Finally, you’ve done it. You’ve branched out, and you’re experiencing moderate growth. Now, it’s time for the big guns - print advertising.

All across this site, you will see us say repeatedly that it’s important to let the personality of your company shine through in your advertisement design. Without a doubt, that’s what your most loyal and valuable customers - repeat customers - will appreciate. With print advertising, anything goes because the primary goal is reaching the audience that the magazine targets and reaches.

It’s almost as if the magazine has already done the hard work for you, so just take these few tips to heart as a method of making your advertisement as effective as possible.

• Take notice of the way the publication is designed. Clearly, this style is tried and tested true and keeps the publication on the shelves, so take advantage of that research. Don’t just copy and duplicate someone else’s style - always add the flair that your company may be known for - but there’s no reason to spend your life and money reinventing the wheel.
• As always, look at your competitors. What are they doing? More importantly, what are they NOT doing? There’s always a more interesting story behind what’s NOT there as opposed to what IS there. It would be in your best interest to do that kind of digging.
• Keep up with current trends, and expound upon them. Would different gradients and shades work with your brand? What about curved shapes or geometric figures? Maybe you’d prefer 3d text? Check out some of the advertisement galleries found on the Internet, or even check out flickr. You’re bound to find something that will steal your heart.
• Be picky about how information is presented. Do you have an ad that demands a lot of text? The organization of information should follow some sort of visual path… where objects are all connected in a manner that allows the eye to make smooth transitions from element to element. That may seem a little complicated, but look at it this way - design in a fashion that allows the reader’s eye to glide across your ad and admire it’s beauty. Inevitably, the reader will view your product and become enthralled [hopefully] enough to dig deeper.
• Don’t forget the most important information. Too many times, we see wonderfully designed advertisement designs that fail to include the actual website, phone number, or physical mailing address of the company! What a waste! With a car advertisement, they can get away with that. If you see a Jaguar ad in GQ, you’d know to find your nearest Jaguar dealership. That’s much different from a glass window builder.

In the end, outside of those tips, advertisement design is pretty fair game. Although these tips will help, you can always use them to create your threshold. Think of Absolut - one of the most clever marketing campaigns ever - and their ability to create something for every magazine and every trend. Can your brand be that flexible? Consider that kind of malleability when you plan your own marketing campaign and advertisement design.

Need help? Let Hype Internet Marketing and Development help! Contact us for a quote, or check out the portfolio for samples of our work!