Creating effective advertisements takes a joint effort across departments – and often with outside partners, too. After all, teams that work in isolation tend to miss the client’s real objectives. The harder challenge is building an ad that doesn’t disappear into the clutter and actually sticks with an audience long-term.
So what makes an effective ad? It comes down to a defined set of principles. Apply them consistently, and you’ll see what effective advertising examples have in common: clear planning, a defined audience reaction, and a campaign built around the client’s actual goals, not just creative instinct.
Here are the core principles of effective advertising your team should build into every campaign:
01.
VISUAL CONSISTENCY
Repeated exposure to the same image or display embeds it into long-term memory. Skip visual consistency, and you lose an immediate connection with your target. Most viewers only glance at an ad for a few seconds; consistency across every exposure is what moves a message from short-term notice to long-term recall.
For example, think of a company like Nike. Through years of exposing the Swoosh and slogan “Just Do It,” they have created a brand message that is amongst the most recognized in the world.
While you may not have the geographical or financial reach of Nike, you can still apply this principle to your market, no matter the size.
Read More: The Importance Of Product Photography
02.
CAMPAIGN DURATION
Set your campaign duration early in development. Displaying the same ad for a defined period embeds the message in long-term memory. Yet ‘how long’ is just as critical as ‘how consistent’. Run it too long, and it goes stale. Change it too often, and viewers never retain it.
This is where reach and frequency come in. Higher frequency usually means a shorter run. Lower reach usually means a longer campaign to hit the same audience size. Typically, most campaigns run around six months, but the right length depends on your specific reach and frequency targets.
03.
REPEATED TAGLINES
Consistent taglines work hand-in-hand with visual consistency. Together, they’re one of the most effective advertising examples of brand recall in action. So while the ad itself can change, the tagline and imagery shouldn’t.
Repetition is what lets consumers connect a new ad back to everything they already know about your brand.
Read More: 12 Tips For Creating Instagram Stories
04.
CONSISTENT POSITIONING
Early on, you should decide how your product is positioned against the competition. This positioning strategy should be used frequently in all advertisements throughout the product’s life.
Leading with quality over price and convenience? Then every execution should reflect it. Inconsistent positioning is one of the hardest mistakes to overcome once it’s made. It leaves viewers without a clear, definitive read on your brand.
Among the principles of effective advertising, consistent positioning is what keeps your messaging out of that uncertainty.
05.
SIMPLICITY
Make this a pillar of every ad you build. A simple advertisement is easier to comprehend than a complex one, full stop. Print ads need a short tagline and limited copy: easier to read, easier to remember. Resist the urge to tell viewers everything about the product in one ad. Use it instead to drive traffic somewhere they can go deeper, such as your website, your content, or your social pages.
The same logic holds for radio and TV. Overload the script, and the speaker has to rush to fit it in. Overload the viewer, and they tune out or simply forget it later.
Online, simplicity matters even more directly: too much content, too slow a load, and viewers leave before the message lands.
06.
IDENTIFY A SELLING POINT
This is one of the most important aspects of an advertisement. Viewers need to land on one clear idea, fast. If you offer multiple selling points, you’ll confuse them with too many ideas competing for attention. Instead, focus on one point for the campaign that you believe will best sell the benefits of the product to your consumers.
07.
CREATE AN EFFECTIVE FLOW
All advertisements should lead the viewer to a desired action or conclusion.
In print ads, the viewer’s eyes should be moved to the key point of the ad. Similarly, for television, the flow should be developed to end with your key point being the last thing viewers will remember. Likewise, on social media ads and email newsletters you should direct viewers to your website where they can learn more and make a purchase decision.
Get the flow right, and you’ve put the last of the principles of effective advertising into practice: turning attention into action.