Thursday, March 29, 2007

Marketing we admire – Jones Lang LaSalle’s staff shots loop

It is not possible to capture in a still, but JLL's loop of staff shots - casual, light-hearted, flattering - is an example of, among other things, excellent photography being combined with solid web design. See it for yourself on http://www.joneslanglasalle.ie/ and worth taking lessons from.

Head & Shoulder company shots are a real problem in marketing terms, in that they can very easily give an unintended impression. Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, interpretation of facial expressions & general appearance is highly subjective.

With estate agents having such a poor public image, the use of such shots is even more problematic. The urge to present ones team of agents as friendly, trustworthy and professional is very understandable in this situation, but doing it successfully requires more effort and money than seems to be widely realised among property companies.

The photographer who took the JLL shot clearly knew what she was at, and I would guess did not come cheap. The creative director (if there was one) knew what was required and gave brilliant guidance and managed the proceedings very well, which again would not have been cheap. The web designers, too, knew how to treat the results of the shoot (although there might be room for improvement in some respects) and undoubtedly charged handsomely. And finally, JLL knew that in order to achieve that elusive balance in the shots, they would have to get the right people and work well with them, and evidently chose well & carefully by giving it the time & energy & money required.

Bottom line: pay peanuts … get monkeys.

Other bottom line? Suppliers are sometimes only as good as the client's project management skills.

No comments: