Module - 4

Message Design and Development

BBA VI Sem Advertising Management Lecture Notes
Module 4 Message Design and Development

Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION TO MESSAGE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT ........................................................2
2. MESSAGE DESIGN................................................................................................................................2
2.1. Message Positioning .....................................................................................................................2
2.2. Message Structure ........................................................................................................................4
2.3. Advertising Appeal ........................................................................................................................5
2.4. Message Format (Message Presentation) ....................................................................................7
2.1. Message Source (The Source/Endorser/Presenter of the Message) ............................................9
1. Source Credibility .........................................................................................................................9
2. Source Attractiveness................................................................................................................ 10
3. Source Power............................................................................................................................. 10
3. ADVERTISEMENT COPY .................................................................................................................. 11
3.1. ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT COPY....................................................................... 11
3.2. THE TYPES OF ADVERTISEMENT COPIES .................................................................................... 12
4. COPYWRITING .................................................................................................................................. 13
4.1. Copywriting for Print Advertising............................................................................................... 15
4.1. Copywriting for Radio ................................................................................................................ 16
4.2. Copywriting for TV Advertising .................................................................................................. 17
5. ADVERTISING LAYOUT........................................................................................................................ 18
6. QUESTION BANK .............................................................................................................................. 19

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Module 4 Message Design and Development

1. INTRODUCTION TO MESSAGE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Before an advertisement appears in public, two activities must be undertaken. First, what is it
that you want to say (i.e. Message Design)? And second, how do you want to say it (i.e.,
Message Development, including Execution). This Module deals with the various elements of
message designing, developing and presentation.

2. MESSAGE DESIGN

Message means a lesson or central idea of advertising. A message is the thought, ideas,
attitude, image or other information that the sender wishes to convey to the intended
audience
The message is something that advertiser wants to convey the market. Message must be such
that makes the viewers or readers to try and/or buy the products.
In short, an advertising message must touch needs, emotions, and attitudes of customers.
Mostly, the message expresses major benefits the product offers. It shows superiority of
company’s product among the products of close competitors. Creativity plays an important role
in advertising message. Advertisements differ in terms of the messages they carry with. It is the
powerful factor determining effectiveness of overall advertising programme.

Following are the key elements involved in Message Design:

1. Message Positioning
2. Message Factors
3. Advertising Appeals
4. Message Formats
5. Source Factors

2.1. Message Positioning

One of the most important decisions which a marketer has to take in regard to his product - the
way he would like his product/brand to be perceived by the consumers.
In order to be successful, a marketer has to effectively advertise his product to his prospects.
You have to make sure that through your advertisement, your product is Seen, Heard, Believed
and Accepted by your consumers.
The art and science of making your message seen, heard, believed and accepted by another
human mind is what positioning is all about

 Positioning is the act of designing and projecting an image of the company’s offering such
that the image occupies a distinctive place in the minds of the target market.

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 Kotler aptly summarises positioning as the ‘act of designing the company’s offer so that it
occupies a distinct and valued place in the mind of the target customer.’

Example:

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2.2. Message Structure

The message structure deals with of organisation and arrangement the various elements of
a message. The message in advertisements should be such that it communicates with the
viewer i.e. audience remembers the specific points about the products or services.

Few specific points are jotted down as the important facts that have to be put forward to
the audience members. For example, in an advertisement a hotel might want to present
itself as a luxurious, spacious, elegant place as well as a property which provides a homely
feeling. Along with this the hotel might want to stress upon its location and the many
facilities that it provides.

The various aspects in message structuring are highlighted below.

