How to Create Ads

Convincing potential customers through ads might seem like a challenging task. However, it's not as complex as it seems. In fact, simplicity is often the best approach. It’s the result of combining intelligence, creativity, and the unique identity of the brand. Advertising has become almost essential in today's economic market. In the digital world, advertising is evolving rapidly. Many businesses no longer use traditional advertising and rely completely on social media networks. However, despite changing platforms, the core elements needed for a successful ad remain unchanged. Below are some steps to help you plan, write, design, and test your ad.

Identify your target customers. Your business or product may appeal to a broad customer base, but generally, it's best to focus on a specific subset of that audience for more effective results. A single ad cannot attract or target everyone: this is something we must accept in order to determine who the most important customers for your current project are. For example:

• If you're advertising strollers, your audience will likely be parents with young children, rather than women who are not yet married.
• If you're promoting a graphics card, your target audience will likely need to know a bit about computers to understand that an old graphics card needs to be upgraded.

Describe your target audience. The more detailed your description, the more effective your ad will be in targeting the right people. Visualize your ideal customer in your mind and ask yourself these questions:

• What is their age and gender?
• Do they live in a big city or in a rural area?
• What is their income range? Are they wealthy CEOs or college students living on a budget?
• What other products do they use or enjoy? Do they already use other products from your company?

Describe the relationship between your target audience and your product. After you've outlined the demographic and lifestyle characteristics of your target audience, it's time to consider how they interact with your specific product. Think about these factors:

• Will they use it? Will they use it right away or only when necessary?
• How often will they use it? Once, daily, or weekly?
• Will they immediately see the benefits/features of your product, or will you need to point them out?

Identify your competitors. Hopefully, you've considered competition when designing your product. Now, you should think about how your ad can clearly challenge (or complement) your competitor's advertising efforts and how they might respond to your ad.

• Ask yourself: Do similar products already exist in the market? If they do, focus on the differences, especially how your product excels compared to theirs.

Describe the current market. Consider your product's current standing in the market. Is it a trending and popular item? If so, can you differentiate your product from what’s already available, and if so, how? You should also assess the competitive landscape and the customers participating in the market. Answer these questions:

• Have customers already trusted/recognized your brand?
• Do you hope to persuade users of your competitor's product to switch to yours?
• Are you targeting people who haven’t yet found a solution to their problem? Is only your product capable of solving it?

Develop your strategy. Based on the information you've gathered about your target audience and how they may perceive your product, you're now ready to craft your advertising strategy. Your strategy should consider three factors: the company (you), the customer (your target audience), and the competition (known as the 3Cs: Company, Customer, and Competition in English).

• Though this is a complex topic, if you focus on the desires, strengths, and potential actions of the three key players in the market (you, your customers, and your competitors), anyone can develop a sophisticated strategy.

Find a catchy and memorable slogan. Keep it short and sweet: an average product needs no more than six to seven words. If you say it out loud and it resonates, write it down. Regardless of the style, it must grab attention and convince your audience that your product stands out from the rest. You can use:

• Rhymes – “When you need paper, think Saigon”
• Humor – “Nippon Paint – Even your rear looks great!”
• Wordplay – “Every ‘kiss’ starts with ‘Kay’”
• Creative imagery – Yellow Pages: “Use your hands, not your feet”
• Metaphors – “An essential part of life”
• Alliteration – “White skin, no fear of the sun”
• Personal commitment – Motel 6: “We’ll leave the light on for you”
• Subjective understatement – Carlsberg beer posted a giant ad in central Copenhagen saying: “Probably the best beer in town.”

Make it memorable. At the point of sale, the consumer should instantly recall your message. Using familiar advertising slogans (e.g., “new and improved,” “guaranteed,” or “free gifts”) will only blend your ad into a sea of others. Moreover, audiences are so used to these clichés that they can’t bear to hear more (listen to Tom Waits’ Step Right Up to understand how these meaningless phrases sound when strung together).

• What's crucial is how the customer feels, not necessarily what they think. If they develop an affinity for your brand, you've succeeded.
• If you need to say more, grabbing attention by surprising your audience is especially useful. For example, an environmental-focused announcement won't attract much attention unless there’s a striking slogan that catches the eye: readers will have to continue to understand the joke.
• Know how to be funny without being inappropriate or controversial. It's fine to push the boundaries of conventionality to grab attention, but don't take it too far. Your product should be recognized for its intrinsic value, not because of an inappropriate ad accompanying it.

Use persuasive techniques. Note that persuasion here doesn’t necessarily mean “convincing.” The goal is to make consumers feel more favorable toward your product than others. For most people, purchase decisions are made based on emotion. Here are some tried-and-true methods advertisers frequently use:

• Repetition: Keep your product top-of-mind by repeatedly highlighting key elements. People often need to hear your name multiple times before they even recognize it (you can use ad jingles, but be careful as they might annoy listeners). If you go this route, think creatively and less obviously, like the “bud-weis-er-bud-weis-er-bud-weis-er” technique used in Budweiser's frog ads. Even if you dislike repetition, it sticks, and that's half the battle won.
• Common sense: Challenge consumers to find a good reason not to buy your product or service.
• Humor: Make consumers laugh, making your brand more memorable and likable. It’s especially effective when paired with honesty. Not the most successful business in the industry? Advertise that they won’t have to wait in line.
• Urgency: Persuade consumers that time is precious. Limited-time offers or clearance sales are some of the most popular ways to do this. However, as mentioned earlier, avoid using meaningless phrases that customers will quickly ignore.

