Money Matters

Making TV Advertising More Affordable in Three Easy Steps
Semaphore Account Executive Mark Nix and Senior Copywriter Robbie Robertson outline three things your company can do to get ready for your close-up.

So you want the advertising bang, but are afraid of the television buck? It’s not exactly a secret that of all advertising media, TV commercial costs typically run higher than, say, your last direct mail postcard.
But exactly why is television so expensive? Primarily because of two factors: production costs and media buys. There are, however, three ways you can still get bargains on both and ensure your coaxial connection.

1. Quantity
Always try to piggyback two spots within one production when possible. The cost for a production crew is based on a daily rate. When the production is managed effectively there should be enough time to produce two spots. As a marketing tool, this also allows the message to remain fresh because the commercials can be run in cycles so you never see the same commercial back to back.

2. Location
Even if a commercial director tries to tell you it must be shot in a SoHo loft, there are often many suitable locations in our own backyard. For example, on a recent shoot we used the home interiors of one of our employees. It fit the script perfectly and we didn’t require any additional set pieces (just maybe a bit of dusting).

3. Format
This is where cost matters most. The filmmaker in all of us wants to use 16mm or 32mm for our artistic vision, but the cost difference between tape and film can be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Sure, the colors and lighting are more vibrant with film, but with high definition cameras and state-of-the-art post production, the gap between film and video narrows more and more every year. And although 30-second spots have been an industry standard, we have also found that a well-produced and well-placed ten second spot can have equal impact for some messages. It’s also much cheaper to place a ten-second media buy because of the lack of competition from other advertisers.

There are other ways that we can make your television advertising more affordable. Just let us know when you’re ready for your close-up.