 Message Sidedness: A message can be one-sided or two sided.

o One-sided message: A one-sided message mentions only positive attributes or
benefits. One-sided messages are most effective when the target audience already
holds a favourable opinion about the topic. For example: cold drink advertisers talk
only about the drink’s taste and fun and not about the bucket-loads of calories that
consumer glug along with.
o Two-sided message: A two-sided message presents both good and bad points. Two-
sided messages are more effective when the target audience holds an opposing
opinion or is highly educated. For example: Buckley’s cough syrup: its taste awful,
but it works. Kimti hi sahi, bachche aur parivar ke liye samjhouta nahin. ZANDU
CHAYVANPRASH

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 Order of Presentation: The presentation of the argument-where exactly the important

points of an argument should be placed-is another important aspect of message
structuring. Here too, different possibilities are there.
o Climax Order: When the most important points of a message are placed at the end
of the message, it is a 'climax order'. The climax order is likely to be the most
effective when the audience already possesses a high degree of interest in the
material that is presented. Gaining attention is not a problem; and the strong point
that comes at the end of the message is reassuring.
o Anti-climax Order: When the most important points are placed at the very
beginning of the message is an 'anti-climax order'. The anti-climax order is likely to
be most effective when the audience interest in the material being presented is low;
the attention has to be ensured as fast as possible; they will not wait to see the
entire message.
o Pyramidal Order of Presentation When the most important points come in the
middle of the message, it is a 'pyramidal order'. The pyramidal order is found to be
the least effective order of presentation. Material in the middle of the message is
seen to get the least attention and, in effect, it is the least persuasive.
 Conclusion Drawing:
o Marketing communicators must decide whether their messages should explicitly
draw a firm conclusion or allow receivers to draw their own conclusion.
o Messages with explicit conclusions are more easily understood and effective in
influencing attitudes
o The effectiveness of conclusion drawing may depend on the target audience, the
type of issue or topic, and the nature of the situation
 Repetition: Repeating an ad message is often beneficial, a repeated message increases
awareness and knowledge on the part of the prospect. Audience retention improves with
repetition, and falls off quickly when repetition is abandoned.
 Verbal or Non - Verbal: When we think of delivering a message, we can either use words
(verbal) or visuals (non-visual) or both.

2.3. Advertising Appeal

 Advertising appeal is defined as strategies for grabbing the attention of people to

persuade them to purchase your product or service.
 The advertising appeal refers to the approach used to attract the attention of
consumers and/or to influence their feelings toward the product, service, or cause.
 An advertising appeal can also be viewed as “something that moves people, speaks
to their wants or needs, and excites their interest.”

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Different appeals can be used as the basis for advertising messages.

Types of advertising appeal

1. Informational/Rational Appeals: Informational/rational appeals focus on the

consumer’s practical, functional, or utilitarian need for the product or service and
emphasize features of a product or service and/or the benefits or reasons for owning or
using a particular brand. The content of these messages emphasizes facts, learning, and
the logic of persuasion. Rational-based appeals tend to be informative, and advertisers
using them generally attempt to convince consumers that their product or service has a
particular attribute(s) or provides a specific benefit that satisfies their needs.
2. Emotional Appeals: Emotional appeals relate to the customers’ social and/or
psychological needs for purchasing a product or service. Many consumers’ motives for
their purchase decisions are emotional, and their feelings about a brand can be more
important than knowledge of its features or attributes. Advertisers for many products
and services view rational, information-based appeals as dull. Many advertisers believe
appeals to consumers’ emotions work better at selling brands that do not differ
markedly from competing brands, since rational differentiation of them is difficult.
3. Fear Appeals: Fear is an emotional response to a threat that expresses, or at least
implies, some sort of danger. Ads sometimes use fear appeals to evoke this emotional
response and arouse individuals to take steps to remove the threat. Fear appeals are
more effective when the message recipient is self-confident and prefers to cope with
dangers rather than avoid them. They are also more effective among nonusers of a
product than among users. Thus, a fear appeal may be better at keeping non-smokers
from starting than persuading smokers to stop.
4. Humour Appeals: Humorous ads are often the best known and best remembered of all
advertising messages. Advertisers use humour for many reasons. Humorous messages
attract and hold consumers’ attention. They enhance effectiveness by putting
consumers in a positive mood, increasing their liking of the ad itself and their feeling
toward the product or service. And humour can distract the receiver from counter
arguing against the message.
5. Comparative Advertising: Comparative advertising is the practice of either directly or
indirectly naming competitors in an ad or comparing one or more specific attributes.
Comparative advertising may be particularly useful for new brands, since it allows a new
market entrant to position itself directly against the more established brands and to
promote its distinctive advantages. Direct comparisons can help position a new brand in
the evoked, or choice, set of brands the customer may be considering. Comparative
advertising is often used for brands with a small market share.

