Between 5,000 to 10,000 photographs, videos, and graphical ads will appear before you today.  So, whether you read this text on the Tansley website, your social media platform, or your email Inbox, images are vying for your attention. It’s no secret that digital marketing is a tool that Tansley, like many businesses, relies on to thrive in the digital economy.  But, this is not a blog about the overwhelming nature of digital advertising.  Instead, it’s a piece about why some images have the power to reach you and your customers.

German-born theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, coined the phrase, “One picture is worth a thousand words.”  His timeless statement illustrates why marketing campaigns have used imagery to tell a story and sell a product for decades.  However, telling and selling are not the only purposes of an image or a video.  They can also inform, engage and educate in a much more subtle and vital way that personally connects users to an idea and increases the chances of the desired behavior.   

In the late 1990s, the Florida Tobacco Program produced a marketing campaign called “truth.”  The national initiative focused on dissuading teenagers from puffing cigarettes.  The movement cleverly blended haunting images with truths to emphasize tobacco companies’ dishonest ad tactics and the lethal effects of their product.  For example, In the commercial titled “Body Bag,” a large group of students unloads countless body bags from a large truck trailer parked at the corner of a tall office building. Meanwhile, a young man speaks into a megaphone and asks executives gazing from windows above whether they know how many people die from smoking each day.  After the students finish emptying the truck, the man candidly answers his question by explaining to the managers that they’re going to leave the bags on the sidewalk so they “can see what 1,200 people look like.”  The commercial ends with a disturbing overhead image of the 1,200 bodies outside the building.

The anti-smoking campaign prevented kids from buying a product using imagery that provokes connection, education, and awareness.  Several studies published following the campaign revealed that it reduced youth smoking and had a significant impact on the views of the tobacco industry. Furthermore, one study done by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine showed that “just under $1.9 billion in medical costs were averted by society” due to the messaging.  The commercial only took one minute of a viewer’s time, but it made a lasting impression that altered youth behavior across the nation.

Although the initiative’s budget was healthy, it was the creative strategy that made it successful. The designers behind the truth movement understood that the target teen audience was aware of the dangers of tobacco but were still attracted to the drug as a symbol of revolt.  Skillfully, the ad creators focused on tapping into the youth’s longing for revolution by empowering the teens to rise against the tobacco industry’s lies instead of their parents’ rules.  By merging the images of teens placing body bags outside a corporate tobacco building with an unforgettable truth, the ad provided knowledge, consciousness and showcased an act of defiance that other youth could understand and endorse.  Connecting images with personal beliefs make an audience feel understood and empowered to follow.  Understandably, it is a powerful tactic that businesses can implement to reach their customers.

The strength, speed, and reach of digital marketing content are increasing every day. Social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have amplified marketing messaging by empowering personal and commercial users to share photos and short-form videos instantly.  The popularity and connective reach of the platforms make communication with images and motion pictures the norm.  Consequently, companies that don’t use poignant photographs and videos to engage, educate, and inspire their audiences will not reach them. 

Companies do not need large budgets to create effective image-based content to take advantage of digital marketing channels.  Most businesses have plenty of existing content to repurpose or license compelling royalty-free stock photos and video for a small fee.  The three most important aspects of creating an effective marketing campaign are: (1) understanding the audience you are trying to reach, (2) determining what behavior you want to evoke, and finally (3) being creative.  Like those who designed the truth campaign, marketing mavens follow this simple formula to produce a meaningful message that achieves lasting results.

When you finish this blog, you’ll open your email or browser or flip through your social media feed and see your daily dose of digital marketing.   I challenge you to take a moment and think about what content sparks an emotional reaction in you.  Ask yourself what elements in the image or video stir your mind and cause you to believe.  Chances are, it’s a personal connection and responsiveness to a new idea or a truth that you did not know. Whatever it is, the picture stirred a thousand words in your mind that made you pause.  And, when content motivates you to stop and think, you are more likely to care. It’s why Apple used Albert Einstein’s image in their successful “Think Different.” campaign. The photo directly links his characteristics to the type of customer that purchases and uses Apple products.  Like Einstein said, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” when used effectively, it invokes the emotions that make customers respond.  Please contact us if you are interested in learning how Tansley can help you create content to reach your audience.