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Getting your message across
No business can afford the luxury of complacency in modern business. This is definitely the era of accountability, and we all must be accountable to all aspects of business, everything must prove its worth, and that includes your advertising.
But all too often, selecting the right media is often the only point that many small businesses think a lot about. How the actual message is going to be seen is unfortunately low down the priority list.
I have spent many years either commissioning marketing material or writing it myself, and I understand that other variables have a massive impact on a campaign. Variables like colour, copy, images, frequency and volume, as well the specific structure of the ad all work together to make print advertising and other marketing literature work harder.
Ad Structure
The most successful individual ads employ structures that exploit the way that consumers read and understand them. Lots of the best-printed ads share a number of common elements:
Clear headline and propositions
Colour (although mono can work well in a strongly coloured publication)
Product images (or images that portray the proposition/lifestyle)
Clear, concise product information
Strong call to action
Many good printed pieces are also reproduced in the same way that your eyes reads such material.
The eyes naturally flow from the top of the ad to the bottom right.
Any copy that does tend to follow this path, confuses the mind, and it’s harder for information to be taken in and remembered.
As a general rule of thumb, this clear and simple method usually ensures that the headline and sub headings are the most eye catching, followed by product shot and ending in a call to action (call, email, click, write etc)
There are some other golden rules:
Business Type Purchase Frequency Advertise
New / Low Awareness Medium / Frequent High colour, high frequency ads
Medium / High Awareness All Maintain consistent presence
In some research that I carried out at the beginning of 2005 within the retail sector, it was clear that whilst national advertising generates great awareness, local advertising provides a stronger call to action and more often than not the reason why a consumer would pay visit.
Of consumer questioned over a three-month period, a large percentage (some 70 percent) had seen a retail clients particular national ad campaign, but 90 percent of those questioned were actually responding to a local press “call to action”.
Note: The national campaign used full colour half page DPS, the local press was a typical ¼ page in spot colour.
Why did local advertising have this effect?
Local advertising is well known for advertising motors, homes, kitchens, small business services etc with buyers and sellers using the medium week in, week out. It’s trusted.
Consumers at the later stages of the buying process are known to be “ad seekers”, and they know where to find them.
These ad seekers often want more complex or additional information that isn’t always present in broadcast media, or national advertising.
Do you need help?
If you need any help with your advertising, whether its understanding where you should be advertising, with what messages or what your ads should look like, then get in touch.
I also offer free critique on your existing ads, and able to provide suggestion on what they should look like, and see if we can provide a stronger call to action for you.
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