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2.4. Message Format (Message Presentation)

Message formats are a template for determining how the advertising appeal will be told - as a
piece of news, dramatically, musically, with scientific support, through a demonstration, etc.
Following are the some of the standard message formats or execution styles that advertisers
can choose from.

 Straight Sell or Factual Message: This type of ad relies on a straightforward

presentation of information concerning the product or service. This execution is often
used with informational/rational appeals, where the focus of the message is the
product or service and its specific attributes and/or benefits. Straight-sell executions are
commonly used in print ads. A picture of the product or service occupies part of the ad,
and the factual copy takes up the rest of the space.
 Scientific/Technical Evidence: In a variation of the straight sell, scientific or technical
evidence is presented in the ad. Advertisers often cite technical information, results of
scientific or laboratory studies, or endorsements by scientific bodies or agencies to
support their advertising claims.
 Demonstration: Demonstration advertising is designed to illustrate the key advantages
of the product/service by showing it in actual use or in some staged situation.
Demonstration executions can be very effective in convincing consumers of a product’s
utility or quality and of the benefits of owning or using the brand.
 Comparison: The comparison execution approach is increasingly popular among
advertisers, since it offers a direct way of communicating a brand’s particular advantage
over its competitors or positioning a new or lesser known brand with industry leaders.
 Testimonial: This approach can be very effective when the person delivering the
testimonial is someone with whom the target audience can identify or who has an
interesting story to tell. The testimonial must be based on actual use of the product or
service to avoid legal problems, and the spokesperson must be credible.
 Slice of Life: This type of ad portrays a problem or conflict that consumers might face in
their daily lives. The ad then shows how the advertiser’s product or service can resolve
the problem.
 Animation: An advertising execution approach that has become popular in recent years
is animation. With this technique, animated scenes are drawn by artists or created on
the computer, and cartoons, puppets, or other types of fictional characters may be
used. Cartoon animation is especially popular for commercials targeted at children.

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2.1. Message Source (The Source/Endorser/Presenter of the Message)

To develop an effective advertising and promotional campaign, a firm must select the right
spokesperson to deliver a compelling message through appropriate channels or media. We use
the term source/endorser to mean the person involved in communicating a marketing
message, either directly or indirectly. A direct source is a spokesperson who delivers a message
and/or demonstrates a product or service. An indirect source, say, a model, doesn’t actually
deliver a message but draws attention to and/or enhances the appearance of the ad.
Herbert Kelman developed three basic categories of source attributes:
1. Source Credibility ( The credibility of the endorser)
2. Source Attractiveness (Likeability/attractiveness of the endorser)
3. Source Power ( The power of the endorser)

1. Source Credibility
Credibility is the extent to which the recipient sees the source as having relevant knowledge,
skill, or experience and trusts the source to give unbiased, objective information.
The two most important aspect of credibility are expertise and trust
If an audience perceives the endorser as sincere, honest and trustworthy the persuasive effect
would be significant.

For example: To communicate Cadbury dairy milk new ‘purity sealed’ pack, Company brought in
a brand ambassador to reinforce the credibility that the company had demonstrated through
its actions. Amitabh Bachchan, a legendary Indian film star, was chosen, as he embodied the
values of Cadbury as a brand and connected with all of India – mothers, teenagers, children,
media persons and trader partners.

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2. Source Attractiveness

A source characteristic frequently used by advertisers is attractiveness, which encompasses

similarity, familiarity, and likability. Similarity is a supposed resemblance between the source
and the receiver of the message, while familiarity refers to knowledge of the source through
exposure. Likability is an affection for the source as a result of physical appearance, behaviour,
or other personal traits.
It is attitude of receivers that prompts the advertisers to use film stars and other celebrities as
endorsers for many advertisement. These practices do not imply that only haloed people can
be presenter. Customers are used as endorser, experts in a given profession are used,
housewives and employees are used and even children are used; it depends on the product –
context and company’s overall requirements and the budget available. Many advertisers use
images and animation to deliver their messages. For example while idea cellular uses film start
Abhishek Bachchan as endorser, Videophone has been using the animation, the Zoo Zoos to
present its message.

