March 9, 2011
TV is the most powerful medium available, with sight, sound, special effects, music, talent, cameras, light and more. When you add to that good TV production of spots, you have a winning combination.
First you must define your target customer, age, sex, white collar, blue collar, green collar. What are their media habits; what TV shows they watch, what radio stations they listen to, and what publications they read. This tells us which media on which to advertise.
TV can target specific demographic groups like baby boomers. By advertising on certain TV programs like news and talk programs you have a good opportunity to show the quality of production you can do. TV can also reach a broad range of viewers by rotating spots throughout a week like the “Got Milk” campaign.
TV and radio spot production for winning commercials
Almost everything I discuss applies to both TV and radio production.
Producing TV advertising cost anywhere from $500 up to several thousands of dollars. Producing a TV spot can involve a producer/writer, camera men, a sound man, editor, talent, music, special effects, CGI (computer generated images) all can make up the cost of production. If the spot requires a two camera shoot it ads to the costs. On location shoots are more expensive. Most commercials usually involve a one camera shoot with a camera man and a sound tech. Again a two camera shoot adds to the cost. The “fancier” the commercial the higher the production value, and the more the spot costs.
Film vs. video makes a Big difference
A TV spot can be shot with both film or video. 35 mm film looks better, classer, and is more professional looking. Commercials shot on film are brighter and have more dimension to them. All nationally produced spots are shot on film.
Examples of spots shot on film are national commercials like Sizzler, beer commercials and almost every national commercial. Examples of video are morning soap operas, local news, and any local commercial production.
There’s the difference. When you shoot a commercial on film you transfer it to video for editing.
Pre-produced spots for national looking ads
Another source for TV commercials is pre produced spots. These are spots produced for a specific business category such as furniture or tires and then sold to many stores across the nation. These pre -produced spots are shot on film, have very high production values and look as professional as national spots. They are produced so that a local furniture, or tire store can customize the spots with their business name on them and they look like they were nationally produced The pre-produced spots are expensive but not as costly as a locally produced spot with a national look. Pre-produced spots are often worth the extra money.
Writing winning TV and radio spots
Writing TV and radio spots takes some practice. Because of the short amount of time, the message must be brief but powerful. A thirty second spot is really 28 seconds long; One second from black to first video and one second from last video to black. Sixty second spots have only 58 seconds for the commercial but the copy must still be brief and powerful.
Creating a winning TV commercial requires several steps
a. Establish the objective to accomplish such as a big sale Friday.
b. Create a concept “the big idea” that will make the spot different and memorable. One furniture store owner shot his commercials at his store wearing only red boxer shorts with hearts.
c. Create a “copy platform” That lists all the facts to be included in the spot. Don’t forget including the benefits that the facts will provide such as selling a beautiful couch for 40%. That provides the buyer with a feeling of pride making their living room more attractive.
d. Write the spots speaking to one person not to the vast audience that will see or hear it. One to one communication is necessary for a winning commercial.
e. Write the copy to relate to the target audience such as words or phrases commonly used by them like “cool” or “out of sight” for baby boomers.
f. Include the AIDA formula. A is for attention; you must get the viewer’s or listener’s attention. I is for interest. That attention must be translated into interest in the product. D is desire. The desire for the product must then transfer to a call to action. A is a call to action such as “order now, or go to this website and order.” The AIDA should be in every commercial and will help create winning ads.
Winning radio commercial production
Almost all the above apply to radio advertising. Listeners of radio spots hear the spot and create the picture of the event in their head. Since the audience can’t see the product, copy must be written in very descriptive styles. Use of sound effects can be effective. In addition, music or jingles can also add to a winning commercial
Many things go into a winning commercial as you can see. There is no substitute for experienced commercial producers but you must start somewhere. Hopefully you will get to watch and learn from the best producers and learn the secrets of making customers buy.
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