Law, A/E/C, and other professional service firms often struggle when developing advertisements to promote themselves. It can be tricky to come up with an ad that stands out from your competitors. When you start the process, it’s essential to begin by understanding the distinction between the two fundamental styles of advertisements: “Factual Ads” and “Conceptual Ads.”
Factual Ads
“Factual Ads” focus on what you do and how you do it. For professional service firms, a factual ad might feature a person or team at your firm, a recent award or distinction, a listing of services you offer or industries you serve, or an example of a completed project. Imagery typically follows suit, often featuring portraits of team members, or a completed project or montage of work.
In the product world, factual ads focus on the product as the main visual. Sometimes, additional, smaller photos are also shown to supplement the main image. The photos, overall, are realistic and feature-oriented. The messaging for factual ads supports the core features and benefits that you offer and helps to differentiate you from your competition. Factual ads, in general, are more technical and typically rely on realistic photography. Below is an example of a Tesla “factual” ad:
Similarly, here are a few examples of more factual ads that we created for a law firm. Notice how the new attorney’s portrait is prominently featured in the first ad, and in the other two, the firm’s areas of expertise are showcased and illustrated by imagery that is directly related to those practices. The messaging is clear and to the point:
Conceptual Ads
“Conceptual Ads,” on the other hand, focus on underlying benefits and the desires, fears, or other emotional responses that drive decision-making. Conceptual ads often grab readers’ attention by making them think, smile, or laugh. The actual product or service may be featured or shown as a small, secondary image, or not at all. Below is an example of a conceptual ad for Volkswagen. Here, the car company focuses on its precision parking feature and never shows a car:
Conceptual ads can be very effective for service firms. They tend to stand out from the crowd, get noticed, and, in general, are more memorable. However, gaining buy-in for conceptual ad ideas can be challenging, as decision-makers are often technical thinkers who are hesitant to take on the creative risks inherent in conceptual advertising.
In the two examples below, we created ads for a law firm that were a bit more conceptual than the previous law firm examples. Here, we did not feature portraits of the attorneys, but instead used clever headlines and visuals that were unexpected to draw readers’ interest:
Before you begin working on an ad, educate decision-makers on the pros and cons of both advertising styles and gauge their receptiveness. Getting buy-in upfront can help streamline the process and ultimately improve the overall end product.
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