What You Can Learn From Studying Posters

It is very hard to devise a good poster. They are a tough challenge – just as banner ads on the internet or classified ads are. So studying them pays.

You have to convey a strong, relevant benefit, be simple, dramatic, to the point, include the name of what you are selling and be very brief, as the average poster is only seen for seconds.

Virtually all the posters I see fail on all counts.

They fail to convey a strong benefit and are neither simple, nor dramatic, nor to the point, nor brief – perhaps because those who throw them together have never considered how fast they have to work. In many you can’t see the name of the advertiser very quickly.

“We want to look after you well into the future” was the line on a poster near Bristol Temple Meads station recently.

It is just about possible that a motorist whizzing past might take in all those words, but highly unlikely that they would read the long sentence afterwards which explains why the advertiser thinks they can look after you – which is something to do with an obscure survey they keep topping.

The passing motorist might also be surprised to know that the advertiser – if they ever saw the name – is a power company.

Do you see your power company as looking after you? I think a nurse, or a husband or wife would be a much more likely candidate.

There are only five things to remember about a poster.

Is it striking and hard for someone whizzing past to ignore?

1. Is it relevant, with no confusing pictures?
2. Does it offer a clear, credible benefit in a split second – that no competitor is offering?
3. Does it display the name of the advertiser in a way you can’t miss?
4. Does it have less than seven words in total?

The only exception is if the poster is in a place where people have time to read – like a railway station. Then you needn’t be brief.

Apart from that if you apply those criteria to every message – not just posters – that you run, you won’t go far wrong.