Common Local Places That Need Commercials?

Steven Bogda

Steven Bogda

Well-known member
I am trying to get into low budget, small time commercials for small time stores/businesses. I really just want to start a portfolio with these types of video, so I don't plan on doing it for much money, if any at all.

My problem, is I don't know where to start. Has anyone made 30 second commercials, or even "small time corporate" videos for local stores?

What kind of places even want videos such as this? Nail Salons? Hair Places? Barber Shops?

Thanks
Steven
 
Car dealerships.
Neighborhood pharmacies.
Mom-and-pop clothing stores, music stores.
Ambulance-chasing attorneys (no respectable/self-respecting attorney advertises).

Don't start for free. Charge from the get-go, as you won't drum up clients for free. They'll wonder what's so wrong with your skills that you aren't charging. I'd try to get a feel for what local spots in your area typically cost and go from there, maybe price yourself on the lower end of the spectrum if you really feel like you can't charge more. Better to do it right the first time, though.
 
cold calling is tough, so your best bet imo, is to talk to your friends and family and see if theres someone you know who needs or can use your services, then once you do a kick ass job, they will spread the word for you and it will grow from there.
 
Watch your local TV and you'll see who's advertising. Likely it's all going to be car dealers and injury attorneys. And an occasional furniture store.

If you're not seeing ads by nail salons or barber shops, it's because nail salons and barber shops don't, by and large, advertise on TV. Go with what works. Lawyers and car dealers.
 
local furniture and carpet stores, restaurants, retirement communities, specialty doctors, flower shops, grocery stores, etc. pretty much any local shop...for the right price, would love to have a commercial made.
 
Local spots? You're speaking my language.

Based on recent/ongoing experience, some of the smaller ones:

-Performance/tuner car shops. (they gotta have a flashy spot to run on MySpace, yo')
-Tons of GOB and cut-rate financing auto dealer spots.
-Event spots: Concerts/stand up comedy for a small nightclub
-I'm slated to do a spot for a barbershop, Barry :)
-Neighborhood pharmacies
-IT system integration (work at home VS commute)
-Office furniture store

A lot of the stuff I do is primarily for TV, but more and more clients are requesting a copy to run on websites as well. I see that as the way of the future and don't have a problem with it.

Please charge something. You are doing yourself and our industry a disservice if you don't.

If I think of more options, I'll post them. The above is just off the top of my head.
 
Don't limit yourself to TV spots. There is a lot more costs involved than what they pay you. They have to pay to run it, which may... and probably will... cost much more than the spot itself. That may be a turn off. A "web commercial" may be more of the way to go, as it can be seen whenever someone checks out there website (or Myspace page, yo' :) ), and the only cost is for the spot itself. It also frees you from the traditional :15, :30, :60 time frames that a TV spot needs to run in, allowing more of an opportunity to actually sell the business.

That said, around here all the TV spots are car lots, home furnishings and carpets, and casinos. Lots and lots of casino ads. But those tend to be much, much higher budget... at least around here. Not a lot of lawyer ads, except for the national ones.

And I concur, unless you do this for a friend or family member as a favor, please charge. You don't really do yourself (or us) any favors doing freebie work. If you explain that you're new and trying to build a portfolio, then you could get away with discounted work. But your time IS worth something.
 
The problem you might be up against is that a lot of local cable companies charge very little ($1k) if anything at all to film a commercial. They are expecting to make their money when the merchant runs the ad. So, you will be against a very cheap competitor. Sure, the cable-made commercials are generally very cheesy but most merchants see that low or no price tag and take the bait.

So, even though you should probably charge something I can certainly understand your desire to do this for little or no pay. In a way, its a win-win. They get their free commercial and you get your chops/portfolio.