Appeal to your target audience. Keep in mind the age group, income levels, and unique interests of your target audience. You should also consider the tone and imagery of the ad. Regularly check in with your audience to gauge their reactions. If the ad doesn't captivate potential buyers, no matter how good the product is, it’s still ineffective. For example:

• Children tend to be easily overstimulated. You’ll need to capture their attention at multiple levels, using colors, sounds, and visuals.
• Young people value humor, often act on trends, and are influenced by their peers.
• Adults are more discerning, making choices based on quality, subtle humor, and values.

Find ways to connect with consumer desires. Revisit your advertising strategy. Make sure you’ve focused on the most appealing aspects of your product. What makes it attractive to people? What sets it apart from similar products? What do you love most about it? These could be great starting points for your ad.

• Ask yourself if your product or event exudes “class.” Are you selling something that people will purchase to feel better about their social or economic status? For example, gala event tickets designed to give a sense of luxury and sophistication, even when the price is well within the budget of the wealthiest people. If you’re selling such a product, design an ad that radiates elegance.
• Determine if your product offers practical value. If you're selling a product designed for everyday tasks or that makes life more convenient, like a vacuum cleaner, take a different approach. Rather than emphasizing luxury, focus on how your product or event brings relaxation and peace of mind to the user.
• Is there an unmet need or consumer dissatisfaction opening up a market for your product? Evaluate this market niche.

Ensure you've included all essential details. If customers need to know your address, phone number, or website (or all three) to learn about or purchase your product, make sure to place this information somewhere visible in the ad. If you're advertising an event, you need to include details like location, date, and ticket price.

• Above all, make sure your ad includes a clear "call to action." What should consumers do immediately after seeing the ad? Make sure they know exactly what to do!

Define the timing and location of your ad. If you’re promoting an event expected to have more than 100 attendees, start promoting at least 6 to 8 weeks in advance. For smaller events, start 3 to 4 weeks prior. For products, consider the time of year when people tend to buy more.

• For instance, if you're selling vacuum cleaners, you may have better sales in the spring when everyone is doing their cleaning for the new year.

Choose memorable visuals. Simple yet unexpected often works best. For example, Apple couldn’t have been more straightforward when they used sharp black shadows against a colored background to subtly showcase the iPods they were selling, yet their ads were instantly recognizable because they stood apart from any other ad.

Highlight your differences from top competitors. A sandwich is a sandwich, but if you think that way, you won’t be able to sell anything. Use advertising to emphasize the advantages over your competitors. To avoid any legal issues, talk about your own product instead of theirs.

• For example, Burger King mocked the size of the Big Mac by pointing out that it is the Big Mac box. In the end, this didn’t give McDonald's any legal ground for retaliation.

Design your business logo (optional). A single image can replace a thousand words, and if your logo is effective, you won't need unnecessary words (Nike’s reversed check, Apple’s half-bitten apple, McDonald’s arches, Chevron’s logo). If you're advertising on TV or print, you can create a simple and captivating image—one that sticks in the viewer's mind. Consider the following:

• Do you already have a logo? If so, think of fresh, creative ways to reimagine it.
• Have you identified common color combinations to use? If your brand is instantly recognizable by its colors in ads or logos, make sure to take advantage of that. McDonald's, Google, and Coca-Cola are prime examples.

Find software or techniques to create your ad. The method you use to create your ad will depend on the medium you're advertising through. Note that if you're starting from scratch, it will take a lot of time to acquire design skills or learn design apps. In this case, you can access freelance sites like Craigslist or 99designs for assistance. If you want to try creating it yourself, here are some technical suggestions to get started:

• If you're creating small print ads (such as flyers or magazine ads), try using software like Adobe InDesign or Photoshop. Alternatively, if you want a free option, you can use GIMP or Pixlr.
• If you're making a video ad, try working with iMovie, Picasa, or Windows Media Player.
• For audio ads, you can use Audacity or iTunes.
• For large print ads (such as billboards), you'll likely need to use the services of a printing shop. Ask them for recommended software to use.

Encourage customers to call someone. If calling the company is one of the options for customers to respond to the ad, direct them to say: “Call A.” In another ad, tell them “Call B.” Whether A or B actually exists doesn’t matter; what matters is how many calls are made to A versus B. This is a completely free method to gauge whether your ad is successfully attracting attention from viewers.

Develop an online data tracking system. If you're running online ads that allow click-through access or direct customers to a specific website, you can immediately measure its effectiveness. Many data tracking tools are available to assist you.

• Make sure your ad grabs attention but doesn’t annoy viewers. People typically dislike giant ads, auto-play videos, and anything that randomly blasts loud music.
• If your ad is annoying, chances are viewers will close it, meaning you won’t get many views.

Direct customers to different URLs on your site. This is a great way to directly compare the effectiveness of two distinct ads running simultaneously. Set up different landing pages for each ad you're testing and track how many visitors each page receives. Now you have a simple and discreet method to determine which ad strategy is more engaging.

• Track the number of visits to each page. This makes it easier to identify what works and what doesn’t. A simple counter is enough.
• Even if you like a particular design, viewers may not. If it doesn't get enough traffic, try another approach.

Offer differently colored discount vouchers. If offering vouchers is part of your ad strategy, make sure each ad uses a different color for the accompanying voucher. This will allow you to track them separately. Vouchers also help customers distinguish between your ads more clearly.

• Not interested in colors? You could experiment with different fonts, sizes, and shapes instead.