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 Overview and 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 Dont 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