Image advertising is the difference between stagnant, outdated, and overlooked versus vibrant, contemporary, and influential. Remember Apple’s iconic “Think Different” Campaign from the late 90’s? At a time when Apple was overshadowed by giants like IBM and Microsoft, they needed a push to stand out in a crowded market. To do so, Apple launched a campaign that celebrated the rebels, the misfits, and the change-makers, suggesting that their products were not just for the ordinary, but for those who dared to think differently.
This campaign not only resonated with consumers, it marked a turning point in Apple's brand perception. Through a powerful narrative, Apple successfully positioned itself as a brand for innovators and creatives, thereby steering its image from just another tech company to an industry leader that champions uniqueness and disruptive thinking.
What Is Image Advertising?
Defining Image Advertising
Image advertising builds and enhances a brand’s image, reputation, and identity in the minds of consumers, instead of just promoting a specific product or service. It’s supposed to create a favorable perception of the brand as a whole by influencing the feelings, associations, and loyalty of consumers toward it.
While we’ve said that the emphasis here is to create a memorable brand image, a well-executed image ad campaign should seamlessly integrate the brand’s story, its product offerings, and the tangible benefits consumers can expect. The aim is not to hard sell or list product features, but the main selling point revolves around the product or service and how it fits into the consumer's life.
Key Aspects of Effective Image Advertising
Effective image advertising doesn’t just fall into place, let's look at some strategies that work:
Visual Appeal and Branding
You have 8.25 seconds to make an impression, according to research, and authenticity is playing a huge role today. Consumers tend to gravitate towards brands that feel genuine, relatable, and human-centered. The challenge now is to communicate this authenticity through visual elements. So let’s start with the fundamentals:
- The right color palette is significant in establishing an association
- Using eye-catching fonts enhances clarity and memorability
- Strategic use of whitespace ensures that the primary message comes out
- Simplicity is the most important; simple designs usually communicate more effectively
These factors can provide a creative edge and still ensure that the essence of your brand is obvious in every visual touchpoint.
Target Audience and Messaging
Remember that with image advertising, you're trying to create a perception or association in people's minds with your products/services, so you need to clearly define the “who”. Who is your target audience, what do they value and how can you create a story around that? The first step is to define your objectives, is it brand awareness, product sales, or engagement?
After that:
- Review data from previous campaigns to see who is already engaging with your brand and the most receptive to your messaging
- Create detailed profiles of your ideal audience; demographics, behaviour, interests
- Conduct surveys or gather information from current customers to understand what attracts them to your brand
- Engage in social listening to see how different audience segments react to your brand or industry
With this data, it’s easier to get into the minds of your target audience and move them in the direction you want them to go.
Design of Image Advertising
The design of your image advertising will directly influence how your audience receives and perceives your brand’s message; it's closely entwined with the visual appeal that we discussed earlier. A good example is Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, which inspires athletes to push their limits and achieve their personal best.
When promoting this message, Nike uses designs that are both powerful and minimalist. They use strong, expressive imagery of athletes in motion, often juxtaposed with their iconic slogan in bold typography. The campaign became an instant success because it focused on capturing the raw emotion and drive of sporting endeavors, making each ad resonate with individuals, whether they were casual joggers or professional athletes.
Using Digital Signage in Image Advertising
As more brands continue to create digital signage content, advertising is shifting from static displays to dynamic content. The strength of digital signage lies in its contextual relevance and adaptability. It allows you to respond in real time to environmental cues or societal shifts which in turn reinforces your brand identity.
Merging the adaptability of digital signage with your already meticulous ad design is a powerful tool for engagement and effective communication.
Real examples of Image Advertising in Digital Signage
- Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign: The idea was to form a bond with consumers by inspiring collective moments of joy. The campaign ran on the digital signage of various malls and public spaces showcasing names on Coke bottles, urging consumers to find and share a Coke with their name or the name of a loved one.
- McDonald’s digital campaign that reacted to the weather: This campaign launched in the UK in 2018 and used MET Office data to predict April’s fluctuating weather. The campaign used McDonald's menu items as weather symbols; a burger for the sun and fries for rain, among other icons, highlighting April's unpredictable weather. This menu transformation enabled McDonald's to integrate itself as an integral and relatable part of everyday life by evoking feelings of warmth, comfort, and familiarity.
Launch Your Image Advertising Digital Signage With Look DS
If nothing else, think about how your association of certain moments with a brand makes it your instinctive choice every time. The power of image advertising is apparent in our daily lives and it gets better with digital signage. Here at Look, we offer you the finest solution of digital signage software. It makes the implementation of your ad campaign easier and more effective. You get access to:
- A user-friendly interface for quick ad design and deployment
- Ready-to-use templates to align with your brand’s look and feel
- Instant and remote content changes for timely messaging among others
We offer a 14-day trial period that gives you access to all the features so you can take your business to the next level.
