Making a commercial is a very effective, not to mention creative, method of marketing a business or product. In general, when a business is able to get a commercial made and broadcast, they typically see a fairly quick turn around. With the amount of consumers that interact with media, whether online, listening to radio, or watching television, it makes sense to create a commercial if the opportunity presents itself in the marketing budget. There are three main types of commercials that play. These are online commercials, television commercials, and radio commercials. While these are all distinct mediums, making commercials for them will follow the same general trajectory.
The first thing that happens when making a commercial is to identify the target audience. The marketing department will want to research what its target audience is listening too and when, or what it is watching and when, or what sites they are browsing. Making an online commercial can be great for the marketing department because they are not as restricted by what time their ads should run.
The next stage is to write the script, and draw up storyboards. For a radio commercial, only a script is needed, whereas television and online commercials will often need storyboards.
There is a planning process to online and television commercials that is going to include sets, props and actors. For a radio commercial it is going to be things like voice actors, sound effects and music. An animated commercial will also need voice actors, as well as animators to draw and or apply the storyboard images to a computer animation system. Like a radio commercial, animation also might include music and sound effects.
The next stage is to shoot or record the commercial. Shooting is going to function much like a film. In fact, a commercial can be thought of as a short film showcasing a product or service. The radio commercial and voice-over for animation will take place in a sound booth, and will be recorded in several takes, similar to a visual commercial being filmed in more than one take. This production stage can take anywhere from a few hours to many days. This is dependent on how ambitious the commercial is. This can include special effects, special animation, or even stunt work.
Finally, the commercial is edited. This is when the filming, recording, music, sound and other elements are brought together into a cohesive commercial. This is can be a very long process. In fact, it can go even longer than principle shooting or recording. Even the simplest project can require many, many hours after production to edit. Editing also works to make sure that the final product is without mistakes. The goal of editing is to take all of the parts and make them perfect. For example, the editing team will want to make sure that the sound recording is consistent, or that the filming does not contain details that are not meant to be in the final product, such as pedestrians crossing through the shot in the background, or background noise.
In conclusion, a commercial is a very involved creative process, with many stages that ultimately result in the product that is heard about, seen on television, or clicked on from a website.