At work, there are frequent charity fundraisers. Just this week, there were two on back-to-back days--a lunch for a woman who'd been in a car accident and another the following day for a man who had cancer. Both were worthy events, but the difference in flyers posted around the office were amazing.
I will confess immediately that I did the flyer for the woman in the car accident. There is a short, grabbing headline, a picture of the woman and her children, and the necessary information. First, what happened and why she needs financial assistance (this is also kept brief, but hopefully grabs the heart) and then a Where, When, What, Cost list in bold. This allows people to see the important information in a glance without having to study the flyer in detail.
Then there was the other flyer. The headline is long and confusing because of the poor grammar. I actually had to stop and read it twice to grasp what they were trying to say. There was no paragraph of explanation because that was what the headline was. It was necessary to search for the important information like where this was being held. The date and the cost were easy to see, so that worked.
I see bad flyers all the time at work. Literally, the flyer has about a second or less to grab a passerby's attention. Lengthy, confusing headlines don't do that. This is typical. Graphics of the food being served at the lunch instead of pictures of the family in need (or the charitable organization). Everyone knows what food looks like. Show the family, make it real.
Don't even get me started about grammar. My least favorite is the apostrophe atrocity. That would be using apostrophes where none is required. For example: Thank you for your contribution's. UGH! ::sobs:: I hate apostrophe atrocities. Not every S requires an apostrophe.
I'm not the only one who creates good flyers. Another department put together a flyer for a smoothie fundraiser that was exceptionally well done. It conveys the what you get brilliantly and the other information is easy to see in a glance. Someone else made it and did a fabulous job!
The thing is that these charity fundraisers are all good causes and it's a shame to lose people who'd potentially like to attend the lunch, but their eyes skim right over those flyers that are dense with text and confusion. The key always is to make it as easy as possible for people to know what you're asking of them. I try to do that with my flyers and I think I succeed.
My advertising degree at work.
