Source Werbeartikel is one of Germany's leading branded merchandise companies. When a business needs personalized promotional products, Source Werbeartikel is who they call. Founded in 1993, the company has grown from an early e-commerce pioneer to a full-service platform with over 40,000 products, serving more than 100,000 customers across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK, including brands like Porsche, Disney, and Douglas.
But here's the thing about running a B2B business entirely online: there's no showroom. No sales floor. No handshake over coffee. When a marketing manager at Porsche or Douglas is deciding who to trust with their next branded merchandise order, they're going through your website, reading your team page, and sizing up whether they can trust you. Every detail shapes that decision.
With a team distributed across Europe, traditional photography wasn't practical, so they turned to AI headshot tools early on. They tested several, but the quality was never up to their expectations. In 2025, after trying HeadshotPro, they decided to implement it company-wide.
We spoke with Jil Schmidt, Jr. Marketing Manager at Source Werbeartikel, about why they made the switch.
Challenge
Prior to using HeadshotPro, every AI headshot service Source Werbeartikel tried never fully met their quality standards. Something was always off.
The headshots just didn't look like the actual person. “They weren't able to keep the person's identity, facial details, or a consistent design," Jil explains. Smiles looked unnatural and teeth, one of the hardest details to get right, were a constant problem. As Jil puts it: "The biggest issue was teeth, they never matched the person's real smile."
Even when the output came close, it still carried that unmistakable AI feel that no amount of editing could fix. "The images always had this AI look, which was not very trustworthy, as we use them for our website and email signatures."
And it wasn't just about realism. None of the tools gave Source Werbeartikel the flexibility to truly customize the headshots to match their brand image. They were looking for something that reflected their approachable, business-casual identity and no platform they tried could deliver that easily.
Top 2 challenges Source Werbeartikel faced with other AI tools before HeadshotPro:
- Lack of realism - Faces, smiles, and teeth never fully looked like the real person. Every image had an AI-generated quality to it
- Lack of styling control - No way to customize headshots to reflect their specific brand identity
Solution
After trying out HeadshotPro, Source Werbeartikel decided to make the switch.
"We were very impressed with the results from HeadshotPro. The authenticity, realism, and ability to select specific styles truly stand out," Jil shares. No more off-looking teeth. No more AI look. Headshots their team can confidently put on their website, email signatures, and other marketing and communications materials.
And they can now customize the headshots to match their exact brand image. "After internal discussions with my team, we agreed that HeadshotPro meets our quality standards and aligns with our needs for a more casual look for our employee headshots."
Jil also points out how easy the process is. "The website is very user-friendly and easy to understand. The results are simply outstanding,"
"The option to retake headshots if you're not happy with the results takes the pressure off. However, we've hardly had to use this feature so far. Our employees are usually very satisfied with the results and like to use them in their personal lives as well.” Jil adds.
Results
Customers now have a face behind every interaction. "The headshots appear very professional and trust-building. This helps us get a closer connection to our customers, as they can imagine who they are speaking to," Jil explains.
Today, HeadshotPro is now part of Source Werbeartikel’s onboarding process. Every new hire gets a professional headshot on day one.
Top 2 results since switching from other AI tools to HeadshotPro:
- **Low redo rate – Only 3% of employees used the included redo feature to request a new set of headshots
- Deployed across key customer touchpoints - Website, email signatures, LinkedIn reaching 100,000+ clients
- Built into onboarding - HeadshotPro is now standard for every new hire
