In evaluating the conceptual platforms for a current campaign, I was reminded of a major challenge in developing a new brand – usually on the mind of almost every new client. Creating memorable, striking images that have the power of becoming an icon for a product or idea is usually Job One for any creative, and why we get the big bucks. On the surface this seems straightforward.
Simple… the more obvious the image, the more memorable it will be.
Wrong.
What makes a brand image effective is the collective nature of consumer perception – as perception and understanding of the brand message becomes continuously reinforced, the message becomes a personal truth that can later be triggered simply by the brand image. The creative challenge is first selecting an image that is easy and compelling to visualize, and then aligning it to a brand message that is important to the target.
This is the hardest to implement at the beginning, when the product “brand “ is unknown. The company or product brand needs to develop “ownership” of its attribute as its differentiation against the competition. The challenge is that in the current overloaded media environment, all the most obvious attributes of value – faster, cheaper, more effective, ad infinitum, have been utilized to the point of overkill. From shields and umbrellas for protection to a bulls-eye for precision to a DNA strand for biotech – images that have become banal, tired and ineffective, certainly not smartly differentiating the product.
Consequently new imagery must be created that is not as directly obviously connected to the attribute desired. The connection now has to be built more subtly, but no less effectively. Unfortunately, this requires heavy lifting – more creativity, longer campaigns, more repetition, more expense. But when it works, it works.
For example, look at Nike. This famous ad campaign does not even show the shoes. It talks about unleashing the power of initiative, showing a photo of any athletic effort with the “swoosh” logo and the phrase “Do it”. This is great branding, but it must be remembered it is the result of several decades of the same message and image association being repeated millions if not billions of times.
The most powerful visual branding is not simply a function of the image itself, but also always the context of that image. This context is developed by the verbal support of that imagery, the positioning and messaging. The heavy lifting comes from continuously reinforcing that message and image/word association long enough to imbed it into the audience consciousness. This is where repetition comes in. Break-out brand imagery now requires subtlety, the courage to go with the obscure, and the guts to pay the necessary cost.
The best marketing, like everything else, is never easy.
In evaluating the conceptual platforms for a current campaign, I was reminded of a major challenge in developing a new brand – usually on the mind of almost every new client. Creating memorable, striking images that have the power of becoming an icon for a product or idea is usually Job One for any creative, and why we get the big bucks. On the surface this seems straightforward.
Simple… the more obvious the image, the more memorable it will be.
Wrong.
What makes a brand image effective is the collective nature of consumer perception – as perception and understanding of the brand message becomes continuously reinforced, the message becomes a personal truth that can later be triggered simply by the brand image. The creative challenge is first selecting an image that is easy and compelling to visualize, and then aligning it to a brand message that is important to the target.
This is the hardest to implement at the beginning, when the product “brand “ is unknown. The company or product brand needs to develop “ownership” of its attribute as its differentiation against the competition. The challenge is that in the current overloaded media environment, all the most obvious attributes of value – faster, cheaper, more effective, ad infinitum, have been utilized to the point of overkill. From shields and umbrellas for protection to a bulls-eye for precision to a DNA strand for biotech – images that have become banal, tired and ineffective, certainly not smartly differentiating the product.
Consequently new imagery must be created that is not as directly obviously connected to the attribute desired. The connection now has to be built more subtly, but no less effectively. Unfortunately, this requires heavy lifting – more creativity, longer campaigns, more repetition, more expense. But when it works, it works.
For example, look at Nike. This famous ad campaign does not even show the shoes. It talks about unleashing the power of initiative, showing a photo of any athletic effort with the “swoosh” logo and the phrase “Do it”. This is great branding, but it must be remembered it is the result of several decades of the same message and image association being repeated millions if not billions of times.
The most powerful visual branding is not simply a function of the image itself, but also always the context of that image. This context is developed by the verbal support of that imagery, the positioning and messaging. The heavy lifting comes from continuously reinforcing that message and image/word association long enough to imbed it into the audience consciousness. This is where repetition comes in. Break-out brand imagery now requires subtlety, the courage to go with the obscure, and the guts to pay the necessary cost.
The best marketing, like everything else, is never easy.