With the advertising market being as crowded as it is, companies (and their creative teams) will sometimes go to great lengths in order to “stand out.”

Generally speaking, that’s a good idea, since a forgotten ad represents a waste of time and money. As a word of caution, though, never forget this Golden rule of advertising: never get so “cute” with your advertising that you take away from the marketing message you are trying to convey… or lose sight of it altogether.

It’s fun being creative, and doing something different with your ads can make you stand out on the market. At the end of the day, though, your job is to improve your bottom line, not entertain viewers and listeners. Sometimes you can do both, but it’s not always possible.

With that in mind, here are two quick tips for making sure your ads stay focused:

1. Always have a main theme or benefit that you’re emphasizing. There should be the main sales message in every ad you run. And ideally, there should be a common thread between all of your advertisements that’s consistent from one message the next.

2. Give customers some take away action to perform. Whether you want customers to step in your store, pick up the phone, visit your website, or do something else, it’s important to ask them to take action directly. Otherwise, you risk building interest without ever seeing the payoff.

Having your ads be fun or offbeat is a great way to distance yourself from other businesses. Just be sure you don’t go so far that it distances you from your own profits at the same time.

Call Marcy Design, a Columbus Ohio website design company to help with your web, marketing and advertising campaigns.