New Getty Images Report Reveals Where Finance Brands Can Strengthen Marketing Effectiveness with More Relevant Visual Content

NEW YORK, June 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Getty Images (NYSE:GETY), a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace, today released its latest report – The Great Finance Reset - from its VisualGPS global insights platform. The findings identify where Finance brands can strengthen their content and increase return on investment with their visual strategies.

In a category where trust is a fundamental currency, Finance brands are uniquely positioned to strengthen marketing performance by closing the gap between current imagery and how consumers actually live, earn, and aspire. For decades, the industry relied on a familiar visual vocabulary: handshakes across boardroom tables, suited advisors in polished office settings, and aspirational symbols of material wealth. The industry’s visual communication has an opportunity to align with how people actually live, earn, and manage money today – increasing credibility and engagement.

The report’s proprietary data and consumer research reveal clear areas where targeted changes can improve trust, engagement, and marketing efficiency.

Key insights from the report include:

Reflect the many paths to wealth: By 2030, over $1.9 trillion of wealth will be passed down to a younger, more diverse generation, including more women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people. According to the report, 3 in 4 visuals currently used by Finance brands depict white-collar work, with only 7% featuring blue-collar or service occupations that primarily picture people alone. The broader definition of wealth is also shifting with American consumers, with 70% defining wealth through experiences rather than possessions. Brands that reflect this shift are better positioned to build lasting relevance with the audiences that will define the industry’s next chapter.

Build trust in uncertain times: 2 in 3 Americans believe inflation is making everyday necessities unaffordable.  And the expectation is that the private sector has a role to play in this, with 8 in 10 Americans believing companies have an obligation to help improve society. Finance brands are uniquely positioned to meet that expectation through credible, grounded visual storytelling that reflects the imperfections of life and complexity of lived financial experiences. Reflecting this reality builds stronger brand trust and more effective, credible communications.

Close the content gap: 78% of Americans consider video the most engaging visual format, yet only 11% of Finance brand visuals are video, one of the highest-performing formats available. Similarly, 88% of Americans manage their finances digitally, yet only 9% of technology visuals depict someone actually managing their finances. Brands that are actively working to close these gaps will build stronger engagement and a more efficient marketing engine.

Show aspiration as it is: 75% of consumers want Finance brands to show realistic depictions of everyday life, and 68% prefer finding joy in simple pleasures over major achievements. The established visual codes of luxury no longer reflect how most Americans think about financial success and read as inauthentic and undesirable. Making this shift will allow brands to build deeper emotional connections with audiences whose relationship to wealth looks nothing like previous generations.

Bring AI to life in human terms: Searches by Finance brands "AI" on Getty Images grew 34% year-over-year in 2025, yet only 11% of consumers believe AI related imagery is appropriate in Finance marketing. The opportunity lies in moving beyond the abstract, cool-toned depictions toward human, relatable imagery that shows AI’s real-world impact on the industry, from fraud detection to financial planning. The brands that humanize the real-world impacts of AI on daily life will own the trust advantage that comes with it.

"The world is in the midst of a major reset: chaos is abounding from big swings across our sociocultural, technological, economic, political, and social dimensions of life. What we aspire to as a society looks radically different today in comparison to even a few years ago. And we’re shifting gears into some pretty seismic innovations in AI that looks like it will transform the world as we know it. All these signals will have a profound influence on visual culture, and the Finance sector is uniquely positioned for the major visual change people want to see. That’s why this is the perfect moment to start to rethink strategies for choosing visuals that resonate today and tomorrow - and Getty Images is here to give brands the tools, direction, and data to confidently make that shift," said Tristen Norman, Head of Creative for the Americas at Getty Images.

Getty Images has unique visibility into what visual content performs, based on how Finance brands select, use, and reuse imagery across channels. Ineffective imagery is not neutral, it reduces trust, limits engagement, and lowers return on marketing investment. The Great Finance Reset gives Finance brands the data and direction to close that gap.

To download the full report, see here.

Methodology:

Getty Images’ VisualGPS methodology combines consumer insight with real-world usage data to understand what visual content performs.

The analysis draws on proprietary search and download behavior across Getty Images and iStock (+ 2.8 billion searches each year), representing how brands actively select, use, and reuse imagery across channels – alongside global research conducted in partnership with world-class global research firm MarketCast.

For this report, the dataset includes over 750,000 images and videos downloaded by US Finance brands over a 3-year period, with over 10,000 search queries analyzed by in-house creative experts, and survey responses from more than 3,200+ US consumers.

This combination of observed behavior and consumer sentiment provides a clear view of where visual strategies align with – or diverge from – how audiences experience finance today.

About Getty Images:

Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) is a preeminent global visual content creator and marketplace that offers a full range of content solutions to meet the needs of any customer around the globe, no matter their size. Through its Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash brands, websites and APIs, Getty Images serves customers in almost every country in the world and is the first-place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with over 600,000 content creators and over 360 content partners to deliver this powerful and comprehensive content. Each year Getty Images covers more than 160,000 news, sport and entertainment events providing depth and breadth of coverage that is unmatched. Getty Images maintains one of the largest and best privately-owned photographic archives in the world with millions of images dating back to the beginning of photography.

Through its best-in-class creative library and Custom Content solutions, Getty Images helps customers elevate their creativity and entire end-to-end creative process to find the right visual for any need. With the adoption and distribution of generative AI technologies and tools trained on permissioned content that include indemnification and perpetual, worldwide usage rights, Getty Images and iStock customers can use text to image generation to ideate and create commercially safe compelling visuals, further expanding Getty Images capabilities to deliver exactly what customers are looking for.

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Media Contact:

Alex Lazarou

alex.lazarou@gettyimages.com