Visual Editors
Visual Editors, NFP was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2004.
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John Zhu
Maestro
Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 275
Location: Durham, NC
Posted:
Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:39 pm
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I think Billy has a point with his billboard analogy. A dynamic page topper definitely will grab your attention more than a plain, run-of-the-mill, one-line-of-bold-text promo. Of course, I think there's a difference between grabbing someone's attention on the rack and making someone plop down 50 cents to buy the paper. The page topper graphic can grab someone's attention, but then it's up to the actual content to make someone buy the paper, just as a great design can draw a reader's initial attention to a story, but only a good story can retain that attention. Or you might pay attention to a cool Burger King billboard, but if you don't like the food, you're not going to stop at BK. And inversely, you may have great content, but if you do a poor job of marketing that content in your design, it decreases the chances of someone noticing it while they're standing in line at the Kwik-E-Mart.
As for Nicole's point about research finding that most readers don't read/notice promos, I think, as she says, the Californian is definitely an exception. Of course, it makes sense: You're much more likely to notice something big, bold, and colorful than a 1-column picture with a couple lines of type. As for the concern about what the readers would think of your front-page content b/c you're using so much space to promo inside content, I don't think it says anything negative. From what I've seen, the Californian has shown that the page topper space isn't reserved exclusively for promos. A couple other points on the subject:
1). the fact that your front-page stories are on the front is a statement about their importance, and it makes sense to use a good amount of space on the front to call attention to inside stories. In the 30 seconds I might spend holding a paper in my hand in the grocery store, I'll definitely see the front page stories, but I may not see a story on page D5. The front page stories already have my attention by virtue of their placement, but the inside stories may not. Also, in this day and age, the stories on the front are likely to have already been viewed online/seen on TV in one form or another. And if your goal is to make your whole product, not just the stories on your front, appeal to as many people as possible, then it makes sense to have a sizable promo for content other than just the 2-3 stories on the front.
2). I don't know how much readers rely on papers to create a sense of information hierarchy. I think each person has their own set of filters and their own idea of what's important. You won't necessarily read a story just because it's on the front page, and you're just as likely to flip directly to page E8 for a story if you see from the promo that it's a subject that interests you. It's the same as going to Yahoo and clicking straight into one of the minor sections because the info there is what you're usually more interested in.
Whew! Ramble ramble indeed.
_________________
Let this be a lesson to you: Never Try.
Last edited by John Zhu on Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:46 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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DeeJay
Tiki Lounger
Joined: 09 Jul 2004
Posts: 19
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posted:
Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:08 pm
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Mike, yes, the free beer got my attention. (But I clicked here and didn't get free beer.) Which brings up the next logical point: Going beyond getting attention and actually getting folks to buy the paper (if not also the beer).
We had a perfect example yesterday in Sarasota. The night before, in the middle of deadline for our six editions, the story broke about the ex-NBA referee agreeing to plead guilty. It was a local story for us (his home is a stone's throw from Sarasota), so we immediately remade A1 to get it above the fold. The next day, our wire editor shared this interesting anecdote: While standing in a line at a store, he saw someone pick up our paper from a nearby stack, draw someone's attention to the fact that the ex-NBA ref was going to plead guilty, share a few comments about the story -- and then place the paper back on the stack.
(Now, on the same topic but of a slightly different change of pace, I've had several conversations about the top of the page, and the theories seem to be (a) visual impact is what drives rack sales, or (b) high information count, or (c) best local stories. I'm wondering whether anyone has any hard data. My guess is this: Great content, especially of local significance, with visual impact (a combination of the three). |
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John Zhu
Maestro
Joined: 12 May 2004
Posts: 275
Location: Durham, NC
Posted:
Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:00 pm
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| Mike Rice wrote:: | | John Zhu wrote:: | | It's all relative. Look at all the white space around your one line, and how big that line is in comparison to all the other text around it. If "CLICK HERE FOR FREE BEER" is surrounded by bigger headlines and other text of similar size and weight, would it do a better or worse job of catching my attention? In some ways, you just created the equivalent of a Californian page topper. |
I don't know about you – but I don't design my promos to blend in to the page. They have to stand out. My point is that you don't need to spend all night on a Photoshop illustration to do it – let the content drive it. |
Well, we seem to agree on the first point: Promos need to stand out. That's why I like the Californian's page toppers, because they're so prominent and eye-catching and impossible to ignore, even if you're looking from a distance, whereas a 1-column photo promo or a one-line all-text promo are more likely to get lost in the page. On the second point, no you don't need to spend all night on a photoshop illo for a promo, but I believe you do need compelling imagery. A lot of the Californian's page toppers are just good photos or good use of photos rather than photoshop illos. As for letting content drive the page, consider the Ratatouille topper: Would it catch your attention just as much if it was just a bold line of text (which most likely would be smaller than all the other headlines on the page) saying "Ratatouille a visual masterpiece" instead of the treatment it got in the Californian? It's the same with your example. I may be equally interested in free beer in both instances, but if I'm just scrolling down the page, I'm much more likely to notice a promo for free beer that's much more prominent than the surrounding elements than a promo that's only slightly different than the rest of the page.
_________________
Let this be a lesson to you: Never Try. |
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