Pure design: Promos

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mario garcia

Promos Three ingredients of effective promos are: variety, brevity, and content. One of the most popular subjects of newsroom consternation is news promos (also known as refers or teasers) in the nameplate area of the front page. Newspapers with a high rate of street or rack sales are more likely to benefit from effective nameplate promos. On the other hand, some editors are convinced that a large headline on a major news story is the main thing that increases rack sales, while many circulation directors will swear that a colorful, active photo, placed entirely above the fold—not partially—is the way to boost sales. Here are three quick tips to consider when producing effective promos above, within, or immediately below the nameplate: 

Variation—of tone, texture, and even size and frequency – is important. If the promos look the same each day, readers become numb to them. The wording of promo elements is at least as important as accompanying visuals. In grabbing readers' attention, generic wording such as “Movie Reviews - See Section F” is not as effective as saying “Jurassic Park III: Too scary for kids? Story, photos in Section F.” Brevity is best. Readers will spend just a second or two processing information in promos (also confirmed by our Eye-Track research). And visuals should be tightly cropped, easily recognizable images. Do not use crowded action photos from sporting events, or busy news photos. “Quick read” needs to be the order of the day.  90


pure design

What’s inside: At both Madera’s (Portugal)

Diario de Noticias and the Dominican Republic’s Listin Diario, promos are effective because they are much more than just headlines. Each is a mini-summary of an interior story, more effective for scanners.

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mario garcia

Going after you: The San Francisco Examiner jumps out of the box and chases the reader down the street. Promos help the chase. Notice the burgundy for top promos, as well as simply written headlines and images.

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Selling stories: Germany’s Kleine Zeitung utilizes skyboxes and a left column of promos to pull readers in. They vary in shape and content every day to keep the reader alert.

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