Commercials provide your brand with a chance to leave a lasting impression on your audience, one that effectively connects what they see on screen with you. They allow for a more dynamic presentation of your message, showing rather than simply telling the audience why they need your products or services. Through sight, sound, and movement, you reach a larger audience, at a point when they’re most attentive, through a commercial.
By the end of 2016, advertisers spent over $71 billion on TV commercials according to Forbes. This doesn’t take into account the over 72 billion dollars spent in digital advertising. Simply put, commercials still matter when it comes to marketing.
How to make a commercial
The process of creating and shooting a commercial can feel complicated because there are many steps to follow for proper preparation. Creating a quality commercial that puts your brand and message in a memorable and positive light requires an attention to detail which starts as the first ideas are pitched and carries through to the editing suite. Make sure you don’t lose track of any of the key steps in crafting a commercial by following this breakdown of the process:
Get to know your audience
Casting a wide net when parsing out the audience you want your commercial to speak to is not a good strategy. The larger your audience, the less follow-through you’ll most likely see. Take a look at your customer base and figure out who your best customers are. This is the audience segment your commercial should target. Consider crafting a few audience personas to help you stay on track when developing your commercial, ensuring you’re speaking to the right people.
Tell your story
Thinking of your commercial like a story instead of an advertisement can help you connect to your audience on an emotional level. It also gives your audience a thread to follow throughout the video. This approach can also make the insertion of your product or service feel more organic, rather than just flashing your logo at the end of the commercial. Make sure the tone and look of your commercial matches that of your brand as you share with your audience why their lives will be better by using your product or service.
Punctuate your commercial with a call to action
Perhaps the most important piece to your commercial is the end, where you tell your audience what they can do next to stay connected to your brand. Whether they should visit your brick and mortar location, jump online to your website, like you on Facebook, or any other actual task, it’s essential you give your audience marching orders to keep them engaged. The call to action is that final exclamation point on your story, the irresistible value you’re sharing with your audience. While they might not follow-up immediately, providing them with instructions on what do next increases your chances of follow-through overall.
Shoot your commercial
The secret to any successful commercial is delivering a short and simple message that best aligns with your audience’s attention span. It’s shorter than you think. A study conducted by Microsoft found that the average human attention span hovers around eight seconds, that’s less than a goldfish! You need to hook them quickly and present your message as concisely as possible. This is best achieved by being organized on the day of your commercial shoot, which requires a few preparatory activities such as:
- Storyboarding your shoot before production to create a realistic vision of the whole commercial.
- Planning out all your shots and timing your script to guarantee you get everything captured within your production schedule.
- Creating a sound design to capture the best sound possible.
- Securing all the production gear you’ll need in advance. This includes renting any specialty equipment.
- Scheduling the entire production day from setting up scenes to tearing them down in order to stay on budget and complete the commercial shoot on time.
Putting on the finishing touches
Once production is complete, before you pack up for the day, make sure to watch your footage on site as you back everything up. You need to make sure you captured all the shots necessary to complete your commercial and that they’re all of the highest quality. Your next stop is the editing suite. Try not to let too much time elapse between when you shoot and when you edit. It’s easier to edit when the footage is still fresh in your mind and you know what you’ve got to work with to complete the commercial. Once you’re done editing, create a master copy of your commercial. It’s then ready for distribution through the appropriate ad serving platform.
Finding the right partner through the entire commercial production
Because creating a commercial is such a thorough process, it’s important to partner with a professional production company who can help ensure the quality of your project. The seasoned production experts at Lens Head Media have you covered from script to screen as you work to develop your commercial. Our staff can assist with concept, pre-production, production, post-production, and finishing. We offer the best studio space in Atlanta for rent along with an impressive inventory of gear. Our goal is to create a customized package suited to the needs of your project, so give us a call today and let’s start the conversation about your next commercial.