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August 18, 2006
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. Isn’t it?
We’ve heard this for so many years that it seems like it must be true. Homilies, old wives tales, The Farmers Almanac. Yup, good stuff. So when it comes to branding, we think the answer is… yes… sometimes. Certainly there are reasonable arguments for this – and virtually any other popular position. According to Allen Adamson of branding giant Landor Associates. “Visual prompts make it possible to capture an idea so precise in intent it can unite and drive all brand actions and communications.”
In his article Traditional Brand Positioning Can't Last, Adamson waxes eloquent on the subject: “If you look up and see rafters, consider a bit of visual positioning. What you'll discover as you look and learn is that you can't really say what you mean about your brand until you can see what you mean.” Adamson visualizes a drive through (now highly-developed) Colorado, seeing thousands of identical rooftops. “In order to position your brand above the vast see of rooftops, one cannot merely string Hemingway like sentences along a product; one must visually capture the essence of what your brand breathes.”
Yes, brands are driven by pictures. Emotive, captivating, exhilarating, and more; depending entirely on your brand’s position. The fact is, brands are driven by words and experiences as much as – if not more than – pictures. It’s driven, in short, by anything that will help your audience (a marketing speak way of saying your customers, your prospects, employees and investors, in one short word) “connect” with your organization.
To be honest, I kind of wish he’d used a picture for this article instead of all these “Hemingway-like” sentences. I mean, I’ve been reading this stuff (along with student essays) for years. Deep stuff. But don’t forget: Brands also have to get to the point…..
Posted by at 18.08.2006 09:14 | Permalink
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