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Successful television and radio advertising often includes commercials that sell products and announce events. Many businesses hire marketing teams with copywriters, because writing a successful commercial can be difficult. Writing a commercial requires you to communicate a message in only 15 to 60 seconds. Most good commercials are simple, topical and valuable to the listener. You should create an offer that encourages a new customer to act immediately. Find out how to write a script for a commercial.
Steps
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Decide what type of media you would like to use for the commercial. Generally, businesses write scripts for both television and radio ads. If you are unsure which type of ad to buy, hire a marketing consultant or ask your marketing department to report on what stations and media are targeting your ideal audience.
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Inquire with television or radio stations about the cost of their ads, the airtime, the length of ads and their production costs. You will need to establish the length of the ad before you write the script. Choose the station that targets your audience and offers an attractive deal.
- For example, some radio stations offer commercial matching. If you buy 20 ads, they will throw in 20 30-second ads for free.
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Consider hiring a professional copywriter. If you are looking for someone to write a jingle, convey a complex message or be witty with the script, you may want to inquire about the costs for a local copywriter or marketing agency. A 15 to 30-second commercial can be fairly inexpensive for a freelance copywriter.
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Discuss the key points of the ad with managers and marketers. Establish the following points:
- Decide what the goal of your commercial will be. For example, you might want to announce a new business, appeal to a different demographic, move sale inventory, get new clients or announce an affiliation with a charity or cause.
- Establish an offer for your listeners. Decide what special item, discount or knowledge listeners could get for taking action after the commercial.
- Pick a "call to action." Give the listener or watcher a single task. Make sure your offer motivates them to act. Try not to create more than 1 call to action. For example, only ask them to go to your website, instead of asking them to call your number, go to your website and email you.
- Decide if you are following a certain branding or advertising path. If you are in the midst of re-branding, then make sure you have the style, message or motto listed as necessary elements for the ad.
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Give this information to your script writer or writing team. Allow them to ask you questions to try to identify further details about the company.
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Write a draft of the copy. Consider including the following things:
- Start with an attention-grabbing sentence. The introduction is important, because it catches the listener's attention.
- State the business name and offer several times. You may want to do this at the beginning, middle and end, by working it into the script in a natural way. Repetition helps the audience to remember your information.
- Include a sentence about a special, limited or exclusive offer.
- Follow with a clear call to action. Tell the listener what they must do to get the special offer. The motivation (offer) should be commensurate with the call to action. For example, a free sample of shampoo is probably not enough motivation to get someone to sign up online; however, a free pilates class that is a $20 value may be enough to create an online account.
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Place in spaces for pauses, fast reading, slow reading or repetition. This is a script, so it should be written like a play, rather than in prose.
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Time out the first draft of your script. Ask someone to read it out and use a stopwatch to see how many seconds it takes. Note whether information needs to be removed or added.
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Check for simplicity. Take into account that most people will not give their full attention. Remove unnecessary information and add pauses for comprehension.
- Make sure it is not too clever. If the commercial relies heavily on sarcasm or another type of humor, you may want to try it out on a number of different audiences, to make sure it is not complicated or difficult to get across.
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Get final approval from a manager. Ask for comments before you begin recording or give the script to the station.
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Hire some voice talent to read the commercial. Adjust the script to the actor if necessary. Practice until the actor is reading it correctly.
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QuestionHow to conclude a commercial?Community AnswerWith the slogan and name of the company, in general, to ensure it sticks in the viewer's mind.
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Things You'll Need
- Marketing department
- Marketing goals
- Freelance copywriter
- Target audience
- Message
- Offer
- Stopwatch
- Call to action
- Review period
- Script/play formatting
- Voice talent
References
About This Article
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