ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING

-any paid form of non-personal sales presentation that provides information, enhances the image of the firm, or sells products or services to potential customers.

-to communicate informational, persuasive, or reminder-oriented messages.

-reaches a large audience => mass communications.

Objectives of Advertising

• increasing awareness and recognition of services offered;

• developing a favourable image;

• educating the public, correcting misinformation, or changing attitudes;

• increasing the market share;

• offsetting the advertising of competitors;

• differentiating a service from that of competitors;

• increasing listing inventory;

• making buyers aware of properties for sale;

• communicating to the sellers that their property is being actively marketed;

• generating phone calls, emails, and leads;

• increasing attendance at open houses; and

• making other sales representatives aware of a licensee’s offerings.

Print and Digital Advertisement: An Overview

-Visual advertisements, whether print or digital, are more complex than simply throwing a few words onto a piece of paper or a screen

-The development of good print and digital advertisements requires creativity and a good understanding of the basics of advertisement construction.

Copy Strategy Platform (creative strategy)

-the plan that guides an advertisement, also called the creative strategy

-The first stage in the design of an advertisement

-to create a “micro” marketing plan for the specific advertisement.

-consists of:

• developing objectives and a desired response;

• identifying the target audience and their characteristics;

• developing the most important selling idea or advertisement theme; and

• developing any secondary features.

Layout

-the arrangement of an advertisement’s headline, copy, visualizations, and signatures

-the next stage is to set the layout of the advertisement.

-The way the words and images are placed; the font, style, and size of lettering; the use of colour and colour combinations; and the presence of white space

-Some key design points to consider:

• Focal point: Eye research suggests that a reader’s eyes focus first at the ten o’clock position and then move upward and to the right. Once the first movement or pass has been made, the skill of the layout takes over and directs the eyes
→ the ten o’clock position is a good position to start headlines.

→ readers will often subconsciously look for logos or other identification symbols at the bottom of the advertisement.

• Aesthetic considerations: Good design has balance, unity and flow

→ Balance is the visual arrangement of the components of the advertisement and can be either formal or informal. Formal balance uses symmetrical arrangements (evenly balanced), with movement flowing from top to bottom; Informal balance uses a non-symmetrical arrangement.

→ Unity implies that the elements work together instead of contradicting one another.

→ Flow in a formally balanced advertisement is simple, from top to bottom; In an informally balanced advertisement, the eye must be led by the arrangement of the elements to its conclusion

• Control of white space: White space is the unprinted portion of the advertisement.

• Colour: Colour causes headlines to stand out, creates a mood, provides reinforcement of the corporate colours, and draws attention to certain portions of the advertisement.

Headlines

-the most read component of an advertisement

-to grab their attention and encourage them to continue reading

-basics of designing a good headline include:

• using both upper and lower case letters;

• positioning the headline so it is easy to spot;

• providing white space between the top of the advertisement and the heading; and

• using one or more devices, such as colour, print, style, or white space, to make the headline stand out.

-should be simple, specific, contain one theme, and sell the benefits of the product or service being advertised.

-Use concrete nouns (i.e., referring to something that can be seen or touched) and active verbs, which help a reader see the product or service more vividly than abstract (i.e., referring to an idea) nouns and verbs.

-several approaches can be taken to develop a headline

• Benefit appeals take the reader’s point of view and show how they will benefit.

• News headlines reveal something of topical interest that will cause the reader to continue.

• Curiosity or eye-catching headlines appeal to the reader’s sense of curiosity or mystery.

• Targeted headlines appeal to specific audiences.

Copy

-the text of the advertisement

-concise and use easily understood language, avoiding jargon and industry-specific abbreviations.

• Ensure that the text reinforces and expands the idea contained in the headline.

• Use brief sentences and paragraphs that vary in length to create interest.

• Personalize the message by using the words “you” and “yours”.

• Generate interest and guide the reader through the advertisement step-by-step, using headings and subheadings.

• Avoid clichés, slang, and colloquialisms.

• Explain the benefits of the service or product. Create images that enable the reader to see themselves owning or using the property or service.

• Avoid trite words and phrases such as “great” or “exclusive”.

-Copy should always end with an appeal for action such as visiting a website, visiting an open house, or calling for a free brochure.

Visualizations

-photographs, pictures, or other artwork.

-to attract attention, create a mood, and convey greater meaning than written statements.

Signatures

usually ends with a signature, which includes the real estate licensee’s name, the name of their brokerage, contact information, and a trademark or logo.