PromaxBDA Station Summit

A panel at the PromaxBDA Station Summit explains how those two important station executives can better communicate and cooperate.

In the lexicon of TV station creative services, a preditor is a writer, producer and editor. They can be a virtual one-person marketing machine. And increasingly, finding people to fill these roles is becoming difficult, especially for small and medium-market stations. Here’s why and what needs to be done to solve the problem.

WGRZ Buffalo, N.Y. took the Gold for its “WGRZ Storm Team 2 Ready for Winter” campaign. The Silver was won by WNBC New York’s “The Now.” And KMSP Minneapolis captured the Bronze for its “We’re Big Fans of Our Viewers” series of 17 spots.

Marketing strategy guru Rishad Tobaccowala: “Video and TV remain the most powerful ways one can potentially market … and people watch more video than ever before” and “local matters more and more, so things look really positive as long as we all continue to evolve with the needs of the principals we are serving.” The trend that TV marketers must keep a close eye on is how consumers are behaving with video, and that means being mindful of “companies that are simultaneously your best possible friends and your worst possible enemies,”

The daily syndicated newsmagazine America Now with co-hosts Leeza Gibbons and Bill Rancic is heading into its fourth season this fall. The show provides tips designed to make viewers’ lives easier, including where to find bargains. It’s from Raycom Media and ITV Studios America and is distributed by Trifecta Entertainment. On Wednesday, TVNewsCheck incorrectly said America Now is in 47 small to midsize markets. It is in more than 70% of TV homes, including on stations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. It will be in more than 80% of TV homes by this fall.

A PromaxBDA Station Summit panel outlines tactics to boost both on-air and online through creative cross-promotion that never lets up.

The goal with big data, according to a panel at the PromaxBDA Station Summit, , is finding messages that resonate with segments of the audience, rather than creating blanket messages for broad demographic groups.

NBC Broadcasting Chairman Ted Harbert says his company’s push to develop TVE is “an incredibly complex and expensive operation,” but when it’s in place “it will be a terrific experience for consumers.”

CBS Television Distribution’s new talk show with Arsenio Hall will be heavily promoted leading up to its Sept. 9 debut. Billboards also figure in the mix. And stations, which began airing promos last December, will be getting more than a dozen additional spots over the next couple of months.

The promotional campaign for the upcoming show will feature opportunities for stations to shoot the singer-actress in their markets when she comes to record field pieces.

Dr. Mehmet Oz led almost 100 racers in a 5K run down the Las Vegas Strip at 6:30 a.m. this morning as part of the ongoing PromaxBDA Station Summit. Oz, host of Sony Pictures Television’s recently renewed Dr. Oz, led racers from Planet Hollywood down the Strip and back. Oz, a cardiovascular surgeon at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital, is at the annual gathering meeting with stations that carry his show. Sony and Oz stations are reviewing marketing plans for the talk show’s fifth season premiering this fall. In addition to the 5K run, Oz appeared on a morning news show and an afternoon talk show on Meredith’s Las Vegas Fox affiliate KVVU.

Here’s a rundown of some of the promotional spots syndicators are providing their station partners to ramp up interest heading into the upcoming television season.

Plans to get the word out about the new Telepictures talker include the largest Warner Bros. digital media campaign ever for a syndicated talk show, including geo-targeting, as well as investments in national cable.

The third annual PromaxBDA Station Summit is a four-day brings together syndicators, networks and station creative services directors to discuss trends and emerging business opportunities and figure out how they can get more people to watch broadcast programming. The action gets underway next Tuesday and runs through Friday at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.Here’s a collection of stories we’ve posted over the past several days in anticipation of the conference.

Why do TV stations, station groups and media outlets place so much emphasis on production music? Because it still brands the programming, reinforces a show’s identity and stays with viewers long after the broadcast ends. Here’s a look at today’s art, science and trends in production music.

