content on the cheap

Back in the good old days ad agencies went to production companies to solely make TV commercials. It was a simple model. They concept a spot. They bid a few directors who have the right sensibility. We interpret and bid the concepts. And, if we are the choice, we produce it. When the agencies needed to make a film that was not for broadcast they were called industrials. There was a separate vendor pool that produced that work. It was done much cheaper often non-union and with less agency oversight. Then, the internet happened and the rules changed.

What has been increasingly happening over the last 5 years is the agencies concept non-broadcast films, not the good old industrial type, but something entirely different. It has many names. Long form. Content. Web films. Viral videos. I call them cheap commercials.

The agencies don't view them only as commercials but something more. They view them as much as programming as advertising. Short pseudo-programming for the web. They are no longer just ad creatives. They are in the entertainment business. It's kind of true in that to capture attention on the net the content needs to be captivating otherwise you can't build an audience. No matter how we define it, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck then it's an ad. It's paid for by a client looking to get some type of result related to their brand or product.

I'm in the commercial production business. The agencies are my clients. They ask me to make these films. It is advertising. I make advertising. I need to service my clients. If I don't service these jobs someone else will.  Herein lies the dilemma.

These projects have one fifth of the budget to deliver three times the amount of content.  To eke out any margin and succeed in delivering the number of films, the production process should be more indie film or cable episodic than TV commercial. But it's not. Everyone applies the old broadcast model despite the obvious differences. There is an opportunity on a few projects to get something for the reel or maybe build young talent or use it for the company portfolio to help diversify. The problem is that almost every production is some kind of investment, either financial or by cashing in favors. The truth is our union agreements prohibit us from producing under a certain cost per shoot day. When we produce under that cost it is in violation but for the moment every turns a blind eye because there is so little money.

It is a difficult situation. We need to meet the demands of our clients. But, by meeting the demand we develop high volume deliverables/low profit businesses. It requires the same or more effort than broadcast commercials while simultaneously undercutting our core profit center (commercials). Still, they aren't going away. These projects are more prevalent than ever due to the recession.

For the moment both agency and client understand the difference between web advertising and broadcast. One is seen on 48" plasma and the other on quicktimes. One has millions in paid media behind it. And one does not. This is the reason for the cost differential although unfortunately the process remains the same.

Maybe as convergence of TV and computers creep closer, technology may solve the very problem it created. Until then the goal is to find a way to serve both masters while maintaining workable margins. Yet one more code to crack in the ever changing media landscape.