Easy to recognize with their call letters emblazoned on the sides and their dish on top, perhaps no other hardware involved in the news gathering process says TV news like the news van. So it makes sense to use TV station news vans as part of the marketing. Here are some examples.
People see them all over town.
A rolling emblem representing your station in their neighborhoods. One they can touch. When people see them cruising the streets, they wonder what’s going on. Where are they going? What story are they covering? Who’s in there?
And why not encourage people to take a selfie next to your news van?
Easy to recognize with their call letters emblazoned on the sides and their dish on top, perhaps no other hardware involved in the news gathering process says TV news like the news van.
Who’s in there is usually a news photographer and a reporter.
Often, when they’re parked, people tap on the window and ask, “Hey, what’s up?”
They have their own lore, you know, like Vegas–what happens in a news van stays in the news van.
I’ve heard stories.
Let’s face it, without the news vans, how would local TV news operations cover the news?
In Fargo, N.D., a news van aroused suspicion because it was parked on a neighborhood street for three weeks, had an unusual channel number and do-it-yourself signage.
Click here to see the story.
Speaking of creating your own news vans, here’s a spot from WPVI, the ABC O&O in Philadelphia. News vans are so cool, some people create their own.
It’s usually the photographers who drive, often in a hurry, and so driving all over town can take its toll on news vans.
In big cities like New York, TV stations maintain fleets of news vans.
And some stations have made their news vans symbols of their news marketing.
They’re everywhere.
When NASA landed a spacecraft on the surface of Mars, it spotted, what else, a news van.
NOTE: Here’s a tutorial by my friend, Mike Kirby, a news photographer with WESH, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Orlando, Fla. Mike just celebrated 40 years at WESH. I’ll bet he has some stories about what happens in those rolling boxes.
NOTE: Got a news van story you want to share? If you do share it, but would like to remain anonymous, I understand and promise confidentiality. If you’ve got a news van promo, by all means, send me an email at paul@newscheckmedia.com
I can think of many creative concepts for using your news vans to market your news coverage. Talk to the mechanics, how many miles a day/week, what places did your news van go this week? And news vans are notorious for being littered with the stuff the crews leave in them. The guy who cleans it can tell you where it’s been just from the trash.
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