I need some adv. help...
Submitted by serenalove on Thu, 08/17/2006 - 14:27.
Jessica
just an idea - but I studied charity fundraising at uni in the UK and a brilliant Ad I saw was for a visual disability charity that basically had a page Ad with a paragraph of writing with font size about 6/8 in the centre of the page that was almost white (greyish)!
Drawing the eye and gaining curiosity from the reader! Perhaps it could read something like - small words make a difference - that sounds corny as hell but you get what im trying to say!
Like the Ads though - although i*d agree you could lose some bits - like the Advs and Dis on the back! Anyone ripped off will be fuelled with anger and you won*t need to highlight that!
Mike
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I*m new the advertising world and I need some advice and suggestions and how to best tackle this problem
I*m doing some work for a friend who is starting up his own internet company. He wants me to design some ads for him and put them in our local newspapers, billboards and some other materials. The problem I*m having is, he wants to put paragraphs and paragraphs of text in this one ad (two sided 81/2 x 11 full color piece) and I keep telling him that no one will read all that. I am having difficulty putting together an ad that will list the most important features, advantages and benefits of the website...but it*s SO much! I keep editing and taking out text, but my friend insists that certain information be in ad, but like I said, it*s SO much information because there is so much about his website that needs to be said. Does any know of any good websites or advertisements that give good examples of informational advertising? If there is anyone who is experienced in advertising, consumer behavior, marketing or whatnot and would be kind enough to offer some advice on the current ad I have designed that would be helpful too.
Thanks,
Jessica
Hi there,
Very clever copywriters can make a *long copy* print ad interesting (and even fun), but that takes a high degree of skill and crafting. It still requires a high degree of clarity for the reader.
However, perhaps your client doesn*t understand the concepts of the SMP (Single Minded Proposition), and the USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
Surely, as his product / service seems to reside in a web environment, the most important thing for your ATL ad campaign to do is to raise awareness and interest (even intrigue?) in the product / service, and have a really clear CALL TO ACTION on all ATL elements.
This CALL TO ACTION should drive the interested prospect to a page within your client*s website (or even a campaign microsite), where he / you can then take the visitor through the product / service in much more detail, in a relevant and engaging way.
Remember, any prospect who bothers to type in the URL from a CLEAR CALL TO ACTION, has already displayed some real interest in what is on offer - this person is far more likely to take the time to find out more, because they*ve CHOSEN to engage with the information.
hope this helps
What stealthman said.
The best place for oodles and oodles of content is your friend*s website. That way if someone wants to go and read more, they can (and get all the nitty gritty details there).
Granted it is possible that someone might read all that copy he wants to put in there, if it*s well written and if the piece is going in something highly targeted where you know for sure that they are interested in what is being offered. That also involves a headline and design that will draw them in and get them looking at it rather than all the competitor ads that would be surrounding in the newspaper, etc.
He/She*s not asking for all that info to be put on the billboard, I hope. Suggest going somewhere in the middle between the amount of text on the billboard (should be between 7-10 words, if that) and what you*re looking at now. Show them other newspaper ads. One good place to look is http//www.nmauk.co.uk/ - they have some good examples for newspaper ads. Also check out http//www.the-annas.co.uk/nma/do/anna
yes i agree with previous posts... your job should be to get people interested in this website and direct them to it ... if you give out all the information about it too quickly it might even have a negative effect.
Hey guys,
Thanks for all your wonderful advice. The problem I face now is trying to convince my friend that he shouldn*t put so many messages in one ad and that more information should be on the website instead.
I am actually going to attach the ad he wanted me to do to show you what type of problem I*m having. Its a two sided insert that will stick out of a monthly NH magazine and that pretty much has nothing but ads in it. Feel free to tear it apart and critique it if you wish. It*s difficult for me because I have no team and I*m very inexperienced when it comes to designing ads - especially for companies that no one knows about yet. But if any one would like to offer some comments on what they think about this ad that would be VERY helpful.
(Ps. My buddy feels that the list of scams NEEDS to be on the ad and that list alone will help attract people to the website. Do you agree?)
Front of Ad
(this piece will have a headline "Another Scam in NH" that sticks out at the top past the height demensions of the magazine)
img336.imageshack.us/img336/1856/ymafadfrontqj7.gif
Back of Ad
img193.imageshack.us/img193/7637/ymafadbackla1.jpg
Thanks,
Jess
Just scanning the piece I*ve noticed you*ve got scam artist and business...shouldn*t it be scam artists and businesses? (there*s also a spot on the bottom of the back that should be plural too). I*d also see if you can fix it so that you don*t have words breaking (requring the hyphen at the end of a line) - although if this is still rough, ignore that. wink
Ok, that aside, considering the amount of stuff you*re trying to fit in there, the design pretty good.
I do think though that there is an idea in there about "who can you trust". Granted, I*m not a huge fan on playing into people*s fears but, in this case it*s justified as the service offers a solution to that. Plus then on the back you have information about services showing who you can trust.
If it*s going in something that is mostly ads, another option would be to make it into an advertorial more than just an ad. It*d be one way to fit in more information.
I guess one way to help get your friend to understand the single message idea is to ask him what the SINGLE thing he wants people to walk away from this ad with. It should then become the focus.
My guess would be going to the website to see who is on the good or bad lists. The call to action on the front is not real clear and gets lost in the middle of the copy. I*d also see if you can reduce the list to 4-5 at the most - pick the ones that really strike a chord with people, like healthcare, childcare, etc. Then you could add something about "find out specifically who to avoid at - website."
With the preferred list, coupon section, free gift card all going on on the back it is hard to know where to look first. If the preferred bit is what*s supposed to be key, then everything else should be smaller in relation to it, right now the coupon section is just as big.
The main thing now matter what is that this is communicating something to people who are bombarded with advertising all day long. Most of it gets ignored. And the reason for having the USP/single message strategy is to make sure that those who do take the time to look at the ad know what they*re looking at pretty quicking and can remember what it*s for.
You could even play off the name of the site as a concept - to protect you when you*re parents can*t...I*m guessing that*s where the idea for using that name came from...or something along those lines. It could help people remember the name of the site by doing something like that.
I*m just rambling but take this ramble as you*d like. smile