UPA Winter Convention 2008

“Toward a New Frontier”


Focus:

This year's Winter Convention is titled “Toward a New Frontier” due to the rapidly changing aspects & challenges of doing newspapering through the Internet, niche products and more. We have training, panels and classes to help each of you to understand these new challenges and how you can best prepare for them and remain competitive.

Better Newspaper Contest:

Please keep in mind that entries into the 2008 Better Newspaper Contest are due into UPA Offices by Monday, January 14th.


Hotel Reservations:

If you haven't called for room reservations for Winter Convention, please take care of it right away. You may call The St. George Hilton Garden Inn at: (435) 634-4100. Rooms are at a premium so call as soon as possible. Room charges this year are $119. per night.


Schedule of events”

The convention begins Thursday, March 6th for the Meet & Greet Social at 7 PM.

Full convention activities begin at 8:30 AM on Friday, March 7th and go through Saturday evening Awards banquet at 7 PM.


We have some great training and wonderful speakers planned, don't miss the opportunity to learn and keep pace with the rapidly changing world of newspapering.

---

The importance of logo placement

BY-LINE
By John Foust
Raleigh, NC

Logos nave a lot in common with name tags. Both serve to identify – and there are right and wrong ways to position them.

The next time you go to a business meeting, take a look at the way people wear their name tags. As long as they are not the hang-around-the-neck variety, don’t be surprised if the majority of attendees wear them on the left side. I used to do the same thing. No matter what kind of tag was handed out – one with a clip, a pin, or adhesive – I put it over my heart, on the left side of my jacket. Since I’m right handed, it was easy to pick it up and slap in on – all in one motion.

Then I was told that the proper position is on the other said, because that creates a better sight line for reading names when shaking hands. Once you try the right side placement, you’ll be sold on the difference it makes.

Name placement is important in advertising, too. There are four elements in a print ad: headline, illustration, body copy, and logo. Positioning of these elements can make a big difference in the impact an ad will have on the page. If something is out of place, the entire message can be thrown out of kilter.

Unfortunately, some advertisers have fallen into the trap of putting their logos at the top – which in essence, turns their names into headlines. Would you be compelled to read an ad that features “Ford” or “Pizza Hut” or “AT&T” as the headline? Probably not.

It’s best to put the headline at the top of the layout (or at least in the top half) and the logo at the bottom. Years of conditioning have taught us to look for the name of the messenger at the end of a message. When you write an e-mail or a letter, you put your name at the bottom. When you send a greeting card, you sign your name under the text inside the card.

The function of a headline if to signal to readers what the ad is about – to let them know what valuable piece of information they can gain from taking the time to read the rest of the ad. Therefore, the headline should have the most prominent working in a layout.

Some advertisers may think, “Okay, I’ll put my logo at the bottom. But I want it to be bigger than anything else in the ad.” That kind of logic is self-defeating. Like a name tag, a logo should identify, not dominate. A logo should be large enough to provide quick identification, but not so large that it overshadows the ad’s message.

---