Before You Book a Placement: A Display Advertising Checklist
Samuel Okafor walks through the questions a local business should settle before buying display advertising beside our stories, from audience and labelling to creative, budget and the first
Samuel Okafor · · 6 min read
Start with who you want to reach
Display advertising with Harbourlight puts your message next to photo essays, interviews and community stories. The people who read those pieces tend to linger. They come for a long portrait or a first-person account, and they read the whole thing. That is worth knowing before anything else, because it shapes what kind of business fits. A shop, a studio, a restaurant, a community theatre or a trades business with a local customer base can all make sense here, while a company that depends on quick clicks from strangers may be disappointed.
Write down, in a sentence or two, the person you hope will notice you. Think about their age, their town or neighbourhood and what they are likely to need in the coming months. Our readers are mostly adults over forty who value photography and local life, and an advertisement that respects that tends to feel at home on the page. If your honest description of your customer is far from that, say so early. It is better to find out in a conversation than after a placement has run.
- Describe your ideal customer in two sentences
- Check that they live or shop within reach of your business
- Decide what you want a reader to do after seeing you
Understand how placements are marked
Every advertising placement on the site is clearly marked as advertising. It sits alongside our stories, never inside the text of one, and a reader should never have to wonder whether a piece is editorial or paid. This is not a detail to negotiate around. It is how we keep the stories trustworthy, and it protects you as well, since an advertiser who looks honest is easier to believe.
If you want something closer to a story, that is a different service. Sponsored collaborations are made with local organizations, shot and written to our usual standards, and labelled as sponsored from the first line. Display advertising stays simple: your name, a short message and a way to reach you. Before you decide, be clear with yourself which of the two you actually need, because they serve different goals and are priced differently.
- Display placements are always labelled as advertising
- They appear beside stories, not inside them
- A sponsored collaboration is a separate service
Prepare the creative you will supply
A placement is only as good as what goes into it. Gather a clear logo, one strong image if you have it and a short line of text that says plainly what you do. Plain wording works well with our readers. A sentence that names the service, the town and how to get in touch will do more than a slogan. If you have photographs of your own premises or your work, bring them, but avoid heavy filters or crowded layouts that clash with the quiet look of the pages.
We can talk through sizing and layout once you have enquired, and Daniel Whitfield, our partnerships manager, looks over each piece so it fits the site and the labelling is correct. You do not need a designer on retainer. You do need to know what you want to say and to have your contact details ready and accurate. Check the phone number, the address and the spelling of your name before anything is sent.
- A clear logo file
- One image you have the right to use
- A short, plain line of text
- Accurate contact details
Set a budget you can keep up
Decide how much you are comfortable spending before you ask for a quotation, and think of it across a few months rather than as a single payment. Advertising rarely does its best work in one appearance. Readers notice a name more readily the second or third time they see it beside a story they enjoyed. A modest amount spread over a sensible stretch usually serves a small business better than one large outlay.
The price of a placement depends on its size and on how long it runs, and the prices page sets out what each option includes and what changes the figure. We do not offer results or guarantees about response, and we would not trust anyone who did. What we can offer is a clearly stated cost, a written quotation and an invoice paid by bank transfer, so that you know exactly what you are agreeing to before any work starts.
- Think in months, not a single appearance
- Ask what size and length change the price
- Expect a written quotation, then an invoice
Questions worth asking us
Come with questions, because a good conversation settles more than any brochure. Ask which stories your placement is likely to appear beside, and whether the tone of those pieces suits your business. Ask how long a typical placement runs and what happens at the end of it. Ask what we need from you and by when, and what you can expect from us in return. These are ordinary questions and we are glad to answer them plainly.
It also helps to ask what would make us say no. We would rather decline a placement than run one that does not suit our readers or that we could not label honestly. If your business is a fair fit, that conversation will be short and friendly. If it is not, you will have saved yourself the cost. Either way, you leave with a clearer picture than you had when you began.
- Which stories will sit near my placement
- How long does it run, and what happens after
- What do you need from me, and by when
Make the first contact simple
When the earlier points feel settled, the first step is an enquiry through the contact page. Tell us who you are, what your business does, where it is and roughly what you have in mind. A few honest lines are plenty. You do not need a finished plan, and there is no obligation in asking. Daniel will reply with questions of his own if something is unclear, and then with a written quotation you can read at your own pace.
Take your time with that quotation. Read it against this checklist and see whether each item is answered: who you want to reach, how the placement is marked, what you will supply, what it costs and what comes next. If one of them is still vague, say so and we will clear it up. A decision made calmly, with the details in front of you, is usually a good one.
- Send a short enquiry through the contact page
- Expect a written quotation in reply
- Read it against the checklist before you decide
A placement beside our stories works best when you know your reader, understand how it will be labelled, have your materials ready and have settled a budget you can keep. None of these steps is complicated, but skipping one tends to cause trouble later. Go through the list at your own pace, and when you are ready, write to us through the contact page. We would be glad to hear what your business does.
Ask for a quote
- Call us
- (613) 400-6864
- By email
- [email protected]