And… FOX news! (Seriously!)
Have you seen FOX News’ latest image campaign? To me it’s reminiscent of ESPN’s classic campaign awhile back where famous athletes in uniform appeared in ordinary situations in the ESPN headquarters – in the break room, walking through a hallway, in the parking lot.
In other words, making celebrities (Aaron Judge, Payton Manning, Derek Jeter) ordinary, and making ordinary people (the ESPN anchors) celebrities.
The latest FOX News campaign isn’t what you’d see from other news organizations positioning themselves as a news leader, even with their own success as the most watched cable news channel for over 23 years.
No, the campaign tells the story of the anchors as real people. Each is shown autographing a photo of them as a kid. In their office, in the conference room, walking from back stage onto the familiar studio for their top-rated show “The Five.”
We see the photos of the FOX anchors when they were eight years old. Like MercyMe’s “Dear Younger Me,” we have a different perspective. And yes, Jesse Waters looks just like he did as a kid.
“Dear younger me
MercyMe
Where do I start
If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far
Then you could be
One step ahead”
With the decline in cable TV news viewing and general lack of trust in TV news as objective journalism, more and more viewers seem hungry for news anchors that seem to be authentic and believable.
This is what it means to your station…
Listeners to your station are looking for authenticity as well. Not just nice Christian people saying nice Christian things to nice Christian people.
To that end here are two things I recommend your talent do EVERY DAY to demonstrate humanity and authenticity.
Share their WHY at least once per show. It can be 10 seconds or one minute. Why do you do what you do? (When I visit a station almost everyone I talk to comes from a different place. And I’ve just flown in from Florida. But we all have the same WHY. WHY can be the great uniter).
“People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.”
Simon Sinek
What did your listeners learn about you today? But more than that, what did they learn from you that relates to their own lives? “Me, too!” are the two magic words that show a connection.
For more see Frost Advisory #711 – Make Big Things Little And Little Things Big