About Advertising / Ad Elements

Two equally important elements will help make your advertising as effective as possible:

• Creative: This is what makes up the ad—the concept, words, design, and layout. See our Creative Tips.
• Placement: Also called the media buy, placement is where you “place” or put the ad—the newspaper, magazine, radio, or TV station where you buy space in which your ad will run. See our Placement Tips.

Creative Tips

• Consider your communications plan of action. Figure out your purpose in running the ad, consider the attributes of your audience, and so forth. Then, use this background information to brainstorm ad concepts, design ideas, clever slogans, catchy headlines, and more with your audience in mind.
  
• Less is more. The ad must attract attention, and a focused ad will do that best.
  
• The message should be narrow, clear, and consistent. Write out the reason that people should use child support enforcement services (or come to your event, or pay child support, etc.). Tell readers how child support enforcement will benefit them. Then condense your information into one sentence. Use that sentence as the main point in your ad. Your ad headline should be five to eight words; other sentences should be 17 words or fewer.
  
• The design should be simple and streamlined. Close-up photos of people can be powerful.
• Let a large, compelling photo or graphic and/or a large, concise headline carry the ad.
  
• Use punchy, tightly written copy—as few words as possible, both in the headline and in supporting copy.
  
• Address fears. If your office doesn’t share databases with other agencies, tell your client that. Address their fears whenever you can to build their trust with you.
  
• Motivate your readers to take action. Suggest next steps, such as “call today” or “visit our open house on Saturday.”

 

 

Placement Tips

• Get good reach: Put your ad where lots of people will see it.
  
• Use high frequency: Advertising clutter means people pay limited attention to each ad, people must see your ad at least seven times before they will acknowledge it. Repetition is key!
  
• To determine where to place your ad, consider what you learned about your audience in your communications plan of action and ask these questions:
  
  • Where do the people who use our services go on a regular basis? To the corner grocery store, or the nearest supermarket chain? To church? To the bus stop?
    
  • What publications do they read most often? Is there a particular column that they like?
    
  • What are their habits?
    
  • Their values?
    
  • Do they watch TV—and if so, when? Which channels?
    
  • Do they listen to radio? Which shows?
    
• You also can contact various media outlets (publications, radio and TV stations, etc.) to find out who their audience is. Many have a prepared kit with demographic information on their audience that they will give you.