The art of the photo op

This is the first in a line of blogs for this year's new PR students to cover some basic PR approaches.

Ahhh, look at the cute penguin! He's on some scales! Bless! It's at London Zoo! They're doing their annual audit! Haven't been there for ages...looks much cleaner and nicer than I remember...may pop in next time I'm in London...

This is the art of the photo op (opportunity): an image that a journalist or blogger wants to use in a newspaper, mag, blog, Facebook stream, twitter feed...any medium, because it makes their readers happy. It makes the reader happy because it makes them smile, gasp, wince, cry, gawp, lust, grimace, laugh or have some similarly emotional rush in an otherwise dull day and, ideally, share. That makes the journalist or blogger happy because happy readers want more and will continue to come back and maybe even pay for the privilege. And it makes the brand, in this case London Zoo, happy because they just got pages of coverage in largely credible media for the cost of a digital photo.

Here's another good one. Ordinary guy on the left, yep? Wait there, is he wiping his face on or off on the right there? That's weird. Oh!! He's the guy out of that Lady Gaga video, Zombie Boy (aka Rick Genest) who has all the skeleton tattoos and the concealer make-up is actually the stuff that make him look 'normal'. Dermablend you say? Wow, that stuff must really work... And there it is in the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, on fashion blogs,  and across the internet...

And how to make the most of your photo op? The beauty of this Dermabland one is that it is clearly about the BRAND - and it shows how well the brand does its job.

Some brands - those already loved by the public - can simply get away with light hearted and prominent use of their imagery (see Homer Simpson nestling up to the Cerne Abbas giant down in Dorset for one great example timed to launch the Simpson's movie). Others need to use celebrities, famous places such as the Thames in London, the latest fad or fashion, or an image that provokes a strong emotional response - because they're trying to be newsworthy and get space in a competitive media environment. More on that at a later date...

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words - and as long as those words include your brand name in a favourable light, you should be very happy.

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