Stock photography is widely seen of as unimaginative and uninspiring. We needed to challenge the perception in high profile Creative Directors and Art Directors by telling them that Getty Images Prestige Collection images inspire beautiful storytelling.

Every great picture tells a thousand words. To show the story-telling power of Getty Images Prestige Collection, we crafted a series of stories of exactly one thousand words. Each inspired by a different Getty image. The stories were crafted into a limited edition series of posters (180 of each story), printed on a super premium paper stock, and sent to advertising creatives via courier or a Getty Sales Representative over a six-week period.

The “A Thousand Words” collection demonstrated something powerful to Getty Images’ tough target audience. The stories brought to life an image that the reader had not yet seen but instead had imagined through the power of story-telling – therefore reinforcing the inspirational nature of Getty Images Prestige Collection. This is the first communication Getty has undertaken that has not featured the images themselves but rather what an image can make you feel.

The direct mail campaign generated a response rate of 4.6%, with each visitor viewing exactly 2 pages and spending an average of 3 minutes and 38 seconds on the landing page; the best of the posters held people’s attention for 7 minutes and 21 seconds.