Commercial / TV Ad Rates

[Kren Barnes]

Just need some advice from the great people here on how to proceed regarding this scenario..

My Chiropractor contacted me about filming / creating a :30 sec TV ad and a 10 minute customer introductory DVD for his office. He's recently seen some of our more recent wedding videos and was impressed enough with how fun they are to watch that he wants us to do this project using similar concepts.

However, I am not sure what the normal rates are for this type of venture. Im thinking I'd probably have to develop the concept/ideas, storyboard, music and the actual filming.

Anyone here have this experience and went through a similar process?
Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[Bill Vincent]

Hi Kren,

I don't think anyone can tell you what to charge, but both the :30 commercial and the 10-minute DVD are both significant projects. You're going to need a budget and you'll need to itemize your costs and figure out from there what to quote for the projects. Some questions to ask are:

How long will it take you to complete
How many people will you need, and their rates
How much equipment rental and location costs are
Pre-production (script, etc.) Production and Post/Edit time and materials
What your client is willing to pay (you might not find this out until you throw a number out)
Music costs
Insurance

These are a start. Figure out these costs and you'll realize roughly how much it is going to cost YOU first, then you can figure out what it will take to make a profit. You can always take a hit on your profit if the promise of future work is there, but don't go into the hole by getting lowballed on the money it will take to actually do the production.

[Chris Davis]

Without knowing any other details, but having done many similar projects, I could tell you I'd probably get $7500 to $10k for that.

Maybe you should post this in TCOB instead of wedding/events, you'd probably get more advice.

[Kren Barnes]

Thanks Bill and Chris for your helpful advice...

[Dave Therault]

Something making that market tough these days is that Comcast is producing commercials for $750 (with an ad buy). You can spot the boilerplate a mile away, but unfortunately it eats at the small business client market and can effect what kind of rates a market will bear.

[Ethan Cooper]

Just a jab at Comcast. As someone said earlier, they do free ad's with the purchase of airtime which brings the overall market down. In a small market like the one I'm in it hurts even worse since there are precious few commercial jobs to be had in the first place and now I've got to deal with these guys giving away their horrid production for free. Trying to sell small market clients on the idea of having a much nicer looking commercial than the pixel vomit that Comcast tosses out there is next to impossible even without them being swayed by the lure of free production.

[Mick Haensler]

Originally Posted by Kren Barnes

Just need some advice from the great people here on how to proceed regarding this scenario..

My Chiropractor contacted me about filming / creating a :30 sec TV ad and a 10 minute customer introductory DVD for his office.

What will the DVD be used for? In office promo? Handout to potential clients? Website? My company specializes in this sort of product and my first reaction was 10 minutes is waaaaay to long. The longest one I have ever done is 8 minutes and that was for a Community Foundation 25th anniversary which was a big story to tell. Remember, your job is to deliver the best product for the application. Just because the client wants a 10 minute DVD doesn't mean that it is in his/her best interest. I would try and knock it down to no more than 5, 3.5 would be optimal. That being said, it is very difficult to help you with price without knowing more specifics. Motion Graphics, custom soundtrack, will you need an audio man, PA, pro script writer, VO talent. What kind of light kit is needed, will you need to purchase and/or rent equipment for this.

Another thing to consider is your experience doing this sort of thing. If you're a part time wedding videographer who has never done something like this, I would consider pricing accordingly. Lotsa questions to be answered before anyone can give you any useful counsel as to pricing. Good advice by Bill and Chris.

[Silas Barker]

Just curious what the best way to get commercial jobs like OP is talking about is?

Seems like I mainly get them from random craigslist ads or a reference sometime, but its not as many as I would like. Any advice?

[Warren Kawamoto]

2 years ago I did a similar promo for a shopping center, 12 minutes long. All shot in one location, over a period of 2 weeks. They paid me $11,500 for that, which was mid-low budget. For the :30 chiropractic cm, $2,000 for low end, $10,000 for high end are ballpark figures, depending on your camera/audio/lighting/editing scheme. This is cost for production only, not air time. Jobs are acquired by word of mouth.

[Warren Kawamoto]

Oh gosh, I didn't realize this thread was 2 years old!

[Chris Sgaraglino]

For me, I start with:
1. My relationship with the client.
2. The clients target market.
3. How the client will use the DVD

This will define my hourly rate, the project details will define how many hours you'll need to get it done.

I then add in any costs involved, like any rental equipment (including my own), traveling costs, insurance, talent costs and music licensing.

It's not unreasonable to get $2,500 - $7,500 for a well built 0:30 commercial.