Advertising has been living an evolution!

Brands scale the power of advertising and take their business to the next level with mind-blowing techniques, trends, and upheavals. Because of the significant impact of the recent pandemic that moved the world, marketers have come up with the most astounding and swinging design execution that moves the marketing world forward.

As per statistics, the global digital advertising expenditure should pass $537 billion in 2022. Moreover, by 2025 it is expected to take 70.8% of global spending. This is triggering for businesses that want to attract leads, convert potential customers, and improve their marketing approaches. Ads are the secret to appearing in the sight of your target audience and hooking them with your marketing message.

The evolution of advertising pushes new trends up on the surface of the water. Ads' digitalization has caused advertising strategies to become more customized than ever before. Customization and personalization are trending in providing top customer experience through engaging and interactive ads. In turn, the ads evolution has granted customers more power to choose what, who, and when they want. It is now taking less and less process time from attraction to conversion. These trends are decisive in the design of the ad we will discuss.

What is an ad design on its own? Advertising design is the creation of visual content that aims to advertise a product or service with the intent of the action. The primary purpose of ads is to compel a viewer to take the desired action. Ad design is where marketing and design intersect to create visual artwork. It differs from graphic design in its purpose. Graphic design plays a role in establishing a brand, while ad and marketing design affect sales and conversion.

When we think of internationally famous brands like Apple, Microsoft, or Google, the design behind their success is simple, charming, and appealing. Ads and marketing sell your products and bring you profit. You must make these assets to gain the profit you aim for. Design plays an influential role with solid visual messages that communicate business ideas. Hence, any business must reinforce design for fruitful results.

Read about the types of ad design and get tips to get started with

Traditional ads of black and white movie times were based on the advertiser's gut feelings about the customers. Digitalization and marketing evolution has elevated the advertising design processes. Ad design is not one time or type of thing as we perceive from the time and change perspective. With changing trends, the requirements are also evolving, making it worth learning what types of ads there are.

1. Video and Commercial Ads Design

Video and commercial ad design has moved from being on TV screens onto our computer screens. YouTube and Instagram popularity has pushed ads in the form of videos to spread over the channels. Videos and commercial ads require more effort and resources than regular visual design production. Nevertheless, they pay off in the form of more conversion and engagement.

Videos are powerful tools for converting more audiences. The research shows that brands had a general 20-30% increase in their conversion rate since Facebook introduced video ads instead of visual ads. The data is brought to us by marketer Chantelle Stevenson at ClearPivot.

Pro Tips

• Don't merely aline the video with the audience but create a storyline
• Keep the length up to a minute for an optimal length
• Include a hook worth going viral
• Provide a strong CTA (call to action)
• Visualize your branding, feature the branding elements in the video production

2. Display Ads Design

Representing textual material, like an image or a video, a display ad is a means to attract an audience to take a specific action by a click-through. The click takes them to a landing page for the action.

Display ads aim to target a new audience or retarget former audiences. In the latter case, the campaign encourages visitors to re enter their website, take further action, or complete the unfinished action.

The advertiser usually gets changed based on the CPC rate, that is, cost per click -- every time your ad receives a click, the advertiser gets charged a predetermined amount. Google Ads is the most convenient and proper place for a display ad. There are two methods for such ads; paid and organic. In the case of paid advertisements, advertisers pay per click, impressions, or conversions for each display ad. In the case of the organic type, the focus is on SEO to appear on the first SERP. The charge is not directly for the ad, but for the marketing investment to appear in front of the target audience.

Usually, the SEO-optimized content type doesn't have the "Ad" symbol in front of the headline, whereas the paid ads feature it.

The most common display ad forms are banners, text-based images, and animations. The main specialization of display ad forms includes:

• Traditional Display Ads – You will come across such ads on websites. They usually feature a landscape or square image, with some text aiming to convert.
• Responsive Display Ads – This is a versatile type of display ad which alters accounting the best fit for the platform and the audience. They respond to the platform; the text, headlines, descriptions, formatting, and pictures are adjusted to the platform.
• Retargeting Display Ads – This type is used in retargeting or remarketing. With this content, you personalize it for the people who have completed no or half of the desired action on the website. The message has a specific bias.
• Native Display Ads – designed and placed next to the published website content, it makes it difficult for a visitor to distinguish between the ad and engaging content.
• Discovery Display Ads – Being a form of native ads, discovery ads are used in ML (machine learning). The purpose is to show the image to the observer in the most proper format. Their target reach is the people who have somehow discovered and engaged with the brand. Discovery ad forms appear on YouTube Home and Watch Next section, promotional or social sections of Gmail, and in the Discover results of Google.
• Social Display Ads – Composed of texts, pictures, and a CTA, social display ads are featured on social media platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.