3. Source Power

The final characteristic in Kelman’s classification scheme is source power. A source has power
when he or she can actually administer rewards and punishments to the receiver. As a result of
this power, the source may be able to induce another person(s) to respond to the request or
position he or she is advocating. The power of the source depends on several factors. The
source must be perceived as being able to administer positive or negative sanctions to the
receiver (perceived control) and the receiver must think the source cares about whether or not
the receiver conforms (perceived concern). The receiver’s estimate of the source’s ability to
observe conformity is also important (perceived scrutiny).

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3. ADVERTISEMENT COPY

The word 'Copy' has a specific meaning in the world of advertising. Advertisement Copy is the
soul of advertisement.

An Advertisement Copy is the written and spoken matter expressed in words, sentences, and
figures designed to convey the desired message to the target audience.

3.1. ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT COPY

Whether a copy is effective or ineffective is a matter of personal judgment. It is really very

difficult to judge as its evaluation is purely subjective and perceptive. However, a good or
effective copy is one that succeeds in reaching the target consumers to create favourable
attitudes towards the product and the producers, impelling an action on the part of consumer
to buy.

A good advertisement copy has the following attributes:

 Credibility- An ad copy must focus on the credibility or the reliability of the ad. The
copywriters should essentially flaunt an element of reliability in the ad so that the
consumers are convinced to go ahead with the product. The credibility of an advertisement
is the extent of honesty in the ad message. Misleading and misinterpreted ads harm the
reputation of the selling house.
 Attention- The keywords, punch lines or phrases that seize the attention of the potential
consumers or some component in the ad that attracts the target audience are essential in a
good advertising copy.
 Assurance of benefit– An advertisement copy must contain some promise of the benefits
that the product offers if the consumer purchases and uses the product.
 Brief and clear- An ad copy must be brief and clear, i.e. it must be to the point. It doesn’t
mean that the copy must omit the important elements of the ad. A clear copy is easy and
quick to be read by the readers. It is self-explanatory, definite, and precise. Clarity makes
way for interpretation.
 Apt and conforming- The copy must be apt and must match the needs of the prospects. A
copywriter has to use the most suitable USP. Every ad copy must meet the conforming
standards and rules acceptable to the advertising media and the laws of the land. A copy
that offends the morality challenges religious beliefs of the people is not welcomed by any
media.

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3.2. THE TYPES OF ADVERTISEMENT COPIES

As told earlier, method or style of presentation is to do with the way in which the message is
presented. It speaks of the different types of advertising copies to arrest, inform, impress and
impel the reader; certain elements are to be present in a copy such as attention, suggestion,
meaning, conviction, sentiment, education and instinct.

These copies are classified in a number of ways. However, the most practical one is to classify
into following types as:

Depending on various objectives for which advertising copy are prepared, advertising copy
can be of following types:
1. Reason Why Copy
A Reason Why advertising copy offers reasons as to why the consumers are expected to buy
the product of a particular brand. The reason why copy appeals directly to the intellect or
the judgment of an individual than the emotions. It tries to explain the product qualities
and benefits by giving evidence in the forms of testimonials, guarantees, customer
experiences, and so on.
2. Descriptive Copy:
This copy is non-technical in nature and is prepared in such a manner that a layman can
understand it. It gives detailed information about the product in very simple language. This
type of advertisement copy is generally used for the products which are purchased as a
matter of routine.
3. Scientific Copy:
Scientific copy is of technical nature and it provides details regarding the producer and the
product. This type of copy is generally used by engineering and drug & pharmaceutical firms
to inform the ordinary people in general and professional persons in particular about the
merits and value of the product so that they may be stimulated to buy it.
4. Educational Ad Copy
An educational ad copy attempts to inform, update and prompts its clients to buy a product
by educating the prospective customers. It is designed to educate the public about the
attributes of the product. Introductory ad copies are usually created in this way. It is the
responsibility of every manufacturer to educate the prospects regarding the product and
endure a warm welcome amongst its clients. Such an ad copy signifies the benefits and
special features of the product.
5. Institutional Ad Copy
Institutional copy doesn’t sell its goods and services. Institutional ad copy aims at
promoting the selling house. It focuses to build a strong reputation for the selling house.
The main objective of this type of ad copy is to create, maintain, and increase the goodwill
through its philosophy, objectives and policies so that the prospective customers register it
in their minds. Institutional copy invites the target customers to the selling outlet. It is also
called as prestige or corporate advertising.
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6. Human Interest Copy

