N-Prize advert - opinions?

[Paul]

Hi all,

I'm trying to get some promotion going for the N-Prize (Blair - I
haven't forgotten!), including ads on the side of some London buses
(and maybe elsewhere if it works out). A rough draft for a side-of-a-
bus add is in the "documents" here - anyone have any comments? If
anyone has experience with advertising and PR and can tell me what the
major faults are with the ad, it'd be greatly appreciated!
Paul

[charles hawes]

What about newspaper ads or designing flyers to hand out?

[Blair Gordon]

i know you haven't forgotten. the presses are warmed up ready to roll paul.

--
Blair James Gordon

[Blair Gordon]

I love it LOL

--
Blair James Gordon

[N-prize]

Hi Charles,

   Yes, that too - good point.  I was planning on designing a poster to be circulated to engineering departments of universities...Newspaper ads tend to be expensive for what you get.

P

=======================

Paul H. Dear,

Chief Optimist.

The N-Prize,

PO Box 1133,

Sawston,

Cambridge CB22 3WB

England.

www.n-prize.com

The sender of this email is not responsible.

=======================

[Richard Hauser]

I know NOTHING about advertising, but I think the toughest part is actually finding the tiny tiny tiny target audience who wouldn't think this is a farce.  The Popular Mechanics article is on the right track, as was the bit in Nature.  On a magazine article/ad path I'd suggest publications that reach applicable DIY and SciFi interests like "Home Shop Machinist", "MAKE", "Analog" and "Extreme Rocketry".  Websites/Blogs on these bents are also good ideas.

MisterQED
Team Daedalus

[charles hawes]

If you like I have a program that I can design  a flyer , postcards , newspaper ads  ,  Biz cards , catalogs , news letters and the list goes on. I use it for my photography and fishing tackle  biz

 

---

[Richard Hauser]

Yes, engineering departments are a fantastic idea.

[James C]

I love the advert.  Remember, here in the US, boffins would more likely be geeks.

Jim C

--
If at first you don't succeed, read the instructions...

[N-prize]

Cheers, QED -  and point well taken.  I thought about a half-page in New Scientist for the UK (but that's pricey), but I'll look into those publications you mentioned.  Extreme Rocketry sounds like a winner...

[N-prize]

Hi Charlie,

     Many thanks for the offer, but I've got quite a good graphics suite here.  Main problem is content and hitting the right targets...

[N-prize]

Hi Jim,

Yes, I wanted to ask about that - the "Boffins" is for UK, but I wasn't sure if it would be "Geeks" or "Nerds" in the US - I was guessing that people are proud to be geeks, rather than nerds?

Best,

P

[Charles]

This advertising business is frustrating. Paid ads can quickly burn
up cash with little to show.

Another problem: we are in the "Second Big Bang" one of
information. The Internet has created overnight such a massive dense
flood of communication, discussion, data that all is lost. in it.

My efforts to get some "outside" the online universe has been very
unsuccessful: One paragraph in the Popular Mechanics, and in 1996 one
page in an underground Austrian magazine. Paul's efforts to get
something in Spaceflight (and thank you for the contact) is a large
step forward.

I'm answering the authors of newspaper articles on the subject in
hopes he would take an interest. I think it's going to take
persistence, sustained effort.

The bus idea sounds good--I'll try to see it.
Charles Pooley

On Jul 18, 9:59 am, N-prize <i...@n-prize.com> wrote:
> Hi Jim,
>
>                         Yes, I wanted to ask about that - the "Boffins" is for UK, but I  
> wasn't sure if it would be "Geeks" or "Nerds" in the US - I was  
> guessing that people are proud to be geeks, rather than nerds?
>
> Best,
> P
> On 18 Jul 2009, at 15:50, James C wrote:
>
>
>
> > I love the advert.  Remember, here in the US, boffins would more  
> > likely be geeks.
>
> > Jim C
>

[James C]

Well, this is my own opinion of course, but...


nerds are the larval form of geeks.

Just my opinion.

Jim C.

[MrCharlesH]

What graphic site are you using?

> =======================- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[N-prize]

It varies - Cinema4D, Photoshop, Illustrator mostly.  And I should give credit to pictureandword, who developed the original N-Prize site on which the ad is based.

P

[Anders Feder]

I know nothing about advertising either, but I can tell you what I
found confusing: the text is layed out against the normal (Western)
reading direction (top-to-bottom).

I read the "boffins..." line first because it is both the top-most
line in the image, centered in the image, and the line that has the
biggest font (it oozes: look here!) - even though it really is the
line that is supposed to be read last.

I'm just guessing, but maybe if you flipped the lines so
"laughably..." is top-most and "boffins..." is bottom-most, and
perhaps moved all four lines to the right so "laughably..." is closer
to the center of the image and "boffins..." is in the lower-right
corner, it would work better. That's my uneducated guess, anyway.

Also, I think the font sizes of the four text lines are probably a bit
to small - especially the first two. My first thought was that they
were probably disclaimers or copyright notices or something :P (I
suppose they are disclaimers in some sense, but the other lines don't
make sense without them, so they have to lend themselves to being
easily read.)

Just sayin'

Anders Feder
Team Wikisat

[N-prize]

Hi Anders,

That is exactly what I needed - many thanks!   I've got to get the artwork in today, but I'll see if I can rearrange the texty bits....thanks again!

Paul