A first television campaign has three parts: writing, filming and buying airtime. Start with the advertising businesses as the ABS counts them, then put the same questions to every agency.
Who you'll be hiring
Advertising services businesses in Australia trading at the end of June 2025: 13,527, by how many people they employ. The class counts advertising agencies, media buyers and other advertising services such as direct mail and sample distribution, not only television work. Companies that film advertisements are counted in a different class.
Getting your advertisement onto television. Have the first half ready before you call. Put the second half to every business you speak to.
Tell them
What you want viewers to do nextVisit, call, search for you, or simply remember your name.
Who you want to reach, and whereA city, a region, the whole country.
Your budget for the whole campaignOne amount for making and showing it, so the agency can suggest how to divide it.
When it should be on screenA launch, a season, a sale with a start and an end.
What you already haveA logo, brand colours, footage, an earlier advertisement.
Who will sign offThe person who approves the script and the finished cut.
Ask them
01Which parts will they do themselves, and which will they pass to others?Writing, filming and buying airtime can sit with one business or with several.
02How will they choose where and when it runs?Free-to-air, regional or streaming, and the hours your viewers watch.
03How would they divide the budget between making it and showing it?Ask for the reasons behind the split, in plain words.
04How will they report who saw it?Ask to see a sample report and how often one arrives.
05What is in the quote, and what would cost more?Extra versions, shorter cuts, changes after filming, a second run.
06What will the agreement say about who owns the advertisement and its later use?Include any music, footage, and the people seen or heard in it.
07What has to happen before it can go to air, and who arranges it?How long to allow, any extra cost, and what they need from you to back each claim.
From tvadvertising.com.au, a concept page.
Choosing an agency
Ask to see advertisements an agency has put on television, and what each one set out to do. A clear answer about the goal tells you as much as the advertisement itself.
Notice whether they ask about your customers before they talk about ideas. An agency that understands who buys from you is better placed to find where those people are watching.
Taking the brief to a meeting
Send the first half ahead of your first meeting, so each agency arrives with a plan for your campaign rather than a general pitch. Then put the same questions to every agency and keep their answers side by side.
On paper the brief takes one page, with room for notes under each item.
Shows whether a business's ABN is active or cancelled, its business type and its GST status, and the Register says the public can use it to check a business before buying.