When you’re the new creative services director at a station, your goals should be to have your first on-air campaign be well-received, and have your team help you create it. In talking to Phil Wrobel, WXYZ’s new creative services director, and seeing the new morning news campaign his team has put together, I think he’s […]
When you’re the new creative services director at a station, your goals should be to have your first on-air campaign be well-received, and have your team help you create it.
In talking to Phil Wrobel, WXYZ’s new creative services director, and seeing the new morning news campaign his team has put together, I think he’s accomplished both.
Although just on the ground about a month at WXYZ, the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate in Detroit, Wrobel is no stranger to the Motor City. Detroit is Wrobel’s hometown and he’s familiar with the station.
“I love Detroit and I’m glad to be back.”
So shortly after hitting the ground there, Wrobel met with WXYZ’s morning team.
“Morning news is a huge priority,” says Wrobel, “and we were looking for a way to show how the morning news anchors connect with viewers.”
So Wrobel and his team pitched the idea of putting his morning news team out in public at a popular social gathering spot, and invite people walking by to come over, have some coffee and talk.”
Wrobel and his team would record everything with two Sony EX3s and three static GoPros, and then see what they got.
Sometimes, managers can be wary when you propose your first on-air campaign that doesn’t come with scripts.
But Wrobel asked for “a leap of faith.”
“When meeting the morning team here at WXYZ, the first thing that I noticed was how approachable they were,” says Wrobel.
“They were so welcoming and inviting. I wanted our viewers to experience that as well. So, we invited them [the viewers] for breakfast and the result of the campaign was really cool.”
Wrobel’s staff recommended the spots be shot at Campus Martius Park in the commercial center and heart of downtown Detroit.
It’s no secret that I like to see more end users, the viewers, in local TV news marketing, and these spots are honest, genuine and believable.
The spots have a lot of depth, giving the campaign a three-dimensional, film-like look and feel.
Well done to Wrobel and his staff at WXYZ.
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