Pro Tips

• Be creative and use proper images, considering the platform and campaign purpose
• State your value proposition, brand name, and logo
• Don't stick to one display design type
• Create a unique and engaging hero image yourself
• Pay attention to sizing; common metrics for paid display ads are:

Google Display Network

300 x 250 728 x 90 120 x 60

Social Networks

1080 x 1080 1200 x 768

• Decide the ad platform according to the audience, targeting purpose, budget size
• Determine exact targeting

3. Promotional ads Design

Promotional-type ad design is a budget-friendly way of promoting your brand and creating exposure. With promotional ads and the right advertising design, marketers raise public awareness of the brand. This type is executed during the launch or a display. The design includes brand elements, like the logo, texts, brand name, and slogan, if there is one. They create a lasting effect on customers. The more valuable a promoted item, the more extended customers will keep it and remember the brand. The target of the promotional ad form is mainly potential customers and prospects. Some common promotional ad articles include clothing items (t-shirts, hats), mugs, bottles, bags, or stickers. After all, when we think of world-famous brands, the first thing that strikes the mind is the logo design. The reason? They have created the strongest brand awareness through promotions.

Pro Tips

• Choose an item with usability, so people will unintentionally spread your brand awareness here and there
• Feature your brand logo, colors, and whatnot
• Create and apply a QR code on the item, make it actionable
• Personalize it if the budget allows
• Promise an item or organize a contest to get the winner one

4. Social media ads Design

Social media has all the attention today. Marketers direct their efforts and resources to maximize their reach on social media platforms. The data justify the efforts. According to the latest statistics on social media usage, an average user spends 147 minutes on social media platforms. This raises the chances of engagement your social media ad will get.

Usually, each audience group has its preferred medium. Teenagers love TikTok and Snapchat, while moms and grannies are obsessed with Facebook. In any case, you should learn how to add a watermark to a photo so that you can have your brand elements like the logo on all types of social media visuals.

Advertisers have a lot of flexibility on media platforms, from where to place the ad to how to design it. As a result, they can reach multiple audiences, age groups, and of various interests. Ads can go in the form of videos, on the stories, as a separate post, like a carousel or slideshow. These ads also can be in pop-ups on messenger chats.

Pro Tips

• Create thrilling and engaging effects with visuals
• Feature the brand on every piece of advertisement
• Follow and keep up with the trends
• Understand the content your ideal audience consumes to personalize and target right
• Conduct A/B testing to figure out what your audiences like and dislike, what they click, and engage with most: videos, images, or animations

5. Direct Mail ads Design

Arriving right in the prospect's mailbox through mailing services, direct mail advertising is the next advertising design type for discussion. It is the practice of mailing advertising objects, like postcards, brochures, and promotional magazines, physically to the target audience. The world has been digitalized so much that human messages are appreciated and regarded. Sending something physical to the customer or prospects builds relationships and promotes the brand message.

Direct mail advertising design aims to raise brand awareness and conversion rate. Even though ads are digitizing and most marketers focus on driving website traffic, marketers mustn't ignore real customer-business connections. Direct mail is the best way to retain these bonds. The data shows direct mail ads have more ROI than paid and online display ads.

Pro Tips

• Add a personal touch to your items, talk to the customer as an individual
• Keep the sizes and fonts right to avoid the chance of losing their attention
• Surprise customers with a small gift, like a coupon, a discount, or a usable item like a pen
• Tell an update on a new launching product or feature
• Leave the contact information and a CTA
• Make sure you have your brand colors, name; logo printed right and understandable

6. Email Marketing Ads Design

The modern use of traditional mailing is email marketing. Email marketing ad designs are meant to deliver a brand message to the audiences indirectly. It is a passive but practical way of reminding your customers of your brand by sending them newsletters, forms, sales hooks, or queries to complete a survey. Promotional advertising design messages prove to be effective thanks to personalization and customization. Email marketing is flexible in this respect. It lets you transmit the message to each recipient individually. Thanks to the email lists, you can create and improvise as much as you can imagine. What do customers love more, if not the feeling of being special?

It's regarded as one of the most effective marketing techniques with reported high ROI rates. According to the record, if you spend $1 on this channel, you can anticipate a $42 average ROI. However, email marketing ad designs are challenging to exploit due to their spread and popularity. Who wouldn't want the expected $42 return on every $1?

Pro Tips

• Be unique to stand out in your recipients' inbox
• Create visually compelling and appealing design
• Keep the CTA clear, coherent, and consistent
• Place the brand elements in the same place and direction
• Have the structure of heading, subheading, material, CTA
• Don't complicate with material; keep it simple
• A simple quality illustration and a compelling message will do

7. Outdoor ads Design

Where do you look when you are stuck in traffic on your way home? A billboard probably strikes your eyes, and you start reading what the fun animated character tries to say. You might associate, laugh, or take your phone to google something. Your actions depend on the marketers' intentions. It is said that around 70% of customers don't just pass by the outdoor ads but stop for a moment to observe them closely. Regardless of being relatively costly, outdoor advertising design is still considered effective. As an outbound marketing practice, outdoor advertising can tremendously raise your reach and recognition. Everyone driving past your billboard on a highway or coming across your poster at the cinema is a potential customer. Some typical outdoor ad designs methods include:

• Standing a billboard
• Setting up a poster
• Sticking the ad on a vehicle or inside the transit
• Featuring the advertisement near the sales checkout point
• Using Guerilla marketing

If it is a moving machine, your marketing message is moving and spreading around. In the case of a standing board, people are moving around and getting exposed to your message. Either way, brand exposure is a guarantee.

