The three most overused – and least effective- words in news promotion are
accurate, complete, and dependable. They sound good and highlight attributes every station desires. Attributes that every viewer expects.
Therein lies the problem.
Using accurate, complete, and/or dependable in describing your news and
weather efforts does little to differentiate your product. You end up making
the same claim that competitors do. Why then, should viewers watch you as
opposed to the other guys?
Your promotion (and its news product) needs to make your station stand
apart from others. It should showcase strengths and capabilities unique to
your station. That’s why viewers watch you. They lose out if they don’t.
Here’s another reason using claims such as accurate, complete, and dependable fall short. People need a reference point against which to evaluate the claim. Thinking about the opposite is the easiest one people can use.
Broadband suppliers compared their speed against slower dialup. Just saying broadband was fast would give people little, if any, reference point to judge the claim.
Go back further in time. The car was introduced as a horseless carriage. The comparison gave people a reference point to judge the value of this new invention.
What’s the counterpoint to accurate in terms of news and/or weather coverage? None of your competitors is billing itself as the “inaccurate” station. Same with the complete claim. No station is boasting about incomplete coverage. Dependable? It’s unlikely your competitors suffer from an image of not being dependable.
Your claims lack a reference point that allow viewers to see their value. They become empty rather than powerful attributes.
Let’s hope that your news provides differentiating factors for you to promote. Otherwise, your promotion will resort to using concepts such as accurate, complete, and dependable. They’re coverups for a news effort that fails to set itself apart from others.
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