Case Study: Citymove Removalists

Group shot of removalists in front of Citymove truck in Mascot Sydney

Citymove is one of the largest and most recognisable home removalists in Sydney. With their bright pink trucks, along with matching uniforms, you really can’t help but notice them. We were called in to provide Headshots and Business Lifestyle Photography. It was also one of our favorite photo shoots. After all, how often do you get to shoot pink trucks?

There is actually a very good reason the trucks are pink.

Removals and relocations is one of those industries with cowboys and horror stories. From dirty and battered trucks to trucks late or not turning up, to damaged or missing belongings, to prices skyrocketing once your things are loaded onto their trucks.

Citymove provides a professional, reliable, and friendly team for your moves. Their motto is to bring respect, dignity, and integrity to moving. The pink is a strategic part of the company branding. It sends a message of safe, clean, and female friendly. They are proud of what they do and will not hide.

It had been a couple of years since their last headshots, and now they needed some new imagery across their collateral which sends the same message of reliability to their potential clients.

We worked together to define the target market, which was women and families who wanted a company they could feel comfortable with moving their personal things. We needed to send a message of professionalism and trustworthiness, to go with the message that trucks will be on time, things will be moved carefully and efficiently.

We started with the executive staff. Each with a different role in managing things in the office and on the road, we wanted to capture their sense of professionalism and competence in getting the job done. However there’s also the other side of each staff member, the human side. They are friendly, empathetic, and approachable. You can come to them with your problems and they will be there to help.

Having these profile photographs helps clients put a face to the person on the other side of the phone, whom they may work with several times but never meet in real life. It helps new clients relate to them and builds an extra bit of confidence and trust.

You will notice that we did these shots outside with the trucks as the background. The trucks are a big part of the brand. Although we were outside, we used several lights to give a consistent clean look. In the future if there were any extra staff, we could set up the same lighting and get a shot that matched the existing photographs.

Next it was the shots of the road staff and trucks. We selected 2 of the smaller trucks because of the scale of the photographs. We wanted it to look personal rather than having staff dwarfed by huge trucks or a fleet of 8 trucks. It was important to show they were big enough to handle the larger jobs, but small enough they would take personal care of client belongings as their own.

We did several different shots, from web banners to promotional images. Different angles and compositions lend itself to different forms of media, and there was also the consideration for any promotional text that may need to be inserted. The guys were really cool with trying out different things.

In each of the shots, we used lighting to make sure the people popped off the screen. It’s subtle, and not meant to be in-your-face. If you had just taken a shot with your phone, the people would have blended into the trucks. You wouldn’t get that connection with your viewers. Clients can always tell when a professional shot is used, even if they can’t explain why.

The trucks being real truck, were of course not in perfect condition. As you’ll see in our outdoor photoshoot editing example, we cleaned up the trucks’ surfaces just a little, without turning it into a fake plastic look. We cleaned up the surrounding environment a little too. Just a little, so that it still looks real and connects with the client. It is important to find the right balance of authenticity so that you don’t end up with a fake stock photo that turns clients off.

Does your brand offer a superior service?

With the internet, brands are vying for the consumer’s attention. You may offer a far superior service to your competitors, but how can you convey that in the 2 second attention span of your audience?

With a captivating photograph, you can immediately convey trust and likeability in a split second. That’s all it takes, to get your client to click through and read about your services. Studies have shown that replacing a stock photograph with a real one increased conversions on that page by 45%. How much would that be worth to you?

Executive Images provides Professional Branding Photography at your Sydney business location. Contact us now and let us help you discover how you can show off your brand.

For your pack, move, and storage needs, feel confident in using Citymove.