Today’s business-to-business (B2B) food ingredient marketers know an abundance of high-quality images available at a minimal cost — and they’re only a click away. Since stock images are easy to download for next to nothing, you may question the value of original photography. Why spend the time and money on a custom photo shoot when you can get what you want for an affordable price online? It’s all part of communicating to your customers that you understand their wants and needs, which helps strengthen and support your brand and messages.
While stock photography can be a nice fallback if you’re dealing with a limited budget or time restraints, there’s no denying the value of having custom photos. Before downloading your next stock file, consider the following perks of investing in a custom photo shoot.
Getting the Details Just Right
One of the biggest benefits of investing in a photo shoot is the ability to highlight the details associated with your ingredients including how they perform in specific applications. For example, perhaps you want to draw attention to a certain texture on a baked good or emphasize a certain color on a meat application. Chances are you’re not going to find exactly what you’re looking for by scrolling through stock photography. And in today’s competitive market, “good enough” just won’t cut it. Communicating these important details can go far with research chefs and food scientists, who know how food is supposed to look when it’s made with quality ingredients.
Presenting a Professional Company to your Customers
An important part of building a unified brand message is making sure the images you’re using throughout your marketing tactics have a similar look and feel. When you shoot original photography, this is another aspect under your control. You (or your art director) are the one(s) who can decide what kind of lighting is best to show off your applications, what type of angles you need for your marketing materials and what is best for your brand. A consistent style unifies your marketing materials and helps strengthen your overall brand message.
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Custom Photography
When making your marketing materials truly one-of-a-kind, royalty-free imagery can’t compete with original photography. You may be tempted to go after a great value on a high-quality image, but anyone — including your competitors — may have already downloaded the same image. There’s no way to tell who else has downloaded a royalty-free photograph or how they used it. With original photography, you control where and how a shot is used, helping to distinguish your brand from competitors further.
Showing Innovative Applications
Original photography allows you to capture unique product concepts that show your company is on the pulse of the latest trends. This is especially important when marketing to food manufacturers who are constantly seeking to develop innovative creations. Presenting novel concepts to product developers is a key part to winning them over and getting them to think of your company as a thought leader. With stock photography, you’ll be less likely to find innovative applications that show your company’s creative vision and abilities.
Investing in a photo shoot helps arm your business with a unique image style that you can use in all your marketing materials. Think of it as a cohesive and powerful digital footprint that helps set you apart from the competition. At the end of the day, stock photography can’t compete with the uniqueness, flexibility and creativity offered through custom photography.
Contact us to learn more about optimizing your creative and media to increase brand awareness and generate more leads.