Most of the small businesses we work with have never made an ad before. They know their own business inside out, but scripts, voiceovers and TV approvals aren't their world, and they shouldn't have to be.
James Single, Head Professional at Port Macquarie Golf Club, said it better than we could. "I have never had any commercials made before and didn't really know what to do." If that sounds like you, here's exactly what happens when you make your first ad with us.
First you pick a box. Our Box Packages have fixed prices, so you know what you're spending before anything starts. The Small Box is a 15sec ad, and it's perfect for a sale, an event or an announcement. The Medium Box is our most popular. It's a 30sec or 15sec ad, with the option of a 2hr location shoot or extra time on graphics and animation. The Large Box is for bigger campaigns, with a 4hr shoot or more time in the edit suite. You add the extras you want, like a professional voiceover, licensed music or broadcast approval for TV, and pay online, just like doing the shopping.
Then we have a chat. That's your brief, and it really is just a conversation about your business. What you sell, who you want to reach, what you'd like them to do, and any offer or dates we need to know about. Send through your logo and any photos or video you've got. If you don't have any footage, that's fine. We can build the ad from design and animation, or film it as part of a Medium or Large Box.
From that chat we write your script and send it to you to approve. This is the time to check the offer, the dates and how your business name sounds out loud. James's verdict on his? "The ideas that they had were on point with the message that I wanted to get out there."
Once you're happy with the script, we get to work on the voiceover, music, footage or graphics, your logo and the offer on screen. Elle, our production lead, keeps it all on track, and Aaron Petersen, our Managing Director and Creative Lead, brings more than 30 years of regional advertising to every job. You see the ad before anyone else does. Ask for any changes, then sign it off.
If it's going to TV, we can look after the broadcast approval and send it to the stations for you. The same ad works on your socials, on YouTube and on the screen by your counter. The whole thing is briefed and delivered within 72hrs*, and that speed matters when your sale starts on Saturday. Joe at Delroy Park Dental Care thanked us for "turning this around in the short time that you did."
A few tips for your first ad
Keep it to one message. One offer and one reason to visit is plenty, because 15secs goes very quickly. Dig out the original logo file from your designer, as it'll look much sharper on screen than a screenshot from your website. Work out your dates early, both when the sale starts and when the ad needs to be on air. Think about where it'll run too, because an ad for TV, socials and in store screens is shaped a little differently from one that only lives on Facebook.
Most of all, don't stress about the parts you don't know. That's our job. Linda Christof from Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre summed us up nicely when she said the team "really do understand show business."
We've been making first ads for regional businesses for nearly 20 years, so there's no such thing as a silly question. Pick a package to get started, or give us a shout and we'll talk you through it.