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Practical Advertisement Production

HOW TO PRODUCE AN ADVERTISEMENT

Once a media space is selected, and once the advertisement copy has been decided, it is necessary to convert that message into a final production form to fill that space.

All the media organisations will supply is the space. The advertiser must supply the finished advertisement material.

Many media do, however, offer production facilities. The advertiser can, if necessary, book the space, conceive the basic message and then get it produced into artwork by the media themselves. Newspapers, TV and radio operate editorial divisions with full production facilities and will offer basic production capabilities as part of their service to the advertiser.

Therefore, in many circumstances advertisers do use media for advertisement production. Nevertheless, it is true to say that the bulk of advertisement production is either handled directly by the advertiser or by the advertising agency retained by the advertiser. The benefits of using the media are varied:

- production can be quick and cheap

- it is simpler to use one source for placing space and for filling it

- the media may have specialist skills tailored to the particular medium in which they operate.

But there are a range of limitations:

- Advertisement production is not the primary task of the media.

- They may not have as high a level of advertisement skills as an advertising agency.

- They do not have the background and familiarity with the product that an advertising agency may have.

- The media may not have as much time to devote to the job as an agency will need to have. Indeed, the media would prefer not to devote an undue amount of staff time to low-income projects.

- Advertisements produced direct by the media often tend to be simple, basic and unsophisticated, values that are helpful for some advertisements (eg for sales announcements) but not sufficient when quality and sophistication are vital. The advertiser must therefore choose the method for producing an advertisement – doing it himself, using the facilities of the advertising medium or using a fully-fledged advertising agency. Occasions for asking a media representative to help could include the following:

- When the advertiser does not have an agency and none is available.

- When the advertisement is one-off. Many agencies do not handle one-off jobs, whereas the media are happy to do this.

- Where the advertisement is extremely simple.

- Where the budget is very limited. For example, radio stations can produce rough commercials at a very low cost, using their own internal studio facilities. The price is often nominal.

- Where there is very little time.

In certain categories, the media will by definition do the production. Classified advertising is set by the newspaper. Magazines and newspapers will do the production for advertorials or for editorial features. This is often the value of such features. They seem to be part of the general editorial of the publication.

Again, at the most basic level an advertisement may not need to be ‘produced’ at all. In newspapers or magazines it may be paper set. That is, the publication will typeset it as part of its normal typesetting process. This is satisfactory where the advertisement is all text. It does not work where an illustration is required, or where the advertisement requires its own special style separate from that of the publication.

For this reason, paper setting of advertisements is very limited in its use and is not widely practised. When the advertiser decides that there are valid grounds (such as money or time) he may therefore use the medium:

- either to paper set the advertisement

- or to carry out full production (which is, anyway, much more the case with radio and TV).

But when a more developed or personalised advertisement is needed (which is a matter for judgement) then the advertiser may either do it himself – or use an advertising agency. Internal or self-produced advertisements are growing in extent. It is not always necessary to use an advertising agency. There are two ways in which production can be carried out directly by an advertiser:

1. The advertiser may produce the text and use an outside studio to do the production, ie an outside supplier with production equipment. Among outside suppliers who can be called on are:

– Quick-print shops, which generally offer a service for typesetting and artwork.

– Typing or secretarial bureaux, which may use a wordprocessor or computer capable of producing simple artwork.

– Alocal graphics studio. Many areas may possess a studio or designer, servicing retailers, architects, builders etc, who can also produce finished artwork for advertisers.

– ATV or radio production house, with a studio and production equipment.

Here again, results may often be simple and uncomplex, quick and cheap. In many cases this is enough. In many cases, it is not.

2. An increasing number of organisations possess their own inhouse equipment, eg computer or wordprocessor with a graphics package. These may not primarily be used for advertising purposes but certainly can produce a reasonable standard of advertisement artwork if so required. Indeed, they have become commonplace. Once more, the result may be simple and straightforward, and of all methods is the fastest and cheapest. But again, the result may lack quality, and may not be satisfactory when a higher level of finish or of creative originality is needed, at which point the standard advertising agency may be necessary – and often is – to provide the expertise, the skill and the creativity required for major-level advertising campaigns.

Therefore, it is important for an advertiser to decide on the method of producing an advertisement before embarking on the production itself, and a rough set of guidelines emerges:

- for classified advertisements, paper setting

- for very simple and brief announcements, paper setting

- for advertorials and editorial features, production by the media themselves

- for simple, quick and cheap production, use of the media

- for simple, direct and low-cost production, use of the advertiser’s own internal equipment, if this is available

- for simple, text-based production, use of a secretarial bureau

- for slightly more complex effects, use of a quick-print shop

- for more developed visuals and a higher level of finish, use of a local studio or designer

- direct use of a TV or radio production house for an uncomplex requirement.

On the whole the above methods are sensible when production is occasional, the budget low, the time limited and the use small scale. But when the advertising is considerable, the budget larger, the timing ongoing and the campaign requirement complex, then the conventional advertising agency, or the larger commercial studio, is usually needed.

Finally, it should also be said that certain specialist suppliers of specialist services can, and do willingly, offer a production service.