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Marketing

Why News Topicals Don’t Work

by Terry Segal on August 11, 2009

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News Topicals
photo by vbsouthern

It seems like a good idea – make the day’s top story the lead in your news topical.

Think again.

Every other station is doing the same thing. Your topical gets lost in a sea of sameness. That’s okay if you’re the news leader. Viewers expect that station to run with this story. It has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Not the leader? All you’ve done is feed that monster with little to show in return.

Why not lead with a story that’s unique to your station? Stand apart from the others. Give viewers a distinct reason for watching your station.

You can always promote the day’s top story later in the topical. Give it a mention and let viewers know that your station is on top of things.

Give it exposure, but not prominence.

The importance of differentiating your product holds true in promotion as well as in the actual newscast itself. This effort never ends.

Successful stations work at creating an identity all their own. News and promotion are partners in making it happen.

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Want Better News Teases? Think Visual

by Terry Segal on August 7, 2009

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Visual Tease
photo by Allie Caulfield

Don’t forget the impact of video in producing effective news teases. Writing alone does not create powerful teases. Strong visuals also serve as a hook to entice viewers.

Feel free to use your best video excerpts in the tease. In fact, it’s a must. These visuals grab the viewer’s attention. That’s your goal.

Avoid “saving” your best video for fear of giving the story away. Video works differently than copy in a tease.

The copy serves to create a sense of anticipation on the part of viewers. You want to set up a mystery of sorts that can only be solved by watching the report.

Copy that gives away the story resolution works against these purposes.

Video can evoke a visceral reaction in viewers that copy can’t. This reaction doesn’t depend on viewers having the full context of the story. The power of the visual itself is what serves as the lure.

People will readily watch intriguing video over and over. Using it in teases will not diminish its value in the story itself. In fact, its impact grows in the short term. People see how it relates to the story as a whole, giving it more meaning.

Movie studios always use their best video excerpts in trailers. They know it’s an effective way to sell the movie to audiences. Nothing is held back and people don’t object when they see the scene again in the movie.

Keep visuals top of mind when producing your teases. The right combination of copy and video will get your audience coming back for more.

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New Anchor Promotion No-No

by Terry Segal on July 29, 2009

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New Anchor No-No
photo by Miss Baker

Imagine a stranger starts talking to you about a product you rarely use. Maybe you’ve never used it.

His reasons for using it sound very similar to ones that other people use to describe competing products.

How likely are you to try this product?

Not very. I thought so.

Guess what? Stations fall into the same trap when they use this approach to introduce a new anchor.

Just watched a promo where a new anchor talked up his new station. He cited the familiar reasons of great people, strong news commitment, concern for the viewer, a great place to work, etc.

My guess is he changed few minds.

His reasons didn’t break any new ground. They failed to get viewers to see the station in a different light.

More importantly, why ask a stranger to make this sale? How much trust has he earned with viewers?

The station is asking a relative unknown to get people to change their viewing behavior. And all he’s offered people is his kind opinion of the station.

That’s asking a lot – both of the anchor and the viewers.

Why not let viewers get to know the guy first? Let him make his mark in the community. People will then listen to and value his opinion more after he’s earned their attention.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a new anchor automatically has influence with your audience. He or she must first sell themselves before they can effectively sell your station.

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The Three Least Effective Promotion Claims

by Terry Segal on July 27, 2009

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Least Effective Promotion Claims
photo by ralphbijker

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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Exposed! – The Four Promotion Platforms

by Terry Segal on July 17, 2009

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Promotion Platform
photo by DIDEO

All on-air news promotion is derived from one of four master promotion platforms. Your effort might borrow from more than one, but at least one of the following four is sure to have birthed your idea. Knowing when and how to use them is key to developing campaigns that work.

Leadership

This platform represents the gold standard. You’re the market leader. You have the highest ratings and viewers recognize your #1 standing. A station regarded as the market leader should always use this platform. Seize every opportunity to broadcast your leadership position.

You’ve established a powerful way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Don’t waste this opportunity – especially if you’re the one station that gets to use this claim (in some markets the news battle is too close to call).

