Transcript COPYWRITING.

COPYWRITING
©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Executing the Creative: Perspective
• It’s the creative principles that matter
Good writing
o Effective visuals
o
• The world in which ads exist has
changed
Media and technology
o Economic environment
o Social environment
o
The Creative Team and the Creative
Brief
Copywriter
Art Director
Creative Team
Creative Brief
Media /Account Planner
Copywriters and Art Directors
Copywriting
A Creative
is the process
Brief is the guide
of
used in the
expressing the
copywriting
value and
benefits a brand
has to offer.
process
that specifies
the message
elements of
advertising copy.
Copywriting for Print Ads:
The Headline
Purposes:
• Get attention
• Gives news about the brand
• Emphasizes brand claims
• Gives advice to the reader
• Selects targeted prospects
• Stimulates curiosity
• Establishes tone and emotion
• Identifies the brand
© Courtesy 1-800-Collect
Here is a classic
case of a
headline offering
the reader
advice.
Copywriting for Print Ads:
Subhead:Appears above or below Headline
• Reinforce the headline
• Include important information and
communicated in the headline
• Communicate key selling points or
information quickly
• Stimulate more complete reading of the
whole ad
• The longer the body copy, the more
appropriate is the use of subheads
Created in house by Svetlana Electron Devices. Creative Director Jerri Batres; Photographer Jared
Cassidy.
How does
this ad follow
all the guidelines
for subheads?
Copywriting for Print Ads:
The Body Copy
Techniques
• Straight-line copy
• Dialogue
• Testimonial
• Narrative
• Direct response copy
Copywriting for Print Ads:
The Body Copy
Guidelines
• Use present tense
• Vary sentence and
paragraph length
• Use singular nouns
• Involve the reader
and verbs
• Provide support for
the
unbelievable
• Use familiar words
• Avoid clichés and
and phrases
superlatives
• Use active verbs
© Manolo Moran
No headline, no subhead, no body copy—
does this ad still work?
Copywriting for Broadcast
Advertising
• Different opportunities due to sight
and sound
• Inherent limitations…
o
Broadcast ads offer a fleeting message
o
Broadcast employs more sensory devices
which can ad or detract from consumers’
understanding of the message
Writing Radio Copy
• Radio listeners are not active.
• Radio has been called “verbal wallpaper”
• Radio can be the “theater of the mind”
• Formats:
Music
o Dialog
o Announcement
o Celebrity announcer
o
Writing Radio Copy
Guidelines
• Get attention/get to
the point!
• Stress the main selling
points
• Use common
familiar language
• Use sound and music
carefully
• Use short words
and sentences
• Tailor the copy to the
time, place, and
specific audience
• Stimulate the
imagination
• Repeat the brand
name
Writing Copy for Television/Video
• Can create a mood
• Opportunity to demonstrate with action
• Words should not stand alone—use
visuals/special effects
• Precisely coordinate audio/visual
• Storyboard is the roadmap
Writing Television Copy
Guidelines
• Use the video
• Use copy judiciously
• Support the video
• Reflect the brand’s
personality and image
• Coordinate the
audio with the video
• Entertain but sell the
brand
• Be flexible
• Build campaigns
Copywriting for Digital/Interactive Media
• Hybrid of print and broadcast copy
• “Audience” has different meaning in
digital
o
More incentive to read
o
Much of the copy is direct response
o
Audience may “interact” with ad
o
Print and broadcast recommendations for
copywriting apply to digital
Copywriting Approaches to
Digital/Interactive Advertising
• Long-copy landing page
• Short-copy landing page
• Long-copy email
• Teaser email copy
• Pop-up/pop-under copy
• Social media copy
Slogans/Taglines
• Short phrases used to…
o
o
Increase memorability
Help establish an image, identity or position for
a brand or organization
• Good slogans can…
Be an integral part of brand’s image
o Act as shorthand identification for the brand
o Provide information about the brand’s benefits
o
Common Mistakes in Copywriting
• Vagueness
• Wordiness
• Triteness
• Bad taste
– Attention getting, but simple minded
• Laundry lists of features
• Creativity for creativity’s sake
Copy Approval Process
Account Management Team
Legal Department
Account Planning
Copywriter
Product Manager, Brand
Manager, Marketing Staff
Senior Writer
Creative Director
Senior Executives
Art Direction
The Evolution from Words to Pictures
• Improved technology for better illustration
• Digital media allow frequent rotation of
visuals
• Brand values communicated better with
visuals
• Visuals can be protected legally
• Visuals are more globally portable than
words across cultures
• Visuals allow placing the brand in a social
context
Illustration
Definition
• The actual drawing, painting, photography, or
computer-generated art in the ad.
