Where one-off ads are primarily designed to highlight a specific seasonal product, the intention of campaigns is to create long-term brand affinity with a narrative, aesthetic, or intention that stretches for sometimes years. Campaigns are where you see characters develop over time, meaning they extend beyond commercials and into popular culture. When crafting your message, one of the first things
you want to do is make it memorable so that it stands out from your competition. One way to ensure that your ad grabs attention is to highlight a unique benefit of your product that your competition doesn’t offer. Now it’s time to decide what types of creative assets you need. Regardless of the medium, you’ll likely need promotional ad copy. Short copy is generally used for image ads, print ads, and Internet landing pages; long copy is typically required for video ads. Online and print ads may also require custom images and, in the case of the former, animated gifs. Typically you’ll hire a graphic designer to work with your own images or stock photos. Create custom videos. For online or TV ads, you may be able to generate videos using your in-house team of content creators, but it’s also common to hire outside resources to help produce content, too. It’s important to make sure your asset’s specifications properly fit the specs of your platform, e.g. if your platform is online video then you’d want to check that your video maker is exporting your video in the proper format, size, and aspect ratio for that platform. Use striking visuals. As with a memorable message, striking visuals help your ad grab attention. Plain looking text on a dull background isn’t going to catch people’s eyes as effectively as exciting graphics and captivating video footage. Use all the design tools in your arsenal to add visuals that pop to your ads. Fun, vibrant color schemes and unique typography are common ways to achieve this.
