Happy Birthday YouTube! One of the most recognised and well-used URLs in the world was activated on 14 February 2005, and in just eight years, has grown into one of the most powerful broadcasters in history.

It streams an incredible four billion (plus) videos per day; from piano-playing cats to disturbing frontline footage taken by Syrian rebels. It can make global superstars overnight; from the ubiquitous Gangnam Style (over one billion views) to Fenton the dog.

And businesses big and small are hungry to make the most of this dynamic and fast-moving medium.

The marketers holy grail of course is for their video content to go viral. With an accountant-pleasing media spend of zero, their marketing message has the potential to be seen, and more importantly shared, by millions of potential customers across the world. A marketing wet dream if ever there was one.

Although viral success can never be guaranteed, it does happen.

In 2012, Bodyform released a beautifully witty and self-mocking video 'apology'  in response to a (fake? or genuine?) customer's feedback. Over 3.6 million hits plus extensive PR on the back of it.

But, with few exceptions, successful marketing through YouTube or Vimeo requires the same level of thought, planning, creativity, attention to detail and production values as any traditional TV or radio advertisement.

This ethos of quality in marketing applies equally to the small business owner as it does to global brands.

A poorly-produced 'home movie' featuring a small business owner talking blandly straight to camera for 5 minutes can damage a fledgeling brand rather than promote it and drive sales.
On the other hand, a well-crafted, professionally-produced video can be a truly powerful and surprisingly affordable marketing tool.

• Websites and emails with video content are far more likely to be read/ interacted with than ordinary text/ image content.
• Video immediately adds a human face to your marketing communication. Ultimately, people do business with people.
• Video allows you to demonstrate your product or service dynamically in a way which text alone would struggle to do.
• A professionally-produced video carries a certain kudos. It shows you really do mean business.
• Versatility. Video can be hosted on YouTube or Vimeo. Directly on your website. Embedded within an email. Played in-store or at point-of-sale. Played as part of an exhibition/ conference display. Viewed via laptop or iPad as part of a sales pitch.

If this has whetted you appetite to add video to you next marketing campaign, get in touch.
Sunflower will work with you to create a script that presents your marketing message clearly, compellingly and memorably. I work with a professional production team to ensure your video presents your brand in the best possible light.

Let Sunflower take care of your online advertising. 

Full Copywriting/ creative and design service.

Static ads or animated gifs.

Get in touch. I'd love to talk about how I could help you with your click-throughs.

"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don't know which half". 
John Wanamaker, US retailer and marketing pioneer.

Even with the explosion of online, social media and other new approaches to marketing, traditional advertising can still be a very powerful and profitable weapon in your marketing arsenal. However, it is a relatively expensive one. The wise marketer makes the effort to measure its effectiveness.

Try running a short series of ads in several publications at the same time. Give ads in different papers different reference codes for customers to quote when they respond to the ad or use coded response coupons to track which publications are generating the greatest response per pound.

You will soon be able to identify which publications are giving you the best return on your investment and you may choose to invest more of you advertising budget into these top performers.

Likewise, you will be able to decide which publications are not giving you value for money and cease advertising in those.

But don't stop there. Measure different response rates to different size ads, different special offers, different positions within a paper etc.

As you build up a greater understanding of how your advertising campaign is performing, you will be able to make better informed decisions about crafting your marketing message and spending your marketing budget.

Sunflower can help you make your press advertising campaign more effective and profitable.

From media strategy to writing copy and creating press-ready artwork, get in touch, I'd love to hear from you.

In this post I'll be highlighting some points to think about when designing and laying out a newspaper advertisement.

White space
Most local papers are extremely text heavy. Not just the editorial, but most of the other ads too.

Readers' eyes are unconsciously looking for a rest from all that text. So give them one.

Including a generous amount of white space [any space in your design which does not carry either text or an image] can really help your ad stand out from the page and be more appealing and readable for the reader.

Kill the clutter
Local papers are usually very busy looking. Make it as easy as possible for readers to notice and read your ad.

Try to steer away from busy and overly-detailed graphics and photographs. Strip your copy down to just the essentials.

Illustrations and photos are a powerful way to reinforce your message, But be careful. 1-2 strong images will strengthen your ad. Over 2-3 and your ad  can easily start to look cluttered.

Use Borders
To help your ad stand out, give it a border. This can either be around the outside edge of your ad [like a photo frame] or an internal element of your ad design. For example, using bold blocks of colour as a background to your ad can really help it stand out from the heavy black and white text of the editorial.

Make your ad branded
And I don't simply mean slapping your logo as large as possible in the right hand corner.

Every element of your ad; the colours, layout, typeface, paragraph style, style of photography used and the character of your copy should be unique you your advertising.

Your ad should be immediately recognisable from a distance as your ad–even if it were written in Dutch.

The final post in this series will be coming soon. I will be discussing testing ads in a campaign.

I'd love to hear your feedback on the blog posts so please feel free to leave a comment below.

In this third post on newspaper advertising, I'll be looking at the meat of your ad. The copy.

Start with a strong headline.
The headline is arguably the most important element of your ad. People will read a powerful headline and will subsequently go on to read the rest of your ad. Readers will ignore an ineffective headline…and turn the page.

You should therefore aim to spend most of your writing time focused on getting the headline absolutely right.

A powerful headline summarises your offer/ proposition with the greatest impact in the fewest number of words. There is, sadly, no magic formula for writing a great ad. It generally involves time, effort, thought, self-discipline and persistence. 
However, there are different approaches you might want to take:

What is the single core message you want to say to the reader? and what is the single core benefit to the consumer? Now try to write that, in your normal handwriting, in a space the size of a postage stamp. 
This might not generate your actual headline but it will help you focus on boiling down your marketing message to the bare essentials, in the most clear and immediate terms. In the same way, get inspiration from tabloid headlines. Tabloid journalists are experts at boiling down stories into a few words with great impact.

Try writing a headline as an open question. i.e. a question which can't be answered by a simple yes/ no answer.  Humans are naturally intelligent and curious. Open questions actively invite the reader to think and engage with your ad.

Try to state your product/ service benefit in an intriguing way. The ad for sunscreen above requires the reader to engage with the ad, think a little about the image and headline in order to get the joke. By actively engaging with the ad, the reader feels a sense of satisfaction and is more likely to remember that experience, the ad and the product.

Give it some body
Body copy should reiterate and expand upon the message of your headline.

Try to avoid listing every possible feature/ benefit of your product. If you have a lot to say or explain about a product or service do that with a website, brochure or sales call, not in a newspaper ad.

Focusing on a single benefit [or if you really must, two] has much more impact. Unnecessarily wordy copy, crammed with product features, dilutes your message and can make the reader lose interest. You can't bore people into purchasing. It also clutters up the visual impact of an ad.

Use short words. Short sentences. Short paragraphs.

Imagine you are talking to a customer face-to-face. Write in a friendly conversational manner. Avoid coming across like a salesman.

Avoid using too many adjectives. It can sound cheesy. But facts inspire trust.

The Call to Action
So why did you place your ad? What exactly do you want your prospects to do? Visit the showroom? Website? like you on Facebook? Send in a coupon?

Make it completely clear and easy for the reader to do what you want them to do. And, if possible, get them to do it NOW.

Limited offer! Send in the coupon by Friday! Sale now on! promotions encourage the reader to respond soon after seeing the ad. i.e. not giving them time to forget about you.

Look out for part 4 in this series. I will be discussing the design and layout of ads. Meanwhile, get in touch if you would like to discuss your advertising, copywriting or graphic design needs.