We have become a nation quite adept at uploading, downloading, creating and sharing photos, videos and even mini-movies. Visual images are powerful advertising and promotional tools when used to create customer buzz, share your farm story or document a product’s journey from seed to sale.
As we have all learned however, some visual images are a great deal more interesting than others. Photojournalists and marketing professionals refer to the three C’s of image marketing — Colorful, Captivating and Concise.

Especially in direct marketing, colorful displays attract attention and establish a strong connection between buyer and seller. Farmers’ market guidebooks refer to utilizing many layers of colors to sell seasonal produce and value-added products. Likewise, attractive colorful photography, whether through print or social media, attracts a potential buyer to take another look.
Color is just the first step. Visual images must also be captivating enough to retain a customer’s attention as well as keep him interested in learning more. Online data aggregators know the longer a looker stays on a web page or researches information through a company’s promotional items, the greater the chance of a sale. A captivating photo or art piece makes us stop and look closer. That is what you want from all potential customers, to look again, ask questions, become involved and fall in love with your product.
Concise advertising and promotion ideas look to achieve getting the message across quickly and without having to use a lot of words or explanations. We’ve all seen ads that stress the product alone without much commentary — it is one of the top ways to promote luxury items such as cars, watches, sports equipment, perfume and jewelry. It is also becoming a popular advertising mechanism for food and wine. Picture a bowl of fresh berries, wheels of cheese, bottles of wines and piles of specialty vegetables. Restaurant advertising utilizes the color, captivating and concise methods of promotion to attract a wide-range of buyers. And, when pictures, art and images are not available or cannot be used in other forms of media, delightful word pictures kick our imaginations into overdrive.
Whatever the images, quality of product or service cannot be overlooked. All the pretty pictures in the world will not make up for inferior goods. Customers will notice immediately if the product you are displaying does not match the visual concept.
One of the most thoughtful ways visual imaging is being used by direct marketers today is to enhance product traceability. Customers want to know how their food is produced and where it comes from. Videos and mini-movies of your production sequence offer customers one more reason to feel secure in buying your product or coming to your venue. If you tell the story with integrity, customers will sense your interest in offering a top quality product that you believe in.
We have come into an age when almost everyone has some type of equipment to capture, collect and utilize wonderful images to achieve maximum customer interest and loyalty. While random images may draw interest for a short time, taking the time to plan how to best present visual images to enhance your advertising and marketing plans is well worth the effort. Storyboards at farmers’ markets, print ads in local food guides, photos for customer newsletters and mini-movies for your social media sites all work to tell your unique story and promote quality goods and services which the public will appreciate. Picture it for increased sales!
The above information is presented for educational purposes only and should not be substituted for professional business or legal counseling.