At Epic Light Media we don’t subscribe. We don’t subscribe to boring or unoriginal. That means we take your big marketing campaign vision and create a unique TV commercial for the largest audience possible. Let’s make something together.
TV Advert Production
We understand TV. Over the years, Epic Light Media has created TV commercials for brands big and small. One thing all our ads have in common is their ambition. That’s why TV is one of the best ways to advertise and get your brand message out into the world.
We were all brought up on TV. It’s where families get together, where we share memories. Where crowds gather to watch the latest sporting drama. And where the biggest commercial brands talk to the largest amount of people possible. When you want to launch your big campaign and get people talking then there’s no better medium.
We’re geared up to take your TV ad to the next level. The access we have to the best creatives, planners, coordinators, crew, vendors, and media buyers will give you a campaign that delivers results. If you want to know why TV is right for you, keep reading.
Advertising on TV by the numbers
The way people watch TV has changed. There are more choices than ever before. Instead of looking at it as the end of the TV era, we see it as the dawn of a new one. As an Arizona production company, we’ve never been pinned down by a specific location to create work for our clients. We have more platforms, more methods, and more chances to reach people than ever before. We’re not here to sell TV by any means. We’re here to show you it’s still a powerhouse method in any marketing campaign.
Here are some stats. TV is the most-watched platform across the US and the world. That means the big scale reach you want for your brand needs to start on TV. The average viewer watches over 90% of their content on TV. Even younger audiences clock in over 70% of their viewing time on TV. Here in the US, the average viewer watches 4 hours of TV per day, which is 2 months’ worth of non-stop watching per year.
As far as advertising goes, it’s not just about how much TV people are watching. The total annual TV spending in the US runs into billions and billions of dollars. This massive investment from the biggest and best brands is down to one word. Trust. When your brand lands on TV, it is instantly seen by consumers as more trustworthy. There is a certain kudos with TV adverts. There is also a level of scrutiny not seen with online channels. Long story short, being on TV gives you built-in respect that is harder to find elsewhere.
What types of TV commercials are there?
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of advertising types – Brands ads, DRTV, comparison videos – we need to touch on the most important factor of a good marketing campaign. Emotion. Without emotion, you can sell a product. Without emotion, you can promote a service. But without emotion, you can’t sell an idea, an ethos, or a way of life.
What’s important is that the audience feels something, anything. These are the big ads that spearhead campaigns and last years and years. Once you’ve made a connection with customers then they’ll be more open to what you’re selling.
The three main types of TV adverts are brand ads, Direct Response TV (DRTV), and product videos. The brand video is where you can make your customer connection, tell people exactly who you are, and build awareness of your company. DRTV spots are focussed on getting a reaction to your advert, usually to encourage the audience to call in, grab a special offer or visit the website. The product video is exactly what you think it is – an advert that tells you all about how great a product is. Check out our TV commercial production process below to find out exactly how commercials are made.
The TV Commercial Production Process
Making a TV ad is a big deal. It’s how your company will speak with the world. Whether you’re a new tech startup or a well-known brand, you’ll want to make a great impression. And you’ll want to make sure your big idea is in the right hands, to bring your vision to life. Our process is simple, we build your creative ideas from the ground up and make them a reality.
As an Arizona production company, we’ve been lucky enough to work with big brands right here at home but also right across the USA. We’ve pulled together the best TV video production and advertising agency talent around, so you can build your next ad campaign from scratch. No matter where you are in the process, we’ll be able to jump on board and help push your project over the line.
The Creative Brief
This is where it all begins. It might be a simple email with a few quick bullet points or a multi-page doc packed with notes and visual references. Whatever way you like to get your ideas across, we’re ready to translate them to work for the film.
What a creative brief should look like is up to you. What it needs to do is outline the project and help guide the team through the whole process. And if you’re new to all this, don’t worry. We can help you build out a creative brief that suits your goals, no matter how big or small.
Ideas and Creative Development
Every project is different. Sometimes a brand will come to us with a fully fleshed-out idea. They know exactly what they want but need a group of seasoned professionals to execute their plans. Other occasions we’ll work closely with a client to design a campaign from the ground up. Either way, it always gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling inside when we create something brand spanking new.
What we do, all depends on what you need. We can host creative sessions, where you and your team get to dream up their wildest ideas possible. Or we can get to the drawing board ourselves and pitch a totally new creative direction to take your brand. Once we’ve all agreed on the best route to take, then we can start the first important step – pre-production.
Pre-Production
This is where the work really begins. The creative will have to be typed up in a very official document called a script. It’s the best way to stress test the ideas from the pitch and see if they hold up. We’ll use lots of methods to test ideas including storyboarding, animatics, and various pre-visualizations (or previz as it’s known in the biz).
If you’ve never heard of a previz, don’t worry. It’s basically a way to show us how your project will look before we actually begin the real work. We might use sketches, video clips, 3D models, and anything else we can get our hands on to show you how it’ll all come together. It’s a process that allows you to be part of the action from the beginning. It will also be a key factor in building a solid working budget.
