Here is Drew with the marketing objectives that helped create this campaign:
The marketing objective on this is two-fold, and probably not alot different from most marketing plans for stations going up against a dominant market leader. First was differentiation. We needed to differentiate in both style and substance...which begged for the black and white look... as well as the sparseness of the promos. Most news promos are cut as fast as they can, and written from a perspective of "What we got" instead of "What's important to you". To differentiate, we decided to slow down to an almost uncomfortable level for most of us.
Second, we knew we needed the campaign to be a bit controversial, and make every spot work for us, and the brand.
So.. Teasers and talent walk-ons were the most simple.. and certainly a starting place.
The teasers were designed with the idea of, what's the sound that makes you look at the TV from whatever you're doing? The answer, to us, was silence. When the TV stops making sound, it's more jarring than almost any other noise! So.. I'd agree that from a production standpoint, these would PLAY better with music or production values.. but that wasn't the point. The point was to grab you and get you actively saying in your mind... what the hell was that? Even better to be saying: What the hell are those guys DOING??
In a small way, they were MEANT to be a little frustrating.. and to get people guessing about what they meant.
The second phase, with the talent walks.. was a simple reveal. Ask the question.. intro talent... reveal the brand line. Totally agree that music would have played these up ... but we wanted these spots to be sparse and simple. If you had walked away from the first phase humming music, rather than saying "Asking Question. Getting Answers." we would have failed!
As you see, the next few phases intro music in, and higher production values. Although I will say that we haven;t even begun to tap where we're going on these spots.
The big idea is to get the branding out there in a way that means something to viewers... we're only 5 months into this, and it's starting to take hold!!
8 comments:
These are tough. I like the look and feel and concept of these, especially the teasers.
However, the tagline doesn't make sense for most of the talent spots. The Questions as asked are questions that we the viewers are asking, not the reporters (except on the proof of performance spot). But then the talent comes on camera and reads it like they are the ones both asking the questions and getting the answers.
To me, it would have been more effective all around it would have been "Hearing your questions. Getting answers." or something like that.
When the talent usurps the questions we the audience would be asking, and making like THEY were the ones that had to ask these questions, it's kind of insulting to the audience, as in, we weren't smart enough to ask these questions.
It almost came across as, "Thank goodness we're here to ask these questions for you."
The teasers make it seem like it's questions we're all asking, but the actual promos put all the focus on just the news talent. It was a disconnect for me.
But like I said, I loved the style of the spots. The silence definitely stands out. In fact, I'm inclined to pitch a silent commercial to one of my clients next week. (I DO COMMERCIALZ, but I used to work in news a long long time ago.)
I liked the phase 3 promos better. Not just because of the production values... because I clearly understand the concept. I could see the phase 1 promos being confusing to people. Will you answer this question tonight, is it an example? It wasn't my first response but I agree that these questions may be too simple... not questions a reporter would ask. I do like the production values and I think they do stand out. I liked the POP. I think POP's will be an important tool for you to get viewers to grasp your message. Good Luck!
Love the white seamless look. It's clearly the trendiest thing in local promotion, but it's on the verge of getting played out. (I'm not finished using it though).
Best thing is how they tied the spots together from image to topical to POP. That is harder to do than it sounds. Consistent brand messages too.
The one spot that didn't work was the sweep teaser about the DUI. It didn't explain enough to make me interested. Sometimes staying consistent with your marketing plan makes you shoehorn in a spot that doesn't fit. This is one of those times. It could have worked, but needed more explanation, more work, more something. If you're gonna go this far in one direction, you can't get lazy with the sell, which I think happened--but only in this spot.
Didn't like it until the POP. I think it was the "Asking Questions. Getting Answers." that I didn't like. You're a news team, that's what you do. There's nothing differentiating with that. The POP shows what you're doing, which I like.
I love the white look as well. I wish I could use it in my market but another station in town has been (horribly) using white for years so we refrain.
I thought they were fine. I got the "Asking questions, Getting Answers" idea BUT I thought you should have cut away sooner to the end page graphic and have the anchor say the tag line when the type was appearing rather than the other way around. it would have felt "tighter" to me if that was done.
Another thought is no audio and just type can get lost since many people have the television on but are not watching. Writing for the ear is crucial during certain dayparts. Some audio could have helped the spot.
I thought some spots didn't deliver (DUI, WX guy intro-why would he be asking if it's sweater weather?). But it's a nice campaign overall. Keep up the good work. It's difficult to re-brand your image. (BTW-I hate pops, there's nothing more self-congratulatory. Let the viewers speak for themselves in the ratings).
A nickel's worth of free advice: If your promos are meant to be frustrating, that's probably not a good plan. I'm pretty sure viewers don't like being frustrated. Mistake #2 (in a long line of mistakes with this campaign), don't make your viewers guess. If they don't get it, they're just going to think the message is stupid. Is the white/black look back again? It comes and goes in most markets I've been in with some regularity. If it stands out in your market, I guess that's a good thing. "A" for effort... but...
Overall, I think these have a slick look and feel. I do agree with the concept of using spots without audio. To me, the flaw in the plan is with the message. I think the biggest problem with promoting a local newscast is the disconnect between the talent and the viewers. WE'RE asking questions...WE'RE getting answers. Viewers care more about the benefit they can derive from your team taking those actions than the actions themselves.
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