Here at Brightsea, it’s our job to make your print stand out from the rest, for all the right reasons. Whether you’re publishing a magazine, printing some standout posters or planning on hanging some banners around your town or city, you need to ensure people will pay attention. If you’re a B2B business, we’ve already addressed how you can master print advertising. But, should you fall into a slightly different category, then this article is for you.
Whether you’re looking to attract new clients, sell your product, or raise money for a charity or non-profit, print advertising is a great way to do so. To make sure you’re checking the right boxes and avoiding the painful mistakes, here’s our simple guide:
Don’t Try Too Hard
Terrible adverts, we’ve all seen them. Maybe there’s a joke that’s not quite hit the mark, or too much happening in one space, either way; it can often be a sign of trying to do too much. Although much of this lies within your design (more on that below), a simple and clear premise is equally important. If the reader has to work to understand your joke or message, chances are you need a rethink.
Understand your Audience
Who are you advertising too? Different demographics interpret things differently; therefore, you should bear this in mind when creating your advert. What you should also consider is how people outside of your target audience will interpret your advert. People come from different backgrounds and have different beliefs; being sensitive to this range can ensure you don’t make any fatal mistakes.
For millennials, telling a story is the best way to grab their attention, as traditional marketing tactics can get lost in the background noise of everything else. Although storytelling may seem more suited to digital channels, such as video, it’s also worth remembering how immune we have become to these sources. Adblockers, skip buttons, and plain old ignorance have become staples in the internet browsing world, meaning that it is becoming a much harder nut to crack. Instead, print presents a new opportunity to engage a traditionally hard to reach demographic.
Design Simplicity
Print is about simplicity and allowing the one or two important factors, typically your brand and your message, to come to the forefront. As the famous French writer and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said, “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”. Think to yourself, what could your advert live without? Are certain elements helping or harming your brand’s message?
Another crucial element of the design process is imagery. Clear, sharp images that perfectly encapsulate your ad without the need for long-winded descriptions are key. Some of the most effective print adverts have little to no text, allowing the image to do all the talking.
Call to Action
Think carefully about your call to action, as sometimes you may not even have one, per se. If you’re advertising an established brand, you already have the added advantage of people knowing who you are and what you do. The call to action will typically be for people to buy your product or engage with your service.
For smaller, lesser-known businesses and organisations, the call to action can be a little harder. Think about what you’re expecting of the people reading the advert. Do you have a shop they should visit or a website they need to access? What’s the benefit for them if they do so? These should be clear through the use of text and imagery.
Size and Placement
Where your advert will be placed, and the size at which it will be printed should come into consideration when producing your masterpiece. For large posters and banners, a little more detail can be afforded as this can still be seen from a distance. However, people will often be on the move when viewing these ads, such as driving, walking or commuting on public transport, so making them instantly understandable from a distance will be essential.
If the advert is placed in magazines or a newspaper, you can allow for a little more intricacy, giving people the option to think and take in your work. Some adverts have a hidden meaning and take a little more working out, so the placement for these is important.
Whether you’re planning on creating some excellent print ads, or want to get some posters and banners out into the world, Brightsea can help you achieve this. With our in-house team of talented designers, we can bring your idea to life, and then print it to your exact specification. Fancy something a little more premium? We have a top-notch team of finishers that can make your ad stand out from the crowd! So, what are you waiting for? Check out our Exeter printing services today!