Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Advertising Tips

Some things to think about when you’re considering advertising:

Advertising is a great way to get noticed, even a small ad is better than nothing.  It's a way to market what you have, what you plan to have or just keep an awareness of your farm and family out there. The Purebred Publishing staff are here to help you.  If you don’t have any ideas, that’s okay, some of the points below might help. Don’t be afraid to ask us for help and ideas.

Are you considering doing more than one ad or want to market a certain cow family?  If you are, then we could do a series of ads that have a certain feel or look to them.  With the same colors, images or fonts used through multiple ads, you can create a look over multiple months that is cohesive and almost brand-like.  You could have a single cow or cow family featured, or simply the farm itself.  We have also done plenty of ads like this for sales.

If you have a theme in mind – like western, or a mechanical look, or you want flames – don’t be afraid to say so.  That being said, understand that there are limitations, and that sometimes even if something sounds cool, it’s just not going to work.  I will try to work within your ideas of a theme, it can be very interesting in fact, but my job is to try to make your ads present the best possible presence for your farm and animals.

Backgrounds can be key. It’s good for me to know if you don’t mind one of the cows being faded into the background, or maybe somewhat covered, or only a head used in the background.  This can create very dynamic ads.  Photos from farm scenes, ring shots and more can be used for backgrounds in ads as well, but be aware that sometimes not all pictures will work, they might be too small or too poor of quality.

If you see something somewhere that you like, don’t be afraid to scan it and send it in, but again, be aware that your ad will not look exactly like that.  Ideas don't need to be out of a dairy publication, it could be anything.  

Advertising can be very interesting and creative, but sometimes ads can be overdone.  It’s fun to have a theme, but don’t be discouraged if we tell you there’s too much going on in an ad.  That just means that you’ll have ideas for the next one!

For more advertising tips or ideas - contact me, Ashley, Purebred's graphic designer at ashaffer@usguernsey.com