Are corporations taking over ???

twocik23

twocik23

Veteran
Not sure if it's us in Naples, FL, but we've been experiencing some really low numbers this year and the end of last. We were doing great at one point in the commercial side of the business, but we started to slow down a bit from corporations like Comcast that now take on commercials.


Yea it makes it that much harder to sell a commercial where I live and explain to a client that "you get what you pay for" !


Comcast is taking kids in off the streets and teaching them how to edit and shoot. Doesn't matter if they worked at mcdonald's or BK lounge. Some video experience is needed, but not much at all. They start them off at $10.00 - $14.00 hr, and I mean you should see some of the stuff they produce. lol I'm talking really really poor low quality video, major cropping issues, horrible sound, washed out picture, extremely bad graphics, etc..



The hook...

They start the commercial off at $475.00 a shoot and they also run specials every other month. That's right I said $475.00 for a SHOOT !! One special cost us two weeks of work. They told a jewelry company that they'd beat our price and air the commercial for next to free. We've also had a problem with Comcast telling one of our existing big clients that they would shoot the first commercial for free and all they would need to do is pay for air time.

What most people/business don't realize is that nothing is for free and it's all added in somewhere. Just like a car dealer, if they don't get you in the front end (the cars price or your trade), they get you in the backend (finance shark). Same applies to these companies that are kicking "us" little companies out of the film business.


Now some of you are probably asking yourself if the commercials look that bad, why aren't the pissed off customers knocking back on your door. I'm guessing price, but I think the hook is the cheap air time. I think Comcast charges customers more if they bring in their own commercial.



My question is how do you take on such a huge company like this and still put food on the table ?





Anyone experiencing this in your city/town ?

If so how are you dealing with it ?



.
 
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Just based off of the topic title: YES. But don't worry, it's not necessarily anything new. Plus, if things ever get too bad, it's nothing a simple rebellion can't solve. lol.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
Just based off of the topic title: YES. But don't worry, it's not necessarily anything new. Plus, if things ever get too bad, it's nothing a simple rebellion can't solve. lol.
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famous last words ;) Yes Corporations suck and need to be dismantled, except for the not for profit ones, postal service is fine by me.
 
No worries, the good clients will come back to you and the bad ones will stay with el-cheapo because that's what kind of clients they are.

Try calling on ad agencies instead of direct clients, the agencies will have the clients looking for quality and have the budget to do it right.

Comcast may be able to do commercials for cheap, but they will never do them well.
 
they would shoot the first commercial for free and all they would need to do is pay for air time.
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This is nothing new. The cable companies have used this tactic for years.

Don't even try to compete with the cable companies on price. The clients that shop on price alone aren't worth shedding a tear over. It's time to move on to a client base that understands production values.
 
Yeah, this is nothing new by me either. For the record, I work for a cable company producing local advertising. Our rates aren't that low, but still....their insanely low for what the client gets in return. In a nutshell, we use Avid, Final Cut Pro, HVX200 and have plenty of lighting and grip equipment. So I think we can provide a nice product for very little $$.

Sadly, I really don't think many clients care one way or another what their spots look like. Case & point, the numerous policital ads I've seen come into our studio for encoding in the past few weeks. Piss-poor audio, overexposed skin tones, just garbage from head to tail. And you're running for office? Really? Who shot this, your nephew? I personally waste so much time fixing these spots before they are acceptable to air.

The "FCP/burn it to a DVD" revolution has really dumbed down the industry. Many hacks working out of their homes with sub par equipment and no working knowledge of production. "I'm an editor, yo." No, you're not.

I see a flipside: If I didn't have enough work already, I know I could go around my region and have my pick of clients. "Hey furniture store dude, for a few dollars more, I'll give you something you can at least be proud to put on the air."

The idea of going to the ad agencies is BRILLIANT. Let them sift through the trash.

Now playing Devil's advocate: Aren't crappy local commercials a mainstay in American culture? Where would we be without them?
 
Ad agencies eh? That definitely sounds intriguing. Here in Toronto, its Rogers thats doing it all for dirt cheap. I might have to start looking at ad agencies and see what their rates are, because it is getting increasingly harder to pay the bills with everything slowing down.

-Kegan
 
I'm looking to just BECOME an ad agency.

3 martini lunches, boat trips & corporate seating > the grunt work I'm doing now.

The key to life: Surround yourself with great people (and make them do all the work) :beer:
 
I agree, here in MN its Charter Communications. They bundle everything with the airtime. And its truth that usually many clients have no idea what a good video is. They are just excited to see something on the screen. The only time I really have a customer particular about an ad is Ad agencies. They seem to know what they want and expect quality, which is great! I think budget is a big thing for some of these local markets, when your clientele consists of mainly small businesses, they can't really afford to be picky with <$1000/month marketing plan.
 
