Determine how a typical customer perceives the business. Is it a luxury? A splurge? A necessity but nicer than just basic? Do people perceive the business as being expensive, medium priced, or a bargain place?
Look back at the target audience profile and make a determination as to how the most typical customers see the business. Be honest. A business that presents itself visually as a bargain shopper’s paradise when actually the prices are high will be seen as dishonest; the customer will feel cheated and misled and will probably never come back again no matter how much they liked the business in and of itself.
Communicating price through negative space
Whether people realize it or not, they make certain assumptions when they look at a print ad, all based on the amount of or lack of crowding in it.
- The more crowded an ad, the more it appears to be offering bargains and sales. Look at a typical ad for Wal*Mart or any of its competitors and see how they feature many items, all with prices listed. The ads tend to be crowded, with lots of pictures, lots of type (usually fairly thick) and very little negative or blank space. It’s tempting for a small business with a small advertising budget to cram as much information as possible into a single ad – but unless that business is a treasure trove for bargain hunters, many customers will come in hoping for low prices and leave disillusioned.
- Mid-priced businesses will typically feature two or three items, one often being the main focus of the ad with the others acting as accessories, again with prices. The ad is less crowded, the type styles are a little thinner and cleaner – there is more negative space, but not too much. Just more focus and less copy.
- A business that wants to convey exclusivity and high priced, high quality items usually features only one item per ad, often without mentioning price. There is a lot of negative space, almost as if to say they can afford to waste space with no need to fill it. Type styles tend to be thin and elegant looking. See the article on logos for some examples.
- Of course many small businesses have such limited budgets that they can’t afford enough space for even one picture. At that juncture, the type style chosen and the amount of information crammed into or left out of a single ad will create the intended effect
Consider the Bullet
A bulleted list is a good way to convey benefits to the target audience without taking up too much space. In a good ad campaign things are always changing, so that the customer has a reason to keep on reading the ads. So make a list of those services and features the business want to make known to the public. Choose a few that seem to belong together and put them into a bulleted list. Next week, feature a few different things.
- Remember, the main benefit of the business will always be featured in the tag line, right next to the business name.
- The more expensive and exclusive the business, the fewer bullets in the ad’s list.
- The less expensive the business, the more copy or bullets – just not so many that the ad becomes hard to read. Especially if the target audience is made up of aging baby boomers, the type needs to be big enough to be readable.
Creating a Layout Format
Once the price range and image that needs to be communicated is known, it is time to create a layout format. This is essentially a blueprint that identifies where each part of every ad will go, so that the ads will have a consistent look that a reader can identify even if they don’t have time to stop and read it. Think of the Absolut Vodka ads. People know them instantly when they see them, even if they’re not vodka drinkers, simply because the ads are so consistent in layout and type.
- First choose two typefaces that work with the price range and image of the business. It is all right to use variations of these, such as bold, italic, etc. but two typefaces are the limit. Any more (other than the logo type) and the ad will look muddled.
- Headlines go at the top; Logos near the bottom.
- The tag line can either go above or below the logo.
- Don’t forget to include necessary information such as location, phone number, web site, e-mail or anything else the public may need to know. These go at the very bottom of the ad below the logo and slogan.
- Businesses can use formal balance, where everything is centered, or else mirrored from one side to the next. A business can use informal balance, where blocks of type or illustrations of equal weight balance each other out without being symmetrical. For instance, a headline could go on the left, the logo balancing it at near bottom right, and copy or a bulleted list in between.
- Don’t forget to leave an appropriate amount of white space in your layout.
- Don’t worry about words when making this layout. Write “Headline” where the headline goes, etc. but do put in the logo and necessary information to get an idea of how much room it will take and thus how much room there is for copy.
Carol Wallace - For nearly 25 years I trudged reluctantly off to the University to teach - and if the weather was nice chances were excellent that I stood ...
