Are Topicals Killing Our Stations?

EPISODE 2

"We rely on topicals to promote our news in today's television environment."

As I've talked to numerous general managers and creative services directors over the past few years about the way they want their stations promoted, this is something I've frequently heard, and it alarms me.  Just remember that at most of our stations, we give the topical jobs to the least-experienced producers.  What's the reason for this?  Perhaps because the content is controlled by news and they have the final vote on how things are written and cut, and because it uses their footage, and it drives your best producers crazy. 

But, as with any delicious meal, with so many cooks in the kitchen, the chances for your meal to be the same as the restaurant next door are pretty good. In short, very few news managers nor talent know how to write great topical copy that cuts through...but they sure love to tell me how lousy their topical writer is.  

I hear it all the time--how their station brand depends on topicals, written and produced by their least experienced producer, and pasteurized by their news management until it has all the impact of...every other station in the market.

Do you know what topicals are?  They're the candy by the checkout counter.  They're the last thing you see before you make you check out.  And even if you're a dominant news station, how often does that topical cause you to change someone's decision on the newscast to watch?  Hey, if you cover the fire, all three of your competitors will cover the fire, and I doubt that even if your "breaking news" coverage is that much better than the rest, I'm going to move away from whom I like on a full-time basis.

Win the battle and you still may not win the war, because by themselves, topicals do not tip the scales.  At best, they reinforce what viewers already think.

In a world where your budgets are being cut and your main (non-air) weapon is Facebook, time to reevalute your priorities.  If your most important weapon is a topical, you're probably already behind before you even cover the story.

Television is the most emotional and intimate (before the web) medium every invented.  It's able to move us to tears and smiles and causes us to feel a closeness with personalities that radio, movies and the internet can only dream of.  Emotion.  Say it again...and again...and again.

I am a huge fan of Target, their stores and their marketing.  While they do "price & item" advertising in their Sunday inserts (for those of you who still read the newspaper), they never do it on television.  Ever wonder why?  Say it with me...emotion.

Their spots are a marvel.  Consistent, colorful and fun.  Just like their stores.  Who doesn't like to shop at Target?   Their spots give me that warm and fun feeling (although I will admit to missing the Target Lady this Christmas).  They say "our stores are cool and our prices are good" at every turn.  No mention of the price of pants.  Say it again...emotion.

Target is in the marketing hall of fame.  So is Budweiser (the world's tastiest beer?  I think not), Nike and Apple.  I've also become a huge fan of Samsung because of their stinging Galaxy phone campaign.  All of these products make you feel something, like it or not.

What do viewers say about your newscast?  A consultant once said that my viewers thought we were #1 because of the way we covered breaking news.  Seriously?  Who says things like this?    "I really like that station because of how they covered the fire."  Riiiight.

When you're writing your next spot, or campaign or even VO copy, don't only think about what separates you from the other three stations in the market, but why anyone (not working in television) should care.  Just ask your mom...or your neighbor.  They'll tell you why they care or don't for the place you work every day.  You will be amazed how much what we do falls short in the category of "Things you think I should give a damn about...but really don't."

Time to be tough on ourselves and get back to creating great image campaigns to go with your killer topicals that hit the right hot buttons.  More on that later.  As you can tell, I get amped up when I think of how many squandered opportunities air on our stations every day.

I need to calm down.  Time to visit a Target.

--Rich Brase

NEXT:  Is the wrong research hurting our news?

 

Why Today's Marketing Fails - first in a series

With a title like this, I realize I'm begging the question.  Namely, why isn't it called "What Really Grinds my Gears?"  Truth is, I hear Peter Griffin is rather litigious.  Rather....litigious.  Nevertheless, with that caveat fully in mind, here goes: 

Too often, commercials represent a victory of style over substance.  It looks great, the music's awesome, the graphics are innovative, I get it.  But after the spot ends, I have no idea what the takeaway was supposed to be.  To paraphrase my people, "Why should this beer be different than any other beer?"

It's obvious that the intention of the spot was to entertain, but the intended two- or three-word takeaway was lost in the translation.

That's an easy thing to do.  By time a concept gets approved, cut, then re-cut dozens of times, the objective is often just to get a spot that satisfies everybody.  And who knows who's involved in the decision-making process?  How many times have we heard, "My 8-year-old loves the spot."  or "My brother had an idea..."

Supporting a brand's USP is essential, but often sporadic, especially at the station level.  Some of this is due to sheer volume and constrained time.  Some due to passive aggressiveness.  And some is due to not establishing an intended takeaway before the script is written.

Don't believe me?  When you watch TV tonight, pay attention to the commercials (as if you don't already!).  If you don't know what incredibly focused message was intended, you're not alone.

There's a blogger out here who shares your pain.

- Ed "Not Big Daddy" Roth

My Favorite Christmas Spot

OK, I know this should be titled “My Favorite Seasons Greetings spot”, but let's face it, I didn't get too many requests for Hannukah Harry.  The spot was for WMAQ, the NBC affiliate in Chicago.  It's actually where Rich and I met.  He headed up the department and I was a freelancer. 

Confession:  I love doing Xmas spots.  November sweeps are over.  People are in a good mood.  January is a lifetime away.  All of which gives me a chance to produce a feel-good love letter to the city.  And this wasn't just any city.  It was my hometown.  And I had always thought of myself as a Channel 5 kind of guy. 

The spot was an easy sell.  I'll go out and get “real” shots of the city, people enjoying the store windows at Marshall Field's, and intercut shots of happy, smiling anchors among their fellow Chicagoans.  All this to a Frank Sinatra sound-alike crooning out a swing track that incorporated the copy, “It's not the holidays without Channel Five.”

