ADVERTISING COPY AND ATTRIBUTES

 

Text of a print, radio, or television advertising message that aims at catching and holding the interest of the prospective buyer, and at persuading him or her to make a purchase all within a few short seconds. The headline of an advertising copy is said to be the most important part, and quite often a small change in its wording brings disproportionate results. Although a short advertising copy is more common in consumer-product advertising, according to the UK advertising guru David Ogilvy (1911-1999) people do read (and listen or attend to) lengthy advertisements if they are skillfully written.

Most advertising copy is based on advertising/consumer research and is composed by professional copywriters hired by advertising agencies. Also called advertisement copy, ad copy, or just copy. George Gribbin suggested that a good copywriter should get to know a great deal about the product he is advertising. When he mentioned 'understanding of a product,' what he really meant actually included knowledge of the characteristics of the product, people who buy the product and their purposes of purchasing it.

ATTRIBUTES OF GOOD ADVERTISING COPY

The essence of special functions to be accomplished by te advertisement must also be kept in min by the copywriter. One must understand the medium in which the advertisement is to appear. And then according to the nature, and availability of the medium the size and pattern of advertising copy should be prepared. A good copy should be:-

§     Be Brief

§     Be Precise

§     Be Concise

§     Aim to Sell

§     Be Sincere

§     Be Clear

§     Be Apt

§     Interesting

§     Be Personal

§     A copywriter must write briefly, yet effectively. Therefore, read the rough raft slowly. Study each sentence. Consider its meanings and importance. Certainly an advertisement should never be longer than is necessary.

§     Precise means saying exactly in the advertising copy what is meant, using the most crispy and catchy words.

§     Say in the advertising message what must be said in the fewest possible words.

§     An advertisement is mere than a more piece of information. It also promises benefits.

§     In advertising a copy avoids undue exaggeration for unless the message is credible and trustworthy, it will recoil disastrously.

§     When advertising lacks clarity, it will be ineffective. Even a slight vagueness will cripple the advertising copy. Therefore, one should avoid the use of words whose meanings are not understood by the prospect and the incorrect selection and use of words an ambiguous phraseology.

§     A copy must be apt it must address the needs or wants of the prospects as well as of the manufacturer. The influencing power of copy depends greatly on the correlations that exists between the desire of a prospect and the quality or feature of the product. The ability to show this relationship is the art of making a copy apt.

§     The advertising copy should speak in light of mood but in favourite taste. The information about the product should be given in entertaining, attractive and colouful way in order to attract and appeal to the prospective consumers. Copy should be written from the prospect to the product, not from te product to the prospect. The great temptation that confronts copy writers is to preach to the prospects in different ways and by different techniques.

Great advertising is deliberately simple, because great ads have one, clear objective. Know your customers. Most entrepreneurs can describe their customers, but few can actually identify with them. When it’s time to create, talk it out. After you understand your objective and your customer, it’s time to get to work. Grab a colleague or two and start talking it out. Example: If you’re a one-person shop, talk to a business associate or even a friend — great ideas come from everywhere. The dynamic of spontaneous banter is faster and more effective than banging away at a keyboard by yourself. The associations that spin around the room will take ideas in directions you never would have thought of and, ultimately, will create a more interesting solution for your advertisement.

Beside the above mentioned attributes there are some other qualities which have been acceded to by renowned advertisers as essential components of a good advertising copy. Synopsis of these attributes/ qualities is given as under:-

GET ATTENTION:          You can do this with a good headline. Ask a provocative question or announce news about your company or product.

SET APART:            Set yourself apart from the competition - What makes your product unique?

TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMER:             Avoid focusing on yourself. You are irrelevant. Tell your customer how she will benefit from using your product. Use the word "you" and you can be certain you are speaking directly to your customer.

PROVE IT:               If space permits, add testimonials, sales statistics and anything else that proves your claims.

CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY:     If people don't sense urgency, they aren't likely to click on your link. Limited time offers are perfect. Ads focusing on holidays work well. Make sure your potential customers feel the need to click on your link now.

REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE:           If your product is for a certain group of people, target your ad specifically to that group. You don't have to appeal to everyone if they aren't going to be interested in making a purchase.