What’s the advantage? Most people want to associate with a winner. Rooting for the underdog is an overblown myth. Ask Las Vegas. More money is bet on favorites than underdogs.

You reward your viewers for their good judgment when you use this platform. You remind them of their excellent choice. You also plant doubt in the minds of other viewers. They ask, “How come I’m not watching the leading station?”

You’ve seen this platform promoted in a variety of ways. They include the “News Leader”, “Most watched station”, “Number 1 for News”, etc. Pick whatever verbiage you like.

Just make sure that you trumpet your leadership position.

Avoid using this approach if you manufacture a leadership position. Say you win only one demo category – the 18-24 demo – by 2,000 people. That lacks the gravitas to use this platform. You haven’t established a viable leadership position.

Your recognized leadership claim must be credible to work.

Personality

This platform is the most widely used and often bleeds into the others. It’s here that you highlight your news team or specific individuals. This approach tries to humanize the station by making a personal connection with viewers.

It’s powerful when done right. It works best when the people promoted are market favorites. Let me underline market favorites. Their standing with viewers creates positive feelings toward the station. The station benefits from this association.

Promoting talent who lack a strong bond with viewers has little benefit. Just because the talent is your front line team doesn’t mean they have earned the good graces of your audience. Making them the centerpiece of your promotion sometimes works against you. It could remind viewers what they don’t like about your station.

It’s also a mistake to promote talent before they have settled into the market. Stations feel a need to introduce new talent with a splashy promotion campaign. Risky move.

Avoid building expectations that can’t be met. Let the person establish himself (or herself). Identify what people like about them or how they contribute to your news identity. Only then is it the proper time to add them to the promotion mix.

Coverage

The spotlight shines on news coverage rather than the people presenting it in this platform. This approach is expressed most famously by the “Coverage You Can Count On” campaign.

Some stations have clearly differentiated themselves by their news coverage. They may hold perceived coverage advantages due to the presence of bureaus or by emphasizing certain topics within a market.

Long running and highly promotable segments such as investigative units, health reports, etc. also add to the mix. It’s also not unusual in smaller markets to see a station with technological superiority gain an advantage in coverage dimensions.

This platform works well against a strong personality based campaign. The counterpoint helps stations who can’t compete on personality “muscle” or those who choose to offer an alternative to personality based promotion. The coverage platform provides a clear contrast.

The caveat? Coverage is less sexy than its personality counterpart. Emphasizing coverage requires precision and the support of a news effort that adds credibility to the claim. Viewers must truly associate your station with the coverage dimensions you highlight. You must “walk the walk” for it it to be effective.

Personality dimensions are also more easily associated with a station than coverage dimensions. Viewers recognize the differences in talent more readily than the differences in coverage. Make sure viewers associate your station with the coverage dimensions you are claiming.

Presentation

This platform emphasizes how the news is presented. It was birthed long ago by the likes of “Action News” and “Eyewitness News.” It still survives today in the form of “11 at 11″ or similar formats that promise an uninterrupted look at news and weather at the top of the program.

You’ll also see Fox affiliates use a derivative when they promote their 9p or 10p earlier start.

Most of its recent use has centered on providing viewers certain time benefits – earlier newscast starting times and compressing major news into a digest at the beginning of programs.

The platform has the potential for broader use. It will rise again when a station successfully creates a newscast that blends the best of broadcasting and the internet. Such a format will justify heavy promotion.

Making The Right Choice

Which platform works best for your station? Knowing the appeal of your news product will guide you to the answer. Promotion campaigns work best when they accurately reflect what viewers think about your station. See your station from the viewer’s perspective and you’ll make the best choice.

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Marketing – Investment or Expense?

by Terry Segal on July 13, 2009

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marketing
photo by bb_matt

You’ll notice a bias on this blog regarding the importance of marketing. It stems from a simple, yet firmly held belief.

Businesses that win in the future will be the best marketers. That’s what the game has become. And, there’s no turning back.

Getting higher ratings becomes increasingly difficult unless you know how to cultivate a relationship with viewers. Suppose you have a more dynamic anchor team and more advanced weather and news gathering technology.

