Ft. Wayne, Ind., has the dubious distinction of having the highest kill rate of pets in the state. But that may soon change, thanks to a new revenue-generating idea from WISE, the Granite-owned NBC affiliate there. The station launched the Every Pet Deserves a Home campaign to increase pet adoption. http://youtu.be/_VHtQVPhuKg “I’m a dog lover,” […]
Ft. Wayne, Ind., has the dubious distinction of having the highest kill rate of pets in the state. But that may soon change, thanks to a new revenue-generating idea from WISE, the Granite-owned NBC affiliate there.
The station launched the Every Pet Deserves a Home campaign to increase pet adoption.
http://youtu.be/_VHtQVPhuKg
“I’m a dog lover,” says Richard Haddox, local sales manager at WISE, “one of which I adopted from the SPCA here.”
The campaign’s first step was to adopt a dog as a “spokesdog,” and then run an online contest to name him.
To see a video about “Scoop”, click here.
“Scoop” became the face of the campaign, making appearances in the newscasts and at pet-related events all over town. When Scoop isn’t working, he lives with one of the station employees who provides the love while the station pays for his expenses.
“The response to Every Pet Deserves a Home campaign has been fantastic,” says Jessica Henry, director of the Allen County SPCA. Henry says adoptions have increased 400% since the campaign began.
“Every Tuesday, after my appearance on the noon news,” Henry says, “I return to find people waiting to adopt the pet featured and phone calls about adopting. That’s never happened.”
“This partnership with WISE went above and beyond what we expected,” says Henry.
“The station went to great lengths to get pets adopted.”
The Aboitt Animal Clinic is one of the campaign’s sponsors, (Ft. Wayne Subaru and Memories of You, a memorial retail store, are this year’s other sponsors).
“We’re a one-vet shop,” says Megan Close, Aboitt’s marketing consultant, “and this was our first venture into TV.” What attracted Close to the campaign was the scope and variety of promotional opportunities including news coverage, contests, pet-care tips, PSAs and appearances at advertised events.
The Every Pet Deserves a Home campaign has generated more than $68,000 this year in new business, according to Haddock.
The Every Pet Deserves a Home campaign was named one of four finalists by the NAB at its annual meeting last month of the Small Market Television Exchange (SMTE) in San Antonio.
The SMTE is the only meeting for small market group executives and station broadcasters in DMAs 75 and above. The SMTE focuses on innovative ways to attract emerging and non-traditional advertisers, suggestions to enhance a station’s position in the local marketplace and tips on turning good ideas into revenue-generating plans.
All this week, I’ll be profiling each of the finalists, talking to the local sales executives, show their promos and examples from their campaign.
To read about how a station in Midland, Texas, found money in the city’s trash, click here.
To learn about how a station in Reno helps get small businesses on TV, click here.
Tomorrow, I profile the station that won the Best of the Best Award from NAB at the Small Market Television Exchange.
http://youtu.be/WiBrtF76Q4U
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