Human interest copy entices the emotions and senses of its prospective customers rather
than the intellect and judgment. This advertisement copy defines the product to people
instead of sticking to facts. Human Interest copy gets to selling part indirectly or reluctantly.
It focuses on people’s undying interest in themselves, their families and friends. The most
important forms of Human Interest Copy are- humorous copy, fear copy, predicament copy,
and story copy.
a. HUMOROUS COPY: Humorous ad copy is a copy which is designed to make the
reader laugh. This copy brings about a smile on the readers face.
b. FEAR COPY: Fear ad copy arouses a sense of fear in the reader to save their lives
or to protect themselves from something. It creates interest among its
consumers by instilling a sense of fear in them. Fear advertisement copies must
be designed carefully as it may carry an unpleasant association on the viewer’s
mind concerning the product.
c. STORY COPY: In a story copy, a story is narrated in a very interesting way to
develop interest amongst its prospects. Customer experiences can also be
narrated in the form of a story.
7. Personality Copy:
This type of advertisement copy attempts to encash the opinion of an important personality
about the product. Personality advertisement copies are quite popular now a day on
television. For instance – Salman Khan in Revital.
8. Questioning Copy:
Questioning copy includes a number of questions expected to be answered by the
prospects. The answer of these questions lies in the use of the product so advertised. For
example, advertisement of Godrej Locks.
9. Suggestive Copy:
A suggestive copy suggests or attempts to convey the message to the readers directly or
indirectly and prompts them to purchase the product. Suggestive ad copy works best when
the reader is confused regarding the quality of the product and is juggling with decision
making regarding his purchase.

4. COPYWRITING

The term 'copy' includes every single feature that appears in the body of the advertisement. In
the earlier days, 'copy' was used to refer only to the written matter. In present times, copy is all
embracing term, covering all that appears in an advertisement – the written matter, picture,
labels, logo and design.

Copywriting is the skill of choosing the right words and technique of arranging them smartly
to promote business, product, service, idea, or a person.

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Copywriting is the process of expressing the value and benefits a brand has to offer via written
or verbal descriptions together in coherent sentences

The selection of words and its presentation largely depends upon the media through which it is
planned to convey. For example, depending on whether it is a newspaper, magazine, hoarding,
radio, television, or internet, the script will vary accordingly.
However, whatever is the type of media, the purpose of copywriting is the same i.e. promotion.
Therefore, it should be persuasive enough to be instantly attention grabbing.
Copywriting is what you use to get your customers and potential customers to take a particular
action. For example:
 Call you for more information
 Place an order
 Sign up for your mailing list
 Get them to refer a friend to your business

Copywriting Example – Daihatsu

The basic purpose of an ad is to fascinate people. Only after catching people’s attention, an ad
arises interest and desire to buy the product. Therefore, it should be an eye-catching and
interesting. Copywriters play a very important in the advertising industry, as they are the ones
to choose the right word or phrase to connect with the audience.

