What's In A Printed Ad?

You've decided to buy a newspaper or magazine ad to help advertise your business. You probably know the size of the ad, but do you know whether or not the newspaper or magazine will allow you to submit your own advertisement, or is designing the ad part of the ad purchase agreement? If you can submit your own ad, do you know what resolution is required? Do you know if the newspaper or magazine prefers a certain file format, and what that format is or how to create it? Do you know if you can submit an RGB (three-color) photo and still run the ad? If not, can your designer convert the photo from RGB to CMYK (four-color) without forgetting to adjust the black level? Does the newspaper or magazine have the fonts you want to use? Can you make a .pdf that will embed your fonts? Does the newspaper or magazine prefer you submit the ad through e-mail or FTP?

Your contact at the newspaper or magazine will have these answers, and hopefully I've asked some questions you haven't thought of. A professional graphic designer or production designer will either know these answers or know who to contact to get them. Also, by working directly with the designer, you ensure the ad will look exactly the way you want and begin a professional relationship that will help keep you looking great in print.

Can't I Design It Myself?

(Part 3 in a four-part series)

In continuing this series I'll explore the most often-asked question posed to graphic designers from all walks of life. It is also, in many cases, the most rewarding question ever asked of me. What I have done in this four-part series is offered some further introspection on this riddle by analyzing the four points most often asked by clients when this question is posed: 1) easy to do; 2) saving time; 3) saving money; and 4) I'm the business owner.

Today I'll look at #3, saving money.

Who doesn't want to save money these days? There's nothing wrong with saving a few dollars, especially when it comes to the bottom line of your financial statement. A business is profitable by having more income than outgoing bills. These days a business owner has to determine how to market his or her business with as reasonable a cost as can be expected within their marketshare. The big question business owners are considering these days is, "how much is this going to cost?" Some are answering with, "Why can't I design it myself? I'll save money by not outsourcing."

Marketing a business has never been cheap. In order to get people to realize your business is up and running, that takes advertising. The mediums as well as the costs of advertising can vary from print to internet to networking, but the bottom line is you have to get the word out. When you have a newspaper ad designed and published, that's marketing to many people within a certain space for a specified cost; this cost is based on the amount of readership the newspaper holds as well as the size of the ad, and whether the ad is black and white, spot color, or a full-color ad. Take landscaping and a simple flyer as an example: when a landscaper has a flyer created and printed, he or she has the potential to have that flyer seen by at least thirty people (figure approximately two people per household and mulitply that by approximately fifteen homes within two blocks of the current customer). The potential exposure, along with the marketing budget of the customer, has to be taken into consideration when pricing graphic design.

Also, the design itself must be reflective of the cost. If you're looking for a new business card, you may not pay as much for a simple typesetting design as you might for a photo and typesetting. Obviously what a graphic designer desires for income figures in, but overhead must also be figured in: paper, ink, and electricity, for starters.

The printing itself also must be thought about and shopped based on what type of artwork vs. what the print shop's specialty is. Most graphic designers have at least one print shop they work with regularly, thus being familiar with their printing process and file requirements. The graphic designer works with the print shop to recommend different finishing touches, such as rounded corners, die cuts, or glossy on 16pt. stock rather than UV coating. Then, depending on the medium, how it will be used and potential exposure, the graphic designer can make recommendations on how the artwork should look and what type of artwork, if any, to use. Equally important is whether or not the chosen print shop will print your project in-house or have it outsourced.

Lastly, all marketing material should look consistent (not necessarily exact). This is the beginning of branding for a company. Consistency is critical because a customer can come from anyone at any time. If you use a particular piece of artwork or color on your business card, it should translate well to stationary, postcards, bookmarks, flyers, and a web site. What this means for your business and to your potential customer is brand name recognition -- being able to recognize your company's name on sight, thus distinguishing your business from your competition.

Now that you have an inside view as to what can be involved process-wise, one very important point must be recognized: YOUR TIME. As we discovered in the previous two sections, graphic design isn't as easy as it looks and can be a bit intense on time depending on the project. Your time is probably THE most important asset to your company; unwisely spent, and it could cost your company. Hiring an outside design source is good project-managing and allows the business owner to concentrate his or her time with current or potential customers and close that sale.

When Is Shock And Awe Too Much?

I recently had a coffee meeting with a colleague of mine this past Friday. He told me about a new commercial in Germany aimed at AIDS awareness. The group, Rainbow, centered their advertisement around near-soft-core nudity and finished with a likeness of Hitler making love to the woman on screen. The juxtaposition of AIDS and Hitler is that both are mass murderers. The makers of the advertisement are hoping to deter people in Germany from having unprotected sex, but really, does a message like its meaning across?

Advertisements that contain "shock and awe" have been around a long time, but it seems only recently that their presence is becoming known. This group, Rainbow, may not care how it is represented or remembered for its advertising. Bad marketing is as good a tool as good marketing: the product is remembered, the name is remembered, and usually the advertisement (or commercial, in this case) is remembered. But will its message be taken seriously, or will the German population turn off their television the moment the ad is aired? Was "shock and awe" necessary in this case?

Personally, I feel this commercial comes across that invisible line. An ad does not have to be sterile or safe to get its message across; however, to honestly compare the AIDS virus (which has been around since the very late 1970's, first gaining notoriety in early 1980's) to Adolf Hitler in Germany, of all countries, crosses that line. Most Germans would rather not remember those atrocities, much less be paired yet again with them. AIDS is a monstrous virus, but it stands a better chance of being cured than Evil.

I do think "shock and awe" has a place in marketing, but in most cases I feel it is an unnecessary action. It seems as though people who make commercial advertisements feel they have to be as shocking as some of the television programs or movies have become. This is a dangerous move; television and movies that subscribe to the theory that "the more shocking, the larger the audience" may be deluding itself into thinking people are paying attention to the message and not the violence or distate of the show/movie/ad. The more this type of advertisement becomes popular, the less likely its message will get across because viewers will become desensitized to it. Don't believe me? Remember the height of the Iraqui war, remember the people they were beheading on TV? A teacher in California actually aired the beheadings, and the majority of his class was not bothered by it. That's sad.

And the German AIDS commercial? Definitely something needs to be done to cure this horrible disease. It has been around far too long, claiming too many victims with little to no progress made towards its extinction. Is it enough for people to be mortified by a personified comparison of Hitler to the AIDS virus? Will this commercial teach abstinence? Or is it time for people, single or not, to have their partners tested for the virus before consummating their relationship?

As for the "shock and awe" value, tread carefully and leave most of it to the movies. Choose to be remembered for your product and not the violence of your ads.