Monday, March 16, 2015

Make A Successful Television Commercial

Get your business rolling with a successful TV commercial.


You may be working with writers, a director and a production company, but it's your business and ultimately your responsibility to make sure your television commercial is successful. A successful television commercial will communicate the specifics of a product or service clearly and quickly, will stand out to viewers, will reach broad but targeted audiences and will be an accurate representation your business and its philosophy. Follow a few basic principles to ensure that you get the best possible return from your investment in a commercial.


Instructions


1. Identify who your audience is. Determine what age group, gender, class, etc. uses your product or service. Make sure the look and story of the commercial will appeal to your audience. Buy advertising time on airdates and channels that your audience watches. You might talk with a handful of your customers and find out what kind of interests they have and what they like about your product or service.


2. Determine the specific aspects of the product or service that you want to focus on in your commercial and let potential customers know how features will benefit their life. Aspects of a product could include how affordable it is, how innovative it is, the way it makes performing a task easier or how it relates to personal style. Highlight the features of your product clearly in the commercial, like bullet points, but do not try to cram in too much. Keep it simple and do not overwhelm viewers with information overload.


3. Create consistent branding. You should have a strong logo that you use in your commercial as well as all other ads, signage and print materials. You might take this further and develop colors and a particular, overall design aesthetic for your business that is seen in everything from your commercial to the office lobby. The better the branding, the more memorable and identifiable your products and business will be.


4. Write a script that has the structure of a story--with a beginning, middle and an end. Include dialogue and notes about visuals. Always keep your audience in mind and make sure the style, pace, mood and images will not put off, confuse or offend anyone. Develop a catchy tag line, slogan or jingle that is repeated throughout the commercial. Use active, verb-filled language and strong, appealing imagery. Keep your script to about a page for every 30 seconds of commercial time. Read through the script to time it. Making a storyboard with simple drawings can also help you visualize your script.

Tags: product service, your audience, your business, your commercial, your product