Three things to remember when advertising

1. Measure effectiveness

One of the ways that blue chip companies in particular ensure that their advertising budget isn’t being wasted is to measure effectiveness. Although it’s not an exact science, there is no alternative to measurement if you want to know whether your advertising is working. If you don’t measure you could be wasting a lot of money.

The marketing text books are full of various techniques for the measurement of advertising success. Some of them are quite simple, such as asking people to quote a code when responding to an advert; each advert has a different code so you can get a fairly accurate measurement of response rates to each one. There is bound to be a method or series of methods that would work for you.

2. Use a great headline

Research has shown that changing a headline can produce a 50-100% increase in response to a printed advertisement. The headline should ideally grab people's attention and show that the advertisement is relevant to them. Experiment with headlines until you find the one that works best.

3. The position is crucial

When people read a publication their eyes are drawn to the right-hand page. So statistically more people will see your ad if it's on the right-hand page. But even being on the right-hand page won't make amends if your advert is in the wrong publication. And the task of finding out whether you are in the right publication brings us back to point one . . .

PICTURE: Advertising campaign developed by Titman Firth Graphic Design Agency for Heald Solicitors.

©Titman Firth 2005