Big Ads On Small Budget

So you’re ready to make the jump into television advertising. Where do you begin? Many local companies approach network affiliates or cable TV stations about making commercials for them. But does that station’s production department have what it takes to represent your company? Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.

One company, The Syndicate Inc., Birmingham, Ala., is taking the risk out of television advertising by offering pre-produced commercials designed specifically for the pest control industry that are both professional and affordable. Philip Barbour and Stephen Moe, partners in the company, are uniquely qualified to provide this service since they boast both pest control and television production experience. Barbour is a licensed PCO and documentary filmmaker, while Moe is a filmmaker with extensive experience making national commercials.

"Successful commercials tell a story," Barbour says. "PCO views on advertising are starting to change as they realize the power and affordability of television where sight and sound work together to capture human emotion. TV can cause us to laugh or cry and no other advertising form can begin to match the power of television."

The two men (who went to film school together) got into business after Barbour had worked in the pest control industry for a number of years. Barbour worked for Chuck Steinmetz, former president of Sears Termite & Pest Control, and watched as that company grew, in large part, because of the successful image building that resulted from their effective television advertising campaigns. "I saw locally owned companies attempt to compete on a local level with the big-budget campaigns created for Orkin, Terminix and Sears," Barbour said. "Local companies just couldn’t afford to compete on the same level."

In an attempt to even the playing field and help small- to medium-sized PCOs project a "bigger than life" image, The Syndicate created several commercials. The Syndicate currently offers five different commercials, with three to five more spots in production. All the spots are different because "there are a wide range of business personalities out there," Barbour said.

The syndicated commercials are generic in nature and don’t mention specific company names. PCOs who license the ads personalize the commercials by "tagging" them at the end with their company’s name, address and phone number. "When a PCO buys time from a TV station, typically that station will ‘tag’ the commercial free of charge," Barbour says. The Syndicate can create a custom tag for the business but there is an added expense. Generally, it’s more affordable for the PCO to sit down with the station’s editor while the tag is being created so it can be approved on the spot. "Local stations are really good with graphics."

PCOs who license commercials from The Syndicate have exclusive rights in their broadcast area. Nielsen Media Research has broken the United States into regions and each region has about 10 to 15 counties. If two PCOs in the same region want to run the company’s commercials, it’s usually not a problem since there are several different ads available and consumers can’t tell that the different commercials originated from the same production house. The Syndicate currently has ads running in various cities throughout the United States, including such major markets as New York, Washington, D.C. and Dallas.

The company’s commercials feature a wide range of images and elicit a variety of emotions from the viewing audience. One of the most popular spots, called "Bug Boy," features several young boys running around a neighborhood chasing bugs with a butterfly net who grow up to run a successful pest control company. At the end of the commercial, the announcer states, "Mama’s proud to say her son and his team of experts have grown up and built one of the best pest control companies around."

A second ad features ominous music and a crumbling "house of cards," reinforcing the damage potential of termites in a visually striking way.

All ads feature first-rate production values and cost anywhere from $950 to $3,850 per spot, depending on whether the commercial was shot on video or the more expensive motion picture film.

"Why place an ad that doesn’t really say anything about your business, or worse yet, projects a poor image of your company?" Barbour asks. "We have commercials that say something, commercials that attract attention and create positive images for our clients."