IMAGES

How often in a day do you hear the word 'Image'? I hear it all the time. The telly discusses images of this and that, advertisers promote an image of a product, countries portray images of a lifestyle they say is unique to them. Shops, that for the most part sell the same stuff, try to create an image that will attract you into their store. Fashion tries to convince you to look and act like someone else. Politicians set out to create an image that will win your vote. Banks that once had an image of integrity and stability now are viewed very differently. Governments employ spin doctors to create images that will convince us that all is well, when we know it isn't. It seems that we live in a world where images rule and smoke and mirrors are the order of the day. Creating images has become big business, marketing companies and advertising agents are now quoted on the stock exchanges of the world. In the modern day an image can be created by intelligent use of inexpensive web-sites at a modest cost whereas it once cost millions using traditional media.

Amongst the many definitions of the word 'Image' in The Concise Oxford Dictionary ' are the following; "Artificial imitation of the external form of an object" etc and "Simile, metaphor, mental representation; idea, conception character of thing or person as perceived by the public."

I raise the matter having just returned form a shopping expedition with my wife. I watched the shoppers as they made their choices. From a huge variety of products on every shelf they chose without hesitation, they didn't all chose the same thing of course. Some chose the brand leader, others chose differently, some chose the own label brands. I wondered what made them decide on their choices, most would have been repeat purchases but what made them buy that product or that brand in the first place? It couldn't have been knowledge of the product. What made them want to try something different, something new? Evidence of their willingness to do so was all around, products from all over the world filled the shelves. To convince shoppers to consider new products or brands, manufacturers first detect the desire for change and then create and offer something that will enhance, reflect or contribute to the lifestyle of the buyers, or what the buyers perceive their lifestyle to be. Perhaps they buy into the image of the product or brand, promoted through intelligent marketing and precisely targeted advertising, see themselves as part of the image created around the products they buy and the places they buy them from. Certainly from experience I have seen images created and watched in astonishment as the creators began to believe in the images they had just created.

It's not new of course, images are created in every walk of life and always have been. Most don't stand up to close scrutiny. Think of the 'Hollywood Image', how all the film stars were glammed up, smoked ciggies all the time and the 'American Way' was sold in every movie. Now we know that the stars had feet of clay, the American Way is very different to the screen version, smoking ciggies kills you and those enormous cars guzzle gas like crazy. Closer to home, newspapers, magazines and the telly create all sorts of images that, thank goodness, bear no relationship to reality. The recent scandal of MP's expenses give the image that all of them are on the take or bent, of course they are not, most are honourable and hard working. Coming even closer to home I couldn't help noticing how scruffy many of the younger people in the street now look. What image are they trying to portray? Men that look as though they haven't washed or shaved for weeks, women who totter along on high heels they haven't learned to walk in and who have their bellies hanging out in front and their behinds struggling to escape from trousers that are both too tight and too small. What image is that supposed to represent? I saw one young woman with at least six or seven pieces of metal attached to her face in various shapes and sizes. Whoever sold that image must have been recovering from a very heavy night out!

Companies, politics, products, individuals, all have so many facets it's often difficult to know the reality. One thing is certain; it is very important to create the image that reflects your true persona whether in a personal or professional position, and to maintain it carefully because if you do not, an image will somehow develop of it's own volition, and it may not be the one you want!