Using Cartoon Imagery Will Attract Attention To Any Promotion

Are words or plain text enough to emphasize your point when promoting an event, product or idea? Sometimes, but think about it. Think about the “action”

you see in imagery. Perhaps a character or icon that smiles out at the reader, or points to a block of print. Actions speak louder than words and more often than not, combining the two can work in your favor greatly. Consider how drab and boring a basic magazine layout would appear, had editors and creative directors or graphic designers decided not to add any photographs, or drawings or graphs and pie charts to emphasize various aspects of the content they published? Content, (cartoons especially!) is king so use humor like cartoons as your bait to attract readers, viewers or visitors into your promotions and professional projects.

 Using cartoons works! They will add character and uniqueness to the overall appearance of your design and layout. Plus, cartoons are very flexible and lend themselves well to a variety of applications. They can be used in print advertising, postcards, on direct-mail pieces, on web pages, in email templates used for an email “blast” or mass emailing, on promotional items like mugs, mousepads, t-shirts, posters, and also for PowerPoint presentations which are becoming more popular in presentations to multiple groups of people or larger gatherings, such as corporate events or company parties and gatherings.

Here is a basic list of how imagery like cartoons can act in favor of, and compliment your next project:

·                      Emphasize a point (show you’re serious and /or humorous!)

·                      Attract the eye (draws or pulls readers to your text or writing)

·                      Add character (show you have a sense of humor - be unique)

·                      Keeps  your readers engaged or interested in your message.

·                      Enhances your text (don’t forget, plain text can be boring)

All of the aforementioned aspects are great for a biz to biz sales leads program, since cartoons are a proven commodity in the marketing world. A perfect example of using a cartoon in direct mail would be for the circulation department of a magazine publishing company. Let’s assume the existing subscribers will soon be having the subscriptions to the publication expiring. An innovative circulation department would flag upcoming expirations and mail reminders to those people whose subscription is expected to expire on a certain date. A reminder to each subscriber is mailed with a complimentary 3 month subscription extension and on the outside of the envelope is what is called “teaser copy” such as “Your subscription is about to expire . . . “ “Don’t let the clock run out!”
 An ingenious addition to this teaser text would be to have a custom cartoon created depicting a clock with legs, wearing running shoes and actually running across the lower left corner of the mailer and leaving enough room for barcoding for the postal service. Cartoon + teaser text = attention received!
 Another aspect which has gained much popularity amongst consultants, speakers and authors or other professionals such as doctors, nurses and various types of educators is employing the software of PowerPoint into their presentations. With the simple use of a laptop and projection equipment, along with the proper software, many professionals and others are adding single panel gag cartoons within an overall presentation layout. These cartoons can relate to the actual topic where, if for instance the content is about medicine, then medical cartoons could be added to break up basic text or added to give some humor to the presentation if needed.

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 If a professional were promoting this gathering to a client base, ideally some of the same cartoons he or she planned to use in the presentation itself could also be used in print ads and also on the actual handouts or printed materials at the presentation. A multiple use could be applied to the cartoons, where they’d have extra added impact in driving your message across to the public. Ideally, cartoons are the other side of the spectrum in the graphics world where if used properly, can generate a lot of attention towards your group, company, message (such as an iconic character), for your upcoming event and many times they can be customized to your specifications if you find the right cartoonist and there is a large archive of existing panels which pertain to a variety of subjects that can be located and easily licensed to assist in generating sales leads and more interest in whatever message you’re planning to drive across.