Snipes and Violators

Snipes and Violators

We've noticed that many people don't know what a violator is, or a snipe. Both of these are used in Marketing Communications to add impact to an advertisement or package.

The terms are interchangeable. They are a way to call attention to a special feature, often short term, such as a special price. They "break" design on purpose.

Violator

Here's a description:

"Promo Edge offers PromoFlag, an automatically applied violator label that flares out from the package, calling attention to the product on store shelves. Because it stands away from the package, it is as effective as neck hangers in attracting consumers to the product, company says. Label can carry promotions such as coupons, rebate offers, or sweepstakes entries. It can also be used as a violator to announce new product features, highlight consumer use information, or call attention to promotional offers. Materials consist of both paper and plastic, according to the company. "

Source: Packworld.com

And here's a great white paper that covers violator design considerations: Developing a Packaging Graphic System (BrandWizard Technologies)

Snipe

"In advertising, a "snipe" is a strip of copy announcing some late breaking news or item of interest, typically placed in a print advertisement in such a way that it stands out from the ad. Snipes are typically reversed out of a box, or placed in the upper-right or left hand section of an ad for easy visibility, and done in black so only one color plate is affected."

Source: Marketing Acumen, Volume 2, Issue 2 (February 5, 2004) - Word of the Day (link)

As you can see, a violator is more applicable to packaging and supermarket-aisle attention-getters, whereas a snipe is more advertising- and publishing-related.

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Posted March 28, 2005