Invoking the power of a picture
To say that a picture is worth a thousand words has become a platitude since it’s been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful.
However, there are certain images that have been burned into our minds and into
our memories. They cannot be forgotten and they require no accompanying copy to
explain them.
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The images that came later were even more horrifying. The twin towers engulfed
in flames… people leaping to their deaths from 100 floors up and then the towers
themselves finally crumbling.
In these examples, no explanation is necessary. In fact, the pictures say it all
far better than words can.
Some photos are extremely powerful but need to be situated or placed in time in
order to be fully understood.
If you lived through the Vietnam War era, a great example would be the famous
photo of a completely naked nine-year-old Vietnamese girl, screaming as she
fled her village after a napalm attack. Even though the picture won a Pulitzer
Prize, it still needed a caption to set up the situation.
In the early 90s, tennis star Andre Agassi starred in a number of commercials
for a camera. In the last line of each commercial he would boast, “Image is everything.”
Most people liked the commercials because they liked Agassi. He was a talented,
successful rebel. He grew his hair to rock-star length, wore flashy outfits
with colorful bandannas and even sported an earring. He was cool.
People were attracted to him and in this case he became the image and his
statement was much more than a sales pitch for a product. It was and still is a
motto for our present day society.
All that said, it still remains that an appearance or even a single photograph
can have an instant impact on a reader, viewer or a target audience. As in the
case of the airliner crashing into a building, complex stories can be
graphically told with a single snapshot.
Images are a simple means of communication. And the goal of visualization is to
convey the ideas normally expressed through large amounts of data (perhaps even
the proverbial thousand words), quickly without forcing your prospect to read
through extended blocks of text. Napoleon Bonaparte has been credited with
saying “A good sketch is better than a long speech.” In part, this has become the strength of the Internet.
Images in combination with concise text can make for very effective calls to
action and cross sells. Text on its own can be bland and boring, but pictures
are a language that almost everyone can easily understand. The right image can
motivate a person to learn more about your service and even respond to an
invitation to make a visit or schedule a pick up.
While it’s true that the use of images and graphics in print marketing has potential,
there’s no guarantee that simply placing an image on a page will bring you more
business. You should have a plan in mind and follow a few simple rules.
First, the one image all cleaners should have, but many don’t, is an identity that represents your company. If you’ve never developed a corporate identity, you should.
Generally speaking, this is your company logo. It could be done in attractive
lettering, a graphic or a combination of lettering and graphics, and it should
make use of colors… your company colors (if you have them).
Think carefully about what you want your look to be. After all, you’ll have it for a long time. If you know nothing about graphic design or how to
develop a look for your company, seek some help, but it’s important to establish a company logo soon if you don’t already have one. Your logo and your color scheme will lend continuity to any
and all advertising you do in the future.
Don’t use a photo or graphic simply to occupy space. Everything you include must
serve a purpose and should refer to or help explain the benefit of your
service.
All images used should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Anything less will
not reproduce clearly and will give your company a less than professional
appearance.
Remember, today’s society is dominated by image. Everything is based on outside appearance such
as clothes, body type, skin complexion, career, social group, etc.
In fact, as a drycleaner you deal with people daily who are very concerned about
image. They’re fussy about their appearance, how their clothes look and how they feel in
them. It only follows that they will also notice the quality of your
correspondence as well, so always insist on a professional look.
Use color whenever possible. It’s more attractive and nowadays the cost to jump from black and white or
grayscale to color is not as significant in terms of cost as it once was.
Keep it simple. Your image should be “easy to get.”
For example, a joke that requires an explanation just isn’t funny and an image that needs to be figured out will not generate the desired
impact.
Also, keep in mind that people sort their mail over the wastebasket and your
correspondence will only be in their view for about two seconds, so the message
must be clear or it’s in the trash.
Finally, it’s important to attract attention, which will not happen if you use the “same old stuff” that people have seen over and over.
Instead, find something unique… something that sets you apart from all the other cleaners in town. If you need
some ideas, Mak Marketing is beginning a series called Image of the Month and
will be featuring an original creation every month. To see what it’s about, go to www.makmarketing.net.
