Georgian College GRPH3000
Graphic Design 5 | 2021

Ad creation.

  • Understand the target audience.

    Make sure you understand the audience, their interests, their affinity, we can go ahead and start the creative process. Put yourself in their shoes, try to mimic what they want to see.

  • Get in the mood.

    Make sure you have all the branding material and guidelines, photos, videos, and texts.

    Search for references and what other brands are doing, research trends, and best practices.

  • Build it. Test it. Iterate.

    Design your ad, test it in the Facebook Mockup, adjust it if necessary, gather feedback from colleagues or coworkers, deploy it and gather information on how is performing. Iterate and repeat if necessary.

Type of Ads (in Facebook/Instagram)

Most common Facebook Ads specs

Square (1:1) ☞ Feed

Technical Requirements

  • Maximum File Size: 30MB

  • Minimum Width: 500 pixels

  • Minimum Aspect Ratio: 400 x 500

  • Maximum Aspect Ratio: 191 x 100

  • Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%

Text Recommendations

  • Primary Text: 125 characters

  • Headline: 40 characters

  • Maximum Number of Hashtags: 30 

Design Recommendations

  • Image File Type: JPG or PNG

  • Ratio: 1:1

  • Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels

Vertical (9:16) ☞ Stories

Technical Requirements

  • Maximum File Size: 30MB

  • Minimum Width: 500 pixels

  • Aspect Ratio Tolerance: 1%

Text Recommendations

  • Primary Text: 125 characters

Design Recommendations

  • Image File Type: JPG or PNG

  • Ratio: 9:16

  • Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels

Anatomy of a Facebook Ad

Recommendations for a “thumb-stopping” Ad

On copy:

  • Make sure your Facebook Ad copy goes with your visual.

  • Keep it short and lead with value. Ask yourself: What does someone get out of using your product? How will it help them?

  • Facebook is a casual platform so less formal ad copy is okay.

  • For a new brand, use USP. For a mature brand, focus on user outputs.

On design:

  • The first 3 seconds are crucial so keep in mind that you need to use bright colors, contrasting backgrounds, crystal clear shots, and motion to grab the customer’s attention.

  • Keep it on-brand.

  • Use moving images (GIFS or Short Videos).

  • Use high-impact images for both lifestyle and images.

  • Use UGC (user-generated content).

  • Don’t overload the design area, be sharp and wise on where to add in-image copy.

Static images Ideas (taken from Nik Sharma’s Newsletter)

  • Customer quote overlays

  • Publication review overlays

  • Witty copy overlays

  • Split screen comparisons

​Videos Ideas (taken from Nik Sharma’s Newsletter)

  • ​UGC reviews

  • Animated videos

  • Slow motion (pouring into a glass for example)

  • Showing how to place an order

  • Repurpose influencer content

“Set up the problem with your thumb-stopping 3 seconds, use the next 4 seconds to introduce the solution. Once you’ve established that solution, you can then focus on going deeper into WHY your product IS the right option. But answer the problem quickly, so if someone keeps scrolling, at least they’re leaving with the knowledge of the punch-line in their head.”
— Nik Sharma
 
 

Assignment

Create 2 sets of Ads for the Bagel Holes Brand.

One set will be an Ad for a prospecting audience and the other set will be for a retargeting audience.

Each set of Ads must have 2 pieces: 1 Instagram Feed Ad and 1 Instagram Story Ad, both of them should have their corresponding Image/GIF and copy.

Please download and use this PSD for the assignment.

(link to download the font being used in the Mockup)