A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words (and a whole lot more to financial marketers)
06/25/2008

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
(and a whole lot more to financial marketers)
 

By Kip Fry

• Getty Images Inc., Releases New Study-- Tends in Visual Communications within Financial Services Marketing
• New Bellwether for Directional Guidance in Financial Marketing
• Ten Key Trends Identified, Directional Advice Offered to Financial Ad Leaders
• Download Report Now (No Charge): http://imagery.gettyimages.com/FinancialServices/usa/index.html?esource=JFAM_FM_USA

 
 
In 1921, Fred R. Barnard wrote in an advertising trade journal called Printer’s Ink that “one look is worth a thousand words.” His catch phrase was later adjusted by him in an ad to read, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”* This expression has become commonplace in the English language. Somewhat reminiscent of a Chinese proverb, rumor has it that Barnard intentionally attributed his new slogan to a Chinese proverb to lend credibility to his statement. After all, he was promoting the use of images in advertising.
 

Although it appears that Confucius was not the idea man behind this famous adage, it is more relevant than ever to 21st century advertising. 

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what could hundreds of thousands of images possibly be worth to the financial marketing industry? Could they offer significant meaning to a student of human behavior? Can the study of the images that financial advertising professionals choose to place in their work suggest visual trends in the financial services marketing industry today? Getty Images has proven that the answer is “yes.” More importantly, Getty Images has offered guidance to financial marketing professionals based on these very trends.

Getty Images is an industry-leading digital media provider to millions of professionals. The company believes that the collective wisdom of its clientele (agency and marketing professionals) can be tapped to provide the financial advertising industry with glimpses into the state of visual communications and suggest key directions in which it is heading.

Getty Images' analysis applies concepts and findings from the macro level in what it calls “MAP” reports, which take their name from the mantra, “Everything that happens in the world makes a picture.” Developed from the work of the company's global creative research team, the reports are underpinned by analysis of the searches and choices of more than 1.5 million creative professionals on their website, as well as the review of thousands of tear sheets, commercials and other websites.

 As a result, Getty Images has developed a detailed analysis that points out the visual trends that are developing in the financial services marketing industry in a report titled “Risky Business: Opportunity and Visual Communications in Financial Services.”

“‘Risky Business’ is unique in that it recognizes the forces out of the consumer’s control and recommends how that translates visually,” commented Denise Waggoner, vice president for creative research at Getty Images.

Risk is just one of 10 key elements that the creative researchers have uncovered, which can be personified through images. Many customers tend to avoid it, while others thrive on it and, as a result, seek it out. In that sense, it is balanced. “We are seeing less imagery centered purely on the concepts of adventure and fun.” the report states. “When we do see adventure, it is held steady by concepts such as balance and challenge.”

The report showcases a print ad for Allianz, the worldwide insurance and asset management company that shows a sailboat with the caption: “Knowing when to turn is essential. It’s what keeps your business in safe hands.” The sailboat dominates the top half of the ad, while a photo of a wheel is on the bottom. What could be the boat’s wheel is actually the lock of an immense bank safe. The boat represents the risk while the wheel (whichever form you want to take) is the solution. “You can take risks knowing you are in safe hands; there’s a balance of risk and safety. In terms of messaging, it’s a home run,” the report concludes. “Risk is not only significant to specific financial service products, but it is now an integral part of the culture at large, and quality imagery is core to communications around risk, providing an effective emotional anchor.”

“I was surprised at the emergence of risk as a positive concept; that it was tied to knowledge and expertise and not with being careless. I thought what a lovely and fresh way to approach an image and a communication,” comments Waggoner.

Pictures must also be balanced, what Getty calls the “anchorage” of the picture. This gives the viewers a sense of security in a time when they feel vulnerable and in peril. “Those wanting to establish a deeper and lasting connection with consumers need to work with imagery around solidity and balance,” the report states. 

These different features can work together to tell a story visually. If a consumer feels uncertain about what he or she is looking at, images can bring ideas together into something concrete and understandable. People will see much more of this in the future and will help make themes seem more approachable. The writers of the report consider it to be “the most compelling” form of communications and is an continuation of the testimonial trend, a visual style that was identified several years ago.

“Visual storytelling immediately emotionally engages, and creates the impression of direction, of character and the pleasure of resolution,” the report says. “In a world where consumers are constantly on the go, pressed for time, never quite able to clear their desks, visual storytelling presents the gift of completeness, of an ending.”

There are seven other factors that come into play. Getty Images has also found that portraits are among their best sellers and provide a certain amount of connection, intimacy and solidity. These are “all virtues you would associate with trust and credibility,” two components that are crucial when marketing financial institutions. In fact, among the company's top 500 selling images, more than half (51 percent) are portraits.

When looking at financial advertising, it is no longer common to see pictures of company executives. More likely, the images will be of what is known as “Guru Joe.” This is defined as “an individual who is confident, who knows what he is doing and where he is going, and who people can trust and connect with.”

Nader Ashway, president and CEO of The Ashway Group in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., sees this as a major component of modern advertising.

“While we once used to put the most beautiful and interesting looking people in our ads, we now show average, uninteresting or even unattractive people in part due to a recognition of the previous strategy’s failure, and in part, due to the trust trend,” he says. “You can’t really trust a supermodel to be genuine, but you can probably get a straight answer out of Average Joe.” 

