Thinking out of the box

CREATIVE ADVERTISING

Print ads need to stand out to catch readers’ attention

A PASTE-ON bookmark, an oversized ang pow-like envelope (picture) and a ribbon tied around this newspaper.

These are some examples of how Today advertisers have thought out of the box over the years or — as Mr Philip Koh, managing director of MediaCorp Press, put it — “out of the traditional box-shaped ads”. He said that creative buys like these make a brand and its products or services more noticeable.

According to Mr Arthur Sung, general manager of Starcom Singapore, it is important for print ads to stand out now that readers are becoming more time-starved. This is more so for categories that have little product differentiation and face heavy competition from others in the trade, such as mineral water and shampoos.

“In this day and age, a killer message is insufficient. One needs to have eye-catching message-delivery tactics, too,” he said.

For instance, PHD Singapore’s managing director Ms Pat Lim recalled how an electronics brand once concentrated its ad spend in only one newspaper on a single day and bought out every ad in it. “This was not a creative execution per se but I thought it was creative in how the brand chose not to spend its money in several media. Instead, it made a huge splash in one medium so that readers would see nothing but their ads for that one day!”

That was what HP Singapore did in this paper in 2003. In fact, Today also turned the paper into a broadsheet for the day and used HP’s corporate blue in the masthead.

But getting more creative in print ads need not always be about using fanciful artwork or exploring new territories. Sometimes, it can be as simple — and even cost-effective — as deciding whether to run an ad in full colour or black and white.

“Colour is only one way to pull people in but it will not be effective if the creative message is not clear and desirable. If the creative idea works stronger in a black and white ad, then pursue it and save money on media costs,” Mr Robert Doswell, managing director of Ogilvy RedCard, told Today.

He should know. His agency was behind an innovative series of small, black and white ads for budget airline Jetstar Asia. The idea sounds incongruous at first: Placing ads in the classifieds pages, and in the pet grooming and car accessories categories. Besides being what Mr Doswell described as “a very strong example of an advertisement that we rolled out at the lowest end of the cost scale”, the Jetstar Asia ad campaign caught a lot of attention.

In this case, it was not the artwork or the ad size but the clever ad copy that did the job. For instance, the Jetstar Asia ad in the car accessories section read: “Fly Jetstar Asia to Manila for $99 or buy a tyre”. Said Mr Doswell: “The Jetstar Asia concept worked off the surrounding content rather than being driven by a colour image.”

But MediaCorp Press’ Mr Koh said that it can be tough for ad agencies to keep coming up with new creative ad ideas at times. Also, there are limits to work within, such as ensuring that the creative buy is inserted into or attached to the newspaper in time for it to be delivered to homes.

Added PHD’s Ms Lim: “Cost and, to some extent, the lack of technology, are huge considerations in Singapore.”

For Mr Doswell of Ogilvy RedCard, it is media censorship here that can potentially restrict the media buyer’s creativity. “However, there is always a way around this problem,” he said, citing the example of his agency’s tongue-in-cheek ad for Durex condoms. This showed two balloon-like figures constructed from condoms in a suggestive position.

“If this safe but playful sex education ad can run, then there is always a way for any brand to play within the guidelines.”

From TODAY, Impact – Tuesday, 19-May-2009

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Many businesses not lowering guard despite flu alert downgrade

Channel NewsAsia - Saturday, May 9

SINGAPORE: Even as Singapore prepares to downgrade its flu alert status to Yellow and government workplaces and schools give their thermometers a rest, some companies are not easing up on Orange alert measures just yet.

At the Marina Mandarin and the Millennium & Copthorne group of hotels, for example, staff will continue to have their temperatures taken daily.

"To drive the importance of staying vigilant, we will continue with our measures until the alert goes back to Green," said Mr Yim Choong Hing, M&C’s chief operating officer for Asia.

Front desk staff will still have to sanitise their hands after handshakes and after they return from other workstations. Housekeeping staff will disinfect contact points such as lift buttons and door handles regularly, especially during morning and evening peak hours.

"We’re not scaling down because what we are doing now is pretty necessary. We just want to be careful," said Ms Rae Tang, marketing communications manager of Marina Mandarin.

Over at air—conditioning and switchgear specialists Natural Cool Holdings, twice—daily temperature checks of the company’s 900 staff will continue for at least another week.

The rooms set aside for suspected cases will remain, and the appointed flu manager will continue to keep records of those with fever and update his flu committee members.

Staff returning from H1N1—affected countries are still expected to self—quarantine for seven days, said chief executive Steven Chen.

These measures will remain until the alert status is lowered to Green, he said.

OCBC Bank, however, has calibrated its H1N1 alert measures in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.

Temperature checks were discontinued on Thursday for employees and visitors entering the OCBC Building. Employees returning from H1N1—affected countries also need not self—quarantine, said Mr Sigfried Ching, head of business continuity management.

The fears of an H1N1 outbreak have translated into brisk sales of N95 masks at Home—Fix D.I.Y.’s 20 outlets, said its managing director Loh Chiong Kee.

Still, he welcomes the planned downgrading of the flu alert status. "At such a high alert, people are more tense. I hope they will go out more now," he said.

As of Friday, there hasn’t been any case of H1N1 detected in Singapore, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

No additional cases were sent for investigation, it said. Meanwhile, all seven Singaporeans quarantined in Hong Kong have been released.

— TODAY/so

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

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