Kovak-Likly Communications » 2014

October 30, 2014

Talking About the Weather…Or Anything But

The Weather Channel, since its start in 1982, has certainly earned some hard core fans. Weather addicts, if you will, who can’t get enough of watching every system come through. The network has even launched a superstar or two. Face it – if you see that Jim Cantore is coming to report live from your town, you know you’re in for a serious storm.

However, viewers are becoming surfers; foregoing the 24-hour network and choosing instead to jump online to get their forecasts, storm updates, and radar graphics. To keep up with the shift, the channel’s website, weatherchannel.com, has had to become its own moving front, finding new ways to attract and keep visitors. So far, they have been able to succeed; in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article, it’s said that traffic to the site has doubled thanks to the creativity of their editorial staff.

Creativity? Writing about weather? Yes and no. New ideas are introduced daily, but more often than not they have nothing to do with the weather. The concepts are called “weather adjacent” according to the site’s editor-in-chief, Neil Katz, who is quoted in the article as saying that while the network has always struggled with the issue of generating compelling content on non-weather-event days, they are now pointing resources toward the problem.

The answer has come in the forms of special features like “A Gallery of City Skylines, Then and Now” and “What Does Mars Smell Like?” Topics whose visuals and catchy headlines provide clickable material for even the casual forecast checker.

In adapting so successfully, weather.com has proven what many businesses know; that to stay relevant in a competitive market – and to hang on to shrinking attention spans – changes need to be strategically planned and executed.

Know Your Weaknesses

Strengths are great, but if weather.com had simply accepted the diminishing interest in their traditional content as part of the ever changing media landscape and chosen to stay the course, they would have been left out in the rain (pun intended). By acknowledging that their content alone was not enough to compete, they were able to troubleshoot the issue.

Don’t Be Afraid to Test the Borders

A feature on “12 Spooky Abandoned Hospitals and Asylums” might not be the first to come to mind for a weather channel, but it sure got attention for them. By thinking weather – fall – Halloween – spooky places, the site’s writers didn’t hesitate to push the content to its limits, capturing views in the process.

Dedicate Resources

According to the Bloomberg Businessweek article, weather.com content producers are not meteorologists, they are writers. They gather for editorial meetings and pitch stories like a news staff whose creativity is not only welcomed but encouraged. In addition to the editor-in-chief, there is a health editor, a travel editor, and other specialized staffers who each bring something to the table. When weather.com decided to switch gears and bring new content to the site, they didn’t do it half-heartedly. See a problem, put some resources against it.

If you are struggling with the challenges posed by an ever-changing media landscape, we can help. Our PR specialists can help you strategize the best route to take and regenerate the creativity needed to travel it successfully. Give us a call at 203.762.8833 and let’s get started.

– BML

A Lesson in Doing the Right Thing

What was the old expression? Smoke ’em if you got ’em? Not anymore. As of last month, CVS Health has held true to its promise: we had ’em, but we dumped ’em. As of September, all cigarettes and smoking supplies have been removed from CVS’s 7,700 stores. In addition, the company has stated that they will not carry e-cigarettes as an alternative. The bold move was the final step in a plan that was announced last February; it was widely covered by the media then, and a second wave of publicity followed this fall. In addition, a social media campaign, #onegoodreason, has continued the conversation, engaging customers to interact and transition the company into a source of support and education in the area of smoking cessation. Despite forfeiting an estimated $2 billion in sales, CVS is counting on a long term win. According to CEO Larry Merlo, success will come in several forms:

Strategic partnerships which had been held back due to the company’s tobacco sales can now be formed, including those with healthcare systems.
A corporate rebrand from CVS Pharmacy to CVS Health is more aptly supported by the move, showing that the company “walks the walk” when it comes to promoting healthy living for its customers.
Support from consumers has been overwhelmingly positive, indicating that lost tobacco sales may be replaced by other purchases made from a new or reenergized customer base.
Emptying the shelves of cigarettes is in line with efforts in many major cities, where the cost of a pack has soared and where regulatory guidelines are continually changing to limit smoking in public areas.

Knowing the right thing to do is often easy, but can also be in direct conflict with a company’s bottom line. As PurpleAmerica.us founder and CEO Stuart Muszynski wrote in a blog for the Huffington Post shortly after CVS Health’s announcement last winter, “While many corporations are admired for taking on risk to launch new products, most managers are not rewarded for courage in advocating to do good.” Thankfully, as CVS has demonstrated, it may be a growing trend. If you’d like to find out how you can turn a risk into a win for all the right reasons, we’d love to talk and work with you. Kovak-Likly’s PR specialists are ready; give us a call at 203.762.8833 . – BML

Can NFL Sponsors Survive the Media Blitz?

Football season is well underway, and while much of the NFL’s media coverage includes actual scores, stats, and highlights, a large portion has centered on the real life crime drama playing out off the field.

The downward spiral began with the surfacing of a shocking video of domestic abuse between Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice and his then-fiancée. Then, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson made headlines when he was charged with child abuse for physically punishing his 4-year-old son. Lastly, Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer was recently accused of head-butting his wife and breaking her nose one day and then punching her the next.

While the NFL nurses the big black eye its players have delivered the league this season we can’t help but wonder what this all means for the sponsors who collectively spend billions of dollars to be associated with them?

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, while many NFL sponsors have issued statements condemning the actions of the players and the response of Commissioner Roger Goodell, most will keep their partnerships intact as a vital marketing component. In an age of on-demand video accessible through a multitude of channels, it has become increasingly difficult for advertisers to reach a large audience in real time, without the ability to fast forward through commercials. NFL Football provides that.

Then there’s the money. Many major NFL sponsors are on the hook for a lot more than just advertising dollars. Multi-year contracts commit partnerships which run in the millions and can’t simply be dropped. Nike, for example, advertises during games, sponsors individual athletes (including Peterson and Rice, though both sponsorships have been suspended) and supplies jerseys for all 32 NFL teams.

When a topic is so controversial and the potential business ramifications of any response so disastrous, what is a sponsor to do?

So far, most advertisers linked to the NFL are staying put – but being quite vocal about their condemnation of player behavior. Some have taken the opportunity to publically urge action within the NFL leadership and our communities against the overall issue of domestic violence. Others have quietly shifted their TV ad schedules to stay away from games featuring the most controversial players.

Both sides are hoping to weather this storm without too much damage, but it won’t be easy. NFL sponsors and advertisers generate more revenue than other streams such as ticket sales, and many of those ad campaigns rely on thematic, and player-specific, tie-ins. Without confidence in the men who wear the jerseys, those campaigns could be at risk. Fans may become disenfranchised and sponsors may be forced to walk. To counter this risk and to assure sponsors and fans, Commissioner Goodell has announced plans for a tougher domestic abuse policy among players and increased educational efforts around the problem. Only time will tell if his plan is appropriate and if it’s effective.

As certain as I am that on February 1, 2015, we’ll have a new Super Bowl Champion, I’m certain there will be heavy losses within the league and its sponsors if the powers that be can’t effectively tackle this year’s troubling issues.

Your PR partner should know how to handle the good, the bad, and yes, sometimes the very ugly. At Kovak-Likly, we have that kind of experience and will work with you to build a plan which highlights your strengths and turns your challenges into opportunities. Give us a call at 203.762.8833.

– BML

Monthly Archives: October 2014

Talking About the Weather…Or Anything But

A Lesson in Doing the Right Thing

Can NFL Sponsors Survive the Media Blitz?