A People Approach . . . Stock Asylum Staff Report The Stock Asylum March, 16 2006 If, as Woody Hayes once wrote, "you win with people," it just might be time to bet a few dollars on the team at a21. Listen to the company's management and you almost suspect they have spent a lot of time huddled over the former Ohio State football coach's 1973 book of the same name. Not only has a21 been filling some key positions with very experienced executives, but the management makes no secret of the fact that it will be going after some top photographers in the months to come. "We certainly are continuing to upgrade the talent—put as much talent into this company as we can," says Thomas Butta, who is vice chairman and president of a21, as well as CEO of the company's SuperStock subsidiary. Since late October, a21 and SuperStock have filled three important management positions, starting with the hiring of Candice Crough as vice president of direct sales. Crough had previously worked at Imagestate and Corbis. In January, a21 hired Thomas Costanza as chief financial officer. He most recently served as chief financial officer and interim president of AMCO Water Metering, a $1.2 billion Florida Company. Then, on March 1, the second anniversary of a21's acquisition of SuperStock, Ellen Boughn was hired as vice president of content strategy and manager of the SuperStock rights-managed collection. Boughn is widely-known for creating the new UpperCut image library. She previously worked at Corbis and Stone. Stone is now a brand of Getty Images. In addition to hiring the three managers, a21 recently acquired Ingram Publishing, an English subscription and royalty-free distributor. Also, SuperStock opened a New York office and launched a United Kingdom version of its web site in recent months. The moves apparently have caught the eyes of some investors. A21's stock, while still trading under one dollar per share, has moved up considerably from about a dime at one point last spring to as high as $0.80 recently. On a percentage basis, an investment in a21 would have returned a significantly greater reward during the past year than an investment in any other publicly-traded stock photo company. A21's stock experienced two significant spikes following announcements that Costanza and Boughn were hired. It also jumped after the Ingram Publishing acquisition. By hiring Boughn, SuperStock made a strong statement about where it wants to take the image collection in the coming years. Boughn is known for her ability to recruit and work with quality photographers. "I have a lot of experience working with photographers," says Boughn. "I really want to bring SuperStock some new photographers and get going on the collection. We want to enhance the collection for the advertising and design buying community." To that end, Boughn and Haim Ariav both note that SuperStock is looking at the contract it offers photographers and the company's approach to funding production shoots. Ariav is president and chief creative officer of SuperStock and chief creative officer of a21. Without providing details, Ariav said the agreements will be, "Very fair. They will be favorable to the photographer." Ariav says SuperStock is approaching a number of advertising photographers who have never created stock photography before. He said some of these shooters never considered creating stock photography before. They often become interested when they learn about the market segment, Ariav says. Boughn adds, however, that the company also wants to attract experienced stock shooters. "I think there is an understanding in the photographic community that, because of all the acquisitions, it is to the advantage of the photographer to have work in more than one place," she says. Ariav and Boughn say interested photographers should approach SuperStock by completing an online form accessible from a link at the bottom of the company's home page. SuperStock executives believe the company can improve its market position with a new high-end collection because the company already serves a segment that wants top-quality imagery. Unlike many other stock distributors, SuperStock sells more rights-managed than royalty-free images. And the company makes more revenue from rights-managed sales than from royalty-free, according to Ariav. "We do know from the high-end (advertising) agencies that they are looking for those unique images that they cannot get anywhere else," says Ariav. In addition, adds Boughn, even clients who cannot afford the the most expensive work are attracted to companies that show quality photography. "These are the magnets that bring people to us," says Boughn. "I think we are now positioned to win," says Butta. "We have done a lot to improve the operations of the companies we bought and we are taking our product to the market in a way that puts us in a position to win." Adds Ariav: "We want to be a vital partner to our customers and our contributors. To our customers, we want to be someone they look to for what they need and want. For our contributors we want to be someone who respects their work." SuperStock is at: http://www.superstock.com A21 is at: http://www.a21group.com Photographers interested in SuperStock can click here. © Stock Asylum, LLC