Images as Marketing Means

An image is the first choice when it comes to convey information within a short time. Images are very popular because they inform within seconds:

• "We nearly always look at images first"
• "Images are taken in faster. The key message of an image can be grasped at a single glance"
• "Images are credible. They are very convincing"
• "Images are learned faster"
   
  From: Erfolgreiche Anzeigen, Meyer-Hentschel Management Consulting, Wiesbaden 1993, p. 18

For your information: The course of sight of the eye while looking on a page:

• Image before text
• Persons before landscapes or backgrounds
• Face before body; first of all eyes, mouth, nose
• Striking elements before unobtrusive ones
  (Striking elements are big or colorful ones or those placed in the middle of the page. Furthermore elements which contrast strongly with the background.)
• The eye prefers to move downwards and to the right. We avoid looking "backwards".

Images represent the perfect instrument for making a start page faster. Even if it is "merely" the portrait of the owner of the company: A professional photo is a considerable benefit for a web site. So particularly start pages should not be furnished with colored shapes and text alone, but also with a well-chosen image.
The image can then unfold its activating effect, and this effect alone will enhance the page's attractiveness. The importance of such activating stimuli and the various categories of stimuli are described on the page Our Daily Activation. The image layout should ideally include one or more of the previously mentioned stimuli.
 
You should also see to it that the image can be remembered very easily. The image should therefor be very specific and not too complex. A practical check: If it is possible to completely describe the subject of the image with one sentence (of max. 15 words), the image meets the criteria of being specific and not too complex.
The memo value can furthermore be increased if the image shows the product benefits/advantages or other essential information. Images describing the usefulness of a product have a particularly high memo value.
 
The associations (memories, impressions, feelings, color associations) aroused by the image should possibly be positive.
"A promising advertisement must definitely trigger off positive associations. This is a precondition for the onlookers to further concern themselves thoroughly with the advertisement."
Kroeber-Riehl, 1984, p. 270