Picture Perfect. The immeasurable value of great photography

The right lighting, a stylist and the right camera angle can do wonders.

OK parents bust out your phones and let me see your kids. They’re in there aren’t they? My guess is you snap shots on your phone all the time: Christmas, Halloween, at the beach, with the new puppy. You know... the spontaneous cute stuff. So you have all these wonderful pictures now and they really capture some special moments. Great. So I guess there’s really no need to pay for school pictures, athletic-team pictures, professional family portraits or wedding photographers. Right? Wrong.

Better is better and professional photography is way better. Let me illustrate. Which of these images does a better job of selling steak? If it’s my money I’m buying option A.

Marketing is all about perception... which steak would you rather have?

Look, you hired a creative partner to help you sell your steak. Don’t handcuff us with crappy photography. If your sales organization wants to snap a few shots, let them. You know, the spontaneous cute stuff. Social media is a great outlet for timely, less-than-perfect shots of that nature. If you need the money shot – pay for it. And if you want your marketing to succeed in the long run, let me make a few suggestions:

- Budget for photography ever year (keep up and you won’t have to catch up)
- Let your creative partner suggest what needs to be shot and how to shoot it
- If your creative partner can’t or won’t manage your image – fire them

A big part of our job is to present your organization in the most positive light possible. We’re just trying to sell your steak. And although there’s definitively more to it than a pretty picture, that pretty picture is a huge asset.

Let the vampires rest in peace

The vampires have gone too far.

There’s a Super Bowl television spot that’s sticking in my craw. It’s the one Audi did promoting their super-bright headlights. Here’s what concerns me. We’re being completely overrun by vampires. Not literally, but certainly creatively. Look, I’m sure the Twilight groupies will be upset with me. But I think someone should put a stake in the heart of all the vampire stuff for a while. Let’s give the vampires a slice of the eternal rest that they’ve earned. We’ve run them ragged in this century. Unlike the Bela Lugosi archetype that set the standard for many decades, today’s vampires are impossibly good looking, stylish and usually inexplicably wealthy. Oh and they speak with perfect diction - no more Transylvanian accent. Fellow marketing people, we can do better. There are still plenty of very fertile character types that are just waiting to be dusted off and used again. Feel free to clip the list and post it on your office wall. Since I generated the list, some characters have become overused - it happens that fast. The good news is there's still a lot to work with.

Partial List of Approved Cliché Characters 

Aliens                        

Cowboys

The Dutch (no wooden shoes please)

Scandinavians (except chefs) 

Door-to-door Salesmen

Redheaded Children (avoid the obese... very touchy)

Dumb Athletes (men only)

Smart Athletes

Accountants

Rock Stars

Soccer Moms

Twins

The Very Buxom

Southerners

Northerners

West Coasters

East Coasters

Inept Husbands

Ninja Seniors

Super Intelligent Dogs

Super Intelligent Cats

Talking babies

Anything New Jersey

Buxom Twins

Clichés will always have a place in advertising because of their immediacy and universal nature. But once a cliché becomes overused, it ceases to grab our attention. At that point, you might as well be selling pet rocks. So mix in a ninja senior once in awhile… if you’ve got the gumption, go for the redheaded child. Sure they’re temperamental, but man do they move product. 

It's not for everybody

I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly...

Ron Burgundy

That's one of the many lines I love from the movie, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. I like scotch too... or rather I learned to like scotch over time. Scotch is the Jack Kerouac's On the Road of liquor. The first encounter may leave you wondering what all the fuss is about. You might even hate it. It takes time and a deliberate effort to appreciate both art forms. Admittedly, scotch the brand won me over long before I learned to appreciate the taste of it.

If you happen to be a teetotaler, forgive me. I’m not endorsing drinking (although it’s pretty awesome once you get the hang of it), I’m merely making a point about branding. Despite the myriad of scotch varieties and distilleries, over the centuries the category as a whole has developed a distinct and unified brand identity. Unlike other general categories like cars, or beef or even beer, the very idea of scotch generates strong and very specific associations. Intuitively we think of Scotland, kilts and thrifty old men. Think a little longer and the associations get more layered and complex: success, decorum, taste and even exclusivity. It's a truly aspirational spirit, but it’s not for everyone.

Had the Scots set out to make a product that was loved by everybody, it's pretty likely they would have produced something closer to sangria. And while the Bud Light drinkers will most certainly always outnumber the scotch drinkers. I think the scotch drinkers are pretty okay with that. The key to the scotch brand has been its ability to create a band of loyal brand idealists. They attract and hold the kind of people who research the product and then talk about it. They actually seek out other loyalists just so they can compare notes. Time and consistency are glacial forces and they’ve carved out an indelible impression for this brand. There’s a flip side to that the coin as well, because we also have pretty clear idea of what the brand is not. Thankfully we’ll never have to endure the following:

1. A scotch "brand experience pavilion" at a Spring Break destination
2. Scotch-lite.
3. Fruit-flavored brand extensions.
4. A Single-Malt NASCAR
5. A scotch Cinco de Mayo promotional display

Like minted coins, a new batch of drinkers enters circulation every day. Some will stick to appletinis, Jaegerbombs and blush wines for the rest of their lives. Nobody in Scotland will miss them. The lesson scotch can teach us as marketers, is that not every customer can be our customer. And that's okay.

Delivering the brand in 4 minutes or less

I love sandwiches.

Admittedly however, I hate the process of actually making them. So I buy them. The other day I ordered a sandwich at my local Jimmie Johns. I challenge you to find a better 4-minute brand experience. I don’t think there was an employee in the place over the age of 21. They were smiling and laughing. Some were singing along to the radio. I had found a tribe of happy sandwich makers and they were earnestly toiling away on my customized Italian Night Club. I had just enough time to walk the ten feet to get my straw when a member of the tribe handed me my sandwich. It was wrapped up tight in its handsome paper wrapper. It felt so nice and heavy. My well-trained mouth filled with a Pavlovian drool response as soon I felt the heft of meat fill my hand. Like the many, many before it, I knew this sandwich was going to be great. Ultimately I keep going back because I really like their food... okay and I like the price. But here’s why I love Jimmie Johns, especially my Jimmie Johns. As the teen-punk hands me my sandwich he shoots me this smug little sideways glance and says:

“A number 9, no onions, with peps and sprouts? Nice call man… sorry ‘bout the wait.”

Freakishly fast sandwiches AND a side of swagger? That’s a heaping dose of brand payoff stuffed into less time than it takes to listen to most Led Zeppelin songs. They have earned my loyalty and my six bucks. See ya next week boys!

Everybody needs an alter ego… Sprung is ours.

The Beatles did it. Mrs. Robinson did it. Mr. Rogers did it. The need to slip out of a current reality and create a new one is natural. The partners at SPRUNG have worked hard at Arnold/Ostrom Advertising for years. It’s an agency we love and will continue to support. We just need a little release.

A/O is committed to commercial and residential building products

SPRUNG is committed releasing the potential in every business, big or small

A/O promises Creative with Accountability™

SPRUNG advertises freethinking for hire™

SPRUNG, as the name suggests, is all about the release of potential… our clients’ and ours

It’s still early, so for now....