Need some ideas for a newspaper advert

[kyber]

Lucy (owner of LAM Design (http://www.lamdesign.co.uk)) has decided to give her new tailoring service a big push with an advert in a local newspaper. Historically she has focused on couture clothing for women plus waistcoats and ties for men but now has signed up some tailors to produce men's cloths to her requirements.

I would appreciate some thoughts on what to push and what not to push in the advert. Let me give you some facts.

She wants to focus on offering made-to-measure suits to men. There are a lot of commuting professionals in the catchment area.

This will be a personal service and the customer will visit her premises (by appointment) and discuss their requirements. They will be able to choose from a wide selection of fabrics and styles. She has hundreds of fabric samples in formal tailor sample folders and can show hundreds of photographs of different styles on her laptop. She can customise or create new designs. Custom features include, for example, a zip pocket for a mobile phone.

If the customer wants to go ahead, detailed measurements will be taken and probably some digital photographs to capture body shape and posture. Delivery should take two to three weeks. The customer will visit her premises to try the garment on and, if all is well - it usually is, will leave with the garment. Established customers will be able to order additional suits by mail order if they wish.

She is thinking of headlining a special offer of £180 for a made-to-measyre two piece suit made from a wool/cashmere mix.

She will take on all fitting risks (so if it is not a perfect fit, she will adjust it unless it is too far out in which case either she did the measurements wrong of the tailors need to try again).

She can also offer made-to-measure shirts, coats and jeans. Garments can be made for women as well as men. (A little more expensive as women's figures are, apparently, a little more complex to fit.)

There is not a lot of competition around here for tailoring. Her premises are, well, our house - a big farm house slightly outside of a nice small town with good communications, so somewhat different from heading into the city to an established high-price tailor, visiting a hotel event run by one of the overseas tailors, or dropping in to the local Burtons. She can see people in the evenings or on Saturdays as well as during "norma"l hours. Having been running the wedding & evening wear side for a good few years she is very comfortable with customers coming for consultations and fittings (we even have a room dedicated for the purpose - and hefty insurance arrangements).

There is information about her company and its approach on the website but not a lot on the new tailoring service (mostly for copywrite reasons as we are not comfortable publishing to the website the hundreds of images, showing various styles the tailors can work on). I am going to add a load of information sometime about the quality and experience of the tailors.

She is thinking of a quarter page advert, black & white. Page size is a bit bigger than tabloid.

So what do you think?

Should we offer a coupon to reduce the price from say £200 to £180.
How about free shirt with two suits?
Focus on the personal service? Location?

Any ideas gratefully received.

I know we could get a professional to design the advert, but she is keen to have a go herself this time as past experience of this has not been great (and her own attempts have been more succesfull).

TIA,

Stuart

NOTE: Decided to kick off a special offer to UKBF members (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=11318#11318) as well.

NOTE: I have asked elsewhere for quotes for upgrading the website. I know it is behind the times and the photos are no good. We are working to resolve this.

(This post has been edited in the light of responses since the initial posting so that I can keep this post focused on the newspaper advert.)

[Webstuff]

Personally (and my experience with newspaper adverts has been limited...to a total of 1 :P), I would try to draw attention away from the fact its manufactured in Thailand. Try to address the range of clothes you can provide, the fabrics and quality, and, of course, the fact that its tailored (who doesn't want a tailored suit?). If you've got a special offer / coupon with expiry time clearly shown, it may help encourage people to buy right away.

[kyber]

Good advice. Original post and website updated accordingly.

[kyber]

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[kyber]

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[maddyminx]

Hi again Stuart,

I agree with Webstuff that I don't think references to "Thailand" are overly helpful. One of my clients works within the fashion industry and she certainly doesn't advertise the fact that some of her merchandise is produced there (funnily enough the majority of her best sellers are!) - not entirely sure why - I personally think that a lot of peoples perceptions when it comes to anything supplied from the far east is that its cheap, and possibly manufactured under slave labour! - just a guess, im not an expert. I can certainly ask a few questions if it would help - my client has worked within the industry for many years and may be able to give a more direct answer - mine was from a consumers point of view?

I think Lucy's best bet is to make her services "exclusive" to potential clients. The fact that you're not in the City could work in her favour. It's much more personalised which counts for a lot and the flexible working hours cater well for prospective clients, who might work ridiculous hours and need the flexibility. Thats something you won't always find with City competition.

Let me know if you would like to hear an opinion from my client as it's no problem and i'd be happy to help if I can?

Maddy
x

P.S You can't go far wrong with discount for promotional means - everyone loves a bargain!

[kyber]

Thanks. We have been careful in selecting our tailors.

[Webstuff]

Including pictures of previous customers is great, but the face-blurring reminds me too much of "Police, Camera, Action!". I'd avoid using pictures unless their face is either permissable to be shown, or the picture simply doesn't include the head (ow!). Photos of clothes on their own or on a manakin don't tend to be off-putting for people, and photos with a plain background (say a studio, or simply a white sheet hund against the wall) will also help to focus peoples attention.

[kyber]

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[Webstuff]

I meant anywhere in general (such as on your website). I'm sorry, I was going off subject a bit there ;)

[Eagle]

I certainly wouldn't use those photos. They look terrible (in comparison to proper, professionally done product photography). Please hire a professional to do the shots or at least someone with some knowledge of lighting. :)

A potential customer will take a look and think - "Ah! An amateur oufit!" No pun intended... ;)

[maddyminx]

I've had a chat with someone about this - only use a blank background but avoid the mistake of using a light background with light coloured design. For example, a well known model has designed some fabulous underwear for women and made the mistake of using a white background for models wearing white - the images in the catalogue that are also available online, look terrible, yet the quality of the products are great! Contrast the suits with a blank background, however make the background darker if the suit is light coloured and vise versa.

Maddy
x

[Webstuff]

And remember, shadows are a sin for this sort of photography.

[kyber]

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[kyber]

Thanks for advice.

[Webstuff]

I'm sure no-one meant any offense, we all love the site really ;) Further suggestions though; The big picture on the main page seems a little stange. You really need a smaller pic with some text neatly beside it, and then a row of small pictures below it (for example), so you give both visual and commentary information. Also, the 100% layout means it looks strange at anything other than fullscreen.

[kyber]

Thanks for sending me a mock-up to illustrate.

[annethedonn]

Stuart, I know a few photographers who are very reasonable.... John Feehan - he has been in the business for at least 20 years as he used to do my portraits when I was a teenager. He charges around £250 for a wedding as he does it part time. I had another company do my wedding, as he was on holiday at the time, and they did digital shots and I got a CD of over 180 pictures, references on their website and an album for £235 - they are a new company and they supplied 3 people on the day - visited the church for the rehearsal and my home a few time beforehand so all in all very professional & likeable guys. Let me know if you want contact details - their website is www.cansonnewmedia.com. If you look closely, you might even see my photos on there in gallery 3!!

Anne

[kyber]

Thanks. YHM.