While leafing through an issue of BtoB, I once found a Chasers column entitled, “Give me some space, please.”
It read, in part:
Clutter in an ad is more than a nuisance; it can be enough of a distraction to drive a reader from the page. Advertisers are justifiably proud of their product or service and are eager to tell a target audience about it.
But they need to resist the temptation to say too much or to display too much in an ad. Let the ad breathe a bit. An extra dose of white space can often make the difference between an ad that overwhelms readers with clutter and one that connects with them.
I think most would agree that white space is a good thing. But clutter happens — even with the best of marketing intentions. With the cost of producing, placing and delivering marketing communications, it’s common to want to cram more into each piece.
Resist! Or risk losing potential customers.
Prospects who are sent into a maze of images and messages become disoriented. They probably won’t take the next step in the marketing process.
Instead, let your marketing story breathe. Whether ads, Web pages, collateral or other marketing communications, as the Chasers said, “Give me some space, please.”
Neil Sagebiel 