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| Custom television spots for local public radio stations are quite uncommon, and for good reason. Under normal circumstances they are simply too expensive, both to produce and to buy the time to air them. It was only extraordinary circumstances that allowed WKSU and Marcus Thomas LLC, a Cleveland advertising and public relations agency, to complete production of three new TV spots. |
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In the fall, WKSU Public Relations Director Bob Burford met with the creative team at Marcus Thomas and informed them that the station had recently formed a new partnership with Time Warner Cable. Within the framework of that partnership, the station had an opportunity to air commercials on the cable system on a trade basis, if TV spots could be produced.
The Marcus Thomas team went to work and developed three strong concepts, all variations of the theme that WKSU’s programming from NPR is so compelling that you simply cannot pull yourself away from the radio. |
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With Marcus Thomas donating all of its services, the agency looked to some of its vendors to help create the spots at a reasonable price. Buzz Cuts, a production company out of Columbus, agreed to film and edit the spots for a fraction of their usual fees. |
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“Buzz Cuts brought an incredible amount to the table because the people there believe in the NPR product and were anxious to work with the creative,” Frank said.
The 30-second spots aired over a three-week schedule in November on the Time Warner Cable system in Akron, Canton and Kent. They were broadcast on CNN, A&E, MSNBC and the History Channel and will air again in March and May. Public Relations Director Bob Burford is currently exploring the possibility of running the commercials on some of the major broadcast stations in the Cleveland market. |
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