The New Us: Local TV Marketing In 2020, Part 4

If ever there was a local TV promo that epitomizes how different station marketing has been over the past four months, consider this one from KNXV, the Scripps ABC affiliate in Phoenix, sent in by Jim Hart, the station’s senior creative services director.

I don’t know where Pastor John Paige preaches, but I’m in his church, figuratively speaking.

This spot is like many that have been airing on TV stations and social media around the country. If you believe, like I do, that local TV is the most advertised product on television, then the cumulative weight of messages like this must provide comfort and strength to viewers of all ages, even kids.

While I was moved by Pastor Paige, this enchanting example made me wonder at the sheer creativity and production expertise of Hart’s staff.

Who thinks of stuff like this? Local TV marketing people do.

NOTE: KNXV has an opening in creative services. Look for more information at the bottom of this column.

Local news matters. The same people that can craft messages that hit you in the heart, and fill you with wonder, can present a pretty good case for why our industry, local TV news, matters.

In Memphis, Mike Newman said: “COVID-19 is going to be part of our lives and will remain routine altering. That effects how people consume news, how they utilize weather or traffic and by way of that the core our marketing.”

Newman is the creative services director at WHBQ, Cox’s Fox affiliate.

The phrase, “Back to School,” has certainly taken on new meaning now. What was a routine time for students, families, teachers and all connected the education, has gotten extremely complicated.

“However,” said Newman, “it provides us a great opportunity to highlight the importance of what we do in news, giving context to these issues, providing answers and helping people navigating a difficult situation.”

In Detroit, Phil Wrobel, creative services director at WXYZ, the Scripps ABC affiliate, said its usual promotional tone needed to change for some of the unique news coverage the station was providing about the peaceful protests in Detroit.

The coverage by the reporters and photographers at WXYZ reflects that they were with people marching on the streets. I felt like I was there while watching this promo, and like the lady says, “it shows how powerful we are when we unite as one.”

Your voice is being heard on WXYZ.

Scott Altus is only four weeks on the ground as the new CSD for KTLA, Nexstar’s CW affiliate in Los Angeles.

He, too, agrees that local TV marketers can be a powerful voice collectively.

“All of a sudden our voice is much louder than it used to be, with the messages that we are putting out, the messages of being in it together, of dealing with it together. The whole gambit of hope is being heard more than you would have ever been heard before quite frankly.”

Altus said as he was assessing what needed to be done with his new team, “we always come back to that message appropriate for what is going on in the world.”

And in L.A. at the time, the city was just opening up a little. So the theme of this message was helping you stay connected to a changing world.

NOTE:  I’ve talked to more than a dozen local TV marketing executives from all over the country to get a sense of where their station’s marketing is now and where it’s going in the future, all under the umbrella, The New Us. And if you have something you want to add about your station’s marketing during this uncertain time, let me know.

Click here to go to The New Us: Local TV Marketing 2020, Part 1

Click here to go to The New Us: Local TV Marketing 2020, Part 2

Click here to go to The New Us: Local TV Marketing 2020, Part 3

KNXV & KASW, the Scripps’ ABC & CW affiliate duopoly in Phoenix, Arizona has an immediate opening for a creative, motivated writer /editor/producer to join its award-winning creative services team. Medium to large TV market experience is preferred and strong writing and conceptual skills are a big plus. The station  works with its team members to leverage and grow their current strengths, help them grow in areas of strategy and the business side as well. Click here for more specifics and how to apply.