The Ad Wizard

Client: InPrint Media Sales Ltd. is a web service for print newspapers. IMSL created The Ad Wizard (a hosted Rich Internet Application) to provide online ad-building services to publishers and their clients such as Newsweek, London Financial Times, CareerBuilder, Los Angeles Times, Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and Cars.com.

Product/Service: Entering the 1990′s market as an industry innovator, The Ad Wizard’s brand image and materials had become diluted. As competition increased, President Dave Ball requested a product re-brand:  marketplace analysis, identity (logo, stationary), marketing materials (brochures, product sales sheets, ads), and corporate web site (content and functionality).

Project: As Content Design Manager, I established a timeline and budget, assembled a design team, researched and benchmarked competition, conducted interviews, wrote and edited content, directed art and proofing, communicated with printers, publishers and programers; and tested UI.

Sample: Brochure (PDF) – Sales Sheets (PDF) – Magazine Ad – Web Site

Brochure

Sales Sheets

Magazine Ad

Excerpt:

Sell display ads from your web site

Link The Ad Wizard service to your home page, invite your community to “Place an Ad”, and start selling print display ads with the click of a mouse.

The internet keeps it simple. The Ad Wizard is a print display ad sales service for newspapers. It works entirely online: it sells, creates, schedules and administrates ads automatically. Because The Ad Wizard is a fully-hosted web service not a software program, it’s easy for your newspaper to subscribe to, and easy for your advertisers to use.

Easy to subcribe for newspapers

A nominal subscription fee gives you access to a virtual marketing team, sales force and production department; an automated ad delivery, tracking and reporting system; almost ten million professionally-designed ad templates; and a front door to voluntary sales that only the World Wide Web can provide.

Easy to use for advertisers

Link The Ad Wizard to your web site and anyone with a browser can try it out for free. Onscreen, they see your corporate banner, your best ad offers and an invitation to create a display ad immediately. Step-by-step, the “wizard” guides your prospect through the ad building process ~ browsing ad templates, entering content, shopping rates and schedules ~ and towards a purchase.

The only online print display ad service that:

* links to your newspaper’s current web site
* guides advertisers to build, book and buy their own ads
* sells and manages web-generated ads automatically
* runs without software, special training or additional staff
* operates from our servers, not yours

Increase revenue, reduce costs, improve service

Increase print ad revenue:

• Reach new markets who have traditionally been too costly to pursue by car or phone. The Ad Wizard services small, busy and far away prospects by internet. Online and with their own computer, new advertisers can buy an display ad on their own schedule and in their own price range.
• Expand existing accounts who have wanted to increase the size, frequency or color of their ads but haven’t been able to budget it. The Ad Wizard displays options for strengthening their ad buy as they schedule and price their current ads.
• Up-sell self-serve visitors from line to display advertising. The Ad Wizard includes classified display ad templates with custom fonts, borders and images. Given a choice, advertisers will opt for value-added display ads.

Reduce production and sales costs:

• Save on design and production by converting small-space and pick-up advertisers over to self-serve ad templates. The Ad Wizard includes thousands of professionally-designed templates, and there’s a custom template option when a client needs campaign or creative continuity. Design staff are freed up for larger, more creative projects.
• Maximize your sales force by saving them time, trips and gas. The Ad Wizard markets ad products, takes orders, gathers content, delivers proofs, obtains sign-off, and collects payment automatically. Your sales teams continue to serve current and prospective advertisers that generate higher commissions and revenue.
• Eliminate make-goods due to errors. With The Ad Wizard’s ad acceptance process, customers proofread, verify and sign-off on their ad; then a designed member of your staff personally reviews its booking, payment and content details. An approved ad arrives in production as a press-ready PDF.

Improve customer service:

• Small business and private party advertisers have consistently described their newspaper’s Ad Wizard service as “fun” and “easy to use.” That’s because a friendly interface, plain language and familiar “Next” button eases visitors through the ad building process.

• Large organizations and high-frequency advertisers appreciate that The Ad Wizard gives them control over their content and instant access to new, in-progress and previously-created ads. Realtors and auto dealers use the “Auto Data Feed” option to automatically create large numbers of photo listings for co-op ads or themed special sections.
• Both advertisers and newspapers want continued service and sales after the front doors are closed for the day. The Ad Wizard system gives customers the 24-hour access they want. It gives newspapers the internet-powered ad sales they need.

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