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Creative Commercial Producer

"My job is to plan and produce advertising content for broadcast media. I work with our clients to promote their businesses or organizations through persuasive creativity. I need to understand what the client needs and then work with them to produce ads that capture the imagination of the audience and deliver key messages. I coordinate with copywriters, actors, voice-over talent, videographers and editors to deliver effective content. Our work must be incredibly creative to be effective, because audiences are so familiar with advertising. Our range of clients is diverse. I have produced spots for beef jerky, sex shops, car dealerships, restaurants and designer clothes. Social media and the internet have added fun new wrinkles to the business, allowing for content of varying lengths aimed at specific audiences. Production involves a lot of teamwork and the atmosphere is high-energy."

Salary Range:

$45,000 - $75,000

The Tip

Clients often have ideas about what they want in an ad that aren’t actually very effective. Diplomacy and gentle persuasion can be important assets in this role.

Priority Knowledge & Skills
Expert
  • Ability to generate new approaches to familiar stories

  • Ability to develop a compelling narrative

  • Expertise in verbal and written use of language

  • Production planning & design

  • Execute a promotional strategy

  • Apply expertise in media-focused subject areas (current affairs, sports, entertainment, weather)

Great at
  • Link content with a specific audience

  • Ability to create and edit content for digital applications

  • Apply deep understanding of media needs, practices and news cycles

  • Manage projects

Good at
  • Data analytics

  • Visual and audio recording and editing

Building Block Experiences
Education & Learning:
  • Bachelor of Communication (broadcast media studies) with a minor in marketing

  • Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture by Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant

 

"I went into communication because I thought I wanted to work on documentaries. I loved my commercial writing classes so much I changed my career choice. Adding a marketing minor really broadened my understanding of advertising and gave me a leg up in the competition for creative jobs."

Employment Experiences:
  • Voiced station IDs and promos, and produced public service announcements for campus radio station

  • Landed my first job at a small town radio station where I read the news and worked on a creative team

  • Moved on to a medium market TV station where I worked with the sales team to produce local commercials for our clients

  • Stepped into a similar role at a TV station in one of the biggest cities in Canada

 

"I have a knack for public speaking and excelled at voice-over work. That helped me find my first role out of university where I wrote, produced and voiced my first spots for the only radio station in town. Working in an audio medium, without the support of images, made me a much better writer and paved the way for opportunities in bigger market TV stations."

Community Experiences:
  • Mentor for students in a women in broadcasting program

  • President of my child’s school council

"I try to be a strong role model for young women breaking into the business."

Contextual Experiences:
  • I did a study abroad program in Mexico in my third year of university

  • Since my study abroad, I’ve studied Spanish extensively and now I’m almost fluent

 

"My ongoing interest in Spanish takes me to Latin America regularly. I enjoy the interaction with locals and a different culture I learn a lot from the media I see and hear while I’m there."

Relationships:
  • A guest speaker, a broadcast executive, in my first year of university invited us to call her anytime. I did, and we’ve been friends ever since.

 

"Invest in relationships for life. I intentionally reach out to people unlike me. Everyone has a story if you just give them a chance."

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