Marketing campaigns that fail to take off and fly often nosedive because of uninspired or poorly executed photography. It’s hard for a writer to admit, but images can inspire, invigorate, intrigue, and communicate so much more and faster than words can. Face it, editors, it’s a visual world, more so every day.

Here are some examples of what I’m talking about – images that either we’ve created for clients or that I’ve happily stumbled across recently. These are campaign builders. They grab attention and don’t let go. They inspire and intrigue. They communicate a compelling brand personality.

This stunning image (on left) from the cover of the February issue of Tufts Observer compels you to read the story. Outstanding!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a wonderfully arresting image from the cover of Albany Law School’s 2010 brochure (right). Talk about setting a tone!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cover photo for San Diego’s graduate programs sets a warm, rich, yet invitingly casual mood with the subject’s toes in instead of her face:

 

 

 

 

 

A Barnard College 2009 viewbook image is filled with emotion while it tells a compelling story of mentor-student interaction.  Wonderful feel from this image!

 

 

 

 

A series of intimate, revealing student images from Old Dominion’s brand campaign provide a riveting glimpse into the “modern mind” and motivates prospects to learn more:

The fact is, serendipity and/or standard photojournalism simply don’t cut it when it comes to creating brand images. Great images require care. EMG’s award-winning director of photography says this: “Most of the time, real life isn’t that interesting. Great images show reality how you wish it were.”

The moral of the story is to make sure you don’t just send out a photographer – on-staff or freelance – to grab images wherever he or she finds them. To create a better version of reality (a brand reality) you need to scout, plan, set, and art direct the setting, the lighting, the subject, and the details to create attention-grabbing images to tell your brand story.

Here are our top tips for creating great campaign images:

• Always use “brand images” for publication covers, ads, web landing pages, and major section or page headers in important print/electronic materials.
• Brand images should reflect a consistent and differentiating style, tone, and treatment that conveys your brand position and personality. The brand images should be strategically developed through careful scouting of locations, planned shot sheets, wardrobe, and props, lighting, and painstakingly selective choice of subjects.
• Imagery has to tell the brand story visually. But more than that, it should set a mood and generate strong emotional response from the viewer – surprise, delight, unease, intrigue, insight, amazement, joy, amusement, whatever. Go for emotion!
• Never ask your subjects to do something they’re not capable of.  After all, they’re not professional models!  Your photographer will need exceptional communication skills to put subjects at ease and to “draw out” the personality of each subject.
• Primary brand images need to be backed up by “supporting images” that tell the rest of the story by displaying your campus, showing activities, capturing events, and so on. Solid, professional photojournalism techniques work for these support images.