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Success Story: Stations Light Up Holidays

Dec 13, 2004  •  Post A Comment

Being home for the holidays will never quite be the same for lucky TV viewers in three designated market areas. Three separate CBS offered sales promotions that included a homey gift for the viewer and great exposure for the client.

In Abilene, Texas, KTAB-TV offered up home accessories at an expo; WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Va., helped fly a loved one home; and Detroit’s WWJ-TV offered a grand prize of a brand-new four-bedroom home.

KTAB’s free-to-the-public Home & Holiday Expo, scheduled for Dec. 11, was expected to bring together nearly 90 clients, mostly retail, selling potential Christmas gifts, including home furnishings and holiday decorations. Vendors bought booth space or obtained it free with an on-air schedule.

“We saw a 600 percent return on our investment,” said Justin Riggan, director of sales for the Nexstar Broadcasting station. “We tied in a lot of merchants who were not advertisers or who were out-of-market.”

Viewers of Schurz Communications-owned WDBJ in Roanoke had the chance to win a grand prize package worth $5,000 that included airfare for six family members to fly to Roanoke, $1,000 worth of furniture and $100 in gasoline. Contestants videotaped themselves saying why they’d like their family members to come home. The tapes were turned into spots and viewers voted online for the most deserving family at the recently relaunched wdbj7.com Web site.

CBS owned-and-operated WWJ brought together first-time Detroit TV advertiser Centex Homes and sponsors such as Moen and Whirlpool to offer viewers a chance for a 2,384-square-foot home worth $265,000.

“We had been trying to get the builder out of the newspaper and into TV for a long time,” said Director of Marketing Jim Balistreri.