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Why TV and radio ads need different scripts

Darryl Anderson
by Darryl Anderson
17th August 2015

When we delivered a television commercial and radio advertisement for a client’s PR campaign, they were surprised to learn how different the scripts were. The ads were part of an integrated community awareness campaign being run by the Greater Hume Shire Council on behalf of 33 partner agencies.

Weeds cost Australia more than $4 billion each year in lost primary production. The Red Guide Post initiative was launched in 2014 to help identify roadside weeds to avoid sites of known noxious weeds being slashed or graded and spread.

The launch campaign included 4 weeks of TV and radio advertising supported by fact sheets, windscreen stickers, presentation materials, maps, a field day banner and media releases.

Paula Bosse from the Greater Hume Shire approached Anvil Media to produce the Red Guide Posts TV commercial based on two previous animated commercials we had produced for the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Developing the script

“I’d never developed a TV or radio ad before, and Anvil Media were fantastic the whole way through. Guiding us and providing advice about placing the ads,” Paula recalled.

“Using scripts from the previous TV commercials, I sat down and wrote a new script to suit what we wanted and sent it through to Anvil Media.

“It hadn’t even crossed my mind that we’d need a different script for the radio commercial. They quickly pointed out that, without the visual effect of the video, we had to explain the commercial a bit more for radio. It was fun to go through that process.”

Paula said that with plenty of time on their side for a spring launch, the whole production ran very smoothly. Anvil Media stayed in close contact throughout the project and worked around her part-time availability.

Building on a storyline

Animation characters developed in the previous commercials could be re-used but one voice actor had to be updated.

“We didn’t really have any challenges; we were aware of our timeframes and everything seemed to run on track,” Paul said.

“We located a different girl for the audio because the actor from the original ads was now too old and her voice couldn’t be altered. Anvil Media sourced new actors for us to listen to via email. It just seemed to run smoothly.”

The power of web video

The Red Guide Posts commercials were used in a 4-week campaign on WIN TV and local radio stations, and the video lives on with YouTube exposure.

“As well as paid advertising, we’ve been circulating the YouTube link through social and email networks to maximise video views using our partners’ communication networks. We are finding that web video is a great way to measure how many people are viewing your TV commercial,” Paula said.

“Everything flowed perfectly. And when we needed the expert advice, it was certainly great.”

Talk to us

If you are considering a TV or radio campaign, contact us on 1300 768 101 or [email protected] to discuss your ideas … or complete an enquiry form now

Our teams: BRISBANE | CANBERRA | MELBOURNE | PERTH | SYDNEY

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