Guess what? Both mean little unless your audience sees you with these advantages and buys into your story about them.

That’s where marketing comes into play.

Don’t take my word for it. Peter Drucker was considered the father of modern management and a famed business consultant. Here’s his take:

“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”

Back in the early days of cable, I was struck by the different mindset that cable and local TV executives had toward marketing dollars. Marketing expenditures were a line item in budgets for both camps.

The difference? Local TV guys always talked in terms of it being an expense. Cable guys talked in terms of it being an investment.

What’s your view?

Mine is clear. Marketing is an investment. An investment that pays off in higher news ratings.

Make sure your entire station sees it that way.

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Seven Sins of On-Air Promotion

by Terry Segal on July 6, 2009

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Promotion Sins
photo by shikeroku

Why does some on-air news promotion fall flat? Even with the best of intentions, the end results fail to move viewers. Blame the poor results on the following seven sins.

Poor understanding and knowledge of the product

You cannot sell what you don’t know. Effective salespeople know their product backward and forward. Promotion/creative services people need the same insight regarding news.

What differentiates your news from the competition? What elements are considered its strengths? These aspects are the ones you highlight.

The same approach works for individual story promotion. What’s the hook? Find out from the reporter and/or producer. It’s their responsibility to know that information. They do you and the news effort a disservice if they don’t.

Promotion and creative services people often cringe when identified as “sales people”. That’s unfortunate. Promotion is sales. Consider another line of work if that makes you feel uncomfortable. You’ll fail to reach your potential thinking otherwise.

Target audience not taken into account

Your promotion should appeal to the likely program viewer. This targeting especially holds true for individual stories aimed at specific audience segments. Make sure you know what type of viewer your newscast is chasing after.

Newscasts sometimes have a different feel depending upon the daypart. A lighter, more easygoing morning newscast needs promotion that captures that feel.

Visuals get in the way of the message

Don’t let the visuals overwhelm your message. Visuals are used as cover when the messaging is weak or nonexistent. Overpowering visuals can’t compensate if the viewer is left ignorant regarding the purpose of the promotion.

Super Bowl commercials are a prime example of this problem. Viewers talk about the spots from a production standpoint, but can’t recall the product or service.

The result? A waste of time and money.

Uninspired Copy

The writing lacks the color, urgency, and specifics to make the product stand out. Every promo producer should burn the following rule into their mind when it comes to creating copy for TV:

Write for radio.

People aren’t necessarily glued to the TV watching. It’s often a background companion.

Write descriptive copy that is crisp and clear for those only listening. Do so and you’ll also heighten its effectiveness for those watching at the same time.

Doesn’t include a “call for action”

Make sure viewers know when they can watch. Tell and remind them. Reinforce the info both visually and audibly (remember the “write for radio” suggestion).

It’s sales time again. Effective salespeople ask for the order – it’s the only way you get it.

Opens weak / ends weak

First and last impressions are the strongest. You only have a limited amount of time to entice viewers. Grab them immediately with strong visuals and/or compelling copy. Leave them with a powerful ending.

Which is more effective? I always favor the strong open. You grab them at the beginning because there’s no guarantee they’ll be around at the end. Consider it insurance.

However, a great open increases the chances of them sticking around and you get a second chance to impress them.

Try not to make this decision an “either or” proposition. Make sure that you do at least one – preferably both.

Tries to do too much

Limit each spot to one message only. This approach conveys the message more clearly to viewers. Multiple ideas compete against each other and weaken their impact with viewers.

Know in advance the one takeaway for viewers and produce material to that end.

A lot is expected of you. You’re asked to make it happen in 15 or 30 seconds.

Meet those expectations. Avoid these seven sins for more effective on-air news promotion.

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Grow Your News With Niche Content

by Terry Segal on June 29, 2009

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Niche Content
photo by tinou bao

You’ve heard it a million times – we live in a niche world. The internet has both broadened our world and shrunk it at the same time. You can drill down to the most specific qualifier (organic, free trade, South American, ground, decaffeinated coffee) and not feel limited by the physical location of the supplier. You want it, you got it.

