The simple ingredients of an ad
Welcome to July. Have you ever come across an ad during your daily routine that piques your curiosity? Maybe it was a television commercial about sleep apnea during your morning coffee that made you want to switch to decaf? Perhaps it was a through-provoking billboard promoting an electric vehicle that has you reconsidering your present gas guzzler as you sat in gridlock?
Whatever the medium, be it newspaper, magazine, digital ads viewed on desktop computers or mobile devices, ads that are well crafted, strategically aimed at your customer, and creatively engaging, can help your business build brand recognition. Your brand can be your company, a product, or even you.
Most research suggests we are bombarded by 5000 to 10,000 ads daily. Back in the seventies, it was in the hundreds. Times have changed and marketers are finding more and more clever ways to grab your attention. And your wallet. So how do we create advertising that will stand out and compete? If your ad, in whatever form, does not catch the attention of your intended customer, you’re wasting your valuable time and money and falling behind your competition.
Take this publication for example. Each month you’ll see ads on retail fashion to legal/financial services and community events. These ads seek to grab readers’ attention with their products/services. Some ads are more effective than others. An ad must communicate simple and emotionally. Here are my tried and tested “must” design principles you can start with when creating a print ad:
- Use a single compelling image — sear it into the viewers’ mind;
- Combine the image with a clever headline of no more than 7-10 words;
- Write a sentence or two about a single brand attribute and create a compelling ‘ask’ or call-to-action;
- Make your logo visible and include your URL.
Ask yourself if it will be remembered? There you have it. You must keep it simple, clean, directed at your target audience and above all entertaining. Impregnate brains with your brand for immediate or future consideration and you’ll be off on the right foot in growing your customer base.
Until next month, keep it memorable.
Cheers, mark.