Digital single lens reflex cameras began as a way for wire service photogs to shoot video with the same camera they were using for still photos. Then TV stations began to use the small, lightweight and inexpensive units to produce on-air promos. Now, manufacturers including Canon, Blackmagic Design and Red are making DSLRs that are truly professional video cameras with bells and whistles that shooters love. KNSD’s Erik Naso (pictured) shoots with a Canon C100 and says he loves its depth of field: “It’s a film look to the extreme.”

While social media is playing an important and growing role in promoting broadcast network TV programming, old-fashioned on-air campaigns are still crucial. At next week’s PromaxBDA conference, the nets and their affiliates’ creative directors will meet to discuss strategy for the big promo pushes leading up to fall’s new season.

Television’s major syndicators will meet next week with TV station creative services directors at the third annual PromaxBDA Station Summit, sharing promotional plans and trying to whip up some of that enthusiasm for their new offerings including CBS Television Distribution’s Arsenio Hall and Bethenny from Warner Bros.

The third annual PromaxBDA gathering will feature Publicis digital ad guru Rishad Tobaccowala and a host of other speakers and panels designed to boost local television marketing, promotion and design.

Wrapping up the association’s second annual leadership summit for local station general managers, marketing, promotion and creative services executives, it recognizes excellence, creativity and innovation in local television promotion, marketing and design as well as commitments to nonprofit partnerships.

A panel of syndication executives at the PromaxBDA Station Summit explains the challenges of convincing viewers to watch — and stick with — a new program. “It’s critical to capture the essence of the host and define in simple terms what the show is about,” says Hilary Estey McLoughlin, president of Telepictures Productions, which is currently testing Bethenny on six Fox TV stations. “Even if people know the host, but don’t what the show is, it’s confusing.

Panelists at the PromaxBDA Station Summit discuss the value, opportunities and problems that stem from Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.

Syndicators are busy preparing promotion campaigns for five new talk shows as well as introducing promos with new takes on returning programs in on-air and multiplatform pushes to make their talent stand out in the markets.

Stations and networks gathered in Las Vegas are looking for new and better ways to reach the key adults 25-54 demo. And a big part of that is the 10 o’clock hour that can drive viewers to a station’s late news.

Reporter’s Notebook — Items from around the Station Summit: Creating a compelling second-screen experience is a growing priority at stations across the country. ~~~ This year, ABC, CBS, The CW, NBC and Spanish-language network Telemundo are holding affiliate meetings in Las Vegas. The idea is to beef up the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by ensuring that the networks and their stations implement strategies that complement one another.

PromaxBDA’s June 26-29 gathering for local TV station GM, marketing and promotion executives will feature five network affiliate meetings, six syndicators and 12 stations groups. Advance registration is pacing 30% ahead of last year’s inaugural event.

Valari Dobson, Cory Bergman, Michael D. Hais and Morley Winograd are the first group of speakers announced for the annual gathering of local stations and broadcasters set for June 26-29 in Las Vegas.

The organization’s annual meeting in Las Vegas for station general managers, marketing and promotion executives will be bookended by affiliate and station group meetings.

Bouyed by the success of its first conference for station creative services pros, the association is ramping up for next year by doing more of what worked, fine-tuning other aspects and developing “new sessions on best practices in technology and in social and earned media,” says PromaxBDA President-CEO Jonathan Block-Verk.

The group’s inaugural Station Summit delivered on its promise to be station-centric, productive and inspiring. It also engendered a sense of community by sharing successes and challenges. “This is about supporting, building, strengthening local broadcasting from the inside out,” says PromaxBDA President Jonathan Block-Verk.

The group presents awards for excellence, creativity and innovation in local television promotion, marketing and design to cap its first Station Summit, which saw attendance top 500.

Top media execs predict that 75% of all TV shows will be on the Web in two years. And since the Web is seamlessly migrating to TV (via Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, connected TV sets, Xbox, etc.), that leaves TV stations with a new challenge: everything TV stations produce and distribute now goes head-to-head with everything else. That means social media is more important than ever for local TV content to be discovered, shared and consumed.