When I walk through a mall hallway and see a poster covered in text, I just have to laugh. Do they really think anyone’s going to take the time to read all that? We’re living in the information age! They can check out your website on their cell phone! Why waste space putting information on when you could be doing so much more?
Modern copywriting has rewritten the definition of the K.I.S.S. methodology. Now it’s not just about keeping it simple.
It’s about keeping it short!
1) Posters Aren’t Textbooks
When you crack open a textbook you expect to spend an hour reading pages of useless information just to figure out a couple of key points. When you’re printing posters you need to cut the fluff and all that extraneous detail and get straight to it. Need to give them more detail? Slap a website and a phone number up there. Their cell phones will take care of the rest.
2) You’re Not Having a Conversation Either
This isn’t a conversation. You don’t need a lead in or a clever conversation starter. You need to tell them what they need to know, when they need to know it. Want to toss in anything else? Don’t bother. They’re not going to read it anyway.
That’s it. Seriously.
Oh sure, there are key selling points and catchy headlines and hundreds of other little marketing tools you need to know about when you’re printing posters, but a 5 year old with a lemonade stand can take these two rules and the image guidelines we’ve been talking about and be just fine.
Now, why didn't you think of that?