As I recall, Randy and the talented folks at 615 hit it out of the park.

For two days, we're on the streets, getting everything we wanted (including my 4-year-old niece, which scored many points).  We've got street musicians with Santa hats.  Roasting chestnuts with rising steam.  Horses.  Carriages.  We even get all the talent looking at store windows, smiling, happy, caught in the act of being themselves – coincidentally with their on-air partners.

All except one.

It seems as though the main talent viewed herself as a Big J journalist, above the pretense of promotion, and refused to pose for anything.  Hard news, you know.  Wouldn't smile in a set-up shot with her co-anchor.  Wouldn't walk down Michigan Avenue.  Wouldn't even toast the camera with a cup o' egg nog.

We had to do something and an air-check wasn't gonna cut it.  After days of negotiating (!), she let it be known throughout the land that she will be walking from her office across the newsroom at exactly 2:30.  If all went well, she might even look up.

So, 2:30 rolls around and we're rolling tape like crazy, even though it's just her door.  Seconds later, she exits, holding papers.  As we follow her into the newsroom, she looks up ever so slightly and gives us The Smile.  For some reason, I remember thanking her.

As we head to the edit bay, I think, Victory is ours!  We did it!  We got her to smile in a Xmas spot that promoted her!  It may have taken days, but it was totally worth it. 

And then it hits me: This is one strange way to earn a living.

--Ed the Head Elf

The Promo Code: No Kidding!

The Promo Code.  Everyone who's every written, produced, or edited a promo lives by it.  Certainly we have.  We're Rich Brase and Ed Roth, two veteran promomeisters who inadvertently found their way into this industry while pursuing something else.

That's when we discovered that there are many more like us.  Too many, in fact.  Which is why, between gigs, we have plenty of time to create a blog called The Promo Code.

Here's the deal:  We want to share our stories from the front lines and the edit bays.  Stuff that we remember, whether we want to or not.  And we want to hear your war stories as well. 

So what is The Promo Code?  Well, like everything else, we'll make it up as we go along.  Sound familiar?  Good.

Do You Know Who You're Talking To?

I've been "swimming in the creative services pool" for a long time.  In fact, CBS' "Catch the Brightest Stars on CBS" campaign (you can look up the year) was my first and the great Jack Sander was my first boss.  Jack's retired now, but I'm still beating the drum for those of us who love promos, promoting stations and believe in the power of what a station means to its local community.  But, as our jobs have changed, our commitment to our communities has not.

Still, it's so common for promosapiens to get discouraged and look for greener pastures outside of television.  The reasons are simple:  more money, more respect and February, May and Novembers off.

Perhaps you've made the leap into a new marketing or creative career yourself, or are thinking about it.
I'm sure we've all done this during our careers.

"I don't need this crap.  I'm going into medical transcription.  At least I'll get sweeps off."

I certainly understand how you feel.  The same sweep stories,  the belligerent news director who feels they are an expert in marketing, the micro-managing general manager and the sales manager who needs you to produce that commercial yesterday.

But consider this about your colleagues--reporters report, engineers keep you on the air, videographers shoot and salespeople sell.  There is no one in your building who can do what you, which is everything else--and do it so well.  An old announcer friend of mind used to describe us as "The Department of What's Happening Now."  That about says it.

I don't know about you, but I can strategize, analyze, write, produce, direct, light, announce and help push any turd of a newscast to a number one position.  I'll bet you can, too.

In short, promotion people are valuable, but don't let anyone devalue you.  It's because you're a creative type and they are wannabees.  You have skills most of your peers wish they had.  But are those skills transferable to other industries?

I would love to tell you that being able to do so much with so little will be recognized and applauded by other companies that might interest you.  Medical?  Sports?  Non-profit?  All are interesting fields and ones in which you would thrive.  If you can market a newscast or image of a station that is doing better than it should, could you market a hospital, store or corporation?  Of course.  You are nothing if not versatile.

But will these other businesses you're interested in be able to "make the leap" from what they need and what you can do?  Doubtful.

When asked about my job, I describe it as "I run the in-house advertising agency, and I only have one client."
This is a concept that is foreign to a lot of businesses, specifically ad agencies, which take months to create one spot for $100,000.   The fact that you do over a thousand spots a year at a budgt of $1,000 will not make them see clearly enough to hire you.  They will NOT admire you for it.

So, what to do?  If you're ready to leave television or radio, be prepared with a pitch that really boils your skills down so you can spoon-feed your potential new employer.  You know a lot of stuff, but it might take a lot to make this apparent to someone who's never been in a station or even thought of how television promotion seeps into their minds without their even knowing it.  They've probably seen a lot of your work--they just don't know it.

If you're thinking about working at an agency or in corporate marketing, have a chat with someone in that business about what they need and want and are looking for.  Don't expect them to know what you do.  It will go right over their heads.

When you're this versatile and talented, it shouldn't be so hard to get someone outside of our industry to notice it.  The problem is that television and radio promotion is very stealth.  We get you to watch or listen to our stations without your even knowing why.  Now, that's a talent.  After thirty years, my mother still asks me "now, what do you do?"

So, go forth, but have your guns loaded.  Be ready to explain why you can do their job, because odds are, they won't see it.  I've made the leap into non-profits, and it wasn't an easy journey to a job that pays less.

If you can convince viewers that another TSR of "Killer Fish" in your newscast is a reason to watch, you can make the leap into another career.  Beware the corporate alligators, though.  They are untalented and fear what they don't understand.

They'll hire an untalented hack who comes from their field before they take a chance on you.  Help them,.  hold their hands and make the leap together.

--RB






Now, live the Promo Code.   Go make history. 

--RB