Tips for Creating Effective TV Commercials

As a producer, it’s easy to get caught up in the logistical details of creating a video. Details such as selecting the perfect talent, finding that great location, and rounding up all the equipment necessary for that admiration-inducing shot. But if you want to create truly effective TV commercials, you must address the following items before rolling out the cameras.

What Are You Trying to Accomplish?

Frozen Fire asks our clients this question before every project and sometimes it is surprisingly difficult to answer. The goal of every commercial is to increase revenue for the company, but this can be accomplished in a myriad of ways. Consider where your company’s marketing efforts have been lacking in the past. Do you need to increase brand awareness, make an emotional connection with your audience, or display your products design and functionality? What emotion do you want to leave your audience feeling at the end of the commercial? The answers to these questions will have a profound effect on the creative process for your commercial.

Carefully Consider Your Audience

Now that you’re thinking about your audience’s emotions, consider who your “prime” audience is. If you want to instill a “sense of yearning,” your tactics will be much different for 20-year-old women than 60-year-old men. Are you seeking to capitalize on a group that your product or service is already popular with? Or do you want to boost sales to a lagging demographic? Your commercial should carry personal appeal for your “prime” target audience.

National, Local, or New Medium for TV Commercials

When considering your target audience, make sure that you keep geography in mind. Is your product or service applicable to specific geographic regions? At this point in the process, it is also important to consider cost. It is not uncommon to hear of companies who spend thousands of dollars producing a commercial and then discover they don’t have the money to air it. Talk to stations, get competing bids, and figure out a realistic broadcasting scope before getting too deep into the production process. Also keep the season in mind. Broadcasting rates change throughout the year and by the time of day. Make sure you have a broadcasting setup that will reach your target audience. They can’t be moved by your video if they never get to see it! Broadcast TV commercials are very effective, but also consider displaying your ad through alternative mediums such as movie theaters, live sports events, and online platforms.

Study the Competition

While creating a “local” commercial should never be an excuse for sloppiness, there are some expectation differences between local and national broadcast commercials. National commercials can’t be simply informative or contain references that don’t translate across state/regional lines. Take a look at the commercials that are currently airing in your desired ad space? What do those ads accomplish? If you are planning to air a national commercial, you don’t have to have 3D graphics or fancy video effects, but you MUST have a well-constructed story and impeccable visuals.

If your company is interested in creating a broadcast commercial, Frozen Fire can help. Contact us to get the process started.

By Liz Johnston

Frozen Fire is a digital business development and communication strategy firm that exists so that businesses have the tools necessary to know exactly who their customers are and what their customers are looking for; we help companies connect with their customers via digital marketing strategies; and we help them to drive their sales, business development and marketing efforts, so as to gain the maximum return on their investments in terms of marketing dollars, efforts, and human resources. Contact us to learn how we can help your business know, connect, drive.