Strategic Copywriting: How to Create Effective Advertising

When it comes to attracting consumers through advertising, which words, phrases, and techniques are most effective? Strategic Copywriting, a detailed how-to guide, introduces students to time-tested strategies for writing and designing successful ads.

In this second edition, Edd Applegate explains the core principles that have guided advertising for decades, from knowing the audience to crafting a compelling message. Next, proven techniques for producing specific kinds of advertising—whether for newspapers, magazines, or other print media, for broadcast radio or television, or for social media and online/mobile platforms—are addressed in step-by-step detail. Throughout, Applegate walks readers through real advertisements from advertising agencies of all sizes across the United States to illustrate what works—or not—and why.

Edd Applegate has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in advertising and mass communications for more than 30 years. His numerous publications include The Rise of Advertising in the United States and Cases in Advertising and Marketing Management (with Art Johnsen). He has been honored with fellowships and grants from organizations including the Donald and Geraldine Hedberg Foundation, the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, the Annenberg Washington Program, the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, the Gannett Foundation, the Missouri Commission on Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others.