Marketers have the potential to significantly stretch their marketing budgets by shooting commercials within the approximately twenty states that now offer financial incentives for doing so. In a new whitepaper, The Found Money of State Commercial Production Incentives, the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) has issued insights on how to best leverage these rebates.
These mutually beneficial incentives offer advertisers a reason to hire talent and purchase or rent equipment locally, which in turn drives job creation and attracts investments within the state. On a long-term basis, states hope filmmaking will serve as an integral component of their economy. Studies have shown that for each production dollar expended, four to seven times that amount is generated in state economic activity.
Typically, all production-related expenditures incurred in the state qualify for incentives, many of which reap 15-30 percent rebates. The more an advertiser spends, the greater its potential savings can be. State commercial production incentives accrue entirely to the advertiser, as it funds the production and gives final location approval. The ANA believes these rebates are assets associated with the advertiser and its trademarks, and should be guarded like all other assets.
“With marketers being challenged to increase marketing productivity, state production incentives provide substantial opportunities to maximize their advertising spend,” said Bill Duggan, ANA Group Executive Vice President. “Advertisers should feel confident that savings can be achieved without sacrificing quality, as many states have successfully created the production infrastructure that the industry demands.”
The ANA suggests the following steps for marketers looking to leverage state incentive opportunities:
• STEP 1 Evaluate all projects for the potential to shoot in an incentive-offering state
• STEP 2 Include the intent to film in an incentive state up-front in RFPs and contracts
• STEP 3 Provide state-specific guidelines to production companies during bidding and production, and attain confirmation that the contracted production company will abide by these guidelines
• STEP 4 Have all production crews provide proof of state residency or their company’s state affiliation
• STEP 5 Maintain exacting records of all expenses relating to the shoot, including client/agency travel, talent fees, etc.
Importantly, contracts with agencies and production companies should be written to reflect the fact that any production incentive associated with the work covered by that contract is the sole property of the advertiser.
The list of states providing incentives, as well as each state’s specific details, is continually evolving. While many currently offer commercial production incentives to advertisers—with notable exceptions being California and New York—marketers should be aware of the unique regulations of each state. An official guide to production incentives for each state can be found at www.ease.us.com.
About the ANA
Founded in 1910, the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) leads the marketing community by providing its members with insights, collaboration, and advocacy. ANA’s membership includes 400 companies with 10,000 brands that collectively spend over $250 billion in marketing communications and advertising. The ANA strives to communicate marketing best practices, lead industry initiatives, influence industry practices, manage industry affairs, and advance, promote, and protect all advertisers and marketers. For more information, visit www.ana.net.