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4.1. Copywriting for Print Advertising

Copywriting has some essential elements required to develop a convincing ad. Following are
the significant elements –

ELEMENTS OF PRINT ADVERTISING

What are the components that make up a print ad? When you execute a print ad, you compose
various elements like layout, headline, tagline, visual, body copy, etc. Let's look at these
elements one at a time.
 Heading - The headline is the words in the leading position of the ad—the words that
will be read first or are positioned to draw the most attention. Headlines are usually set
in larger type and are often set apart from the body copy or text portion of the ad to
give them prominence. Most advertising people consider the headline the most
important part of a print ad. The most important function of a headline is attracting
readers’ attention and interesting them in the rest of the message. While the visual
portion of an ad is obviously important, the headline often shoulders most of the
responsibility of attracting readers’ attention. Types of Headlines: There are numerous
headline possibilities.
o Direct headlines: Direct headlines are straightforward and informative in terms
of the message they are presenting and the target audience they are directed
toward. Common types of direct headlines include those offering a specific
benefit, making a promise, or announcing a reason the reader should be
interested in the product or service.
o Indirect headlines: Indirect headlines are not straightforward about identifying
the product or service or getting to the point. But they are often more effective
at attracting readers’ attention and interest because they provoke curiosity and
lure readers into the body copy to learn an answer or get an explanation.
Techniques for writing indirect headlines include using questions, provocations,
how-to statements, and challenges.
 Body copy – The main text portion of a print ad is referred to as the body copy (or
sometimes just copy). While the body copy is usually the heart of the advertising
message, getting the target audience to read it is often difficult. The copywriter faces a
dilemma: The body copy must be long enough to communicate the advertiser’s
message yet short enough to hold readers’ interest. Body copy content often flows from
the points made in the headline or various subheads, but the specific content depends
on the type of advertising appeal and/or execution style being used
 Visual Elements: The visual portion of an ad must attract attention, communicate an
idea or image, and work in a synergistic fashion with the headline and body copy to
produce an effective message. In some print ads, the visual portion of the ad is
essentially the message and thus must convey a strong and meaningful image. Many

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decisions have to be made regarding the visual portion of the ad: what identification
marks should be included (brand name, company or trade name, trademarks, logos);
whether to use photos or hand-drawn or painted illustrations; what colors to use (or
even perhaps black and white or just a splash of color); and what the focus of the visual
should be.
 Layout: A layout is the physical arrangement of the various parts of the ad, including the
headline, subheads, body copy, illustrations, and any identifying marks. The layout
shows where each part of the ad will be placed and gives guidelines to the people
working on the ad. The layout can also guide the art director in determining the size and
type of photos. The agency should get client approval of the layout before moving on to
the more costly stages of print production.

4.1. Copywriting for Radio

 Characteristics of radio copy –

o Conversational style
o Theater of the mind - The story is visualized in the listener’s imagination
o Must be simple enough for consumers to grasp, but intriguing enough to
prevent them from switching the station

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 Tools of radio copywriting

o Voice
o Music

The Practice of Radio Copywriting

 Keep it personal
 Speak to listener’s interests
 Wake up the inattentive
 Make it memorable
 Include call to action
 Create image transfer

4.2. Copywriting for TV Advertising

TV is a unique and powerful advertising medium because it contains the elements of sight,
sound, and motion, which can be combined to create a variety of advertising appeals and
executions. Like print ads, TV commercials have several components. The video and audio must
work together to create the right impact and communicate the advertiser’s message.
 Video: The video elements of a commercial are what is seen on the TV screen. The
visual portion generally dominates the commercial, so it must attract viewers’ attention
and communicate an idea, message, and/or image. A number of visual elements may
have to be coordinated to produce a successful ad. Decisions have to be made regarding
the product, the presenter, action sequences, demonstrations, and the like, as well as
the setting(s), the talent or characters who will appear in the commercial, and such
other factors as lighting, graphics, colour, and identifying symbols.
 Audio: The audio portion of a commercial includes voices, music, and sound effects.
Voices are used in different ways in commercials. They may be heard through the direct
presentation of a spokesperson or as a conversation among various people appearing in
the commercial. A common method for presenting the audio portion of a commercial is
through a voice-over, where the message is delivered or action on the screen is
narrated or described by an announcer who is not visible. A trend among major
advertisers is to have celebrities with distinctive voices do the voiceovers for their
commercials.

