Getting a First Date Provocative Images Can Help You Stand Out from the Crowd and Make a Lasting Impression By Paul Englert

e’ve all heard the expres- many items that look dierent but oer nearly sion “you never get a identical benets. One might be in a tall, lean, second chance to make elegant, sage-green-with-gold-foil package, a rst impression.” What another in a more utilitarian, shorter, eco- PR professionals need friendly minimally-decorated-with-soy-ink to be mindful of is that every press release carton. Some products come in transparent Wwe issue, every blog we post and every Insta- packaging, giving you a pretty good idea gram picture we share is a rst impression to what’s inside, while others are camouaged, a potential new consumer. e truth is that perhaps obscuring an inner deciency. We the modern marketplace is like Tinder, and exist in a rapidly changing world where in- if you don’t choose the right image, you won’t stant gratication is a mere click away, so PR get lucky. Facebook photo posts receive 39% pros take notice—creating great images may more interaction and account for 93% of the be your best tool to catch someone’s eye and most engaging posts on Facebook, according give you the opportunity to score. to Fast Company. Photos get 53% more likes, Never have consumers had so many 104% more comments and 84% more click- options, and the amount of clutter com- throughs on links than text-based posts, says munications pros need to contend with is Kissmetrics. staggering. Fortunately, there are myriad scalpel-precise tools at our disposal with You often have less than which we can hyper-target an audience. a second to make an Imagine your target viewing its options impression or risk being left- using Tinder (which is in many ways like a swiped into oblivion. shopping app). In this scenario, you oen have less than a second to make an impres- sion or risk being le-swiped into oblivion. When you consider share of mind, you Good images can garner attention and give are competing with millions of competitors, pause. Great images can communicate per- most unconcerned about brand positioning sonality and benets, and maybe even elicit a or selling anything. If social media is a stra- powerful emotional response. Whether you tegic communication tool for you, then you are creating a logo or generating images for are competing with Taylor Swi, Grumpy digital marketing, take images seriously. A Cat and PewDiePie. But even using a more powerful headline is great, but a picture can traditional denition of your competition, be even more eective at garnering atten- it’s a very noisy world. Imagine a crowded tion. ere’s a reason USA Today, America’s supermarket shelf. Chances are that there are number one newspaper, has almost double

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27358 PRN GB Visual Storytelling_Ch-2.indd 42 1/14/16 2:55:50 PM the circulation of number two newspaper times you may be in the mood for a sophisti- e Wall Street Journal (hint: It may not be cated wine, while other times you may prefer editorial excellence). Great images should something simply hedonistic. In 2012, e not merely be brand relevant, they need to Divining Rod, a new wine, needed to build be consumer relevant, personality relevant. awareness. It leveraged a great image and Don’t xate on trying to please everyone— attention-grabbing packaging to help start a you’ll oen end up pleasing no one. dialogue. is gave it the opportunity to tell its story. Besides making wine, its winemaker Get a Second Date also happens to be a dowser (you know, those In the world of online dating apps, you eccentric people who say they can nd under- should show pictures that bring out your ground water using sticks). e brand cre- best qualities, while possibly hiding traits ated a great image with an attention-grabbing that might work against you. Be careful not logo. Consumers found the logo provocative. to oversell yourself: at some point this exag- Brand spokespeople told a story about the geration will be revealed (“I thought you’d winemaker nding the water needed to plant be taller!”). If you claim to ght odor for 24 his vineyards. Whether consumers believed hours but lose your ecacy aer just six, this wild tale or not, they found the image kiss your chances for a second date (repeat intriguing and the story entertaining, creat- purchase) goodbye. We all know perspective ing an opportunity for the brand to build a can make you look taller, thinner, younger, relationship. When creating your images, ask smarter and tter. Your images should not be yourself, “what story is it telling?” blurry or pixelated and should convince the viewer that you are someone worth getting to know. Ideally, your target should be able to imagine you tting positively into his or her life, even if just for an evening. e same is true in brand marketing; this begins with your packaging. Many people dread dating apps almost as much as they hate walking down the wine aisle in their local store. e wine category is a good example of fragmentation gone amok. Whether you are in a grocery store, liquor store or ne wine shop, you’re not alone if you feel overwhelmed with the variety of e logo of e Divining Rod wine. images assaulting you—but alone is exactly how you may feel. You may be looking for a Dipping Sauce Matters companion with whom to share a delicious You’ve started a dialogue—what now? meal, but with so many options it’s hard to Keep the conversation going with more great decide. Product packaging is an art form images. Every picture you use in a post, every unto itself. Alcoholic beverages oer myriad video you create, doesn’t have to xate on a options ranging from elegant and aristocratic product feature. It can reveal to your target to irreverent and obscene—again, just like audience a little about your values, personal- Tinder. ese options exist because some- ity and interests. Back to Tinder…when you

