Successful Print Ads - Award Winning Ads vs. Revenue Generating Ads.
There’s an age-old debate about whether advertisements that win awards actually perform as impressively on the bottom-line. Certainly, while some award-winning ads can also be credited with blockbuster results, this is not usually the case. As we offer the following tips (some more important ones), we are well aware that there are many number of ads that ignored these guidelines and yet are very successful. The rule is - you can brake every known rule, provided you know what are the rules and break them effectively.
1. Set Your Objective Right And Be Specific : Most common mistake made by advertisers. If you are confused yourself, don't expect your readers to understand what you want from them.
2. Don’t Sell The Product. Sell The Benefits : Most advertisements suffer from egotism. If the advertisement doesn’t answer the reader’s implicit question "What’s in it for me?" it is unlikely to attract any real interest. The best ads directly address the problems that the product or service solves and suggest how that solution makes life better for the consumer.
3. Product Pix Is Important : Especially in Asia, consumers like to see what kind of product they are buying.
4. Use Celebrities, Animals, Kids Or Graphics : Celebrities may not be believable, but they are effective at attracting reader attention, the first job of any advertisement. According to some research, ads with celebrities earn scores that are 13 percent higher. And this holds true for products or services that have nothing to do with kids or animals. The challenge is to find a way to incorporate these winners into the campaign. Many readers will recall the highly effective Hewlett-Packard printer ads featuring a Dalmatian.
5. Even In A "Politically Correct" Society — Sex Sells : Sexy ads work equally well on women as they do men, maybe better.
6. Exploit The Potential Of Color Or/And Turn Up The Contrast : The eye is attracted to bold, bright, beautiful color. Research data suggests that FPFC ads earn scores that are 45 percent higher compared to FPBW ads.
7. Control Reader Flow : Good design controls the way a reader looks at the ad, locking in the elements most likely to be seen first, second, third and so on. The most powerful element of an ad is almost always the illustration or photo, so don’t put it at the bottom where the eye can easily slip off the bottom of the page.
8. Make Copy As Inviting As Possible : Squeezing copy into a tight corner to maximize white space is a so-called "triumph of style over common sense," as is a lot of reversed out type, unjustified left and right margins, and type over heavily patterned backgrounds. If you get 20 percent of readers to delve into your copy, you’re doing good, so make the copy as inviting and appealing as possible.
9. Keep It Simple, Stupid : The KISS principal is probably the most abused advertising principal of all. Advertising needs to catch the eye quickly, deliver its message quickly, and allow the reader to leave as quickly as possible. Ads that clutter the page with multiple illustrations and varied sizes of type offer no central focus for the eye, no resting place. Be Specific. Most readers have little tolerance for advertising that doesn’t have a clear and distinct message. Worse, they may react with considerable hostility to the advertiser who intentionally confuses them.
10. Keep The Sales Informed : Most important, if it is a call generating ad, make sure all parties involved are informed - the mechanics of the promotion, lucky draw, dates, rules etc. There was a campaign that was ran in 1992 in Malaysia to promote laser printers. A relative aggressive ad campaign was planned, but when customers call to purchase, there were insufficient stocks. Unfortunately many sales leads was lost. A realistic target was set but the distributor did not place additional order for the campaign and also did not disseminate the promotion to the channels (resellers/dealers). The dealers were angry, customers were angry…..
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