WKYC Wins A TVB EMMA Award

At today’s TVB Forward Conference in New York City, WKYC, Gannett Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio (DMA 19), and local business The Collection Auto Group were presented with Excellence in Local Media Marketing Solutions (EMMA) Awards in recognition of their collaborative multiplatform advertising campaign over the past 12 months.

TVB introduced its annual EMMA Award in 2013. It recognizes the television station and advertiser who collaborated to deliver the most outstanding and effective local, multiplatform marketing campaign in the past year.

The nominated marketing campaigns are judged by TVB’s executive board of the Station Sales Advisory Committee. Entrants are evaluated on the creativity of their on-air, online and mobile advertising efforts and the effectiveness of the campaign in addressing objectives, meeting challenges, and overall ability to deliver results and make the cash register ring for clients. Leslie Pastel, WKYC’s director of sales, and Bernie Moreno, Collection Auto Group president were awarded the 2014 EMMA.

Bernie Moreno understands the importance of a thriving business environment, not just for the Collection Auto Group but for all local businesses in greater Northeast Ohio. WKYC’s objective was to create a unique television and digital campaign that recognizes the business organizations leading the way in promoting positive change across the region; while also encouraging young, talented entrepreneurs to develop and grow their businesses in Cleveland. At the same time, the campaign had to create a positive brand association for The Collection Auto Group and increased exposure on-air and online for the company.

The success of WKYC’s advertising campaign “Driving Success” resulted in car sale increases by the Collection Auto Group and recognition of local business owners and community leaders who appreciate what the company has done to positively promote Northeast Ohio as a remarkable place to own and operate a business.

Bernie Moreno said: “The recession applied a sweeping hit to Cleveland between 2007 and 2009 and thousands of people in Northeast Ohio lost their jobs. Today, Cleveland is back and better-than-ever but the region is still fighting to change the negative perception it received during the recession. WKYC-TV, Channel 3, used their strong local news platform to help us create a high-impact campaign highlighting the best and brightest businesses in Cleveland and across Northeast Ohio. The television commercials combined with our Facebook and Twitter pages maximized customer reach and engagement and communicated a positive message about the businesses environment in Cleveland while also promoting The Collection Auto Group brand. Our customers, local business owners, and community leaders from across the region frequently tell us they’ve seen our spot during channel 3’s local newscasts and in response to the ‘pro-Cleveland’ message I have seen a rise in car sales at my own business.”

Steve Lanzano, president-CEO of TVB, said: “Television’s influence on consumers’ brand awareness and purchasing decisions is every bit as strong if not stronger, locally, where businesses operate, consumer trust is built and transactions take place. Serving the local community is a priority of every local broadcaster and the numbers prove that time and again, viewers overwhelmingly prefer the coverage of their local television stations over national network and cable news options.

“Broadcasters have also done a tremendous job building out their stations’ multiplatform media options and this is reflected in the significant traffic to station websites and mobile apps. The combined power of broadcaster’s on-air, online and mobile platforms continue to deliver the reach and influence that local businesses need, which is why brands continue to look first to broadcast TV as a trusted marketing solution. We’re proud to recognize WKYC-TV and The Collection Auto Group as the winner of TVB’s second annual EMMA Award.”

The EMMA finalists can be viewed on the TVB website here.

Read other stories from the TVB Forward conference here.