Word numbers in TV, radio, video and social ads
Published
How a law firm shows and says a word number in billboards, radio, television, online video and social posts, so people remember it after the ad ends.
Billboards and signs
A driver reads a billboard in a few seconds. Make the word the largest thing after the firm's name, with the digits smaller beneath it for anyone who would rather dial numbers. Leave out everything the driver doesn't need: one message, the name, the word number.
Radio
On the radio the number is only heard, so say it the same way every time: the area code, the digits, then the word, and spell the word if it could be heard as another. Say it at least twice, once at the end of the spot. Listeners in a car can't write it down; the word is what they keep.
Television and online video
Show the number on screen while the voiceover says it, so viewers see and hear the same version. Keep it on screen long enough to read twice. In online video, where many people watch without sound, the number on screen does all the work: show the word large and the digits beneath it.
Social posts
On social media most people see the firm's posts on a phone, where they can tap a number to call. Write the digits in the post so the phone turns them into a link, and put the word in the image so the number is remembered by people who scroll past.
Print and mail
Mailers, flyers and print ads sit on a counter for weeks. Put the word number at the top, not in the fine print, and use the same word and digits that run in the firm's other ads, so a reader who heard the radio spot recognizes the number.