the next one down and so on. That way you will be attracting the best possible exposure. If you find that you are getting too many knock backs, ask for feedback from the editors. They will be able to advise you as to what else needs to be done to the car to qualify for a feature. One of the hardest things for car enthusiasts to swallow is criticism, but if you can learn to take criticism as ‘constructive’ it will pay dividends.

How important is the cover:
Every car owner would love to see their car featured on the cover of a national magazine.
A WORD OF CAUTION HERE: If a magazine offers you the cover, don’t make the mistake of jumping straight in. Think it through first. There are a number of things that should be considered. Most people think that getting the cover automatically guarantees that their car will be seen by the maximum number of people possible. This is not necessarily the case. Being featured in the middle of a major car magazine will get you a lot more exposure than cover of a lower selling magazine. In addition, consider the future. Setting up a relationship with a high profile magazine has the potential to help attract future sponsorship.

How to develop a professional relationship with the car magazines:
There are two old sayings that spring to mind: “You’ll catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar.” and, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”.
It is a well documented fact that first impressions count. A polite and professional approach is your best bet when approaching a magazine. If ten people were to enquire about a feature and the other nine were yobbos, yours is the call that will be remembered.

Once you have made contact and presumably the magazine representative has expressed an interest in your car, make sure you follow up. Magazine people are extremely busy and despite their good intentions there is often not enough time in the day to get around to returning all phone calls, emails etc. and cars are often put on the back burner if they have a lot on the books at any one time. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve lost interest, it could just means that they’re busy. By following up you are remaining in their thoughts and are likely to progress quicker in their To Do list. Remember the squeaky wheel theory?

Correct etiquette when dealing with a magazine:
There is a certain amount of etiquette that needs to be observed when dealing with a magazine. Failure to do so will do little more than burn your bridges behind you. For example, if you offer your car exclusively to a magazine and then go back on your word after they have invested time and money in producing the article it will more than likely be your first and last feature. If you are planning on being in it for the long haul, here are a few tips to remember:
- Once a magazine has approved your car for a feature it is usually customary that the magazine is given a chance to get to the shelf before you allow another magazine to shoot it. It always pays to be up front and truthful about you car’s published history.
- Be truthful about the information that you give the magazines in relation to your modifications. If you bend the truth you will only end up embarrassing yourself in the long run.

DIY exposure Vs using an agent:
Whilst the advice listed above will go a long way to giving you a greater chance of getting your car featured, for many people , they would rather seek a professional to undertake this process.

Rabbitte have a track record as an agent in placing cars with the best possible magazines. We also have contacts with magazines in the USA and the UK and our portfolio of clients is expanding regularly. We have been featuring cars in magazines since 1989 and our reputation ensures that you will attract the best possible exposure. If you think your car is worthy of a feature in a magazine and would like to consider this option, or if you have any questions that you’d like answered, drop us a line or visit our new website at FeatureCarsAustralia.com

How to prepare your car for a photo shoot:
Preparing your car for a photo shoot is pretty much the same as preparing it for a car show. You can do it yourself or you can opt to have a professional car detailer do it for you. Either way the choice is yours but the most important point to remember is to pay attention to detail. We often see cars turn up to photo shoots clean and polished but lacking in the nooks and crannies. Nowadays magazines ask the photographers to focus in close on distinguishing features and modifications. If the shoot has to be interrupted while additional detailing is done, valuable shooting light is lost. This is particularly important if the photographer is working to very specific lighting such as sunset or sunrise. Some car owners even go to the trouble of hiring a detailer to attend the photo shoot for the purpose of touching up in between takes. Kind of a make-up artist for the car you might say. While this may sound extreme to some people, it certainly shows dedication and the importance that some car enthusiasts place on having their car featured in a magazine. Photo shoots that operate at this level of professionalism usually produce the most spectacular photos.

Tips on how to photograph your own car:
Professional car photographers spend years developing their techniques and their own individual style. The most successful ones have their finger on the pulse at all times and are able to create exactly what the magazines want while maintaining their own individual trademark style, but perhaps the main thing that sets these photographers apart from the others is that they have an ’eye’ for creating commercially powerful images consistently. In other words they have a unique ability to create images that sell magazines. This skill cannot be taught. You’ve either got it or you haven’t.

This segment is not intended to turn you into a professional car photographer but it will give you the necessary tips so that you can get some really worthwhile photos of your car.

- Location: Choose a location that offers a background that will not compete with the car. The simpler and cleaner the better. Try to avoid trees and poles sticking out of the car if possible or you will need to remove them in Photoshop later.

- Lighting: Contrary to popular belief, Direct sun is not always the best light. There are times when brightly overcast conditions may be better. It all depends on the car and the prevailing conditions. Experiment to see what best suits your car. If shooting in direct sunlight, avoid shooting the shadow side of the car if possible, although sometimes this can create interesting effects.

- Camera angle: There are no real hard and fast rules when it comes to choice of angles. This is where your own creative flair comes into play. Walk around the car and look at it from all angles. If you’ve got an eye for photography you’ll know when it looks right.

- Lens focal length: The focal length of your lens will effect perspective. Experiment with different focal length lenses from wide angle to telephoto. Wide angle used up close to the subject will give a distorted effect while a telephoto lens will produce a more compressed effect.

- Reflections: Reflections can be frustrating to deal with in car photography. The darker the paint, the more noticeable any reflections will be. Professionals use all kinds of tricks and trade secrets to deal with these on a regular basis, but for the enthusiast perhaps the best approach is to simply choose a location that has as little as possible in the area that is likely to reflect in the paint.

- Attention to detail: If possible, ensure the following: Windows should be up unless you are shooting a pillarless coupe. These usually photograph better with all the windows down. Antennas should be down. Sunvisers should be up and out of sight. Excess dust and dirt should be removed from tyre treads.

- Think outside the box: Don’t make the mistake of trying to copy all the angles that you see in magazines. Remember that those pictures were taken with magazine pages in mind, allowing for text, insets etc. An angle that looks great laid out in a magazine may not necessarily suit a framed wall print. Again, experimentation is the key.

- Hi res Vs Lo res: While it is the photographer that takes the photo and not the equipment, you are limited by the scope of your gear. Most professionals nowadays are using a minimum of around 11 mega pixels for anything A3 size or bigger but acceptable results can be achieved with 6 mega pixels if you use high quality lenses and the right techniques. If your camera has a facility for shooting RAW files, use it. This will ensure that you are capturing the original image at the highest possible quality available to your equipment. You can then convert these to Tiffs or Jpegs of varying sizes and quality depending on your intended usage of the images.

Examples:
If you are submitting your car to Rabbitte for consideration as a magazine feature, we only require lo-res jpegs at 72 dpi via email. This is because we only need to see what the car looks like at this stage. In fact we regularly get submissions that have been taken with mobile phones.

On the other hand, if you are submitting your car with a view to being accepted into the MotorActive feature cars section you will need to have original copies on hand in the form of Tiff files or Hi-Res Jpegs configured to 300dpi or higher. This is because your images may need to be reproduced in print at yet-to-be-determined sizes.

Further reading:
To go into greater detail on this subject is beyond the scope of this article and we recommend searching the internet for more information. There are many websites dedicated to digital photography. A quick search in Google should bring up the most popular ones. Your local library is another great resource for free information on this and other related subjects.