How Much Should You Pay For A Commercial?
The quick and boring answer is, it depends.
The needs of one 30 second ad are different from what it takes to do a minute-long ad that will be edited into micro-content.
WHAT IF I JUST NEED A QUICK VIDEO?
Even if you break the production cycle down into a one-person crew shoot, you still need to do a technical walkthrough (recce) of the location(s). If you omit this step in the pre-production process, the likelihood of an unforeseen issue that causes problems for the shoot skyrocket.
Storyboards must be drawn by an artist so you (the client) will be informed on how the end product will look and feel.
Whoever is conducting the shoot has to have a shot list made for the shoot. Otherwise, the day can be unnecessarily long from filming useless footage.
An editor must be hired so the footage can actually be priced together.
A colorist MUST be brought on so the footage that is captured on the day(s) will have the best chance of catching a potential customer’s eye.
All of this doesn’t even cover music rights. You must pay money to get the appropriate song for your creative since slapping music from a movie or SoundCloud isn’t legal.
After everything is said and done, you’ll be looking to spend something in the low-to-mid four figures.
HOW MUCH DOES A GOOD COMMERCIAL COST?
Every job listed above goes into supporting the planning and the delivery of the creative. Now we must go into how many elements go into making a functional and safe production.
Immediately, you need an assistant director. This person keeps the machine running on time and manages everyone on set.
You’ll need a producer to get all the necessary pieces together hiring everyone for the shoot.
The cinematographer will need a gaffer to converse with about the various setups for the day(s) and how to best organize the lighting setups.
Grips will be needed to set up any fixtures to shape the light.
If you want data transfers to go off without a hitch you’ll need to hire a 2nd AC to build the camera and make sure the footage makes it to the DIT.
Then, to take care of all the minor tasks like driving talent to and from set, properly storing cables, helping block off areas when filming, and just assisting anyone in need, you’ll have to hire a couple of production assistants.
Everyone together will comfortably put production costs in the five-figure range.
IS AN ENTIRE CREW WORTH THE COST?
When you run your business, do you handle every inbound call? Do you handle the SEO on your website? Do you know your website’s bounce rate? Do spend hours thinking about your emails click-through rate? The answer is probably not.
You hire people to handle those questions so you can guide your business to greater profits.
It takes an entire team to deliver something that your marketing team can use. One person with an iPhone can work but for a business of your size, I doubt its effectiveness. Every new iPhone ad isn’t even filmed on an iPhone.
You’re the CEO of an enterprise, not a solopreneur.
WHAT KIND OF VIDEOS WILL HELP MY BUSINESS?
If you are launching a product or prepping for a paid event, a promotional video highlighting the best qualities of your product or event would be at the top of the list. Producing a video (anywhere from 45 sec. - 1 minute) that can be chopped into small pieces of content to sprinkle across various social media platforms is a technique that will increase engagement and get people to be aware of your business.
When someone becomes aware that your business exists through your marketing, that is a WIN.
If you aren’t launching a product (car, software, beverage) then I would say that testimonials are the #1 thing you should invest in. They tell the world how personable your business is, and your business will be viewed not as an entity to make money but something that helps people find a solution.
If you pair testimonials with enough online reviews to rival a small town you have yourself a winning strategy for establishing your business’s credibility.
Making these creatives are hard and require a lot of time and money, but they can be done. They fulfill a certain role in marketing where the viewer can feel like they are the ones driving the vehicles.
If you need an ad like this, REACH OUT!
