Arkansas Publisher Weekly: January 17, 2019

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APA members receive discount on Arkansas Communication Law books APA Legislative Report

ARKANSAS

Ark a nsa s

PRESS

Publisher Weekly

ASSOCIATION

Serving Press and State Since 1873

Vol. 14 | No. 3 | Thursday, January 17, 2019

APA ad contest’s 2018 “Best of Show” winner leverages award to increase sales For Stephanie Dodson Highfill of the Hot Springs Village Voice, learning advertising design techniques was her path to a bigger paycheck. Along the way, an award in the Arkansas Press Association’s Better Newspaper Advertising Contest made that road a little easier.

Highfill was the 2018 ad contest’s “Best of Show” winner, the highlight of a relatively new ad sales career she began less than three years earlier with no design experience. She’s already planning which of her ads to submit for consideration for this year’s contest. Entries to the 2019 contest are due by Thursday, Jan. 31.

She is self-taught in graphic design, having watched internet tutorials about Adobe products like InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. Highfill said Robert Lane, the former production manager at the newspaper, provided some crucial support early on, when she entered the industry with “not one bit of design experience.”

Stephanie Dodson Highfill displays her award.

“I found that being able to actually design ads before I go to see a client helped me make more sales,” she said. “Even with a spec ad, just personalizing it for them is helpful. And to be able to quickly modify and to make changes, it enables me to make more sales.”

Her award-winning ad for Felix Brace and Limb, “Live without Limits,” features a runner wearing a prosthetic leg against a background of a lake surrounded by mountains. Like the countless other ads she’s created for the Village Voice, she used tools like InDesign and Illustrator. Those are a far cry from Microsoft Publisher, as most design professionals know, Highfill said. “It just kills me now when someone sends me a Publisher file when they want me to fix their ad,” she laughed. Highfill said last year’s win has provided her with a fresh boost of confidence and another sales technique when connecting with new businesses. She said potential advertisers see the award as an added bonus when working with her. Existing clients gain a sense of pride as well. “An award is something in your back pocket you can be proud of. I can use it when I’m speaking with potential advertisers as an Continued on Page 2

APA ad contest entries deadline in two weeks

Entries are being accepted now for the Arkansas Press Association’s Better Newspaper Advertising Contest, the annual competition to recognize and award the best in ads from newspapers across the state. The entry deadline is Thursday, Jan. 31, so enter as soon as possible.

To enter, and for more information on rules and instructions for entering, visit www. newspapercontest.com/arkansas. The

contest will award the best advertising in several categories, with separate divisions for weekly and daily newspapers. Winning entries will be judged by members of the North Carolina Press Association. Winners will be announced at the APA’s annual advertising conference at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock on Friday, March 8. Categories range from best single ad

to best online ad. There is a separate category for special sections and one for best use of humor in an advertisement. For more information or for questions about the contest or the online submission process, contact Terri Cobb at (501) 3741500 or email terri@arkansaspress.org. Please hurry to get your entries in by the Jan. 31 deadline.


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Arkansas Publisher Weekly: January 17, 2019 by Arkansas Press Association - Issuu