Even if you weren't a huge sports fan back in the 1990s, if you lived in the United States and owned a television, you may not have known the name, but you certainly knew the face of international tennis hall of famer Andre Agassi.
The reason for that is simple; beginning in 1990, Agassi starred in one of the decade’s most iconic advertising campaigns; Canon’s ‘Image is Everything’ television commercials for the brand’s EOS Rebel cameras.
In the commercials, which were aired throughout the mid 90s, Agassi could be seen playing tennis in the desert, driving Lamborghinis, and hanging out on the Las Vegas strip with his trademark black sunglasses on—all while only saying three simple words, “Image is Everything.”
Although Agassi’s statement referred to the images captured on Rebel camera lenses, the campaign was extremely successful and is considered one of the best slogans of the 90s—not just because Andre Agassi was a sex symbol to millions of women around the world; the campaign was a huge hit because in such a pretentious-driven society, many people agreed with Agassi that image truly is everything.
I’ll let you be the judge of whether or not image actually is everything. However, when it comes to your brand’s website—you’ll have a tough time finding things that are more important than the images displayed on it.
What difference does your website’s images make?
Much like a tennis match, the harsh reality of business is that in pretty much every instance, there are no draws. Therefore, when it comes to winning a potential customer’s business at a particular time, only one brand can be victorious.
And which brand is the one most likely to raise its proverbial hand in victory after securing a satisfied customer? I’ll give you a hint, it isn’t the brand with the best products or services. It’s the brand that gets closest to the customer emotionally.
That leads us to our next question, how does a brand gets closest to customers emotionally? The way to do that is by becoming the brand that is the most relatable to its target audience.
And what people relate to more than anything else is familiarity. That means your brand must talk their language. Understand what they like and dislike. And in this case, be aesthetically congruent with how they see themselves now or in the future.
It is for those reasons, the images displayed on your brand’s website are so important. Your website is one of the first places consumers will turn to find out more about your brand. And the images that they see displayed on your website will influence the way they'll perceive your brand.
Which is why it is imperative that you are intentional with the images featured on your brand's website so that the public's perception of your brand is an accurate reflection of how you want your brand to be perceived.
How images shape brand perception
Whether it’s the likeness of those who appear in your brand’s advertising, social media influencers that your brand collaborates with, or the photos of those displayed on your brand’s website, images of people (not just products) is the thing that will reinforce whatever your copy on your website or in your advertising says about your brand.
“What a brand needs is a visual that reinforces its verbal positioning concept.” Writes author and brand positioning expert Laura Ries, in her book, Visual Hammer. “The visual attracts the attention of the right side of the brain which sends a message to the left side of the brain to read or listen to the words associated with the visual.”
Great brands understand this, and make it a priority to ensure that every image on their website coincides with how visitors, and even more importantly, their target audience—will perceive their brand.
But don’t just take my word for it. Visit the websites of fashion brands like: Calvin Klein, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, or Versace, and you’ll see that the likenesses of those displayed on their websites are reflective and aligned with how they want their brand to be perceived by their target audience.
What you will not see on any of those websites are middle-aged guys with dad bods (no disrespect to middle-aged guys guys with dad bods). That’s because those brands understand the power that images have on shaping their audience's perception.
Which is why they make a concerted effort to ensure that all images displayed on their websites are reflective of their target audience and what that audience aspires to become. As a result, those brands have remained relatable to their respective target audiences.
Selecting the proper images for your brand’s website
Need help selecting images for your website that’ll resonate with your brand's target audience and shape a proper perception of your brand in their eyes? Don't worry, we’ll help you do just that by providing or analyzing the perfect images for your website that’ll make your brand far more relatable to its target audience.
Contact us today and schedule a client interview so that we can begin the process of connecting your brand even closer to customers.