Budget
We’re all about simplicity. If we think something will be tough to understand then we’ll find the best way to untangle it for our clients. That’s our approach to TV advert budgeting. We give you all the info you need, in the clearest, most simple way possible. Before we dive into your project, we’ll ping you an estimate with all the numbers that matter. And we won’t charge a penny until a budget is agreed upon.
The scope of your project will depend on the size of your budget. Picking the right creative approach from the outset to suit your business needs and marketing budget will mean there are no surprises later on. We’re smart with our budgets and have an in-house team with skills across the entire production pipeline to help keep costs down. And if you need an extra bit of kit or specialist crew member, we know the best vendors and talent around to help your cause.
The Production Shoot
We’ve worked out the creative that will set pulses racing. We’ve cast the best talent to tell our story. We’ve packed our truck with all the camera gear we need. Now, all we have to do is film it. The shoot day should be as straightforward as pressing the record button and letting our talent do the rest. This is where real creativity begins.
Depending on what has been planned and agreed, there will be moments where we go off script or our plans change at the last minute. We want our clients to be part of these moments. Whether we’re shooting on location, in a studio, or diving deep into animation, we keep you in the loop while your TV commercial comes to life.
The ideal TV advert shoot is where creativity and planning combine on the day. There should be no stone unturned when it comes to producing a TV advert. But we always leave space for happy surprises and spontaneous moments. That’s where the magic happens.
Post-Production
We’ll fix it in post. It’s the most overused phrase in TV commercial production. It’s also a dangerous one. We believe in a different way of working. We’ll fix it now, and make it perfect in post. It’s a mentality that puts the production value first, pushing the limits of your shoot.
By the time we move into the edit suite, we’ll know exactly what we need to focus on. There are projects that might need a simple edit and a quick color grade. Then there are TV ads that will need to have complicated VFX shots, 3D designs, motion graphics, and other visual effects to deliver the brand message.
Our post-production team works across the entire visual effects spectrum, giving you the power to create an advert that can match your wildest imagination. These skills can be used to help enhance the images on the screen by tuning the color or by compositing the visual effects to blend seamlessly into a real-life environment. There is a solution to every production problem. We just need to find the right tool for the job.
And every now and again we fix something in the post. We just never plan on it.
Media Buying and Delivery
Once we’ve cut the final edit, the next stage is to get it out to your audience. This is otherwise known as the media buy. Most brands will have a good idea of who their audience is but sometimes it can be tricky to lock down the right channels for your content. Our marketing knowledge and technical know-how allow you to deliver your TV advert straight from the edit suite to the TV networks without worrying about any middlemen.
If you need some guidance on how to build your TV marketing plan, we can help design the perfect strategy to get your TV advert out to the masses. Whether it’s broadcasting on the biggest networks or a super-focused campaign on smaller stations, we can get your ad on the right channel at the right time and most importantly, to the right people.
Work with Epic Light Media
If you’re a creative director who needs space to develop some big ideas or a company owner that wants to level up your brand, then get in touch. We’re geared up to take your next TV commercial campaign from original concept through to delivery to the TV networks. Or if you need something specific, like a VFX solution or media plan, we’re a TV video production company that can connect with your project at any stage.
Common Questions
How much does a TV commercial cost?
How big is your imagination? If you’ve got a simple project that only needs a couple of actors in one location then you can get something filmed for a low cost. The bigger the idea, the bigger the cost. The biggest adverts of all time will have giant set builds, complicated stunts, flawless 3D visual effects and A list celebs to promote their brand. These blockbuster ads can run into millions and millions of dollars. We make budgets work no matter what size, so drop us a line and we can plan your next project.
What are the three main stages of video production?
The three main production stages are pre-production, production, and post-production. Not the most catchy lingo we know. A way to think of them is before the shoot, during the shoot, and after the shoot. The priority is the shoot. Pre-production is preparing for the shoot – writing scripts, booking talent, designing shot lists. Production is the shoot – getting all the assets in space and capturing the footage as best as physically possible. Post-production is putting together all the footage from the shoot and making an advert that works.
What are the types of TV advertising?
There are lots of types of TV advertising. For example, ads promoting a product or service, comparison adverts, or big brand TV commercials. It all depends on what you’re trying to sell and who you want to sell it to.
Then there’s where your ad is placed. It might be a traditional 30-second spot, a sponsorship deal with a sports event, or even some smart product placement. We’ve got the right blend of creative know-how and understanding of strategic marketing to place the right ad in front of the right people. The rest takes care of itself.
What makes a good TV advert?
If we knew the magic formula, we’d bottle it up and sell it. There’s no set pattern that guarantees a good advert will be made but we do know exactly how to make an effective TV advert. We work with clients to really understand their brand position and message. This means we can stuff your TV commercial full of all the best bits of your company and tell people all the amazing things that you do. After that, it’s all about taking your big ideas and making them a reality. Once your commercial has aired, our team crunches the data to see how it performs so we can make sure it’s reaching the right audience for your brand.
What types of advertising are the most effective?
We are big believers in emotive storytelling. There are thousands of ways to promote your brand but the ones that stick with an audience are the ones that make them feel. Next time you watch a commercial, think about how it makes you feel. If you’re laughing, crying or even just want to throw the remote at the TV, there’s a good chance you’ll remember the commercial. Everything after that is conversion.