Proscout
To Whom It May Concern:
I have a question about model discoveries.
I went to an open call for Proscout model search and
I was picked out of a big group.
They said that when we go to their event I will have
a 78% chance of getting a top agent.
Do you really think that I have a 78% chance?
My parents are wondering about it, so if you know anything I
would be so grateful for any information.
Their website address is www.proscout.com.
M.W.
M.,
No, I don't believe it. The success rate of modeling
conventions or model discoveries as you called them is
10%-20% or less.
So the idea that Proscout has a 78% success rate is
not something I would believe without seeing proof.
If they had 1,000 people attend their last convention,
we are supposed to believe 780 were signed by top agents?!
If they had 100 people attend their last convention,
we are supposed to believe 78 were signed by top agents?
Ask Proscout how many people attended their last model
search. Then ask them how many were signed by top agents.
Then you can ask Proscout for the names of the people
who were signed or the agencies which signed them. Then
call the agencies and confirm their unbelievable claims.
Proscout is similar to Model Search America (MSA). They
both have open calls and modeling conventions for new
faces to get discovered. MSA had a failure rate of 80-90%,
according to the BBB record:
- The firm notes that between 10% and 20% of models
attending past conventions have been selected for representation,
and about 8% to 10% have gone on to earn money working
as models.
NYC Fame, another model search, had a failure rate of
more than 90%. The BBB record for NYC Fame said:
- Consumers are advised that fewer than 10% of the
models selected to attend the conventions are chosen
for agency representation.
The BBB record for Proscout does not include the company's
success rate like the BBB records for Model Search America
and Proscout.
Why is Proscout not being held accountable to its marketing
claims in print like MSA and NYC Fame, especially when
it has BBB Membership, which is supposed to reflect a
higher standard of business ethics?
Prior to this 78% success rate claim, Proscout had previously
made highly questionable marketing claims in its oral
presentation and on its website.
According to a published
news report:
- A man who introduced himself as Aaron, the director
of scouting, told those gathered how ProScout came
into being.
-
- "The top agencies, like Ford, Wilhelmina, IMG,
Karin... got together because they needed to get a
way to find new talent. They chose three top scouts
to head the project — Brian Marcus, Mel McFarland,
and Greg Hartman," he said.
-
- The problem is, both Ford and Wilhelmina say their
agencies had nothing to do with ProScout's creation. "That
[ProScout's assertion] I would say is a little sketchy," Wilhelmina
Models director of women's modeling Ray Lata says.
Then on their website they previously claimed:
- Getting discovered in the real world requires meeting
established agencies from one of the "major market
cities." Basically, there [are] just three ways
this can happen: 1. Pure luck, 2. Hard work on your
own, and 3. ProScout.
How was that not false advertising? You can walk into
a modeling agency and get discovered. It's not 1) pure
luck, 2) hard work, or 3) proscout.
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