Commercial advertising refers to any ad content that serves the interests of a business engaged in sales. The cost of creating and displaying ads varies depending on the media used and the location or time of placement. Companies can hire marketing professionals to maximize exposure while working within their budget.
While many people think of commercial advertising as the advertising seen on television, the term really refers to any type of ad content that serves the interests of a business or entity engaged in commerce, otherwise known as sales. It can refer to advertisements in magazines, newspapers, billboards, television or anywhere else consumers might see advertisements. The main factors that affect the cost of commercial advertising are the fees involved in creating advertisements and the fees associated with displaying those advertisements in the media.
Creating an ad is a major factor in the overall cost of business advertising. For display ads displayed in magazines or billboards, a company’s marketing division typically works with a graphic artist or team of artists to take a general idea and turn it into something that will capture viewers’ attention. The more employees the company needs to hire to make a vision a reality, the more expensive the ad will be. To help defray some of the costs, companies can use unpaid interns to do some work, but they still need someone to oversee the projects.
Once a display ad is created, the next major factor that affects the cost of commercial advertising is where the ad is placed. Typically, the more views the media can bring to the ad, the higher the cost of running it. For example, placing an ad in a new magazine with low circulation costs less than placing it in an established one with an audience of millions of people. Placement in publications is also an important cost factor. Ads in prime locations with high visibility cost more than ads located at the back of a magazine or below the “fold” in a newspaper or website.
The cost of commercial advertising using video advertisements such as television or digital video discs can vary significantly depending on the complexity of the video. Shooting a video using a handheld video camera and the crew on hand is usually quite inexpensive, but the result can look shaky or unprofessional. Most large companies hire a professional cameraman, director and acting team to film their commercials. Costs for a professional commercial vary depending on the experience of the crew and the popularity of the actors used. For example, using an unknown actor hired through an open call is typically significantly less expensive than using a well-known celebrity.
As with display ads, the biggest factor affecting the cost of commercial television advertising is where the ad is placed. In this case, however, the channel revolves around time rather than location. Commercials shown in the middle of the night, when fewer viewers are watching, cost much less than those shown in “prime time,” the hours after the end of the traditional workday, when many people tune in to popular programming. Ads placed during major sporting events or special episodes of popular shows can cost millions of dollars, while ads placed during less popular shows often cost much less.
Companies with a budget that allows for the hiring of extra staff should consider hiring a trained marketing director or public relations specialist. They are trained to take into account all factors that affect the cost of commercial advertising and devise plans that work within companies’ budgets while maximizing exposure. For companies with small budgets, an inexpensive ad that only reaches the target audience can be just as effective as an expensive ad that reaches millions of people with different tastes and preferences.
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