Getty Images’ newly released VisualGPS Insights tool will help businesses develop content strategies backed up with data and visual guidance to promote inclusivity.

VisualGPS Insights is a “reference point” for the images and topics over 825,000 brands globally are using to communicate with their audiences and allows brands to view, compare and analyse over 2.5 billion annual searches and download queries from GettyImages.com and iStock for visual guidance.

This allows businesses of all sizes to make creative decisions that will be received well by diverse audiences and help small businesses and freelancers choose relevant visual concepts that resonate regionally.

This offering is a technological leap for Getty Images. It leverages real-time visual trends, which gives businesses a strategic tool to drive market differentiation by exploring and understanding relative interest in particular content queries.

Global trends and visual insights are accessible through graphs, charts and heat maps showing industries, regions and timeframes. Users can also compare two terms to find intersections between trending topics and popular images, illustrations and videos.

While research from Getty Images shows that most consumers (63%) are not noticing an increase in diversity (Black, Hispanic, Asian, South Asian, Indigenous, Muslim, LGBTQ+, women) portrayed or represented in the media or advertising compared to a year ago, this highlights the importance of continuing the onward march of more diverse visual representation to the point where it becomes the norm, and thus, unnoticeable.

With this in mind, businesses have a responsibility to choose visual content that truly represents society and engages with more diverse audiences.

Dr Rebecca Swift, Global Head of Creative Insights at Getty Images and iStock, said: “From speaking with businesses and agencies of all sizes, we realised how many of them were scared to get it wrong with their visual content. Whether brands are looking to diversify their image choices or finding insights that magnify their marketing results, this tool will help businesses of all sizes make more informed decisions on their visual strategy.”

Candace Marks, Senior Director, Product Management at Getty Images and iStock, added: “VisualGPS Insights goes beyond predicting visual trends. It allows our customers to access proprietary data at their fingertips that fuels insights that are most relevant to them, their brand, and their audience. This tool can be used to assist our customers through the creative process, inject innovative ideas and defend their strategies to final decision-makers.”

Nikki Darden, Head of Internal Brand Engagement and Global Integration at Citi, an early adopter of the tool, said: “We’ve worked closely with our friends at Getty Images over the last year to develop data-backed, actionable guidance through our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Imagery toolkits, driven by valuable insights from their global VisualGPS research. These insights have given our colleagues around the world the confidence to make inclusive and authentic visual choices in their creative assets.

“VisualGPS Insights will continue to build on the rich insights of the legacy research, making it that much easier for our teams to validate visual choices across our creative strategies and continue to create broader impact through authentic representation in the imagery we use.”

The VisualGPS Insights tool is free for all iStock and Getty Images registered customers worldwide. Once registered, users can access the tool here.