Visualisation and Copy Layout

The first expectation from an advertisement is that it must arrest attention. How the
advertisement is presented in terms of its visual appeal in an important consideration for the
agency and the advertiser, and it is here that the role of lay out in the advertisement comes in
Visualisation is the process of forming mental image, picture, or representation of an object or
idea, while the layout is the physical arrangement of the elements in an advertisement, that is,
the presentation of the mental idea. According to Dorothy Cohen (1988), much of the creativity
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in advertising evolves from the process of visualization and the countless ways in which mental
images can be made to represent ideas. A layout shows how an advertisement will look, after
combining all the elements, viz. picture, illustration, headline, body text, logo, coupon, mission
statement, etc. It gives the advertiser a fair idea about how the advertisement is finally going to
look

5. ADVERTISING LAYOUT

Advertising Layout is the logical arrangement of components of an advertisement in the copy.

It refers to the overall structure, the position assigned to the various elements of the copy and
illustrations.

It is deciding on the placement of headlines, copy, illustration, marketers name, logo and the
amount of free space in an advertisement copy. Thus, the physical arrangement of all the
elements of advertisement is called Advertising layout. It is concerned with placing all the
elements of the advertisement more attractively within the allotted space and time. The
pattern of layout varies according to the medium to be used.

Functions of the Layout

 It Organizes all the Elements
 It Brings Together Copy Writer and Art Director
 It Enables the Advertiser to Visualize his Future Advertisement.
 It Acts as a Guide to the Copy Specialists.

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Principles of Good Layout

An infinite number of arrangements are possible for the elements of an advertisement.
However, regardless of the arrangement of the elements, certain sound principles should be
followed in a good layout. These includes:
1. Balance: Balance, of considerable importance in a layout, involves artistically combining
the various sizes and shapes that make up an advertisement. Essentially, there are two
forms of balance-
a. Formal or symmetrical
b. Informal or asymmetrical
2. Movement: If a print advertisement is to get the reader’s eye to “move” through it, the
layout should provide for gaze motion or structural motion.
3. Unity: Unity in layout refers to keeping the elements of the advertisement together so
that the advertisement does not “fall apart”.
4. Clarity and Simplicity: Although, it is important to make a layout interesting, care must
be taken to see that it remains simple enough so as not to lose its clarity and simplicity.
5. Emphasis: A good layout should make the advertisement as a whole prominent and also
emphasize certain more important elements. It can be done so by following some of the
following techniques-
a. Repetition: A headline, an illustration or a trademark, for example, may gain
added emphasis if repeated several times.
b. Contrast: Another technique is contrast of size, color, or style. In a row of six
men, all six feet tall, with a small boy at the end, the boy would attract attention.
c. White Space: This is another technique which should be use very carefully.

6. QUESTION BANK

1. Define Advertising Copy?

2. What is copywriting?
3. What is Advertising Appeal? Describe different types of Advertising appeals.

4. Discuss Types of Advertising Copy.

5. What do you mean by headline in an ad copy? And mention essentials of good
headline.
6. What do you mean by copy-writing?
7. What is the meaning of advertising appeals?
8. What is advertising Layout?
9. What is descriptive advertising copy?
10. Explain different types of advertising copy?
11. Explain different types of advertising appeals.
12. Prepare a print ad for promotion of BBA admission to new academic year.
13. Prepare an advertising copy for TV commercial ad for promoting tourism in Karnataka.

AM Study Notes | QUESTION BANK 19

Module 4 Message Design and Development

14. What do you mean by emotional advertising?

15. Write down the functions of layout in advertising?
16. Mention any two elements of good appeals.
17. Write the meaning of Message Positioning.
18. What is Descriptive advertising copy?
19. What is advertisement Layout?
20. What are effects of repetition?
21. Discuss functions and principles of a good advertisement layout?
22. What is message development? Discuss various types of advertisement copy.
23. What do you mean by “Reason why copy”?
24. What is layout?
25. What is frequency and reach?
26. Mention any two elements of good appeals.
27. Discuss different types of Advertising Appeals.
28. What is message design?
29. What are the 3 process of print copy development?
30. Explain principles of a good Ad layout?

AM Study Notes | QUESTION BANK 20