Creating a TV ad for your small business can seem a daunting, intimidating and expensive task. Fortunately, with today's easy access to the tools and technology of TV production, producing a TV spot is well within your reach. One caution: Making a TV ad may be relatively easy. Making a good TV ad is much more challenging. Don't get so caught up in the production process that you lose sight of your advertising objective. Awards are nice, but it's not creative unless it sells!
Once you've got your advertising message in mind, the 3 key stages of TV production are:
1) Pre-production ? Planning, writing, scheduling, location scouting and all the preparation and details before a frame of video is ever shot. 2) Production ? The actual video shooting of the ad. Depending on your needs and budget, could be anything from one camcorder to a multi-camera Hollywood extravaganza. 3) Post-Production ? While on the shoot, you may hear the common refrain, "We'll fix it in post." Post is where everything comes together to produce the ad ? Editing, graphics, music, titles, voice over, special effects and, eventually, a "final cut."
Here are the most effective solutions for getting your own TV ad produced:
? Set clear goals
Know and communicate your marketing objective. Determine your budget and develop a plan. What do you hope to achieve with your TV ad? Where and when will it run?
Get-It-Done: The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB.org) is an excellent resource for first-time TV advertisers. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA.net) is another good starting point.
? Determine your target audience
Television is still a mass medium, but you better know your target before you shoot! Who are you trying to reach, and will your message resonate with your intended audience?
Get-It-Done: Advertising Age (AdAge.com) is the industry Bible. More in depth demographic research is available online at their sister publication, American Demographics.
? Content is King
Craft your message and determine your content. Consider whether you're producing a 30-second TV spot, a :20, :15, : 10 or some combination. Be sure to refine your script and storyboard ? a visual representation of each shot in your ad - until you're convinced the commercial is ready to shoot.
Get-It-Done: Need ideas and inspiration? Hop across the pond (online) to "thinkbox," Great Britain's great website for television marketing in the UK.
? Plan the shoot
You'll need to decide on the "creative" for your TV ad. Considerations include tone, pacing, mood, style, music,etc. Should it be humorous? Dramatic? Animated? The clearer your vision before the shoot, the better television you'll produce.
Get-It-Done: The TV marketing and ad whiz kids at Promax.org are some of the best "promo producers" in the world. See what ad producers from NBC, Discovery, MTV Fox and others are doing and tap into their collective knowledge.
? Fix it in post
Post production is "where the magic happens." Edit the footage from your shoot, adding music, graphics, effects and finishing touches. Find a professional video editor, or take a crack at it yourself with a program like iMovie.
Get-It-Done: Mandy.com lists hundreds of production vendors, as does LA411 and NewYork411, depending on your coastal preference. Procure a Pro is a more broad based B2B directory.
Some final TV Production tidbits include:
? If you do decide to go it alone, creative is still key. Creative trumps budget every time. A good idea with lower production is still better than a slick ad that misses the mark.
? New software called "Visual Communicator" from Serious Magic allows you to create pro videos with just a webcam and some pre-packaged graphics and effects.
? Your local TV station may provide commercial production assistance (at extra cost) if you buy an ad schedule on that station.
? Think about other "venues" for your finished TV ad, such as streaming video on your website.
Many thousands of older people are finding that life insurance they bought as a result of slick daytime television advertising in the late 80s and early 90s has turned out not to be the great deal that it promised. As a result many pensioners find that they have invested years of premiums into a policy that they can no longer afford and has a surrender value below the combined premiums that they have already paid.
Lured into buying policies dressed up as fabulous deals featuring cheap monthly premiums for the first ten years, many have now found that once they enter the 11th year of cover that their premiums rocket to exorbitant levels. This leaves them with the stark choice of paying the extra premium, slashing the value of their life cover or abandoning the policy altogether.
The policies in question offer the major attractions of allowing anyone under 80 to apply without the need for a medical examination, and offering life cover throughout the policyholder's entire lifetime with payment of a lump sum on death. However, many of the people taking out the cover were unaware that after the initial ten year period premiums would rise dramatically.
Insurers targeted older people who wanted to bequeath a modest amount of money to their children tax-free upon death, and also provide for their own funeral expenses. Although the policies are still being sold (figures for 2006 show that almost 180,000 were bought) it is in much lesser numbers than the boom year of 1994 when almost 700,000 policies of this type were taken out.
One unnamed 70 year old took out a whole of life policy in 1991 in order to leave a cash sum to his children. At the start of the policy monthly premiums were ?28.51 for ?87,000 cover. However, once the ten year promotional period expired he found that to receive the same amount of life cover he would need to increase his monthly premiums to a staggering ?269.84 per month, just ?72.28 short of his entire annual premiums for the previous year! Unsurprisingly, he and many others cannot afford the increased premiums leaving them to cash in the fund for a paltry amount, well below the value of premiums already paid.
Insurance experts point out that this type of ?maximum? policy is an incredibly risky investment. Anyone wishing to pass on money to their children would be much better advised to take out a ?standard? policy, where premiums are higher at the outset allowing more money to be invested and therefore providing greater growth opportunity for the fund.
That advice is cold comfort to the hundreds of thousands of elderly people who have already paid ten years worth of premiums into maximum policies, and look to be heading for a significant financial loss. However, the Financial Ombudsman admits that complaints about maximum policies are on the rise, and the FSA is closely monitoring the situation because of the vulnerability of the people targeted by this type of product.
Both Lou Bortone & Andrew Regan are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Lou Bortone has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing and Video Marketing. Lou Bortone is an award-winning writer and TV producer with over 20 years in the television industry, including several years as Senior VP of Marketing & Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide in L.A. Today, Lou specializes in helping entrepreneurs create c. Lou Bortone's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.
Andrew Regan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Small Business and Modelling. Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.. Andrew Regan's top article generates over 20400000 views. to your Favourites.