DO YOU NEED A HERO IMAGE?
We’re not talking dressing up as Superman or Wonder Woman and taking a selfie here, we’re talking shop (and online shop to be precise).
There’s no more crowded a marketplace than the online retail one. Standing out and getting your key messages across to the time strapped customer on a 150 pixel square thumbnail image is no mean feat. That is where hero images come into play… Often when your product packaging is simply shrunk down to fit the thumbnail image, key elements that are perfectly legible at 100% or viewed in the flesh, become too small to read or fine detail is lost. Not good, particularly if your potential customer doesn't have perfect eyesight!
The Mobile Ready Hero Image (MRHI) is a question of clarity
Hero images are digital versions of your product(s) distilled down to their most important parts so that they are still recognisable but can be much simpler. It may have important features enlarged, and less relevant ones removed so that when it is viewed as a thumbnail on a web page or on a mobile, it satisfies the 4Ws.
- Who is the brand?
- What is the product?
- Which variety is it?
- HoW much of it is there?
In order to achieve greater clarity, some retailers allow off-pack information, using the space around the packaging to highlight key elements further. Cambridge Engineering Design Centre have produced a set of guidelines that many retailers have adopted, in order to create a level playing field, and stop brands using the hero images as a marketing space.
To see exactly what we mean, feel free to interact with the image below we created for Treat Yo' Self. If you think your product shot isn’t heroic enough then look no further, get in touch for a chat and we’ll see what we can do!
FAQ's
As we said, hero images are not compulsory but you’ll be missing a trick without them! The best thing to do is get in touch so that we can discuss (no pressure).
If you are selling your product/s online and you need to convey key selling points in an instant then yes a hero image is for you. They’re not essential but they are extremely useful for the end user trying to compare similar products.
Hero images allow you to put the focus on key information about your product that will increase your chances of a sale. They allow the product image to be small but ensure elements that need to be legible are able to be read.
Not at all! Hero images can be created for less than you think, depending on complexity and whether editable artwork is supplied or has been created by us.
