So you have a key message you want to tell your target audience; this could be anything from printed posters to an app, a PowerPoint ‘kick off meeting’ presentation to a web based incentive campaign.  Everyone’s in agreement and a brief chat about supporting imagery has taken place, but what happens next…

Image libraries appear to lay the picture world at your feet. A single search could bring up thousands (and I do mean literally thousands) of possible options, but choice isn’t always a good thing! This is where an experienced picture researcher comes in. Clients don’t always have a clear brief ‘something that reflects corporate success, but isn’t clichéd’, ‘an image to represent how we’re increasing our market share’.  Always obvious once you’ve trawled through thousands of images and found the perfect fit – but first of all you need an idea, otherwise what are you ‘looking for’?

The key is not only getting that brilliant golden nugget of a concept, that links both the copy to the image, (with this you really do need to clearly understand what your client wants to communicate) – but ensuring at all times it’s meaningful, engaging, smart and most importantly memorable. Anyone can find a ‘pretty picture’.

The next question is how much you and your client are prepared to pay for the perfect picture, assuming you’re going to a professional picture library site, how much is a royalty-free image worth?  With most sites offering bundles and deals it’s not always clear how much ‘one’ image costs. For example, you could be on a heavily discounted annual rate, but never-the-less costly if you don’t have a need for 700+ high res images a month, or you may choose to pay for individual images as you require them, where one high res image might be over £450. As an agency you need to find a balance between the best image for a specific requirement, any ongoing need and bundle cost savings.

Setting aside the need for a bespoke photoshoot, image libraries are the next best thing, Shutterstock for example has of today 74,472,904 royalty-free stock images, of which 728,311 were added this week – that’s an awful lot! So a great idea, with the perfect cost effective image really does equal a winning result in the communication stakes.

A recent brief for one slide in a 70 slide key note presentation (of which we were responsible for finding all the supporting imagery) was to depict the following:

“One team
We need to take individual and collective responsibility
We need to achieve and exceed targets
Batter the opposition
Delight our customers
Dominate our territories”

All beautifully summed up with an image of two young explorers which was very well received by the CEO – “Presentation looks great, you’ve nailed it!”

Contact us today to discuss how we can support your marketing communications.