Purposes:
• Attract attention of the target audience
• Make the brand heroic
• Communicate brand features or benefits
• Create a mood, feeling or image
• Stimulate reading of the body copy
• Create a desire social context for the brand
Courtesy Sketchers USA, Inc.
Illustrations can
place the brand
in a social
context.
Illustration Components
Illustration Formats
How the brand will appear as part of the
illustration
• Formats include:
o Emphasizing the social context or
meaning of the product
o More abstract formats
• Must be consistent with the
copy/creative strategy
Design
Is the Structure ….
(and plan behind the structure) for
the aesthetic and stylistic aspects
of a print/digital advertisement.
Principles of Design
Balance (Formal): Symmetrical
presentation of elements
© MINI, A Division of BMW of North America, LLC
Formal balance can create a very orderly
look and feel.
Principles of Design
Balance (Informal): Asymmetrical
weighing of non-similar shapes
Courtesy, First Base Imaging, London
Informal balance can create desired eye
movement through an ad.
Principles of Design
Proportion
Principles of Design
Order
Principles of Design
Unity
Principles of Design
Emphasis
Courtesy of WestPoint Stevens, Inc. and Chillngworth\Reddng, inc.
Emphasis in an
ad will lead the
reader to focus
on one layout
element more
than another.
Layout
Thumbnails
Rough
Layout
Comprehensive
Typography: Typeface and type size
Art Direction and Production in
Digital/Interactive Media
• Cyberspace is its own medium
• The audience is not passive
• At present, it is closer to print than TV
o
Streaming and RSS are improvements
• Revision can be nearly instantaneous
• Persuasive content versus entertainment
is a challenge
• Consumer generated content (CGC) is
making its way into cyberspace
Art Direction and Production in Radio
• Highlights the role of the copywriter
• Other members of creative typically not
involved—more tech people involved
• Process begins with soliciting bids
• Next step is casting talent
– Announcer
– Music talent
• Final prep and production = sound studio
– Fact sheet ad
– Live script ad
Art Direction in Television Advertising
• TV has changed the face of
advertising
• TV is about moving visuals
• It can leave impressions, set moods,
tell stories
• It can get consumers to notice the
brand
• TV production is complex, with many
people and requires tremendous
organizational skills
The Creative Team in Television
Advertising
Agency Participants:
• Creative Director (CD)
• Art Director (AD)
• Copywriter
• Account Executive
(AE)
• Producer
Production Company
Participants:
• Director
• Producer
• Production Manager
• Camera Department
• Art Department
• Editors
Creative Guidelines for Television
Advertising
• Use an attention-getting/relevant
opening
• Emphasize the visual
• Coordinate the audio with the visual
• Persuade as well as entertain
• Show the brand
Production Process for Television
Advertising
• Preproduction: How creative can be
brought to life
• Multiple activities that occur prior to filming
the commercial
• Production (shoot)
• Activities that occur during filming
• Postproduction
• Activities that occur after filming to ready
the commercial
Preproduction Process for Television
Advertising
Storyboard and
script approval
Review of bids from production
houses and other suppliers
Budget approval
Creation of a
production timetable
Assessment of directors, editorial
houses, and music suppliers
Selection of location,
sets, and cast
Production/Shoot
Production Process
• Filming the commercial, or “the shoot”
• The shoot involves large numbers of
diverse people:
Creative performers
o Trained technicians
o Skilled laborers
o
• Sets often feature tension and spontaneity
• Typical national commercial costs
$100,000 to $500,000
Postproduction Process
•
•
•
•
Director’s rough cut
Digital editing
Audio edit
Master, dubs, and distribution