Radio Sales Café

This week's poll question is from Rod: 

I realize that the question as written begs for all kinds of qualifications, but please give it your best shot:

How long does it take on average to write a single commercial?  What's the most time you've spent researching/writing/editing a commercial?

Your response matters. Thanks!

Rod

with good copy info about 10 minutes.The most difficult a couple of hours or maybe sleeping on it for extra thinking time

If all I need to do is rearrange the information to fit into a 30 or 60- then about 15 -20 minutes. But to write creatively- most of the time it takes me close to an hour... and then I will often go back later and make changes. On rare occasions I can sit down and something creative just flows out in 10-20 minutes- I love when that happens.Also- if I am familiar with the subject it's easier for me.

About ten minutes, if all the info is correct and I have the "Who", "What", "Why", "When" and "Where", the longest I have taken has been probably 30 minutes because the client bought :60 spots but only had about :20 worth of copy...

On average it takes me less than an hour to write a new spot, but there have been some that have taken the better part of a week.

The time it takes to write a commercail varies wildly for me. If I have all the information at my fingertips I can sometimes write a commercial in a couple of minutes. I am working on an ad right now for a client and I have written and re-written that ad for over a week and it still isn't just right. I probably have a couple of hours in it already and it is not done. I have found over my career that I do better work when I have a lot to write and a deadline looming. I sort of get on a creative roll and can knock them out pretty quickly. If I just have one ad to do with a distant deadline, it can take much longer. That probably says something about me, but I am not sure what.

One answer to this question is another question. "How much time do I have?"

Anyone who has done Writing and Production will tell you that in a busy operation time is of the essence. How long it takes is sometimes a matter of how much information you have and when the schedule starts. That "time" element does more to influence the quality of writing and production more than anything else.

During my Production days I once spent two hours producing a :60 second spot that featured two guys playing tennis and talking about their investments. Sounds easy until you think about placing the guys and the effects in various places in the sound field to make it sound real. I spent three hours some years ago on a promo for D-Day, complete with paratroopers, warships, landing craft, and all the other things you might have heard on Omaha Beach if you'd been there. Essentially it was the landing at Normandy in :60 seconds.
Having that much time in a Production room to work on one thing was a real luxury. I'm not sure that exists in today's Radio.

My best commercials are the ones that jump right out of me. usually they take 3-6 minutes. if I have to think about too much I find that the spot suffers. If that happens I will take a break from writing and come back to it with a fresh and creative mind.

I have written a spot in less than a minute. However, that was one of those fairly inane buy, buy, buy type of spots that we practically have memorized.

The longest for me was a day or two. That is because I was going after a specific goal, I was trying the skills and ideas I had learned from various seminars and publications. I put it down and went back to it later. I bounced it off the salesperson and the client. We refined it and tried to make sure we met our goals. Unfortunately we don't often have the luxur;y of that much time.

It depends on the client, the information I have to write the copy, the length of the commercial. Sometimes it can take 10 minutes, sometimes 1/2 hour. I have even worked on copy for a couple of days coming up with the best way to promote the clients products/service. I am not a professional writer but I am creative, probably make lots of mistakes in the do's and dont's of copy writing but my clients like what I do. I am a believer in making sure clients change their copy instead of keeping the same for weeks, keep it fresh! I sometimes struggle but find it better to leave it and go back to it later instead of getting frustrated. I find that information is the key..... if you only get a few words to write effective copy that is not enough. OK I am finished now. Have a good day.

When I write a commercial I spend no less than one hour on it. Sure the first draft may only take 10 minutes, but this commercial is going to be the tip of the marketing spear for my client for at least a year. I need it to be as sharp as I can possibly get it for maximum penetration. As such I devote the time it takes to remove every unnecessary word, focus group it on the phone, create a temporary recording using garage band, listen to it, and rewrite it. Since I often do not have the time it takes to write every commercial that needs written, I outsource many of my spots to a writing house in Chicago. My copy writer there is Brandon Eells. You can call him direct at 773-655-0580 or you can contact him at www.sellmoretime.com. He really is the best I have ever worked with.

From RSC member George A. Freeman: "The time invested should be a few minutes. This is because the important time should be with the client before you sit down to write "copy". If you interrogate your client fully you'll always have more than enough information to write your commercial. Learn what your customer's product or service does for your customer's customer. What is the "PROMISE FOR A BETTER LIFE" offered by your customer to his/her customers? How does your customer make his/her customer's lives better? Additionally learn why folks shop your customer? Why do they buy from him/her? Why do prospective customers shop, then buy from your customer's competition? This answer will help you counter the perceptions of those who spend money with your customer's competition."

After a thorough CNA, not too much time. The first ad for the client will take the longest, probably 30 minutes to an hour to establish some consistent phrasing particularly in the last line or two. After the first ad, probably 15 minutes or less per ad.