Don’t Sweat the Technique: Common Visual Advertising Techniques

Chances are that if you’re in the ad industry, you went to college for it. However, some people landed in this industry who didn’t perhaps major in that field of study, say communications for example. For those of you who are familiar with advertising techniques and have studied this area of expertise or been the industry for as long as you can remember, then this article really isn’t for you. It will cover basic, common visual advertising techniques that are used. Some you may know and some may be new to you. We’ve talked about emotional advertising in one of our past articles but there are so many, many more. This list is in no particular order and does not include the entirety of ad techniques.

1.     Color Psychology. Creative advertising relies on certain colors to invoke particular emotions. It is found in every single ad you’ve ever seen. Expect to see a detailed article in the future from us on this one.

2.     Composition. This refers to how all of the elements are placed in the visual space of the ad. It can pull the viewer’s attention in one direction to another that creates a flow from top to bottom. It is crucial that the composition is balanced. The Gestalt Principles can contain basic rules for balancing visual compositions. More to come on this from us later.

3.     Rule of 3rds & Golden Mean. This also contributes to balanced composition. The rule of 3rds separates a canvas into six equal rectangles: two rows and three columns. In placing important elements at the cross-point of the rectangles, they are given visual importance all the while, maintaining compositional balance. Golden Mean used the Fibonacci sequence to direct the placement of elements harmoniously. This one is really cool since it uses mathematics to balance the visual composition.

4.     Focal Point. The ad must have a clear place for the viewer’s attention. There are a few different ways to create a focal point.

a.     Selective focus: focal point is in focus and background blurry

b.     Exposure: manipulation of light and dark areas to make focal point stand out

c.     Light source: illuminate the focal point

5.     Visual Paths. There are two types of visual paths you can create. One is the Z shape and the other is the F shape. It takes the viewer through a journey of the ad through taking their gaze to specific places on the ad.

6.     Body Language. Body language is important in advertisements. This is why casting directors go to great lengths to find the perfect actor for their commercials. Body language transmits a message by how they stand, smile, sit and move.

7.     Gazes. There are two types of gazes in ads. The first is direct gaze where the person in the image or video is looking directly at the viewer without looking away. This is to invoke an emotion and it’s actually adopted from hypnosis techniques. The second is the three-quarter gaze where the person in the ad is looking into a situation and not at the viewer. The viewer isn’t part of the situation.

This list includes the more intricate types of visual techniques. Others that you have probably heard of were omitted, such as point of view, BTS, FOMO and symbolism, just  to name a few. Psychology plays a very important role in the creation of advertisements as you can see. It’s important to understand how these techniques are used to help your brand create an effective advertisement.

Epic Fails: Top Reasons Why Ad Campaigns Fail

Let’s be honest, epic fails are only funny when no one gets hurt and in the advertising business, if your ad campaign flops, your brand suffers. There’s definitely no single recipe for an ad campaign to succeed there are some top reasons that it won’t. Don’t fall victim to an ad that falls short of the mark. Do the research and understand what to do and especially what not to do. Here are our top reasons that we believe some ad campaigns fail epically. While, this list is nowhere near exhaustive, it’s a place to start.

1.     Budget. If the budget is too small, the campaign won’t run for very long and won’t build up enough frequency. It also may not get enough traffic to generate sales. Sometimes budget may be out of your control so you will have to do the best you can with what you have. Make sure to take on an objective that fits that budget. A great example would be to use user generated content in your ad campaigns since it is much less costly than traditional advertising.

2.     Missing the mark with your audience. Chances are if you are still in business you have a good idea of your target audience. However, you may be new in the space or trying something different. Make sure to do the research to see what kind of people buy your products or use your services. Look at their social media, do customer surveys, use Google Analytics from your website and social media channel insights.

3.     Relying on a single channel. Out attentions spans are short and they are getting even shorter. I’m surprised you’re still reading this blog honestly. Just kidding but seriously, we constantly bounce back and forth between things on the web as our focus is pulled from one thing to the next. Sometimes, as brands, our audience can miss something if we only post on a single channel. It’s important to have an omnichannel approach to our strategies. It’s also important since different generations spend time on different social platforms. Knowing your audience’s demographics will help you know where to target the bulk of your advertisements.  

4.     Unrealistic expectations. Remember that story about the bears and the girl with the porridge. Yea, it’s like that. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. The goals must be realistic. If it’s too small, then you aren’t going to see any significant results but if it’s too big then you are setting yourself up for failure.  

Take a look at these red flags and set them as markers to avoid. Let’s be honest, some of it will be trial and error. Sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. Chances are, if you’re new to this then some will be made. If you’re a vet, then you’ve probably already made yours. No matter where you are in your business journey it’s always important to keep learning to grow and to stay successful.

Advertising Effectiveness Contributors

What makes an advertisement effective? Take a second to think about it. We’ll wait…. Now that you’ve thought about it, we’re going to give you a hint. It’s not a cut and dry answer. As we’re sure you’ve guessed, it’s not just one thing that will make an advertisement effective, it’s multiple aspects. That being said though, turns out that creativity is still the most important part of advertising effectiveness. There are 5 other important contributors to advertising effectiveness. According to a study done by Nielson Catalina Solutions, creative lands on top at 47% but the other 5 include reach at 22%, brand at 15%, targeting lists at 9%, recency at 5% and lastly, context at 2%. It’s interesting to note that creative is still the top driver of advertising effectiveness, but this does not mean that brands can neglect the other 5 contributors. Let’s take a look at recency. Recency is a theory stating that advertising will have a greater sales impact when exposure occurs close to a purchase. Determining when your audience will buy will determine when to run your ad. If they buy on the weekend, then the ad should be run on Thursday or Friday right before their purchase. This article only touches on the topics that increase advertising effectiveness and each contributor could have an article of their own. It’s crucial for brands to understand what drives their advertisement effectiveness in order to increase sales.