When some TV viewers in Lufkin, Texas, wanted a good laugh, they tuned to the news on ABC affiliate KTRE-TV to watch “Hilarious East Texas Videos.”
Stacks of viewer home video footage piled up in the station, owned by Liberty Corp.-operator of sister ABC station KLTV-TV in neighboring Tyler. Every week for five weeks a committee selected two submissions to air during its 6 and 10 Saturday newscasts.
Sponsors including local grocer Berkshire Bros., Dixon Furniture and Diamond Photo donated prizes of a big-screen TV, grill, digital camera and gift certificates.
“It was a lot of fun, but took a lot of time to do,” said VP and general manager Artie Bedard. For any station considering such a promotion, Ms. Bedard advises procuring releases in advance as part of the submission process. She said the station wanted to air the videos for the July sweeps, but fell behind schedule due to the necessity of seeking releases from those who submitted videos. They eventually aired mid-September to mid-October.
There are yellow roses in Texas, and many can be found in the town of Tyler, one of the leading rose producers in the nation and home to the Texas Rose Festival. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the festival, NBC affiliate KETK-TV sold ad packages to advertisers ranging from antiques stores to boutiques, country clubs and industrial companies, who received tickets and promotional tie-ins to the event. They also received advertising during the live broadcast of the Rose Festival Parade.
The Communication Corp. of America LMA station also produced customized vignettes for the sponsors. “It is a very successful promotion for the station and the advertisers,” said recently appointed General Manager John Gaston.
TV ad revenues for the Tyler-Longview-Lufkin-Nacogdoches DMA is expected to reach $33.6 million by yearend, up from $32.3 million in 2002, according to BIA Financial Network.