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Looks matter

How to drive premium purchase decisions through photography
What does it take to position your product as premium?

Having a quality product to begin with goes without saying. Price is also a clear psychological indicator that tells consumers this product is of higher value. And reinforcing the two is photography.

Expensive products need to ‘look expensive’ and any inconsistencies between what consumers expect to see and what they actually see can be detrimental, not only to the brand but to sales also. To instil trust and drive sales, photography should capture your proposition and accurately reflect the product’s premium value.

Below you can see how we delivered this for Annandale Distillery’s Single Malt Scotch Whisky casks.

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Using insight-led photography to build trust and drive sales

Client: Annandale Distillery

Objective: Re-align the mis-match between price point and proposition and the cask photography

Channels: Photography / Art Direction / Pre- and Post-Production

Results: A suite of high-quality cask images for use across the website (and other channels)

Annandale Distillery is a whisky distillery in southern Scotland. As well as providing whisky tours, tastings and an on-site café to tourists and whisky enthusiasts, their offering also includes the sale of casks – a premium product aimed at whisky connoisseurs that retail on average from £2,580 to £6,380, with 1st edition casks valued at £1 million. However, the customer association with the product price and existing cask photography was not aligned.


A consumer-led approach

Having a quality product to begin with goes without saying. Price is also a clear psychological indicator that tells consumers this product is of higher value. And reinforcing the two is photography.

Expensive products need to ‘look expensive’ and any inconsistencies between what consumers expect to see and what they actually see can be detrimental, not only to the brand but to sales also. To instil trust and drive sales, photography should capture your proposition and accurately reflect the product’s premium value.

Below you can see how we delivered this for Annandale Distillery’s Single Malt Scotch Whisky casks.

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Each persona had different needs and expectations.

The target audience identified for casks was Brad and Steve and they were interested in:

  • The process and detail about different whiskies
  • Guides to the best quality
  • Latest news/updates
  • Cask options
  • The experience of the distillery
  • Learning more about whiskies and cask process

So, to prepare for the photoshoot, we created a shot list that was entirely focused on: heroing the casks; highlighting the cask process and capturing the craftsmanship behind each one; and conveying “authenticity”, “knowledge” and “expertise” to meet the desires of Brad and Steve.

The Results
The Results

Over 130 high quality photographs delivered from a 2-day shoot on location at Annandale Distillery. A suite of photography that:

  1. Stylistically heroes the casks while using lighting, texture and tone to make premium-looking products feel exclusive and high value – all the things our target audience is looking for when making a purchase decision.

  2. Captures the process and detail of whisky-making by focusing on moments and intricate details.

  3. Shows craftsmanship by highlighting the elements that truly hero the craft of Annandale Distillery, including tools used to make whisky.

  4. Communicates the essence of Annandale by using natural light and golden tones inspired from the golden tones found in the sandstone from the Annan and Dumfries areas.

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