CHAPTER10 / VISION: THECLIENT’SPERSPECTIVEClearly, vision plus experience equal trust in buyers’ minds.
In years past, assignment photographers exclusively filled this
need. Has the proliferation of stock photography reached those
photo buyers who seek to meet the branding needs of clients?
Are stock photos impacting this section of the market? Beverly
Adler is quite clear in her response:Stock photography is often just as expensive as
assignment work, and no company that has spent
money, big money, branding is going to risk using stock
photography for major campaigns. The image quality of
stock is getting better and better all the time; however,
it’s the uniqueness factor that clients are after.”
They don’t want to take the chance that the visuals
they purchase have been used elsewhere. They want a
specific vision for their company, one that will speak
their message.BRANDING IDENTITY AND BIG BIZIn order to understand how corporate branding works and
why it has achieved such a monumental place in the advertising
process, let’s look at the automotive industry and see how
branding has affected the advertising process.
Each auto company has created its own brand identity. For
years the Volvo brand revolved around safety. The car was not
overly attractive, yet the safety records were remarkably high.
The company focused on the vehicle’s record for safety, which
led them to determine (after market research) that their
target audience was families. After all, teens and young
adults are not as interested in safety as they are in looks,
speed, and performance. The next factor considered was
economics. As the price point of Volvos was high, the target
family for Volvo was affluent. No trips to Kmart for these
families. They were canoeing, skiing, or trekking to the local
café. Images depicted families in these activities. As Volvo
ad campaigns continued to focus their communication
around the brand message, Volvo, in the minds of buyers,
indeed became synonymous with safety.Chapter 10.qxd 6/25/07 7:17 AM Page 59