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HOW IT ALL ADDS UP
StarMag, May 21, 2006
Some might feel they are a nuisance but the truth is advertisements are a necessary tool for consumers to locate and understand the goods and services they need. And nowhere do you find more ads than in the newspaper. BRIGITTE ROZARIO talks to the experts to find out what makes an effective print ad.
THE deliveryman throws the newspaper into your porch. You unlock the gate and step out to retrieve it. Armed with your morning coffee, you sit down and start flipping through the pages ....
And what are you looking for? News of course! But over the years, the newspaper has become such an important medium for businesses and anyone wanting to sell or state anything, that news reports and print ads are equally important sources of information for the reader.
“Nowadays, with people exposed to so many things, you have to get their attention in a very short time – within five seconds or less. To do that, you need something that is simple and straightforward,” explains Ooi Chok Yan, lecturer in design advertising at The One Academy (TOA).
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Penny Low: A creative agency should constantly come up with new ideas. |
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Penny Low, associate lecturer of advertising at IACT (Institute Advertising Communication Training), believes that the biggest challenge for advertisers today is coming up with an ad that engages the readers.
“Newspaper readers are looking at so many ads at one go – which one will get their attention? For an agency the challenge is even bigger because I think you can’t look at conventional ways of advertising anymore. A creative agency should constantly come up with new ideas,” says Low.
Different groups, different ads
Ads for various occasions and markets serve different purposes. According to TOA’s Ooi, the ad has to suit the target market and the occasion.
“For example, if it’s a telco ad, it needs to be fun. You need to show the latest features of the phone and, because the target audience is teenagers, you need to speak their language.
“You then decide on the tone. It also depends on the season. For example, an ad for Hari Raya, Chinese New Year or Deepavali always takes the emotional route that touches your heart and reminds you of family values.
“During Merdeka (season), you can see some of the interesting ads done by Malaysian companies like Petronas. Many people actually look forward to what Petronas comes up with every year,” says Ooi.
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Ho and Ooi (right) of TOA discussing the merits of good advertising. |
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He believes that ad creators need to do their research and familiarise themselves with the target audience in order to come up with an ad that speaks to them.
It also helps if you are aware of current events and what’s going on around you. Sometimes little nuances about life and jokes about current events can attract the attention of the reader.
“Rather than creating something that is unique for the sake of being unique, you need to get people’s attention by making the ad relevant to what’s happening around you and it should be something that the end-user can relate to,” adds Valentina Ho, academic and operations manager at TOA.
Gaining momentum
IACT’s Low points out that the “Who is Adam King” series of ads got her attention.
“What I like about that is not the concept but the way it mocked everyone. There were people who looked at it and went, ‘Who is Adam King?’ and then there were others who said, ‘Please, it’s a scam, it’s not a real person’.
“Whatever it is, the effect of it was beautiful because of the way it really made people talk about it,” she says.
Coming from the school of thought that believes that any publicity is good publicity, Low believes that the Adam King ads were indeed successful. “It really stood out as an ad campaign,” she adds.
Low also believes that gimmicks such as bookmarks, coupons and free gifts still get people’s attention.
According to her, different people are attracted to different kinds of ads – some like freebies, some like anything that’s new, and some like gimmicks.
“I think a very large percentage of Malaysians are very visual people who are attracted to very stark images.
“When they look at an ad and they know it’s an ad, they think to themselves, ‘You’re trying to con me’. Then they don’t read it. But if you put an ad that makes them think a little bit more, I think they will be more accepting of the message.
“Personally, I find ads which are not ads very challenging. Ads that are not obvious as an advertising message – I think those are very good,” says Low.
Secret recipe
So, what is the secret to a successful ad?
“Simplicity, powerful visuals that capture the imagination of readers, at times something that’s provocative, but it needs to be something that’s different from the pack,” says Steven Ng, corporate communications director of University College Sedaya International.
Ooi believes the secret to successful print advertising is something very basic – it touches your heart, makes you smile, and it needs to be very simple.
Low puts it aptly, “You study what people want but you give it to them in a non-threatening manner. I think that is the best way.”
Copyright Star Publications (M) Bhd
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