Evaluate Your Ads With This Simple Test – Article 7

If you are a business owner or in some way involved with the advertising for your company, then this article is a must read. In all my years of marketing I would witness a very strange form of research. Whenever one of my clients would approve a new ad campaign they would always show it to their spouse, children, neighbor, hairdresser or golfing partner to get their approval? Why? That is the focus of this article.

When I would sit in on a creative session at my ad agency with my creative director and his team our goal was always to design a fresh creative concept for our clients that was based upon strong research and supportive demographics.. Many times our research would indicate that we needed to go out of the box to get the attention of our target market. In almost every situation where we would design something really different, our clients would reject the concept. When I would question them as to why, the answer was always the same. “Why can’t you just design an ad like (they would insert their competitor’s name). I realized then that most clients who are really not marketing people to begin with, just wanted a better ad than their competition. I call this “Me To Advertising”. Other industry people call it “Creating a Better Mousetrap”. As an example, if we were designing a produce ad and our competitors were all showing a Red Delicious Apple as their main visual. Our clients would never let us show an Orange. They would simply want a bigger or prettier Red Delicious Apple?

Let’s talk for a moment about designing ad campaigns that work. Simply put, you must have two factors working in your favor. First, your ad must be seen. And, second, it must be placed in the correct media. If you don’t have both then your advertising will fail. As an example, if I own a candy store and let’s assume for the moment that the ad campaign is excellent. To run your ads in a Weight Watchers magazine would be ridiculous. I know that is a silly example, but it makes the point.

In this blog, I only want to discuss how to get your ads seen. I will talk about media strategies in a later article. Regardless of where you advertise I can promise you that if no one sees your ad, there is no way it can work. Many advertisers forget that “less is more” when it comes to design. A cluttered ad will loose all its visibility. Especially, if it is a small ad running on a cluttered page.

Most clients love to put everything in their ads. Lot’s of products, photos, copy, coupons, mandatories, etc. Some of the most memorable and successful advertising has only a few words in the headline with a simple visual and lots of white space in their design.

It is impossible for me to generalize about any particular design concept, but I can talk about a simple test to make sure your ad is seen. Research has shown that when you look at an ad, brochure, direct mail piece or anything else visual, that your eye moves from the dark areas first and then to the light areas. So what I want you to do is take your ad, don’t look at it, turn it upside down and hold it arms length away. Now quickly look at it for just a moment and then turn away again. Now turn the ad right side up and look at the dark areas that you eye had gone to first. In most instances it is something not very important to your message. Many times it is a dark border, map, photo montage, etc.

You must design your ads the way your want the reader to read it. Whatever is most important in your message needs to be the most visual. I promise that if you start evaluating your ad designs based upon this very simple test, you will get much better results from your advertising

My next article is titled “Invest In Technology To Increase Your Market Share”. Until next time.