Your viewers can satisfy almost any taste or desire, no matter how unusual.

TV news struggles against this backdrop. Its business model embraces that of the mass merchant. The aim is deliver tonnage. Precision is not a criteria.

Carving the audience into 18-49 and 25-54 segments doesn’t qualify as niche
marketing. Never did. I used to remind people that Grace Slick of Jefferson
Airplane and Tricia Nixon both fell into the women 18-49, college educated, high socioeconomic demo. How precise is that?

The current sales model for local TV news won’t support further slicing of the audience. It’s geared to delivering as many bodies as possible.

So, the product continues to aim at being all things to all people. Too many
stations run similar stories and offer almost identical weather forecasts. News formats run together with even commercial breaks occurring at the same time.

The trend is toward offering more sameness. Video news sharing arrangements have sprouted in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Tampa to name a few. Will the process free up resources to craft other stories, or simply be used to cut costs?

Mass is becoming smaller now. It’s time to think niche to get bigger.

How Niche Thinking Succeeds

Incorporating niche thinking into the sales process may be difficult. Not so in the programming and production arena. Your ability to grow news ratings depends on your success in adding niche content to your news.

Forget about appealing to your entire DMA. Especially if you’re chasing the news leader. They already beat you there.

Recognize there are pockets and clusters of viewers within your market that are receptive to newscasts that meet their interests. They’re waiting for you. Target them and satisfy their demands.

Here are two such examples from my days at GOCOM. KSPR was a distant third in news in Springfield, Missouri. Springfield is a midsize market from a population standpoint, but a big one in terms of geographic area.

Our niche solution was to concentrate our news coverage in Springfield and cede the rest of the DMA to the competition. The station became totally Springfield-centric. Our news trucks never left this defined area.

We even produced other local programming that highlighted Springfield activities. The station soon recorded its highest news ratings in history.

The newscast also began with a one minute weather segment that gave viewers a complete seven day forecast. Right at the top. If you wanted weather news, you didn’t have to wait. This segment didn’t tease the forecast, it gave you the details in full glory.

Springfield news and weather – the news niche. The station got bigger by thinking smaller.

Thnking niche drove our Chico, California station from third place to first in news in one rating book.

Chico stations compete in a split market with Redding and Chico. We identified that the viewers living between both cities in the area called North Valley felt underserved by all news stations.

Our news effort focused on this area and its viewers. The station even changed its call letters to KNVN – North Valley News. The first place results speak for themselves. KNVN found success exploiting a niche.

Find and create your niches. Some are subject oriented. Some are geography based.

All require a change in thinking. Giving up the concept of being all things to all people. That thinking embraces the mass appeal concept that worked when people only had three or four sources for news.

Other news and information sources cater to your viewer’s specific interests. They’ve grown accustomed to this attention. Your news must take a similar approach.

Offer specific targeted news to key segments of your audience. You’ll grow your numbers and build the loyalty so critical to your future success.

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The Promotion Myth That is Killing Your News

by Terry Segal on June 26, 2009

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Promotion Myth
photo by aussiegall

A lot of time and money is wasted on ineffective news promotion. I’m not referring to poor messaging or weak production values. They matter, but they’re not the issue here..

No, I’m referring to a fundamental misconception about the influence of promotion. It’s a myth that once recognized will alter your entire promotion stategy.

Pick a subject in which you undeniably have no interest. For me, it’s opera. Got yours?

Now suppose you view a series of on-air promotion spots that showcase a program on that subject. These spots are the best quality spots you’ve ever seen. Stunning visuals. Captivating copy. Placement that catches you time and again.

Guess what? In my case, I’m still not watching the program on opera. Are you planning to watch the program on your uninteresting subject? Probably not.

Therein lies the issue. The myth exposed – that well crafted promotion will get people to watch your program. In your case, your news.

Here’s the real truth – promotion can’t change a person’s mind. Read that again – promotion can’t change a person’s mind.

If someone has no interest in your news, no amount of promotion will change that. No matter how good you think it is.