Several other types of specific images are becoming more noticeable. Pictures of women symbolize consistency, loyalty and security, while niche celebrities are used in areas of their own expertise. This will “generate a meaningful brand experience,” according to the report. 

Images of people multitasking in the office are less visible than those of people. Many images in 2008 center on workers doing one task and doing it well. The old trend of trying to do several jobs at the same time is no longer applicable. So the imagery shows them doing just one thing--monotasking. Multitasking simply stressed out too many people in the workplace. That is not what advertisers want to show, especially in the corporate world.

It also has played a large role in the financial workplace as Ashway asserts.

“It (multitasking) started with the big bad ’80s and almost hedonistic financial aspirations to the even bigger realization in the 1990s of what’s financially possible with the dot boom,” Ashway says. “It just got bigger and bigger and bigger, and then, as in a flash of dust blown by a closing door, we’re back to single-mindedness, and peace and tranquility and the simple pleasures that a financial life may someday afford. It’s like going back to your bedroom from childhood – while it looks remarkably different, it’s clear that the room hasn’t changed. You have. And that’s what I see with this slight shift, or realignment, in financial advertising: We’ve changed and that makes all the difference in the way we’ll communicate on a commercial level.” 

There is also an attraction to baby boomers. As opposed to many people who seek out things nostalgic, boomers do not want to live in earlier eras. They simply like the adventure of living in 2008 and discovering everything it has to offer culturally. They are not so apt to be moved by images from earlier eras because they must be put into other contexts. 

Finally, despite all the recent emphasis on the environment, green issues have not really been addressed in finserv advertising. Anything with that theme should be relevant and credible. One way to do that is with animals. 

The way that happens, according to the report, is when the animals represent something like wisdom. Or maybe it is the law of the jungle, much like the old Dreyfus ads from the ’50s with the lion roaming Wall Street so nonchalantly. But as can be seen with the GEICO gecko and the Aflac duck, creatures can mean so much more.

How does this all work together?

When things get too risky for consumers, they are apt to look for anchorage. They want to find a place in their world that they like and in which they are comfortable, otherwise known as “nesting.” As a result, pictures are often taken of things that are in balance, because that is what people seek for their own lives.

Perhaps one of the most successful financial ad campaigns going these days is the “Priceless” series for MasterCard. It captures both the essence of commerce and the human story that makes it so appealing. Getty states: “You can trust the company as an institution, but it’s the human stuff that has true value, real currency. MasterCard’s campaign is a case study in visual and emotional engagement.”

Waggoner sees the research as being helpful for understanding imagery. “We have the opportunity to ask ourselves how marketers and advertisers are communicating in China, Brazil, Japan, Germany, India, (the) U.S., (the) U.K., and Australia,” she said. “It’s these things combined that teach us how to breathe visual life into a statistic. That’s what we’re trying to do here.” 

This sort of data is especially thrilling for Waggoner to have in her hands.

“We’re in this really unique and very exciting position to visually look back at where we came from. To literally look at where we are today, study where we are today, listen to what’s going on today and determine where we might go tomorrow.” she said.

So what does all this mean to financial advertising? Getty discusses what is called the X2 economy (eXperience times eXpectation). When we go to a movie, our experience in the darkened theater depends on the expectations we hold going into it. This can be used in advertising, as well. Consumers expect certain things from brands they are purchasing (the experience), and this can be seen through the image.

If a picture is so valuable, what could hundreds of thousands of images possibly be worth to the financial marketing industry? It might not be advisable to count the answer in dollars, but instead with the insight, direction and advice they provide.

Out of the 10 trends that Getty Images pointed to in its “Risky Business” study, there is guidance to share as well. Getty Images believes that there are a number of visual concepts in which advertisers and clients in the financial services sector need to present themselves over the next 18 months. These are the categories toward which the visual language is moving. That list includes balance, connection, dedication, dreams, excellence, expertise, future, goals, growth, guidance, innovation, integrity, journey, leadership, nurturing, partnership, reliability, responsive, service, teamwork, togetherness, trust, vision and winning. 

There are also many variables that can affect the interpretation of visual imagery. People need to remember that the many geopolitical events that take place around the world every day, such as rising gas prices and the war in Iraq, make a large a large difference in how we understand things, according to Waggoner.

“We respond to pictures differently in times of great confidence versus the less certain times we feel we are living in now,” she says. That may be the biggest variable of all. 

To download a copy (at no charge) of this image-rich PDF report go to: http://imagery.gettyimages.com/FinancialServices/usa/index.html?esource=JFAM_FM_USA.

Words don’t do justice to what you’ll see.

 

 

 

Getty Images is an industry-leading digital media provider offering award-winning images, assignment photography, video and film footage, music and flexible services to help you work more effectively. Getty Images serves business customers in more than 100 countries and its products are found each day in the full range of traditional and digital media worldwide.

 

Risky Business: Opportunity and Visual Communications in Financial Services" is available for download, at no charge, at: http://imagery.gettyimages.com/FinancialServices/usa/index.html?esource=JFAM_FM_USA.
 
*Printers' Ink, 8 Dec., 1921, p. 96. and March 10, 1927, p. 114