Thursday 19 September 2013

Three Steps to a Successful Brand Audit.



Take a good look at your business – how does your brand look now?

Before looking at brand experience spend some valuable time doing a brand audit. If we don’t know where we are coming from, we cannot effectively plan for the exciting future ahead.

  • ·      Assess your digital readiness and your desire for innovation
  • ·      Know your customers and how they perceive your brand.
  • ·      Look at where you are and take stock of social and content marketing assets and capabilities.


Think about where you wish to be within your marketplace. Discuss how you feel about a digital campaign, what you want to say about your company and gain management approval for the strategy.


Do you know your customer?

Having a clear understanding of what you are trying to achieve is very important. For example, your view of your brand could be very different to your customers’ view. How they perceive your brand is the more critical but sometimes business owners and managers fail to appreciate this. The customers’ opinion is paramount and may be very different to your own.

You can pay out thousands of pounds for market research - alternatively you can follow a carefully planned and implemented campaign to raise your brand awareness.


How to easily raise your brand awareness and build your customer base.

Customers wish to be associated with a brand. They “Like” your brand page on Facebook, they “Follow” your brand on Twitter, they “Connect” with your brand and follow you on LinkedIn.

If your customers “follow”, “like” and “connect” with your brand, the message is quickly disseminated to other potential clients via the social media. It is now an interactive experience where customers build a relationship with your brand.


In part 2 see how to effectively engage with your audience in order to increase the impact of your brand experience.

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Alistair's visual journey - Update "Luther"


If you were looking very carefully at the location of my last post on shooting for Christy and Clarissa Hulse you may have thought it familiar. It featured in the recent TV series "Luther" on the BBC, as John Luther's apartment and it featured quite significantly.



As we are constantly working all over the country in many top locations we can give you the best advice on the effective use of locations to advertise your products in the most contemporary way.
This particular location is Mastershipwrights in London SE8 which we found via SHOOTFACTORY.co.uk. So the next time you are thinking of location photography and video keep Ikon Photography in mind.

I loved the atmosphere and mood of the TV series, so it is worth a view when you have the time, don't you just love Alice ;)

Alistair

Thursday 17 May 2012

Alistair’s Visual Journey.

As a creative person I find inspiration in everything around me.
Today, when I looked out of the window of our hilltop studio at the structure and pattern of the trees across the road, I was reminded of a recent photographic shoot.
Inspiration
This scene struck a chord – the way the light combined with the form and texture of the landscape echoed the stunning textile work created for one our favourite clients, Christy.
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The company was launching a new range of towels designed by Clarissa Hulse. For those of you who are not familiar with her work, she is one of the leading lights in the British textile scene. Her designs combine elements of nature with a passion for colour. You can find out more about Clarissa and her influences by following this link to The Clarissa Hulse Story.
Clarissa’s designs are an imaginative breath of fresh air. They are a pleasure to shoot, with natural elements used in harmony with splashes of bold colour. The tasteful designs lift the spirits and inject a touch of passion into the world.
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In order to do the designs justice we worked closely with stylist Hannah Deacon and the client to provide the right setting for the textiles. An old, converted riverside building proved to be an ideal choice of location. Although not what would first spring to mind, the muted tones of the distressed interior and its naturalness provided a perfect backdrop for Clarissa’s stunning designs.
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Over many years Ikon Photography has developed unrivalled experience in textile photography, bringing out the best in the fabrics we shoot for clients who value the passion and attention to detail we devote to every commission. We are always up to date with the latest trends in the market and because we are passionate about our work we are able to deliver unique, creative photography to help our clients emphasise the desirability of their products to potential purchasers.
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The next time you look out of the window try taking my kind of visual journey. Let the landscape be your inspiration - you never know where it may lead you!

Friday 10 February 2012

John “Melts his shoes”

You could be forgiven for thinking that this is a scene from JRR Tolkien’s fantasy, The Lord of the Rings. The Orc’s are preparing for battle, fires burn in the heart of Mordor.
www.ikonindustrialphotography.co.uk
Ikon’s John Cooper recently tackled this tricky industrial photography assignment to photograph one of the Midlands few remaining Blast Furnaces. This pipe manufacturing business is one of Britain's success stories exporting as far China and South Africa. The brief in this situation was to highlight the industrial process for web marketing and promotion. The environment was a tough one to work in, something an experienced industrial photographer can take in their stride.
Firstly, you need the experience to see the possibilities in your minds eye and then you must be able ( or sometimes willing ) to go the extra mile to find the angle and put yourself in a position to get the shot.
You often have to work quickly and efficiently as the situation you find yourself in is restrictive, certainly the case here. As John was working he could feel the heat coming through the soles of his boots and just as he finished he could feel the soles becoming sticky.
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Ikon Industrial Photography are well used to this type of photographic commission, our experience is not just in taking pictures but knowing the correct approach.
Please have a look at our new industrial website http://www.ikonindustrialphotography.co.uk/ to see some of the other situations we have encountered, hopefully keeping our footwear intact.

Friday 8 April 2011

Holiday Camera Recommendation.

Spring is here and summer is on its way, holidays are on the horizon.
When we are not in the studio shooting roomset photography in the dark, it’s nice to get outside with the lighter evenings.
Often as professionals our clients ask us to recommend a camera that would take good pictures (and increasingly, video) for their holidays etc.
My recommendation would be the Canon G12, I have friends with this and previous incarnations and all are very pleased with it.

You might be tempted to go to the more “professional looking” 35mm style cameras with interchangeable lenses etc. My advice would be to go with this camera as it is high quality, portable (no kit bag to lug around with extra lenses etc) and the chances of getting dust on the sensor is next to nil as the lens is built in.
Check out Canons website HERE and then look on Amazon HERE for a good price.
If you want anymore advice call us at Ikon Photography on 0161 480 3456
Happy snapping
Alistair

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Ikon Photography - New Website Launch

Hello everyone, its been a while!!!

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website, http://www.ikonphotography.co.uk/

The aim of the site was to more clearly convey what we can do through creative photography with easy links to our galleries. We intend to publish advice and tips on all things photographic on our blog.

Ikon photography are ideally positioned to offer quality professional photography in market sectors such as location photography, roomset photography, industrial photography & food photography.

We can handle most assignments in our 4000sq ft photographic studio, with easy access and ample parking, just off the M60 in Stockport.

We would welcome any feedback you might have and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards
The Ikon Team.

Thursday 15 November 2007

Ikon "Paints it Pink"

Over the past few months, Ikon photographer John Cooper has photographed Models, Sports and TV personalities for The Genesis Appeal.

The Genesis Appeal is dedicated to prevention and creating a future without breast cancer.

To start with John travelled to London to photograph Jerry Hall who is lending her support to the campaign.

A few weeks later he photographed Manchester City Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, son of the Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel.

More recently some of the girls from the cast of Hollyoaks have become John's latest subjects.