COURSE OUTLINE AD COPYWRITING - LEVEL 1

Contact 206-623-1560 [email protected] Register www.svcseattle.com

Topics & Schedule WEEK 1 Introduction to Ad Copywriting, and the ad industry as a whole. What’s the ad industry really like? What do copywriters do all day? Where’s this “bar” everyone keeps talking about raising? What’s the difference between the ads you see every day and the ads that impress Creative Directors?

We’ll start by examining original provocative headlines, and how to write them, using Suzanne Pope’s AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH FOR COPYWRITERS: HOW TO WRITE HEADLINES AND WHY YOUR CAREER DEPENDS ON IT as a guide.

Assignment: Bring in ads you like/hate for discussion, and write headlines for assigned product

WEEK 2 Review last week’s headline writing assignment

What is an Advertising Campaign? What’s the difference between cobbling together a few ads and a coherent campaign? And do you have the beginnings of one in the work you’ve just done? Also, we’ll talk about the art of writing effective, clever, and clear body copy.

Assignment: Writing body copy for your best headlines

WEEK 3 Review last week’s headlines & body copy

Do you have an idea that can extend to other media? We’ll look at great examples of work that maintain consistency across multiple mediums — web, radio, TV, outdoor, experiential, etc. How does an idea become extendable?

Assignment: Brainstorm other ways to execute your idea. You don’t have to create an app or shoot a commercial, just focus on the core of the idea so that it makes sense for the appropriate medium.

WEEK 4 Review last week’s brainstorming assignment

Writing, rewriting, and the nitty gritty. Now that you’ve gotten a taste for what a headline-driven campaign looks like and how to extend it, it’s time to get back to the basics. We’ll write more copy for ads and other places where great writing appears, like packaging, social media, company websites, and more. Assignment: More intense copywriting: Body copy, packaging copy, and company website sections

WEEK 5 Review last week’s body copy & packaging copy assignment

Let’s talk about portfolios. How they look and what they show. We’ll go through some portfolios of ad school graduates and working professionals to get a sense of what you need to do to present your work — especially if you’re not presenting it in person.

Assignment: Take your campaign and “package it” in a presentation deck, or as it might appear in an online portfolio.

WEEK 6 Review last week’s assignment

Radio: A writer’s medium. Maybe you haven’t listened to the radio lately. But 90% of adults report that they still listen to the radio each week. And with podcast sponsorships, Spotify, and other audio-related media, there’s a need for writing that combines great copy & concepts that works when all you have are ears. We’ll listen to great radio and talk about what makes it wonderful for writers looking to practice their craft.

Assignment: Write a radio campaign

WEEK 7 Review radio assignment

This thing called Content: What is it? People are continually harping about “content.” Content marketing and content writing are growing fields. But they’re different than traditional advertising and require a different approach. We’ll talk about what content writing truly is and how to do it well.

Assignment: Native advertising article, Tweets and Facebook updates

WEEK 8 Review content copywriting assignment

Let’s do some good: Cause Marketing. How is advertising for a cause or organization different than other forms of advertising? What’s the ultimate goal of it? We’ll look at some examples of cause marketing and discuss.

Assignment: Pick something you’re passionate about, and create your best advocacy advertising and ideas

WEEK 9 Review cause marketing assignment An in-class jam session: Can we improve your ideas together? We’ll take the cause marketing work that’s presented and see if together, we can improve and hone the ideas.

Assignment: Back to the beginning. You’ll write headlines and copy for an assigned product or service. Hopefully you’ll have a framework to tackle it smarter and better now.

WEEK 10 Review headlines and copy

So, what now? At this point, you’ve hopefully learned a good overview of what copywriting is and how the ad industry functions. Besides more SVC classes, how can you advance your skills? How can you make money as a copywriter?