Creating The Ad

Module-2
 Visual Communication

• Words and visuals must work together to present the creative

concept
• Visuals serve to get attention
– Designers have found that pictures in print ads capture twice as many
readers as headlines do
– Ads with pictures pull more readers to the body copy
• Art directors focus on these five points
– Visuals are better at getting and keeping attention
– Pictures communicate faster than words
– People remember messages as visual fragments
– Seeing is believing
– Low involvement products are visually linked to lifestyles and users
 The Art Director
• Responsible for creating ad visuals
• Usually have a design school degree
• Trained in graphic-design, including
– Art
– Photography
– Typography
– Use of color
– Computer design software such as Quark
Layout and Design

• Layout: a plan
that imposes
order and creates
an arrangement
that is
aesthetically
pleasing
Design Principles

• Arranging ad elements
so that they make sense
and attract attention is a
challenge
• Design principles:
– Direction: designers
create a visual path for the
eye as it scans elements.
Western readers: scan top
to bottom and left to right
Design Principles

• Design principles:
– Balance
• Formal: symmetrical, centered
left to right
• Informal: asymmetrical and
creates a visually exciting
layout
– Proportion: copy and art
should be proportionally
different
– Simplify: the more elements,
the greater fragmentation
 Print Media Requirements

• Newspapers and magazines

– Newspapers
• not a great surface for reproducing fine details
• Colors may not be in perfect register
– Magazines
• Often more creative
• Uses photography and graphics with strong
impact
 Print Media Requirements

• Directories
– Ads should stand out in a cluttered environment
– Tips:
• Size: bigger is better
• Image: graphics signal the reputation of the store
• Simplicity: keep the number of design elements to a
minimum
• Art: illustrations work better than photographs
• Map: keep it simple to make the location clear
 Print Production
• Art reproduction
– Two types of images:
• line art (drawing, illustration)
• halftone (photograph)
– Halftone process
• Original photo is shot through a fine screen
• Image is converted to a pattern of dots
• Quality depends on how fine the screen is
– Color reproduction
• Full-color images are reproduced using four process colors
 Printing Processes
• Letterpress: inked, raised surface plate
– Strikes the paper surface and the image is transferred
• Offset lithography: smooth, chemically treated plate
– Popular in newspapers and magazines
– Oil-based ink adheres to parts of the image
• Rotogravure: engraved plate with wells
– Ink collects in wells and is transferred to paper
• Flexography: flexible, rubber plate
– Can print on irregular surfaces
• Silkscreen: porous screen of silk, nylon or steel
– Used to print posters, t-shirts
 Binding, Finishing and
Digitalization

• Binding and finishing includes

– Die cutting: a sharp-edged stamp or die is used to cut out
unusual shapes
– Embossing or debossing: pressure is used to create a raised or
depressed image in paper
– Foil stamping: thin metallic coating (silver, gold) molded to the
surface of the image
– Tip-ins: separate preprinted ads are glued to a publication as it
is being assembled
• Digitalization
– Art can be digitalized and transmitted over large distances.
Desktop publishing is replacing other kinds of typesetting
Television Art Direction

• Creative brief may

offer suggestions
about the elements of
the commercial
• Excitement and drama
created through the
visuals
• Visual storytelling
especially important
for abstract concepts
 Video Graphics

• Stock footage: previously recorded images used

for scenes that aren’t accessible to normal
shooting
• Other graphical elements (words, logos,
photographs) are digitized or computer-generated
on screen
• Crawl: computer-generated letters that appear to
be moving on the screen
• Computer graphic systems allow morphing in
which one object changes into another
 TV and Film
Requirements

• Length of the commercial affects its design

• Videos:
– Used for product literature, news releases, direct
marketing
– Intention: tell a longer product story
• Movie trailers
– Similar to TV commercials but generally longer and
better produced
– Frequently longer than TV commercials
Broadcast Production
Producing TV
Commercials
• May require hundreds of
people and cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars
• Production choices
– Film and/or videotape:
• most commercials are shot on
film, processed, and transferred
to tape
• Video was originally thought of
as inferior to film, but
innovations and quality
improvements make video a
viable alternative
 The Production Process
• Four stages for big national commercials
– Message design (already discussed)
– Preproduction
• Producer and staff develop production notes
• Find talent, locations, get bids from specialists
• Schedule worked out and approved
– Shoot
• Actual filming of the commercial
• Processed film scenes are called dailies
– Postproduction
• Editor assembles various pieces of film into a sequence
• Most editors now use digital computer editing technology
• Interlock: audio and film are combined
• Dubbed copies sent to stations are called release prints
 Effective Web Design

• Web pages can combine elements and design

styles from all different media
• Art on Web sites can be illustrations or photos
• Web pages, particularly the first screen,
should follow the same layout rules as posters
– Graphics should be eye catching
– Type should be simple
– Black type on high contrast background is usually
best
Effectiveness of
Interactivity
• Combination of interactive navigation,
live streaming video, online radio, and
360-degree camera angles makes Web
pages more complex than TV ads
• Web advertisers are finding ways to
bring dramatic action to the small
screen
• Users create their own paths, so
designers must make sure the sites
have sound navigation
 Designing Banners

