Advertising techniques can be of many kinds. All creative advertisers use some of the following effective advertising techniques and tricks to grab the potential consumer's attention and turn it to sales.

Arouse Curiosity

Nothing works better than this technique. Humans, by nature are always drawn towards the unknown, or in this case something new and advanced. Arousing curiosity with words, prints, images or visuals will definitely make an impact. On an average, an individual spends less than 5 seconds to go through an entire ad. If your subject does not arouse curiosity immediately, it is a lost opportunity. A well-crafted ad should be eye-catching, and difficult to ignore.

Promise a Benefit

Most brands are associated with some pre-defined character, and they need to be re-emphasized with every new service advertised. The headline must promise a benefit for the consumer, because in most instances it is the headline that sells the product more than the copy, images or the celebrity.

Emotional Appeal

Many advertisers attract attention by pulling at the heart strings and triggering emotions. An emotional response is by far the most powerful reason for making decisions. We get more attracted to products and services that make us feel good and safe. The concept of emotional appeal are best seen in insurance ads made world over.

Children
In most houses, children have a say in every big or small purchase made. Out of ten commercials one sees through any medium, 8 have children featured in them who are generally a little more perfect than the target audience.

Celebrities
Advertisers use celebrity status and image to convince consumers that their products are worth purchasing. Besides celebrities that have international and national fame and recognition, many local advertisements use local, but popular celebrities in their ads.
Consumer Intelligence

As a rule, never underestimate or insult the consumer's intelligence. Most ads exaggerate, however, the benefits and basic information of the product and service should be well presented. A consumer who is interested will always check the market before making a decision. No one really believes in words like the greatest, unbelievable or once-in-a-lifetime-fantastic offer.

From www.buzzle.com

Reading comprehension

I. Translate the words in italics. Use them in the sentences of your own.

II. Make 2 questions on the text. Ask your partner to answer them.

III. Choose one of the advertising techniques from the text. Prove your partner it’s the best way to advertise goods.

Lexical exercises

I. Fill the gaps with the appropriate words:

1. You should always ________ information you give over the phone.

2. Governments in the UK and the United States _________cigarette advertising.

3. The________ of our product appears on all major search engines today.

4. We need to get ________ as much as possible for our company, so that people will know about us.

5. Many large sport companies like Nike and Puma ________ sports events.

6. Our ________ of the market is only two per cent.

7. Small companies find it difficult to ________ against large multinationals.

8. The biscuits are ________ by machines.

9. Women ________ more chocolate on average than men.

10. Retailers often ________ a new product by putting it in the most eye-catching places.

11. Chocolate is ________ from cocoa bean.

II. Solve the puzzle

Fill in the puzzle with the verb forms of the nouns below

Lesson 3. Advertising Tips

Warm up

 Discuss what you think was wrong with the following advertising campaigns.

a. A hair products company advertised new styling tongs with the name ‘Mist’. They sold well all over the world but were not a success in Germany. Why not?

b. An electronics company produced a new vacuum cleaner and advertised it with the slogan, ‘Nothing sucks like (name of product)’. The vacuum sold well in English-speaking countries but not in America. Why not?