Making a great commercial

The cost of producing an average TV spot for a national brand these days is about $150,000 to $200,000. For that amount of money some advertisers get great spots and some get real stinkers.

But did you know that thousands of small business spots were produced last year that cost less than $1,000? Some of these were great too, while others were real stinkers.

The point is, the concept and execution of the commercial determined its effectiveness; not the production values. Great commercial advertising is based on making an interesting idea visually appealing and clear to the prospect. It doesn’t take $100,000 to make an effective commercial.

So what does it take?

A keen imagination is vital, as well as an intimate understanding of your product or service, a sense of the target audience you’re going after, the ability to communicate benefits clearly to your audience, and a firm resistance to adding bells and whistles, glamorous locations and unnecessary gimmicks.

Television includes, in descending order of cost:

* Network television
* Spot (local, single market) television
* Cable television
* Satellite television

Forget the first avenue and the last. Instead, concentrate your resources on local and cable resources. They offer you the most viable and affordable means for marketing your wares and services.

Cost

Five factors have greatly reduced the cost of television in recent years. These include reduced agency/service commissions, package pricing, multi-month contracts, tough negotiating and tremendous savings when open spots must be sold at the last minute.

You can also control costs by having a good script, carefully planning pre-production, using local cable station equipment and facilities, shooting silent footage and adding a voiceover in post production, and being willing to compromise on quality to save on costs.