Tips for a Successful Recital Poster

UPDATE: 10/19/2010 – a revised graphic and final word.

This is the time of year when academic music performance majors are planning recitals.

A big factor to not to be ignored is marketing. A recital without an audience after all is a like a lone tree falling in the forest. If no one is around to hear it, did it even make a noise?

On most college campuses recital advertising is normally done with an 8.5 x 11 inch poster mounted on bulletin boards. These boards are typically a sea of activity and in creating an advertisement, a student might be tempted to pour in a great deal of information and creativity in order to stand out.

From a marketing perspective this can be a slippery slope. A messy looking recital poster can actually do more harm than good.

So what can be done to make a recital poster stand out?

If the main goal is to grab attention and entice people, it helps to look at a classic model from the advertising world.

The Ogilvy formula

David Ogilvy is a pioneer and respected force in the advertising world. When it comes to his company’s print ads, we can derive a basic, 5-step formula.

1. Visual
2. Caption
3. Headline
4. Copy
5. Signature

Research indicates that readers typically look at these elements in this order. The best way to get people to read your recital poster is to arrange things – in this exact order from top to bottom. This formula is known in the field as the Ogilvy.

1. Large image at the top of the page. For a photo, bleed it to the edge of the page.
2. A headline
3. The main ad copy. This would include all the fun music you are going to play.
4. A signature in the lower right corner. In this case, the time, date and location of the recital.

Experimenting with margins, font and font sizes can be fun. Think about white space and a general look-and-feel. In my example above, I went for a very clean look and some dry humor.

Why this is important

Advertising is something that has been intensely researched and it certainly helps to build projects on successful models. Following guidelines from a master will give a bigger boost towards success.

• For additional tips, be sure to see this superb primer on the Ogilvy method.

Playing around with a recital poster is an important exercise in marketing, one with practical, real-world applications.

Post-graduation you might very well be involved in some kind of marketing strategy – in order to get more work, to recruit students or in order to promote some other important cause.

Devoting serious thought to a recital poster now can be an excellent introduction into a future world of entrepreneurship.

This is a tongue-in-cheek basic design which follows the classic visual, headline, copy and signature format.