COPYWRITING ©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

COPYWRITING

©2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Executing the Creative: PerspectiveExecuting the Creative: Perspective

• It’s the creative principles that mattero Good writingo Effective visuals

• The world in which ads exist has changedo Media and technologyo Economic environmento Social environment

The Creative Team and the Creative Brief

Copywriter Art Director

Creative Team

Creative Brief

Media /Account

Planner

Copywriters and Art Directors

Copywriting

is the process

of

expressing the

value and

benefits a

brand

has to offer.

A Creative

Brief is the guide

used in the

copywriting

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

Here is a classic case of

a headline offering the

reader advice.

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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

How does this ad follow

all the guidelines

for subheads?

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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• Use singular

nouns and verbs• Use active verbs• Use familiar

words and phrases

• Vary sentence and paragraph length

• Involve the reader

• Provide support for the unbelievable

• Avoid clichés and superlatives

No headline, no subhead, no body copy—does this ad still work?

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Copywriting for BroadcastAdvertising

• 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:o Musico Dialogo Announcemento Celebrity announcer

Writing Radio Copy

Guidelines• Get attention/get

to the point!

• Use common familiar language

• Use short words and sentences

• Stimulate the imagination

• Repeat the brand name

• Stress the main selling points

• Use sound and music carefully

• Tailor the copy to the time, place, and specific audience

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

• Support the video

• Coordinate the audio with the video

• Entertain but sell the brand

• Be flexible

• Use copy judiciously

• Reflect the brand’s personality and image

• 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 Increase memorabilityo Help establish an image, identity or

position for a brand or organization

• Good slogans can…o Be an integral part of brand’s imageo Act as shorthand identification for the

brando Provide information about the brand’s

benefits

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 Planning

Copywriter

Senior Writer Creative Director

Account Management Team

Legal Department

Product Manager, BrandManager, Marketing Staff

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

Illustrations can place the

brand in a social context.

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Illustration Components

Illustration Formats

How the brand will appear as part of the illustration

• Formats include:o Emphasizing the social context

ormeaning of the product

o More abstract formats

• Must be consistent with the copy/creative strategy

Design

(and plan behind the structure) for the aesthetic and stylistic aspects of a print/digital advertisement.

Is the Structure ….

Principles of Design

Balance (Formal): Symmetrical presentation of elements

Formal balance can create a very orderly look and feel.

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Principles of Design

Balance (Informal): Asymmetrical weighing of non-similar shapes

Informal balance can create desired eye movement through an ad.

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Principles of Design

Proportion

Principles of Design

Order

Principles of Design

Unity

Principles of Design

Emphasis

Emphasis in an

ad will lead the reader to focus

on one layout element more than another.

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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

TVo 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 CompanyParticipants:

• 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

Budget approval

Assessment of directors, editorial houses, and music suppliers

Review of bids from production houses and

other suppliers

Creation of aproduction timetable

Selection of location,sets, and cast

Production/Shoot

Production Process

• Filming the commercial, or “the shoot”

• The shoot involves large numbers of diverse people:o Creative performerso Trained technicianso Skilled laborers

• 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