Page 154 - Duct Tape Marketing

138 Part III: Creating and Placing Ads

Good ads persuade, convince, and nudge prospects into action, all without
any apparent effort. They meld the verbiage with the visual and the message
with the messenger so the consumer receives a single, inspiring idea.

Creative teams will tell you that making an ad look so simple takes a lot of
time and talent — and they’re right. If you’re spending more than $10,000 to
place an ad or more than $100,000 on annual media buys, consider bringing
in pros to help you out.

Bringing in the pros

Chapter 9 offers advice about hiring freelancers or an advertising agency to
rev up your creative horsepower. For ad production, here are the resources
you’ll most often rely upon:

ߜ A copywriter writes the headline and motivating copy or, in the case of
broadcast ads, the ad script. This person needs to be a good communi-
cator who is capable of writing simply, clearly, and directly to your
target prospects, using a single-minded approach to grab and hold the
prospect’s attention and to achieve the ad objective.

ߜ A designer arranges your ad so that it is visually appealing, using a
layout that draws the viewer’s eye to the correct starting point before
guiding it with effortless movement through the ad elements.

ߜ A producer is necessary if you’re creating a radio or television ad, a
video, or a multimedia show. The difference in quality and impact
between do-it-yourself and professional productions is big and undeni-
able. Your TV station or cable company can produce your ad, but realize
that in return for low production costs, you’ll need to bring your own
creativity to the task to avoid ending up with an ad that looks and
sounds like all the other station-produced creations.

Starting the creative process

Ease into the creative process with these ideas:

ߜ Review your positioning statement (see Chapter 7) and your Unique
Selling Proposition, or USP. Your USP defines your competitive advantage.
It describes the distinct benefit that consumers receive only by buying
from your business. It is why your business is capable of drawing atten-
tion, distinguishing itself from your competition, and winning prospect
buying decisions and customer loyalty.

ߜ List good things you’ve heard customers say about your product.