Television

1. Television Can You See Me?

2. Objectives: • Upon completion of this class and the assignments, you will be able to: • Identify the characteristics of Television • List the advantages/disadvantages of Television as a commercial medium • Recall the attributes of an effective Television Commercial • State what to avoid in writing good Television commercials • Utilize the guidelines for writing Television copy

3. Television Overviewand Advantages • Television • Has sight, sound, motion and color, and now, interaction • Is watched by many, often, and for long periods of time • Has intimacy • Has reach: Between Network, Local, Cable, and Satellite TV can reach any age group and demographic segment of US consumers • Can be purchased locally, regionally, or nationally • Has a variety of commercial production costs, ranging from inexpensive for local advertisers, to expensive for national advertisers • Offers 30-second TV commercials (still the most prevalent), and now, 15-second, and 45-second commercials. • Provides 10-second, station ID commercials (actually 8-seconds) • Sells air time for Infomercials, which usually run 30 minutes

4. Guidelines for Writing TV Copy • Know the formats and the lengths (60, 30, 15 or 10 seconds) • Pre-recorded (hot or cold mix) • On-air personality reads • Know the audience • Select your strongest selling point or benefit • Make your proposition relevant and salient • Don’t underestimate the intelligence of viewers • Grab attention immediately • Stay focused • Talk the talk of the prospect • BE VISUAL • ID product. ID product. ID product. Show product • Repeat major points • Involve the audience • Evolve, edit, rewrite, start over • Build the Brand

5. Direct Response TV Commercials • AKA Long Form or Infomercials • 90-seconds to 120-seconds • 5 Minutes to 30 Minutes • Involve generating sales or sales leads … NOW • Offers are simple and direct: magazine subscription, kitchen tool, exercise equipment • Have a response mechanism and price repeated often • 800 number • WWW • Coupon • Special price for acting NOW. • Techniques: • Weave in information that appeals to customers • Break complicated process into easy steps • Use Q&A to summarize key benefits • Recap and include frequent calls to action • Show 800 number and WWW site often

6. Elements of Successful Television Commercials • Delivers meaningful content • Involves the audience in the message. Makes it memorable • Engages the viewer so that they identify the experience with the product AND REMEMBER IT. • Rewards the viewer for watching • Generates buzz (Viral marketing) • Sells • Better Yet it is Creative and Sells

7. Elements to avoid • Offensive or alienating ideas, subjects or language • Placing a TV spot (or any ad) in the wrong environment • Tones eliciting distrust • Creating confusion or message complexity • Anything that is boring

8. Television Commercial Timings and Formats • Timing: • Best way is to time with a stop-watch. A 60-second spot should be no longer than 59.5 seconds. A 30-second spot 29.5 seconds, and so on. • Format: • See my template for Television commercial formats (different from Television show or station copy formats) • All spoken words are standard upper and lower case and 1.5 or double spaced lines • All other text is ALL CAPS and single line spaced • SFX or SOUND is UNDERLINED. • MUSIC and THE TITLE/DESCRIPTION OF THE MUSIC IS ALL CAPS AND ALL UNDERLINED

9. Television Assignment Write one 60- or 45-second and one 30- or 15-second TV commercial for your product or service The 30- or 15-second commercial can be a cut down of the longer commercial Use Television Script Template

10. Summary: • Having completed this class and the assignments, you are able to: • Identify the characteristics of Television • List the advantages/disadvantages of Television as a commercial medium • Recall the attributes of an effective Television Commercial • State what to avoid in writing good Television commercials • Utilized the guidelines for writing Television copy