Branding is essentially the lifeblood of any business, falling behind only the capital that is required to start the venture. Branding will impact most facets of the business, specifically marketing and public relations, which entails a lot of visuals and communications with the audience. While graphic designers are a good bet for designs, I am of the belief that photography may be the most effective method of reaching your audience.
Approachability
I’m sure it is no surprise to any of you that I advocate for the use of photography, but I genuinely think that people will relate better to that material over a crafted image. The reason I say this is because we live in a time where people crave authenticity from the brands they follow. Branding photography is an effective marketing tool in that regard. It has the ability to highlight actions and interactions that your brand is taking to progress forward. While marketing materials are usually crafted and targeted towards an audience, which is no small task in itself, some will see that as just another advertisement. A good comparison I can make for this is the old argument of practical effects versus CGI in films and TV series. The advocates for practical effects will always say that the effects sell the movie because it is in front of the actors as they work. Meanwhile, CGI loses a bit of humanity because it is usually clear what it is depicting is not present. Both have their time and place, just like branding photography and marketing materials. Essentially, what I am trying to say is don’t lose the humanity in your brand.
Storytelling
An image is worth a thousand words. This isn’t the first time I’ve spoken on visual storytelling and I doubt it will be the last. Your brand can certainly benefit from visual storytelling by using photography. Conveying to your audience the amount of time has passed within the story you are trying to tell and showing the progress you’ve made in your journey can be powerful if done properly. To give an example, Jeremy Renner was already a well known star before his accident on New Year's Day of 2023. The actor was horrifically injured rescuing his nephew from being crushed by a snowplow. In the accident, he suffered through 38 broken bones, his eye falling out of socket, and was on life support for three or four days (Cobb, 2024). He revealed that his doctors told him that he would never walk again (Ross, 2024). Then he did what no one would have ever expected him to do. He learned how to walk and run again. He did a commercial for Brooks Running Shoes talking about his struggle in a recent advertisement of theirs, using both videos and photographs going through the process of his recovery (Ross, 2024). The outpouring support he has received in the last year and a half has boosted his profile exponentially and it is absolutely deserved.
Conveys Brand Identity
It is your job to understand what your brand identity is. Only you can define what that is through your values, beliefs, and goals. However, how you convey that information is completely up to you! Branding photography is one of the easiest ways to convey that information, which is especially beneficial for the marketing of your business. As I mentioned in the previous two points, it can put a face to the name and tells a story along the way. But what that face says and what that story tells need to align with any publication that your brand releases. Photography is one of the most versatile tools in a marketing capacity. It can convey style, aesthetic, values, and even the lengths you are willing to go to as a brand.
Marketing is one of the most valuable assets to a brand. In so many ways, marketing is the face of the brand, or at least, your brand’s billboard. I hope that in this article that I have conveyed why branding photography is rather crucial to marketing as far as representing the brand. With that in mind, I hope that I have added something to your day and that you have a great week!
All the best,
Logan Clark