ACtually there is evidence that corporations are taking over. It's doesn't begin and end with Wallmart. I live in Santa Barbara right now. It's a resort town on the California coast. Many of the buildings are owned by corporations and lease to independent retailers. For the last few years they've been squeezing higher and higher rents out of these retailers -- they'll often double the rent every 12 months. Many of the retailers are leaving or going bankrupt. Corporate tenants replace them (GAP, CPK etc) and operate at a loss merely to maintain a presence in a high profile resort area.

Thomas Friedman once said that the old phrase "You can never go home again" has been replaced by "You can never LEAVE home" because everywhere you go it's Starbucks, Banana Republic, Restoration Hardware Co.
 
Yeah, this is nothing new. The funny thing is, Comcast uses a real ad agency (who in turn uses a real production company) to do their own ads. Hmmm.
 
Well, if you think about, the individual owner/operator/editor is something that was only feasible within the last 10 years or so. If it is indeed going on, it's a return to normalcy.
 
JasonFox said:
Yeah, this is nothing new. The funny thing is, Comcast uses a real ad agency (who in turn uses a real production company) to do their own ads. Hmmm.
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You know, that is an excellent point to use on clients... if their product is so good, why don't they use it?
 
My cable provider is running an ad for a local politician running for office that consists entirely of slides and a simple voiceover. The photos looked just like home photos shot with a $79 coolpix.
 
I had to deal with comcast sending in someone to shoot a commercial for my work (on a boat doing a harbor tour)...

They do the usual, slow pans, handheld, just terrible shots, terrible music, and voiceovers...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2SWx8VJC-o

I love the company, but i hate the video.... i was so ticked... i went out and shot a video one random night... and gave it to them... i sure hope they realized their error

www.vimeo.com/1512611
 
Zacatac said:
I had to deal with comcast sending in someone to shoot a commercial for my work (on a boat doing a harbor tour)...

They do the usual, slow pans, handheld, just terrible shots, terrible music, and voiceovers...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2SWx8VJC-o

I love the company, but i hate the video.... i was so ticked... i went out and shot a video one random night... and gave it to them... i sure hope they realized their error

www.vimeo.com/1512611
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Very beautiful video. Much better than the comcast one.

However think of it from a business perspective. Yours, although beautiful and probably not meant as a commercial, is very abstract with abstract images. Sure it sets the right mood, but a business owner would probably say "where's it show what we do?!"
 
Jon Starr said:
Very beautiful video. Much better than the comcast one.

However think of it from a business perspective. Yours, although beautiful and probably not meant as a commercial, is very abstract with abstract images. Sure it sets the right mood, but a business owner would probably say "where's it show what we do?!"
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i know mine wasnt supposed to be another commerical... its was supposed to be a hint hint nudge nudge trying to get them to realize, so i tried to make it the best looking thing... heh
 
Local commercials are over as far as being a legitimate source of work for production companies because of the factors you list and that are listed in this thread. When your potential clients have to buy airtime from the cable company anyway, cable company is going to give them a piece of crap commercial for little or free.

Gotta face it, local business people generally know nothing about creativity or quality. They want to see their smiling mug on Tee Vee and they are happy, they know nothing about advertising or image. Video is now a commodity and will continue to be one. Fewer and fewer clients care about quality, they just want to BE on TV or have their business BE on TV. Any high school kid can shoot and edit this stuff, the clients don't care if its good, they just want it cheap.

You are wasting your time barking up this tree. Find a new tree.

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
Local commercials are over as far as being a legitimate source of work for production companies because of the factors you list and that are listed in this thread.
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Respectfully disagree , because this seems to be a blanket statement. While "local adverstising" immediately conjures images of 5-shots-and-an-artcard nightmares like that boat tour spot, not everything produced on a small budget is of that caliber. (As seen on this site from users like The MacB) In the confines of local and regional advertising there is potential to produce some great spots, and get paid for it. Not all clients are chiselers, but these cable companies are setting a dangerous precident with their lowball production rates and producers straight from the BK Lounge.

And while I'm at it, let me pontificate.....I must say, whenever I'm down in Florida, the local spots I see are much better than up here in CT/NY. Better camera/graphics/ad campaigns. Maybe it's the weather. Better vibes. :)

puredrifting said:
You are wasting your time barking up this tree. Find a new tree.
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Again, disagree. Maybe in LA you have your pick of gigs, but in places like Naples, FL, or Norwalk, CT it's a different game. There may not be as many trees to bark up.

You'll have to excuse me, I'm obsessed with local advertising. The good, the bad and the ugly. Could care less about film making, this is what I'm into.
 
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