Companies spend a considerable amount of time and energy differentiating their products and services from their competition. But often times they fail to follow through with the imagery they choose to represent themselves.
Take these images from two successful brands:
iMac product shot. Photo courtesy of Apple.
Apple: The style is modern. The tone is cutting edge and clean. Obviously a computer for the rest of us.
adidas Soccer Ad
adidas: Style and tone combine to show the passion, individuality and action of sport.
Picture perfect.
We’ve all heard the adage “A picture is worth 1000 words.” Its true. The style, tone and subject of imagery all say something about a brand. And if you want the most out of an image – that “something” needs to support what your brand stands for. Not to mention that there is nothing more embarrassing for a brand manager (or a designer) than having your ad show up with the same stock photo as your competitor.
Granted that original art doesn’t come cheap, even for large companies, especially when measured as just one line item when developing one piece of collateral. But, when you consider its value to the overall image of a brand, its an investment for the long run. Original artwork also gives you the ultimate control over the message behind the image and adds to the uniqueness of a brand. The right image and visual language of a photo will communicate, engage and identify with your audience in ways that words can’t.
So I ask you dear reader, how have you made the case for original art? And what do you do when you can’t?