From good to iconic: a guide for beginners in the ad-mad world.

Some of the best ads created, were not a product of extreme intelligence or an extravagant strategy to sell to perfection. What defines an ad and the product being advertised is the reaction or buzz it can create among the audience. To get your ad from good to iconic and compelling, here are some tips.

Know what you are selling and to who you are selling:

Research is essential, and I don't just mean reading up about the client, I mean entering the arena knowing every pebble in it. The competition and its campaigns, the reach it has, the sort of USP the competition has and the ad campaigns of your own client in the past.

Read up about every possible aspect of the client and the product, even the production and testing, you never know, you may find your ad content from the processing to the conveyor belt as the ideas roll right to you. Knowing your audience and then establishing a connect with either a vast audience or niche audience gets easier from there.

The iconic Volkswagen brought out their impeccable production and checking as their ads USP.

Simplicity builds reliability:

So while extravagance gets a lot of attention, simplicity grabs the x-factor of reliability with the audience. It's good for the audience to say "WOW" while seeing your ad, its better when they say "That's happened to me too!", after all, you need to solve their problem and not give them just eye candy.

This is where the ad maker must tread a thin line, of merging creative and witty ads which are also simple enough for the audience to relate and understand. If the audience is scratching their heads reading your ad, its of no use (unless you are an anti-dandruff shampoo, use this idea well!).

The ad needs to be simple, with a good visual and a brilliant tagline, the incentives for the audience to buy the product (whats in it for them) and if you must show off how amazing the product is, there is a small space kept just for that.

Lego ads have an amazing visual and this does the work even if they don't have a tagline

With a tagline this good, a visual just isn't required.

Keep it to the point:

Let's face it, the audience ha better things to do than watch the ad, its probably more concerned about a latest Buzzfeed article (because they are awesome) than your ad. So you have a short span of time to imprint on their minds.

Keep the ad short, give them a good bundle of joy; a set of offers they wouldn't be able to resist and call the consumers to action, tell them to come and avail these offers or services NOW!

The tagline is used to convey the basic information in a crisp and eye catching yet simple way. So here is where you can give major power to your ad.

These ads strike a cord with the audience as well as convey their message well.

Have Fun while you make the ad:

While I'm all for the "playing safe with an ad" and am a big fan of the old fashioned one liner ads with a bigger focus on synchronised fonts to avoid distraction. To play a bigger game of catch with creativity and producing a great ad incorporating extravagance and creativity can also have an amazing outcome for the audience.

If you feel creating an artistic masterpiece is your preferred way to convey the message, by all means, blow the minds of the audience with its beauty. In the end, the ad you have fun with is an ad the audience will have fun in watching.

Witty and fun ads with humour are the perfect to put a smile on someone's face.

Be open to sudden ideas:

Making an ad isn't rocket science, it is most likely that while you sit for work, you may get a disease many call the Writers block where your brain decides to go for a vacation and an idea may strike you when you decide to sit for lunch.

Construct the criticism to your advantage:

From the perspective of someone who has stayed in this field for a very short period of time but has interacted with many who are veterans, practice and patience, both are key to a making a good campaign, to not let a setback of a client not liking your work not come in the way to giving better creative copies next and taking constructive criticism in the best spirit and working towards refining your ads. Remember, audience opinion matters.

To engage audience and making an ad interactive can also be a great way to grab attention and bring out an offer or an audiences response to it, it takes two to tango after all.

Always keep in touch:

The most essential aspect is after the ad is made and you have, after extensive research understood the marketing mediums and strategies and all that brainy jazz which will leave you hungry and after you post the ads, always do a follow up, ask for a feedback and suggestion and even compare if the ad has helped the purpose for which it was made, has it created the buzz you wanted.

The end note is, there isn't a sure shot way to hammer in a creative process and how to go about making an ad. Striking a cord with the audience will help by either an emotional response you seek through the ad, breaking a social taboo, braving the odds and making a bold and memorable ad. In short, when you make the add, your only reaction should be "Try skipping this darling".