Front line examples of how critical concern research drives ratings and viewer engagement.
KPTV Portland – How to Build Truly Differentiated Weather Coverage
Differentiating weather coverage from competitors is key to moving newscasts up in the ratings, but how can you stand out if you don’t have dominant weather feature differences? The key is packaging those standard weather features in new ways so they directly serve a strong audience lifestyle need. It’s all about finding a specific viewer problem, then bundling many individual features as a turnkey weather solution.
In this case study video, Graeme Newell shows how KPTV in Portland used critical concerned research to find the deep-seated motivators behind their audience’s desire for accurate weather. See how they created entire new categories of weather coverage that spoke directly to the eclectic needs and distinctive egos of Northwest news watchers.
WTHR Indianapolis & WCPO Cincinnati – How to Design News Coverage that Stands Out in Highly Competitive Markets
If your station and a competitive station are covering the same big news story, how can you design coverage to truly stand out?
See how smart stations are going beyond basic news coverage and creating purpose-driven tone and style for their most important stories. See how stations are breaking through the clutter and innovating a singular brand voice.
KHOU Houston – Building News Coverage Around a Viewer Frustration
In every market there are hot-button viewer frustrations that can quickly spike tune-in. But what are they in your market? How can your coverage ignite that viewer passion?
See how KHOU in Houston tapped into a customer irritation to galvanize their audience base and recruit new viewers. Learn how the right research can help you identify these local trends and how to cover them for maximum impact.
KGW Portland Case Study – Investigations Customized to a Community Goal
More and more stations are firmly establishing a branding and content position that showcases investigations. Showing your news team out there digging for facts and advocating for the viewer is a powerful demonstration of a station’s commitment to help their customers improve their lives. However, many stations have built their brand around a very generic investigation focus.
Instead of extolling the benefits of these investigations, these stations simply trumpet the fact that they are conducting investigations. The former is powerfully branded advocacy for the viewer. The latter is simply self-congratulatory hype.
In this case study video, Graeme Newell shows how KGW in Portland used critical concern research to clearly understand the pain points that were top of mind for TV viewers in Portland. Then, he shows how the station built a strategic viewer-focused investigative campaign that spoke directly to the hopes, needs, and fears of Portland’s most avid news watchers.
WMC Memphis – Breaking News that Empowers Viewers
Every station covers breaking news, but some manage to elevate that coverage, leaving viewers with an exalted feeling of empowerment. These stations don’t just cover a breaking story, they clearly demonstrate its relevance and importance to the audience.
This short video tells the story of how WMC in Memphis turned breaking crime coverage into a viewer cause. See how the station created a groundswell movement that enabled families to take back their power. Learn how you can uplift typical breaking news coverage to be a viewer-focused calling that leaves the audience feeling capable, smart and informed.
WFTS Tampa – New Ways to Enroll Blue Collar Viewers
Blue-collar news viewers tend to be the heaviest news watchers. Unfortunately, the newsroom staffers who pick stories to cover tend to be highly-educated achievers with little understanding of the needs of blue-collar people.
In this case study, Graeme Newell shows how WFTS in Tampa used critical concern research to better understand the needs of its heaviest users – blue-collar workers. See how the entire team changed their story gathering process and editorial style to meet the needs of working-class families.
WMC Memphis – Building Relentlessly Consistent Brands
What’s the number one reason station brands fail? Because the viewer never notices or understands how the news is different from its competitors. The stations that win are the ones with ruthlessly consistent messaging. They have a clear, focused voice that rises above the crowd and demands attention.
In this short video, see how WMC in Memphis built an impressive content creation workflow that assured their brand encompassed every on-air and digital branding opportunity. See how they turned their newscast into a branding machine that built upon a critical viewer pain point.
News Marketing: What’s Working, What’s Not & Why
Graeme Newell shares the fascinating results of a sweeping research study done on the effectiveness of TV marketing. This in-depth audit analyzed thousands of promos created by stations all over the country. You’ll learn which stations have the best marketing and why, two critical mistakes common to most promos, the best tactics for breakthrough messaging, and creative mistakes that often doom a promo to oblivion. You’ll be fascinated to learn what works and what doesn’t as Newell reveals real-world usable insights from this comprehensive study.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn which stations are doing the best marketing and why
- Learn about the two critical mistakes most common in promos
- Learn the best tactics for breakthrough messaging
- Learn about the creative mistakes that render a promo useless
New Trends in TV News Content
Researchers are gaining amazing insights about positioning a brand by using the new science of neuromarketing. What’s neuromarketing? It’s putting customers through MRIs and seeing exactly how different messaging lights up their brains.
Graeme Newell shares the latest revelations that are driving the next generation of corporate identity and TV marketing. See how successful marketers are building brand identity by using these insights to drive customer loyalty and recruit new fans.
Major Trends in Local TV News Research
New viewing habits means newscast positioning is now undergoing a radical change. Over the past 30 years, most news brands have been primarily built around the egotistical claims of superior product features. However, today’s broadcasters are finding these claims hollow, as a new generation of news viewers are hungry for pragmatic information that delivers actionable improvements in their own lives.
It’s simply not enough anymore to just sing your own praises. Today’s viewers want a deeper relationship with their news provider. They want real, practical information delivered by a news team that puts the viewer first, not just a journalists who reports facts.
Graeme Newell reveals a major new trend in TV news storytelling and branding – the transition from coverage based primarily on egotism to coverage focused on viewers’ personal priorities.
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