Superheroes, Cocktails and Sports Cars: The Benefits of Image-Based Brand Surveys

If you’re like me, you kind of cringe when asked to take a survey. 

To ensure the success of our clients’ survey efforts, we strive to stay updated on emerging trends. At Able&Co., we offer a unique tool—an image-based survey—that allows us to delve deeper into our clients’ brands. You may be familiar with image-based surveys where respondents select or rank various items, such as choosing preferred travel destinations or ranking favorite superheroes.

In general, image-based surveys have several benefits compared to traditional data collection tools:

• Higher levels of engagement — image-based surveys are more fun to answer, so you tend to get a higher response rate than you would with a traditional survey.
• Higher quality responses — due to the higher levels of engagement, survey takers are less likely to be bored and turn in straight-line answers or randomly chosen answers.
• Simple and more clear to understand — if you ask someone what their favorite shade of blue is, it’s helpful to have the color right there to choose from, instead of text only.
• More data — because more survey respondents complete this type of survey, the volume of responses tends to be higher.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Pictures evoke emotions on a subconscious level, leading survey participants to choose the image that resonates most with them as their response to the survey question. Our image-based brand surveys have proven to be exceptionally effective in uncovering insights about your brand that traditional methods may overlook.

This method aligns with the understanding that a brand is primarily about the emotional connection individuals have with it. Although intangible and challenging to measure, it encapsulates the feelings associated with personal experiences or relationships with the brand, which are often difficult to express in words.

Tailored to each client, our image-based brand survey features nine categories, each accompanied by a curated selection of images designed to evoke emotions. It operates similarly to asking, “If your brand were a car, what type of car would it be?” However, in this survey, we present images of cars for respondents to choose from.

Benefits

In our brand surveys, we adopt a more comprehensive approach compared to traditional methods, which often concentrate solely on external factors. What sets our survey apart is its inclusion of questions about the survey taker’s perceptions of internal aspects like organizational infrastructure, financing or employee perception.

For some individuals, lengthy essay-type responses in questionnaires can be daunting. Concerns about providing the “correct” answer in a professional setting or discomfort in articulating feelings may arise. With an image-based survey, participants simply select a picture, making the process more accessible and less intimidating.

The Results

In most cases, the top two images chosen by survey takers represent 40-50% of all the responses! This trend highlights the significant influence that specific images wield over respondents’ perceptions of a brand, underscoring the importance of visual communication in brand strategy. By analyzing the dominant themes and emotions evoked by these top-selected images, we gain invaluable insights into the core values and associations that resonate most strongly with your target audience. Understanding these preferences allows us to tailor your brand messaging and visual identity to maximize engagement and resonance with your audience.

Eager to unlock the power of visual storytelling and gain a deeper understanding of how your brand is perceived? Let’s collaborate to craft a compelling visual narrative that captivates hearts and minds and propels your brand toward greater success and connections.