Feature Articles | Editorials | Advertising

There are four stages to creating an effective advertisement:

1) Planning an Advertisement

Every good advertisement begins with a plan including:

• An evaluation of the target audience.
• An evaluation of the product being sold or promoted.

2) Drafting an Advertisement  

There are four elements to be considered when drafting an advertisement:

The Idea

• Think about the main idea.
• Think about what's interesting about the product or attraction.
• Think about whether there are special features worth noting.
• Think about what will ‘hook' the audience.

Visuals

• Think about the tone (silly, serious, funky…) of the advertisement.
• Think about images that would attract the audience.
• Think about pictures or graphics that should be included.

Text

• Think about words of phrases that describe the product or attraction.
• Think about whether a ‘slogan' (short, catchy phrase) would be useful.
• Think about what might be the slogan.
• Think about the lettering (size, bold, colour, etc.).
• Think about where to place the text.

Layout

• The layout is a plan for placement of text, slogan, colours and graphics.
• Decide what makes the most interesting advertising by trying different placements including the following:
• Graphics or Pictures
• Slogan
• Colours
• Text Lettering
• Empty or ‘White' Space

3) Revising an Advertisement

Finishing a layout doesn't mean that the advertisement is done. It's important to ask the following questions to be sure that the best effect has been achieved:

• Is the message clear?
• Is there enough information to convey the message, without overloading the audience with too much text?
• Is this an advertisement that would appeal to the target audience?
• Do the message and the tone agree? (i.e. somber message, somber tone, etc.)
• Does your advertisement look balanced, neither overcrowded nor too empty?
• Does the slogan stand out?

4) Editing an Advertisement

Finally, don't let the layout leave without final editing, including:

• Is every word correctly spelled?
• Is there a capital letter on words requiring capitals?
• Is there proper punctuation