Do you have a place you frequent? A local restaurant maybe? If you are on a first name basis with anyone like that, a restaurateur, mechanic etc...just ask them..."hey, have you thought about advertising?" They usually have but never wanted to spend the money. Then if you follow up with a "I have some ideas for you...would probably take the better part of an afternoon on the day you are already closed. I will do it for free because I want this for my reel. If you like it, it's yours to let run on the cable station. If not, you lose nothing."

I understand the notion of charging SOME thing because of what your time is worth. But I don't necessarily think that its right to ask for a paycheck when you aren't even sure what kind of product you will be giving them. And as it is, considering you are looking for vendors to give you a medium with which to work, you kind of need them more right now than they need you, imo.

That'd be my approach.

EDIT Mike Harvey has a very good suggestion. Pitch it as a commercial and/or a website spot. If its run on their website that is like FREE airtime anytime they get a 'hit'. And if they don't have a website...hey...well something else to pitch to them...:)
 
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Rick Meyer said:
The problem you might be up against is that a lot of local cable companies charge very little ($1k) if anything at all to film a commercial. They are expecting to make their money when the merchant runs the ad. So, you will be against a very cheap competitor. Sure, the cable-made commercials are generally very cheesy but most merchants see that low or no price tag and take the bait.
.
Click to expand...

I work for a local NBC affiliate and I got thrown into this a few months back when our old commercial guy quit. Rick is exactly right. Most of the time we don't charge anything to for the spots I make because we make most of the money running the spot.

also, I aim to make the spots as "un-cheesy" as possible :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
Liquor stores.

Check with your local cable company and see what kind of packages they put together for airtime, by region. If a spot is truly 'local' it can hit areas that are only a few square miles, depending on how your cable comapny breaks down its regions. That can significantly reduce costs for airtime because it is only showing in a small region, and it keys in on a store's local customer base.

Pitch them on the idea of raising awareness about their presence. There is a liquor store in every strip mall. Come up with something that will set them apart and let their neighbors know they are there.
 
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Mike Harvey said:
If you explain that you're new and trying to build a portfolio, then you could get away with discounted work. But your time IS worth something.
Click to expand...

And I took a quick look at your site & reel, Steven. You have the skills to be charging for your work. :beer:

BTW, low budget (under 1K or whatever) doesn't mean it has to be crap. That is limited to the producer's capabilities. I also try and keep things "un-cheesy" even though most times I'm dealing with a modest budget/small clients.
 
Wow thanks for all the quick responses. I like the sound of car dealerships, there are a lot of those here. I really just need some decent videos since everything I have I made for fun for myself.
 
banks are good. and they have money.

we do lots of car dealers and radio stations, we have a pool store, a bank, a minor league baseball team, a cruise ship, a sporting goods store, some PSAs for the state and American Cancer Society, a ski resort, a messaging service, a local snack-food company, a couple of furniture stores...
 
all of which are paying, right?

TheMacB said:
banks are good. and they have money.

we do lots of car dealers and radio stations, we have a pool store, a bank, a minor league baseball team, a cruise ship, a sporting goods store, some PSAs for the state and American Cancer Society, a ski resort, a messaging service, a local snack-food company, a couple of furniture stores...
Click to expand...
 
I made a commercial for a pizza/sandwich shop I liked with some of my friends and went in and showed it to the manager and we traded free sandwiches for the commercial, it worked out great.
 
Actually, barter can be nice. I do spots for our local mom-and-pop guitar shop, and I do them for store credit. It's how I've been building my mic cabinet.
 
Make a few commercials for something to show off your skills and make a bunch of flyers professional flyers. Take them to the owners and talk with them about your services. If they aren't interested let them have a flyer anyway, shake their hand and exit. Let that flyer linger. All the suggestion here are right on. Also go to the "alternative" neighborhood (all big cities have them) and talk to the owners of the tattoo shop.

Get ad rates too as a lot of people think advertising is too expensive, so find out how much overnights and such cost in your area to let them know it's viable.

-Nate
 
What about plumbers, electricians, cleaning services, landscapers, pool services, roofers and mattress stores?
 
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