Get Inside Your Viewers’ Mind

The real value of promotion is two fold. First, it serves an alert to those predisposed or favorable to watching your news. Call it a program reminder.

Second, it reinforces their decision about watching your news. You’re patting them on the back for their wise choice.

These values have nothing to do with changing a person’s mind. They deal more with connecting with what is already IN THE MIND.

Bottom line? Your promotion is ineffective unless you:

  • have a clear understanding of why people watch you.
  • showcase the specific elements that attract people to your news.
  • use a consistent strategy that integrates the two preceding points.

Focus on your strengths. Promotion that emphasizes these attributes resonates with your viewers. They’re receptive because they already perceive you in that manner. You’re not asking them to change their view.

Producing great spots with no consistent message or no intended audience (everybody doesn’t count) doom you. You’re betting that you change people’s minds. History is littered with companies that tried to do so and failed.

Ford Edsel. New Coke. Crystal Pepsi. McDonald’s Arch Deluxe.

Promotion doesn’t work that way. Give up the myth.

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Five News Conventions That Got Me Thinking

by Terry Segal on June 24, 2009

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News Conventions
photo by josef.stuefer

Local television news is ruled by certain conventions just like any other business. Certain practices continue because “it’s always been done that way.”

It got me to thinking…

1. Why aren’t single topic newscasts used more often?

This type of newscast usually occurs when a major disaster happens. Otherwise, forget it.

Yet, the news landscape today contains a number of topics that fall under the “emergency” classfication. They offer the urgency and relevancy that viewers demand.

Take the economy. Virtually every city and its business community is facing a myriad of challenges. Examine them. Every day presents fresh opportunities.

Take health care. Viewers wrestle with rising costs, often foregoing needed care. Doctors struggle to provide quality care for patients. Hospitals battle rising costs and squeezed budgets. Every day adds more options to explore.

Take education. Program cuts. Teacher shortages. Student boredom. Testing controversies. Tuitions rising. From elementary school to college, every day brings more issues to the front.

What about your market? What other issues come to mind?

A single topic newscast can be timely. Hard hitting. Relevant.

All that’s required is planning, and the guts to do things differently.

2. Why don’t reporters get to brief and interact with other reporters?

It appears that only anchors get to interact with other newsteam members. That’s okay because anchors are paid to take the lead.

What would happen if the scope of a story encouraged a wider line of questioning or input from newsteam members (see item 1 above)? Why couldn’t an anchor talk with two reporters and have a three way conversation? What if one of the reporters took the lead? Added his or her insight to what the other reporter had said?

You want your station to be the market’s first option for news. Why restrict the way news is presented? Wouldn’t the arrangement be a great way to showcase the depth of your news operation?

3. Why do most stations still feature a daily sports segment?

Even in markets with professional teams sports fans already know the scores and highlights of the home team by the time your news rolls around. Thank the internet and your myriad cable competitors for that. They’ve even provided more extensive footage and insider information than your sportscaster can due to their different format.

Can you fill your sports segment every night with high profile local (meaning non-professional) coverage?

If not, collapse the segment and give the time back to news. No harm will come to your newscast.

A traditional sports segment locks you into the past. You can’t afford that today, certainly not in the future.

4. Why do most anchors continue to sit behind news desks?

Talk about putting a barrier between your newsteam and the audience. Yes, the new HD designs look beautiful. But, the practice still puts distance between the anchors and the audience.

We’ve experimented with anchors standing, sitting in newsrooms (behind a desk), and roaming the newsroom floor.

Why not a simple table that opens the space? How about attractive high back chairs? Either works since the anchors are usually framed from the chest up.

Too informal? Give the audience more credit. Offer them the information they want and the formality becomes irrelevant.

5. Why don’t  stations use local inserts on cable news to showcase more special reports and packages?

Local inserts usually feature brief headlines and/or a quick weather recap. They’re usually taped and eventually lose their timeliness.

Why not use the time to further showcase and promote the station’s reporting largesse? Air a special feature or report that is timeless. Give that piece extra exposure. Alert viewers to the best work that your station has done.

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