Print Ad Checklist: 8 Things to Add to Your Creative Print Adverts To Grab Attention

Printed media is easier to consume and recall than digital media.

Direct mail advertising has a 70% higher rate of recall after exposure than ads online.

The key to harnessing that advantage is to make creative print adverts that leave a lasting impact on consumers.

You want them to develop a relationship with your brand, even when they think they’re immune to advertising.

Unique ads rise above the rest and imprint people with positive feelings.

They get them thinking about the message or the product long after they’ve seen the ad.

Perfecting the attention grab is really a matter of knowing what elements to utilize.

Read on for our checklist of eight things to incorporate into your creative print adverts.

1. Color

Color does more to separate your brand from other brands right away.

Color also sets the mood and inspires action than any other element of advertising, even copy.

The interaction with color is visceral, involuntary, and helps seal an image, logo, shape or icon into your brain.

It increases brand recognition and leads to decision making and impulse buying when done right.

One popular brand that comes to mind is In n Out burgers in California, I remember seeing a white cup with red palm trees left behind on a park bench and then an hour later find myself at their drive-thru.

You can use color in unexpected, shocking ways.

Change the colors of something iconic to make buyers look twice. The In n Out red palm tree is a perfect example of this theory in practice.

Bright colors like red, yellow, orange and green grab attention because of their contrasting color against a white or black background.

Red creates a sense of urgency.

Green is relaxing.

Orange and yellow make people feel happy or hungry. 

Flood the background with color to make a white graphics or text stand out.

Or you can play into the natural bias certain colors produce.

If you want to sell luxury, dark purple and black invokes wealth and exclusivity.

If you’re emphasizing trust, use navy blue.

Don’t miss out on the effortless groundwork that color provides.

2. What’s Your Claim / Offer

What problem are you solving?

What is the big claim you are making in your ad?

What problem does your product solve and what is the best way for you to communicate that to your reader that’s creative and effective?

For example, if you sell any type of food product, the basic problem you are solving is hunger.

Once you have the main message figured out, you can then subcategorize your message by taste, health, energy, nutrition, calories, and other benefits that come to mind with food products.

When I think of hunger and food products, the first product that came to mind was the Snickers chocolate bar.

It wasn’t a healthy apple, or salad or Mc Donalds or any other major food provider. Hunger is the main problem and message the Snickers bar is claiming to solve for you.

If you want to grab the attention of your reader, your solution has to speak to the person reading your flyer.

How are you presenting your offer to your readers?

3. Empty Space

When paying for print ads, there can be a tendency to maximize visual real estate and cram all of your products and services in one small space.

You want to get in every bit of imagery and copy as you can.

Instead, make better use of the page by intentionally leaving empty space.

This gives your main design breathing room and emphasis, it’s also good practice to have one or two offers max.

This keeps your audience from getting lost in from your main message or topic.

De-cluttering the image allows your point to come across.

It gives consumers immediate access to the message without having to wade through distractions and other information.

4. Custom Type

Playing with typography gives your copy the edge it needs to stand out. If you can, create a custom font that does double-duty.

Constructing a physical, hand-made type has a unique impact.

It feels more intimate and more expensive when someone goes to the trouble of making something by hand.

Use fog on a mirror to trace words with your finger. Carve a slogan into a pumpkin. Twist noodles into the name of a restaurant.

Make a personalized statement with a custom font. If it’s not in your means to create your own type, pay special attention to whatever font you choose.

Don’t go overboard and clutter the advert with every dripping, stenciled, stylized font. More than two or three typefaces look juvenile and unprofessional.

But if you find one that conveys something specific to your project, use it.

5. Movement

Infuse your print ads with movement to keep people engaged.

Even the suggestion of movement provokes interaction with an otherwise flat image.

Use shadows and motion lines to suggest that something’s been thrown.

Blur details to give the effect of travel.

Skew shapes to imply speed.

Lead the consumer straight to your message by pointing them in the right direction. Use leading lines to draw the eye where it needs to go.

You can make subtle use of arrows by incorporating them into the shapes on your ad. Morph your image so that it funnels toward your logo.

Or use actual arrows as a flowchart or diagram does. Make it as obvious as a neon sign pointing to a vacancy.

6. Emotion

The top print ads convey emotion.

Every shared video exploits the emotions of the viewer, whether they’re angry, happy, or sentimental.

An emotional response to advertising moves it from the magazine to someone’s inspiration board.

If your brand is weighty, don’t shy away from sadness.

Appeal to the strength of nostalgia by calling back to the past. Find humor in embarrassment.

Play with color, type, and negative space to hone in on the emotion that suits your product. Small modifications can change the entire tone of the piece.

Adding red to a black and white logo intensifies its energy.

Adding blue to an advertisement is soothing. People buy based on emotions, not logic, so take your audience to the emotion you want them to feel when they buy your product or service. What will your customers feel when they buy your product?

7. Repetition

Repeat after me: advertising lives and dies on repetition.

It’s the commercials and songs that repeat every hour that sticks with us.

It’s the catchy songs with constant airtime that get stuck in your head.

Capitalize on that idea by using repetition in your print ads and message.

Devise a pattern with symbols, shapes, or objects.

Repeat the pattern.

Strengthen the repeating theme by changing one of the elements one time.

The contrast will make the pattern and your message stand out.

Use a more rhythmic style of writing. List attributes using repeating phrases. Let the cadence sell the product.

8. Simplicity

Unless you are a master of the maximalist style, making every flourish speak to your brand without muddying the message, stick to simplicity.

You don’t have to fill the page with every angle, every feature, every asset. You only have to draw someone in and make them want more.

Use big words sparingly. Start your message with what you want your reader to do. What is the action you want your audience to take? 

If you can show what you’re trying to say, then show it. Images remove the processing time of reading text and have a broader appeal.

Emphasize one aspect of the product, and sell it hard. What’s the one thing yours does better than everyone else’s? That’s your ad.

Most people aren’t sitting down to read advertisements. They’re flipping through to get to more content. Make your message simple enough to sing in that one, fleeting moment.

Do You Need Help Producing Creative Print Adverts?
Designing creative print adverts can feel like a delicate balance.

Go into it with certain elements in mind, and it’s a much more attainable goal.

Be colorful, emotional, and simple, and your print ads will be more effective than ever.

If you’re just not sure how to create creative print adverts, call in the experts. In addition to our robust print shop, we offer custom design services, including logo and character design. Send us an email to info@laprintanddesign.com to get started solidifying your brand.