Five years ago most big brands in Pakistan started a campaign with a TV commercial and treated social media as an extra. Today many marketing teams ask the opposite question: do we still need TV at all, or should the whole budget go into reels? The honest answer is that the two formats do different jobs, and the strongest campaigns plan for both from the first brief.

What a TV commercial still does best

A TVC reaches a large, mixed audience at the same moment, which is why it still works for launches, national brands and seasonal peaks such as Ramzan, Eid and cricket series. It also signals scale: customers, retailers and distributors notice when a brand is on air. Because a TVC is watched with the sound on, music, voice-over and story carry the message, and a strong jingle can stay with people for years.

The trade-off is cost and flexibility. Airtime is expensive, a TVC is usually locked weeks before it airs, and it is hard to measure exactly who watched and what they did next.

What social media reels do best

Reels on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube Shorts reach people on their phones, often with the sound off, and can be targeted by city, age and interest. They are cheap to test: a brand can publish several versions, see which one holds attention, and put paid budget behind the winner. Reels also invite comments, shares and direct messages, so they work well for offers, new products and building a following over time.

The trade-off is attention. A reel has about two seconds to stop the scroll, and the feed changes every day, so brands need a steady flow of content rather than one big film.

How to split the budget

• Launching a new product nationally: lead with a TVC for reach, then run reels and short cut-downs to remind and retarget.
• Running offers or local campaigns: put most of the budget into reels and paid social, where you can target a city and measure results.
• Building a brand over a year: one hero film for TV and YouTube, plus a monthly series of reels made from the same shoot.

One shoot, many formats

The biggest saving comes from planning both formats on the same shoot day. When the director knows that a 30-second TVC, a 15-second cut, three vertical 9:16 reels and a set of photos are all needed, the crew can frame and light for each format as they go. Re-shooting later for social media almost always costs more than adding a few set-ups on the day.

Post-production is where one shoot becomes a full campaign. The same footage is edited into different lengths, colour graded for TV and for phones, subtitled for sound-off viewing, and finished with music and sound design that suit each platform.

A quick checklist before you brief your production house

• List every format you need: TV, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, outdoor screens.
• Decide which languages and aspect ratios (16:9, 9:16, 1:1) each one needs.
• Ask for a shot list that covers both the TVC and the reels.
• Plan who will post, boost and reply to comments once the reels are live.

Plan both with one team

Eleman is a production and post-production house in Karachi. Our team handles TV commercials and video production, editing, VFX and colour grading, music and jingles and social media marketing, so one shoot can feed your whole campaign. Get in touch or message us on WhatsApp at 0332-3647940.