“Forget everything you’ve learned about advertising.”
That’s how Bob McInnis, president of Designyourad.com, kicked off a presentation on creating eye-catching ads in print and online formats. Creating ads isn’t so much a creative endeavor, but a logical and step-by-step process with surprising results.
The event held at NorthPointe Health and Wellness Campus in Roscoe, was sponsored by the Beloit Daily News in partnership with Forward Janesville and the Greater Beloit, Rockton and Roscoe chambers of commerce. McInnis has been working with 400 newspapers worldwide to help ad representatives, designers and business owners creating ads that get a strong response despite the recession.
McInnis explained the importance of getting a reader’s attention. Studies conducted in the 1970s indicated that readers only spend about 10 seconds on a page of a newspaper scanning stories to read, with only two seconds on an ad before deciding whether to continue reading it.
Getting a potential customer’s attention isn’t just showing a flashy logo or a slogan. Based on research, those who are ready to buy an item usually do so in a timely manner. Those looking for a particular product are sensitized to the image of it, and will respond. For example, someone looking for a car will notice pictures of cars, or a cardiac patient will be attracted to pictures of live surgeries.
McInnis has worked with countless advertisers who either put their name, slogan or even pictures of themselves at the top of the page with little success. When companies put a picture of what they have to offer at the mostly highly scanned portion of the page “” the top “” it can drive up sales.
For example, a surgery center which puts an image of someone on the operating table has better odds than one which runs head shots of doctors. Similarly, funeral homes fare better running coffin images as opposed to a line-up of funeral directors.
Although the concept is simple, many businesses don’t use it. He showed an example of a ski resort ad with crowded listings of ski packages. The revamped ad showed two skis placed vertically, with “30-40 percent off” written at the top of the page, and attracted much more business. McInnis added that people typically read from the top down, so the picture can be followed by sale information or other reasons to visit the business.
Most big box retailers still show their products, but in ordered rows with space in between to get more eye appeal.
Although small font size and too many words get a bad rap, they can be effective for certain types of advertising such as home building or other major life investments where people will want to learn more. After all, McInnis said that newspaper readers aren’t illiterate and are usually informed and well educated.
However, people shopping for everyday items such as food or clothing may not read a lot of fine print, those searching for real estate or home improvements will and may even pass along the ad to their friends.
Creation of online ads is similar to print, so it’s best to create a print ad first. Instead of going vertical, online ads are often in flash form and can show a picture first, then text with more information in the next frame.
August 27, 2010
source: beloitdailynews.com