Pro Tips

• Design with contrasting colors to grab attention
• Use a well-thought, high-quality hero image
• Ensure your logo's visibility
• Don't overwhelm the audience with content; let your design speak
• Keep the lengths in place. The viewable time for a bulletin is around 7 seconds. The campaign should be limited to 9 words or fewer. The headline should be 3 or fewer
• Place the ad in a location that is visible, readable, and understandable from all possible angles

8. Event ads Design

Launching events, sport competition events, exhibitions, and giveaways: Businesses use the event organization technique from time to time to promote their brand and boost awareness. You have probably hosted your own or are thinking of hosting. You can sponsor an existing event or start your own. A must-have component at these events is the ad. Put your brand board, the poster, the roll-up banner in a few locations: at the entrance and around to create exposure with your name. The point is to make the ad design actionable.

Pro Tips

• Place a photo booth at the event, let visitors take pictures and share them with friends on social networks
• Think of brand-specific hashtags people can use in their posts. This will create a community around it
• Mix the design of the promotional ads with the event ads design. Give handouts
• Share food or snacks with the booth visitors
• Have a scannable code and a QR on the poster to direct prospective customers to your website or a landing page.
• Make the event engaging, entertaining, and interactive while spreading your branding word

9. Newspaper Ads Design

Depending on the audience, newspapers and magazines can still prove effective ad design. However surprising it might seem, some people still buy and read newspapers and magazines, or at least get them in their mailboxes. In fact, around 70% of people consume news from newspapers on a regular basis. However, the age group and demographics evolve around adults and older generations. If you hold the attention string of the consumer, your ad in a newspaper or magazine can be compelling. The spread of fake news on the Internet has made people wary of the content that they come across digitally.

Acquiring readers' trust and confidence with your advertising design content is challenging. Newspapers and magazines, if read, have more credibility. People trust the publications since every entitled individual cannot print or get featured in them. Thus, they also trust what they read, and conversion becomes a more accessible act to reach. By placing an ad in a definite category or catalog section, you already have the insurance that readers are interested in the topic. For instance, you put your organic restaurant's advertising in the newspaper section that touches on open health, diet, and eating habits. You secure your ad getting maximum attention and your restaurants more visitors.

Pro Tips

• Separate your ad out in the newspaper or the magazine by outlining it with contrastive coloring
• Put the most important elements, the CTA, and contact information, in a noticeable place to generate leads
• Create interest with the header and retain the attention with an engaging hero image
• Write the body short, concisely, and relevant to the audience's interest

10. Packaging Ads Design

The purpose of packaging is not merely the amazing design, wrapping, and product protection. Packing is an effective way to convey a marketing message to promote the product. And packing doesn't refer to paper wrapping or bags only; it is also the inside of the product display. Packaging is also referred to as out-of-the-box advertising design that proves quite powerful. No extra expense or effort is involved; as long as the purchase is made, the advertising is also bought. Instead of featuring the ad in a crowded area with a bunch of indifferent people passing it by, marketers have thought of a more innovative way to give out their message. Deliver the ad with the purchase and convert them into loyal, comeback customers. Or wrap your message in the packaging. It's direct marketing with minimum cost and maximum payoff.

Pro Tips

• Remember that the packaging represents the product inside, so align them, but don't reveal the whole product with the packaging, keep customers wondering
• Don't overuse texts and symbols, and be consistent with word choices
• Make the packaging functional and practical, as well as easy to fit and match in different settings
• Don't produce waste with your packaging, be environmentally and eco-friendly
• Make it usable; if it is the bag, make sure customers can use it for multiple times and purposes

In a nutshell

Advertising is an important marketing tactic that sells your products and services through promotions and boosting awareness. Advertising is the mix of communication and marketing to spread your message across different platforms. A thoroughly thought-out advertising design can grab a big audience's attention, go viral, stay long, and bring skyrocketing income.

Advertising aims to convince and persuade the observer to take the desired action, make a purchase, convert, or stay with the brand. Your advertising design may differ based on the audience demographics, your marketing purpose, business objectives, and your available budget. Due to the digital means, a purchase is just a click's distance from product awareness. Advertising evolution has accelerated the shopping experiences through new exposures, means, and engaging formats. Yet, both traditional and modern advertising design techniques live next to one another to effectively promote a business.

This article discussed the ten popular advertisement designs and provided pro tips to execute them for maximum outcomes. All elements should come in one line, from branding to selling, to deliver a successful promotional message.