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Color Counts: how to make sure you’ve picked the right one

Starting with the basics, think of colors as primary or secondary, warm or cool, and complementary or contrasting. From a designer’s point of view, here are two key points:

  • The human eye is most comfortable looking at warm colors.
  • Complementary and contrasting colors should work to visually enhance your strategy.

Whether you’re using warm or cool colors or engaging complementary or contrasting colors, you also need to keep in mind the social and cultural connotations attached to each color. Just as with words, colors can have multiple meanings. Think of the social and cultural meanings of each color. Then weigh those meanings against the brand, the colors associated with the brand, and its competitors. Also consider your audience’s sensibilities when making color choices. Finally, remember color may be applied to many elements of a layout: type, line, and backgrounds. Visual images too have an expressed color palette.

Adapted from Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, Design, 4th edition, Tom Altstiel and Jean Grow

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Data source: “The Psychology of Color in Advertising”

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For more detailed information about correct color choices contact Bruce Prom, President/Senior Art Director at PKA Marketing.

bruce@pkamar.com

Watch for Advertising Creative,
4th edition–January 2016.

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The beat goes on

Ten-year old Grant Schoen was a perfectly healthy child and an exceptional athlete. In 2013, when he stayed home from school with a low-grade fever, he took a nap and never woke up. The doctors said he died of SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest). Grant’s parents, Jeff and Tammy Schoen, founded HeartSafe Wisconsin, Inc. to help educate people about life-saving CPR, encourage the placement of AED’s (Automated External Defibrillators) in public facilities, and to provide youth heart screens for otherwise undetected heart problems.

HeartSafe Wisconsin reached out to PKA Marketing to help spread their message. We developed the logo and slogan: Get Smart. Save a Hearth. The PKA creative team also wrote and designed a brochure/direct mail piece that tells the HeartSafe Wisconsin story with a call to action for contributions.

Working with local business leaders and a local hospital, the PKA team created a series of promotional material for HeartSafe Awareness Day in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. The event provided free youth heart screening, CPR classes, blood pressure checks, and information about a heart-healthy lifestyle. Materials included a banner, posters, and HTML emails.

HeartSafe Wisconsin is working to increase awareness of SCA throughout Wisconsin. To find out more, visit heartsafewisconsin.org.

Logo Design

PKA created a distinctive logo and memorable slogan for HeartSafe Wisconsin.

 

Brochure

This 8-page brochure can be used for handouts at events and for direct mail.

 

Poster

These posters tell the Heart Save Wisconsin story and encourage community involvement.

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eMail Campaign

PKA created this HTML email graphic to promote Heart Safe Awareness Day.

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Native advertising vs. content marketing

Sometimes it’s hard to draw a line between native advertising and content marketing when we talk about everything in the abstract. The main distinction is that native advertising is usually designed to sell something before the consumer gets the content he or she seeks (think of a sponsored email); while content marketing gives away that content, and over time, the consumer builds a relationship with the brand (think of a monthly online magazine). The disadvantage of native advertising is that some consumers perceive it as a sleazy gimmick and hate it even more than straightforward advertising. The downside of content marketing is that warm and fuzzy relationships don’t always turn into sales, especially if your competition is warmer and fuzzier.

Adapted from Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, Design, 4th edition, Tom Altstiel and Jean Grow

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For more detailed information about how to maximize the impact of content marketing, contact Bill Elverman, Vice President/Public Relations Director at PKA Marketing.

bill@pkamar.com

Twitter: @IndustrialPrGuy

Watch for Advertising Creative,
4th edition–January 2016.

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The Seven Deadly Sins of Copywriting

NOTE: The following segment was written to help writing students improve their craft. But it’s helpful advice for anyone who writes advertising copy, web content or public relations material.

We call these the Seven Deadly Sins. When you see them in your writing, make a brief confession and do penance by rewriting. Even experienced writers commit these sins. As with other transgressions, you can’t feel guilty until you know it’s a sin.

[icon_text box_type=”normal” box_border=”no” icon_type=”normal” icon_size=”icon-large” icon_position=”left” title=”Advertising-ese” text=”Write the way people talk, eliminate clichés, useless phrases, keep it conversational (read out loud).” image=”4664″][icon_text box_type=”normal” box_border=”no” icon_type=”normal” icon_size=”icon-large” icon_position=”left” title=”Bad taste” text=”Watch for sexist, racist, offensive language and symbols. If it feels wrong, it probably is.” image=”4665″][icon_text box_type=”normal” box_border=”no” icon_type=”normal” icon_size=”icon-large” icon_position=”left” title=”Deadwood” text=”Weed out weak, redundant, unnecessary words and phrases. Keep the flow of thought moving.” image=”4666″][icon_text box_type=”normal” box_border=”no” icon_type=”normal” icon_size=”icon-large” icon_position=”left” title=”Generic Benefit” text=”Provide consumer benefits in terms they understand. Appeal to their lives. Lead with strongest benefit. Is one benefit so strong that it is the central truth or one thing about this product?” image=”4667″][icon_text box_type=”normal” box_border=”no” icon_type=”normal” icon_size=”icon-large” icon_position=”left” title=”Laundry lists ” text=”Don’t list features without reference to what they mean to the consumer. Weave benefits into the ad and prioritize them based on the consumer’s point of view.” image=”4668″][icon_text box_type=”normal” box_border=”no” icon_type=”normal” icon_size=”icon-large” icon_position=”left” title=”Poor grammar” text=”Watch for errors in spelling, punctuation and verb tense. Know the rules and when to break the rules. Use fragments if it improves readability.” image=”5395″][icon_text box_type=”normal” box_border=”no” icon_type=”normal” icon_size=”icon-large” icon_position=”left” title=”Wimpy words” text=”Use power words, active voice, short simple sentences. If it doesn’t feel strong, it’s not.” image=”5396″]

Adapted from Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, Design, 4th edition, Tom Altstiel and Jean Grow

Watch for Advertising Creative,
4th edition–January 2016.

For more detailed information about copywriting, contact Tom Altstiel, Vice President/Creative Director, PKA Marketing

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B2B and Social Media: Barely Scratching the Surface

Many B2B clients were slow to embrace social media, and too many still consider it a sideline activity. As with B2C marketers, the biggest challenges are (1) understanding the potential of social media for business and (2) committing the personnel and time to make it work.

A lot of companies limit their use of social media to handling customer complaints. As long as unhappy customers are willing to vent on Facebook or Twitter, the companies feel they need to address the problem, calm down the complainer, and let the rest of the world know they are concerned. To do that effectively, a company needs to react quickly and take the right tone. That kind of instant, online customer service is certainly important, but it barely scratches the surface of social media’s potential for B2B marketers.

Content marketing is a perfect match for most B2B clients. Their customers are hungy for information, but not necessarily ready to read or hear a sales pitch. Some of the most common content in B2B landing pages, microsites, blogs and social media marketing includes:

Adapted from Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, Design, 4th edition, Tom Altstiel and Jean Grow

  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Infographics
  • Infographics
  • Presentations
  • White Papers
  • Case Studies
  • E newsletters
  • Research reports
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The customer profile, product and content dictate which social networking platform to use.

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Infographic by L. Habermehl

For more detailed information about how to maximize the impact of social media for B2B, contact Bill Elverman, Vice President/Public Relations Director at PKA Marketing.

bill@pkamar.com

Twitter: @IndustrialPrGuy

Watch for Advertising Creative,
4th edition–January 2016.