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27358 PRN GB Visual Storytelling_Ch-2.indd 43 1/14/16 2:55:51 PM set up a rendezvous, do you suggest meeting e images don’t reect a narrow focus on at McDonald’s or the chic Pakistani-Uru- product ecacy. ese images are engaging, guayan fusion bistro? Sure, you love McNug- hilarious and appeal to a younger audience— gets, but you’re not likely to look cosmo- precisely the people Old Spice would like to politan dipping them in creamy ranch sauce. welcome to the franchise. Do you think Old Ordering spicy vegan korma may indicate you Spice will win in blind sni tests? I don’t. But are adventurous and worldly. But if McDon- can it make me laugh harder than other fra- ald’s is your only option, choose your dipping grances on the market? Yes. sauce wisely. Sweet n’ Sour or Spicy Bualo might make you slightly more interesting than plain old ketchup. Brands need to think this way. What images are consistent with the values of your brand and have the potential to be of interest to current or future fans? Don’t be afraid to sprinkle in pictures that stretch your brand a bit. Casting a slightly broader net could greatly increase your audience without jeopardizing your brand’s integrity. It Old Spice uses humor to appeal to a new generation. may also show your current audience that you have more depth. Creating great images to support your communications will increase the likelihood Look, a Puppy! of your message being heard. Consider start- Attention spans are getting shorter. A ing with a great image as Old Spice did and picture, a video, an infographic—these visual cra a loose brand-related message around it. tools can help create more eective com- If an image is truly great, it may avoid using munications while respecting the fact that copy. What? You don’t have a budget to hire a your audience is in a rush to get back to model with six-pack abs and chiseled jaw to tweeting, fantasy football, naps…McNug- pitch your wares? Enter Photoshop. You now gets. Don’t obsess about constantly educating have the ability to employ anyone in history consumers. If consumers want education, to hold your product. Just remember intellec- they are a Google search and Red Bull away tual property rights. from knowing more than you do about any Enter Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe oen subject. Focus on entertaining and weave is referred to as the greatest U.S. president, so in education gradually. Over time, if you’ve who wouldn’t want him as a spokesperson? In shown yourself to be interesting, your con- 2012, Steven Spielberg was releasing a movie sumers will choose to learn more about you. titled Lincoln. e Charles Krug Winery used ey may even introduce you to their par- this increase in Lincoln-love to reinforce its ents, but let’s not rush things. Move slowly, “oldest winery in Napa Valley” positioning keep the boring minutiae you call your USP and saw the movie release as an opportunity. and positioning to yourself. No one cares... A simple image was created showing Abra- yet. ham Lincoln knocking back a Charles Krug Great images don’t need to have a lot of Cabernet with the question “What Would “stu” behind them. Look at the imagery Old Lincoln Drink?” is simple image and ques- Spice employed to reinvigorate the brand. tion elicited a common response: “I give up,

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27358 PRN GB Visual Storytelling_Ch-2.indd 44 1/14/16 2:55:53 PM what would Lincoln drink?” e rst battle tout your product’s performance. Be patient was won: Consumers took pause and asked a and develop good icebreakers. Make people question. Regardless of what happens next, the smile, give them pause, blow their minds… winery has successfully used a simple image elicit an emotional response and you’ll burn to start a conversation. e winery’s standard a memory into a brain cell somewhere. reply was “we don’t know, but in 1861 if he Creating great images is the best way to do wanted a Napa Cab, he only had one choice.” this. e best products perform better than A picture in the general domain paired with a the competition, but the best brands don’t simple question opened a door and allowed the necessarily have to. e best brands don’t brand to communicate its core dierentiation. always taste better in blind taste-tests, they Create and use great images to start a conver- may not stop odor and wetness better than sation, it’s not that dicult. the generics, but they create great images to create great memories. It’s unnecessary for videos of cute kittens chasing a laser pointer or pubescent boys getting kicked in the crotch to nd their way into your brand’s social media streams, but you should learn something from them before you swipe to the le. Remember, while Twitter gives you only 140 characters, adding a photo can say a thousand words. PRN e Charles Krug Winery tapped into the iconic image of Lincoln to boast about its age.

If you don’t start a conversation, you Paul Englert is vice president of marketing with won’t have the opportunity to tell people C. Mondavi & Family. about yourself. Don’t abandon your eort to [email protected]

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