Making a commercial might seem simple, but these videos can become extremely expensive if you don’t budget your money and time correctly. In this post, we’ll give you advice, list factors and provide other tips to help get you on your way to making your commercial. There are multiple factors to consider when estimating how much your commercial video ad is going to cost to produce but typically they are in the $5,000-$25,000 range for the vast majority of our projects at our production company. We understand that this is still a really big range and why we ask lots of questions to learn more about your specific video project and needs.

Types of Commercials for Your Platform: Price and Costs

Before you begin video production, you’ll need to think of what platform you want to use for your video or videos. TV ads are expensive, but advertising your commercial or product videos on social media can be cheaper and could possibly reach just as many people. Who is your target audience? Is your commercial going to be viewed locally, regionally, or nationally? Considering your video content platform is important because it will affect your video production budget in the long run. Here’s a description of different types of commercials you could shoot:

Local Video Costs

With local commercials you are more likely to get better video airtime rates and lower costs within your area, especially the area surrounding your business. However, your business videos will only be aired within a specific zone. Local commercials are the most affordable videos, costing between $100-$200 (video airtime only – this does not include costs for production), sometimes less, but if you’re wanting to reach more areas with your video during a prime season of television, such as the SuperBowl or any other primetime broadcast, a 30-second commercial could cost up to $10,000 per video slot. You might want to make a cheap commercial, but if you want to achieve the best results with your video, it’s important to budget for all necessary costs for quality videos. Here is an example of a commercial targeted to a local audience:

National Commercial Cost

Maybe you want your product or service videos to be showcased to a larger audience. Making a commercial for a national audience is definitely a more ambitious project. To get the best videography rates without sacrificing video quality, you’d work with a production company that has experience with these types of videos.

Making a national commercial involves a team of skilled video professionals who can produce high-quality videos that resonate with your target audience. The success of the project depends on how well the production team works together and how efficiently they manage the cost of video production. The cost of hiring a cinematographer or videographer is a key component of the video cost, but it’s important to consider other cost factors for videos such as location scouting, talent fees, equipment rental, and other video production team members. With careful planning, a national commercial can be a powerful video marketing tool to engage people and promote a brand or product.

Here is an example of a commercial targeted to a nationwide audience:

The average national commercial airtime cost ranges from $25,000 to $150,000 for a 15 to 30 second spot. And you can bet it will be even more expensive if it’s for the Superbowl or other programming with a super large national audience.

Online Video

Online marketing platforms are at an all time high in this era. With top streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix, it’s profitable to get your video marketed to a large audience. Even some social media platforms, like YouTube, have formed a hybrid, becoming both a streaming service and a social platform. YouTube and Facebook Watch are good examples of these and using their platforms will help you reach just as wide of an audience as television.

If you choose to use an online platform like YouTube for your commercial video or marketing video, you can save on the costs you would incur by purchasing TV air time. On TV, you have to pay for a 30-second slot, but with online advertising, you have more options such as promoting the video from your own profile and promoting the video from other profiles if you’re partnering with another business. With online marketing, it’s easier to stay under budget with your video and you can adjust your strategy as you go.

Questions to discuss with your Chosen Production Company

Now that you’re ready to begin planning, below are a few good starting questions to help us dial in on a more accurate quote:

Pre-Production Cost (Planning)

– What type of video are we producing?

– How much of the pre production process are we (production companies) doing? Are we coming up with the creative and/or writing the script? Storyboards your videos?

– Is there onscreen talent, if so, are they talking on camera and who is casting them? If not, are we hiring a voice talent? Also, keep in mind that union actors and voice talent will cost more than non-union actors.

– Where are we shooting and how many locations? Do we need a dedicated location scout for our pre production process?

– How many days of shooting? An hour long video takes several more days to film than a 30-second commercial. During pre production, solidify exactly what we need to film.

– Do we need to pull permits?

– Do we need props?

Production (Shooting) & Production Crew

– What video production crew is needed? Do we need to hire any freelance production crew to supplement the production company’s crew?

– What gear is needed? Do we need to rent gear from other production companies? Ask for pricing from several rental places to get the best price on gear.

– Travel, lodging & crafty? These are important parts of video production that are often overlooked. You, your video production crew, and your talent will need to eat and, if shooting out of town, a place to stay. Lodging cost varies based on where you are shooting. 

– Are we getting any drone footage? A professional aerial videographer can add to your production cost. Speak to several professionals to get the best pricing.

– How about hair & makeup and wardrobe stylist? This video cost is important because you want your talent to look good in your video or videos. While this can bring your cost up, it is worth it to make your videos look high-quality. You can minimize this cost by hiring a video production assistant who knows how to do basic makeup.

Post-Production (Video Editing)

– What is the length of the final video(s)?

– Can you provide us with examples of similar videos that you like? Would you like the video editing style to be similar, or just the video production style?

– Are we doing any motion graphics or animation? If so, is it simple animation that a general editor can do, or do we need to hire an animation professional?

Commercial Production Budget: Pricing and Cost

Now that you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to talk about the budget. By now you should already have an idea of pricing for your video or videos, but we can still talk specifics. If your business/company is small, you’ve probably already set a small budget, but a lower video cost that doesn’t mean it won’t be quality.

Finding a production company that will work within your means or finding the right talent can still have you competing with the best. You can find royalty free music, basic texts and graphics and basic footage that will make your video stand out from anywhere while keeping the cost low. At the end of the day, it’s the story and emotions you put into showcasing your product that will help your video sell it.

Here are some examples of pricing and budgets for your videos:

$2,500 Range

(Pre-production NOT Included)

You can create a commercial video for this cost, but it won’t be much. For this pricing range you are looking at a small video production package: A 1-person camera crew (Most likely a 1/2 day shoot), with a low cost voiceover and a very basic edit.

• Camera Operator
• Small Camera, Lighting & Audio Package
• Stock Music Composition
• 10 Hour Quick Edit w/1 Round of Revisions

$5,000 Range

Quality commercial video production starts at this price range. You’ll be able to get an experienced cinematographer (DP) and a grip instead of a production assistant (PA) on set, plus more time in post-production. Unfortunately, it still probably doesn’t include pre-production costs, talent costs or location scouting.

$10,000 Range

This price range allows for more options for your video production in addition to the items above such as a gaffer, director, field producer, PA, talent and location scouting. Every project is going to be different, but here’s a cost outline you could use as an example:

$20,000 Range

Final Words on Commercial Pricing and Production Companies

Save on Video Cost with Blare Media

Are you looking to create high-quality videos for your next commercial project but worried about the cost of video production? Look no further than Blare Media! Our team of experienced professionals specializes in commercial/product videos and video production and we are dedicated to providing our clients with top-notch service at an affordable cost. From script development to post-production, we work with you through every step of the video production process to ensure your vision is brought to life. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help with cost-friendly videos your next commercial project!