Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter in 1789 that stated, “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” The quote has become a staple in everyday life and something that most people have said themselves or heard someone else say at some point in time. However, I believe that if Bifocal Ben lived in the age of Facebook, Google, and pizza delivery drones, he may have added something else to his list of certainties.
Advertisements have become unavoidable in the world we live in, and I don’t mean this in a negative way. While we are surrounded by ads on our mobile devices, streaming services, social media platforms, and essentially everywhere we look, most of these ads are very helpful, informative and often times quite hilarious! Ads, funny or not, are part of the ebb and flow of our lives and we can tack them on to Mr. Franklin’s list of certainties. There is one big difference though, death and taxes sure aren’t fun, but your advertising should be! Here are three ways to stand out:
Cramming Conundrum
There are times where cramming is acceptable and times when it’s not. Cramming your suitcase to go on vacation is always acceptable, cramming your ads with content is not.
I totally get it, advertising space is expensive and you want to get the most bang for your buck. But if you cram so much information into an ad that people need a Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass to read it, you’re wasting your money. Instead, keep things simple with an eye-catching design and minimal text so that a consumer’s eye is drawn to the look of your ad. If you catch your consumer’s attention that ad has done its job.
Update. Upkeep. Repeat.
It’s easy to get stuck in the cycle of running the same ads over and over again. Once you find a look and feel that you enjoy, trying something new is like jumping into the deep end of the pool. Now I’m not saying to overhaul your campaign with each new print ad that you do, but small updates and tinkering can produce some amazing results. Continue to update, upkeep, and repeat, that way your ads will never be stagnant and you’ll always be on top of the game!
Be You
T.S. Eliot is famously quoted for saying, “good writers borrow, great writers steal.” I’m here to tell you please don’t steal. For one, it can get you in a tremendous amount of trouble and two, it’s extremely lazy. Everybody in the world of advertising seems to want to imitate each other and design their ads to be on “trend.” When we do this we all end up looking the same, if you don’t believe me look at every lipstick and makeup ad in circulation right now, you can hardly tell them apart. Everybody has a vision for what they want their marketing materials to look like, so use your creative mind and run with it. As long as your end result fits you and your organization, that’s all that matters!
Death, taxes, and advertisements: the three things that are certain in life. If you would like more information or need some assistance with the third item on that list, give us a call today!