• Banners have design considerations of their own

• Function more like outdoor boards than conventional ads
• Grabbing attention depends on
– Copy: free offers, fear, curiosity, humor, big promise
– Color: yellow, orange, blue, and green
– Graphics: animated banners are a value
• Banners in the lower corner of the screen generate more
clicks than ones near the top
• Incentive banners generate higher click-through rates
than ads without incentives
Advertising Media Selection
 MEDIA STRATEGY
• …process of analyzing and choosing media
for an advertising and promotions campaign

• Media Planner – formulates program of when

and where to place ads.
• Media Buyer – buy space and negotiate rates,
times and schedules.
 MEDIA PLANNING
• No two plans alike, usually includes:
1. Marketing Analysis (careful consideration of
target market(s))
2. Advertising Analysis (fundamental Advertising
Strategy and Budget)
3. Media Strategy (Media to be used and creative
decisions)
4. Media Scheduling (What ads when and where)
5. Justification and summary (Metrics of success)
 Reaching Ad Objectives
• Effective Frequency and Effective Reach = #
of times target must see ad and % of target that
must be exposed in order to reach Objectives.
• Allows for variation and strives for optimal
frequency/mix.
• 3 exposure theory vs. Recency Theory =
intrusion value vs. most recent in mind (1 may
be enough for that target member if it need
already top of mind)
 MEDIA SELECTION
• TV
• Radio
• Internet
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Direct Mail
• Alternative Media
– leaflets, brochures, carry-homes, Ads on carry-homes, Ads on T-
shirts & caps, movie trailers, free-standing signs, motel room ads,
yellow pages, mall kiosks, by fax, video replay scoreboards, arenas,
airline seats, walls of airports, subways, bus terminals, buses,
cabs…
 Advertising Media

• Media Mix:- MEDIA MULTIPLIER

EFFECT – increased impact of using 2 or
more media

• Print Media
• Place Media
• Broadcast Media
• Narrowcast Media
 Print Media

• Print Media
– Newspapers
– Magazines

Newspapers readers
• Mass market (wide reach)
• Readership increases with:
– Age
– Education
– Income
 Advantages of Newspapers
• Geographic targeting
• High credibility
• Permanence/User-paced
• High information potential

Disadvantages:-
• Limited color
• Poor reproduction quality
• One day life span
• Unattractive layouts
• Hard to measure actual exposure
 Magazines
• General circulation magazines
• Specialized Magazines
– Target marketing
• Trade Magazines
 Advantages of Magazines

• High color reproduction quality

• High credibility
• Permanence/User-paced
• Pass along factor
• High information potential

Disadvantages:-
• Hard to measure actual exposure
• Long lead times
• Expensive: High CPMs
 Place/Outdoor Media (OOH)

• Billboards
• Transit
 Advantages of Billboards
• High frequency
• Geographic flexibility
• Low cost per exposure

Disadvantages:-
• Fleeting message
• Limited information
• Long lead times
• Location unavailability
• Visual pollution
 Advantages of Transit
• Captive audience
• Low cost
• Supports mass transit systems

Disadvantages:-
• Lack of status
• Cluttered environment
• Limited information potential
 Broadcast Media
• National Television
• Local Television
• Cable Television
• Syndicated Television
• Radio
 Advantages of
National Television
• Mass coverage
• Low cost per thousand (CPM)
• Some content-based targeting
• High impact
• Creativity/stopping power

Disadvantages:-
• High production costs
• High absolute media costs
• Brevity
• Impermanence/Not user-paced
• Low information potential
• Clutter
 Forms of Television Advertising
• Sponsorships
– Infomercials
• Participation
– Breaks within a program
• Spot announcements
– Breaks between programs
 Radio
• Network Radio
• Syndication
• Unwired networks
• Satellite Radio
• Local Spot Radio
 Advantages of Radio
• Low media cost
• Low production costs
• Short lead times
• Captive audiences
• Specialized audiences

Disadvantages:-
• No visuals
• Low information potential
• Impermanence/Not user-paced
• Fragmented audiences
• Complicated media buys
• Clutter
 Narrowcast Media
• Direct marketing
– Telemarketing
– Direct mail
• Yellow pages
• Interactive media (The Internet)
 Advantages of Direct

• Personalized impact
• Elaborate databases for targeting
• Reaches inaccessible audience
• Measurable exposure/success

Disadvantages:-
• High CPMs
• Junk mail
• High audience refusal rates
• Environmental concerns
• Key is a high quality mailing list
 The Internet
• Rapid adoption/growth
• Importance as an advertising medium
• Massive shift in advertising dollars
 Advantages of the Internet
• Interactive medium/Active audience
• Affluent market
• Permanence/User-paced
• High information potential
• Immediate response

Disadvantages:-
• Untested medium
• Fragmented audience
• Slow downloads
• Security and privacy issues
 Miscellaneous Advertising
• Movie trailers
– Controlled by motion picture companies and distributors,
not theaters
• Blimps and planes
• Sporting events
• Grocery carts
• Ticket backs
• Videocassettes
• Rapidly growing list of other ad media