The saying “a picture is worth 1,000 words” has special meaning in everyone’s life. To me, pictures help to remind me of how funny my family is, how crazy my friends are, and how cute my dog is. They also remind me that my sister got the photogenic genes in the family, but that’s beside the point. Here at Pro Motion pictures are everything to us, not just to show our life as a guerrilla marketing agency, but also our life as an experiential marketing family.
If you look around our office you’ll find pictures just about everywhere, and when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE. It feels like there is always a new picture task that needs to be accomplished. Around the front desk and in the front of the building we have big pictures from some of our programs including, Sony, Pace, Disney, Tonka, and Corona, just to name a few. These pictures are important because they remind us of the hard work that was put into these field marketing programs to make them so successful. Throughout the office you’ll also find “teambuilding” pictures from our many bonding outings and activities. Not only are they fun because they remind us of all the good times we’ve had together as a Pro Motion family, but it’s also fun to see what Steve and Cathi looked liked circa 1996.
Although pictures can be used for creating fun memories around the office, they also serve another purpose for an event marketing agency. Pictures are used to help report to our clients the success and progress of their specific brand experience. Pictures are uploaded to online reporting sites from all of the experiential marketing events for our clients. Although all these pictures are important, what really matters is finding those few pictures that are perfect for reporting to the client, the true essence of the program. When picking the perfect picture to describe a brand experience there are a few things to look for. The name of the brand should be readily visible somewhere in the pictures. Next, there should be visible interaction between a brand ambassador and a consumer of the targeted demographic. Incorporating interaction and having the brand represented is key to a great picture. Here are a few more things to include in the perfect picture for a client:
- Include the full event setup
- Try to include the retailer in the background (if applicable)
- Include a photo of in-use activities
- Include the crowd watching the demo
- Include photos of interactions with consumers
- Get photos of any in-store displays such as posters, end caps, special display etc.
As a Brand Ambassador it can be difficult to remember to include taking photos as an important part of event activation. In some instances it might be necessary to stage a photo or get someone else to take a picture for you. Most importantly, be creative! Some of the best pictures are the ones that are taken when the Brand Ambassadors are just having a good time taking pictures. Pictures are a great way to showcase the essence of the program and communicate the program’s success to a client. So remember when taking pictures they tell the story of the brand experience so utilize these tips for a picture that’s worth 1,000 experiential marketing words.