🎓 When to use real vs unrealistic product images

Real (or realistic) images increase attention on your product’s key benefits and drawbacks (e.g. how healthy or effective it is). Unrealistic images reduce it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 September 19, 2023 | [Read Online]( When to use real vs unrealistic product images Real (or realistic) images increase attention on your product’s key benefits and drawbacks (e.g. how healthy or effective it is). Unrealistic images reduce it. [Thomas McKinlay]( [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20Ariyh&body=When%20to%20use%20real%20vs%20unrealistic%20product%20images%3A%20Real%20%28or%20realistic%29%20images%20increase%20attention%20on%20your%20product%E2%80%99s%20key%20benefits%20and%20drawbacks%20%28e.g.%20how%20healthy%20or%20effective%20it%20is%29.%20Unrealistic%20images%20reduce%20it.%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fariyh.beehiiv.com%2Fp%2Freal-vs-unrealistic-images) New to [Ariyh](? This is a 3min practical summary of a scientific study 🎓 Join 21,933 evidence-based marketers that grow using science, not opinions 📈 [Subscribe here]( 📢 Hiring: Want to help me build and grow Ariyh? Earn 💰 while you learn 🎓 Both roles can be done on the side of your full-time job and are flexible and fully remote. 🔬 Marketing PhD analyst - Help me analyze and translate the latest science (note: you don’t need to be an excellent writer) - Sounds interesting? Read more and fill out this short form [here]( 💰 Advertising sales - Help me find prospects and sell advertisements in Ariyh and additional services - Sounds interesting? Read more and fill out this short form [here]( 📝 Intro You’re a brand manager deciding which images to use on the packaging of your new cereal. You have two main options: - A realistic photo of the cereal in a bowl of milk, slightly touched up to showcase the textures of the cereal. - A cartoon-style animated bowl of cereal, with sparkles around the fruit clusters and a waterfall of milk pouring into the bowl. Which one should you choose? It depends on what you want to highlight - or minimize - about your product. P.S.: Here are [6 more recommendations]( on how to optimize your product images (as a free sample of [Ariyh’s Playbook of Ecommerce Optimization]() Previous insight: [The impact of credible vs sketchy marketing]( (more insights [here]() Use realistic photos to highlight your product’s key characteristics. Use unrealistic photos to minimize them Channels: Image Ads | Ads | Packaging For: B2C. Can be tested for B2B Research date: May 2019 📈 Recommendation Use actual or realistic photos (e.g. with minimal retouching) if your product’s core benefits are your key selling point of your products (e.g. healthiness, effectiveness, safety). Use unrealistic images (e.g. animations, cartoons, sketches) if your product’s core characteristics might be a drawback (e.g. not the highest quality) or you want to focus attention elsewhere (e.g. the enjoyable experience). You can use this in your packaging and ads. 🎓 Findings - People have weaker judgments of a product’s key characteristics (positive and negative) when they see unrealistic images of the product. - As part of a series of 7 experiments, people: - Judged a multigrain bread as 17.7% more healthy when they saw an actual image of it (vs a vector graphic with low details) - Rated a cupcake (for which healthiness is not a core feature) as 36.9% healthier when they saw an unrealistic vector graphic of it (vs an actual image) - Ate 28% more potato chips because they were less worried about their health impact when they saw an unrealistic image (graphic with low details and no texture) vs an actual image. - Were shown 5 ads with either realistic or unrealistic images of SUVs. Those seeing realistic images judged the SUVs 15.3% safer. 🧠Why it works - When we see unrealistic images of an item, it’s harder to imagine ourselves using the product compared to when we see an actual image. - When we imagine ourselves using a product [we pay more attention]( to its benefits and drawbacks. - So when we see unrealistic images, we pay less attention to them. 📊 Create accurate SEO forecasts in 5 minutes What do you show clients who ask for an SEO forecast? Ditch those unreliable spreadsheets with hard-to-maintain formulas. With [SEOmonitor’s SEO Forecasting]( you simply: - Add your list of keywords - Select goals and timeframe - Get an estimate of visits and sales [Try it free for 3 months](. Join hundreds of agencies that are using SEOmonitor’s SEO Forecasting to win more pitches with data-driven forecasts. [Try it free for 90 days]( This announcement was sponsored. Want your brand here? [Click here](. ✋ Limitations - The research focused on food products, with one experiment on SUV vehicles. It did not directly test services or experiences. - Some people rely less on images and more on product descriptions or other signals when making judgments about a product. It could be that the effect is weaker for them but this was not tested. 🏢 Companies using this - Functional products (e.g. household cleaning products), tend to use realistic images to highlight the effectiveness of the products. - Unhealthy products such as chocolate drinks, candy, or high-sugar cereals regularly use unrealistic images to make customers less conscious of the health drawbacks. For example, Nesquik uses cartoons of their drink alongside their bunny mascot. - Automakers occasionally use this for compact cars or motorcycles to minimize focus on safety ratings. For example, ads for Honda’s compact Fit feature an animation of the car driving through a colorful background and defying gravity. Quaker Oats’ Chewy Granola Bars, marketed as a healthy snack, uses realistic images throughout their marketing ⚡ Steps to implement - Use realistic images (actual or slightly retouched photos) to make people more conscious of your product's main benefits (e.g. health impact, safety, effectiveness). This can include pictures of your item (e.g. a roll of paper towels, bottle of Kombucha) or your location and service (e.g. spa’s treatment rooms, gym’s equipment). - Use unrealistic images, (cartoons or graphics) if you want to make your customers less conscious of drawbacks. This works well for certain products (e.g. candy, chocolate milk) and fun activities (e.g. video games). 🔍 Study type Lab and online experiments 📖 Research [The Image Realism Effect: The Effect of Unrealistic Product Images in Advertising](. Journal of Advertising (May 2019) 🏫 Researchers - B. Kyu Kim. Yonsei University - Jinhee Choi. Korea University Business School - [Cheryl J. Wakslak](. Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California Remember: This is a scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s [how science works](). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely. Rate today’s insight to help me make Ariyh's next insights 🎓 even more useful 📈 How was today’s insight? [Loved it]( | [Great]( | [Good]( | [Meh]( | [Bad]( - 📘 Supercharge your business with Ariyh’s [Playbook of Pricing & Promotions]( or [Playbook of Ecommerce]( - 📣 Want to advertise on Ariyh? [Here’s all you need to know]( - 🎓 New to Ariyh? -> Subscribe below or read other [3-min marketing insights]( [Subscribe here]( [tw]( [in]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here]( © Ariyh Calle Bailen, 11 Barcelona, Barcelona 08010, Spain [[beehiiv logo]Powered by beehiiv](