 This week’s egtabite serves as a reminder for the upcoming World Television Day and all the possibilities for promotion it offers. 21 November is more than just a date in the calendar chosen by the United Nations as World Television Day, it is also a chance to communicate about the power of the medium and promote TV brands.
RTÉ did just that in 2015 by using a creative on- and off-air initiative to promote the power of the broadcaster’s channels to its media agency customers and to enhance the image of TV as a whole.
Concept and execution
 With over 40 channels competing on the Irish TV market, it was imperative to find innovative ways to differentiate and promote RTÉ Television. RTÉ also competes against media owners with much bigger B2B promotional budgets to spend on activations with agencies. Added to this, there was a sense that digital is perceived within agencies as being more innovative and cutting edge than TV. World Television Day gave RTÉ an excellent opportunity to engage with the agencies – companies not known for promoting themselves to the industry – in an innovative and creative way and to remind the wider Irish audience of the enduring strength of TV.
RTÉ’s message was that TV makes people famous, and that it is a great conversation starter. To prove their point, RTÉ made agency staff the stars of their own ad breaks.
Four agencies (GroupM, Core, Vizeum and Carat) had the chance to feature in their own personalised 50” TV executions in a “takeover” break, followed by a selection of their clients’ ads. The central concept was based upon profiling “the people who put the ads on TV”, with an RTÉ TV Sales representative at the end of each video indicating the final link in the broadcasting chain. The videos played out during the evening of World Television Day, 21 November 2015, in four high profile breaks on RTÉ One presented by Eoghan McDermott, a famous Irish television and radio presenter. To be effective, the spots had to avoid coming across as boring corporate videos, and the agencies set up creative teams to develop their own interpretations of the script.
Results
 The initiative was very well received by the agencies and created a chain reaction of their own spin-offs, designed to enhance the impact of the ad breaks among their audience. Vizeum reminded people of the power of television as “The Conversation Starter”, GroupM launched a viral campaign featuring members of staff, and Core Media developed its own television execution featuring prizes for people visiting their website and – for one lucky business – the chance to have a TV ad made for them by Radical/Publicis.
Ultimately, the campaign achieved its objectives of promoting the broadcaster’s channels and establishing 21 November as the day to celebrate television’s enduring appeal.
Why does this matter to egta members?
World Television Day is a great opportunity to remind the advertising world about television’s power. Broadcasters regularly cover stories about International Women’s Day, World Diabetes Day and others… why not proudly speak about their own day? 21 November is a platform, which if used with a bit of creativity, can lead to remarkable results.
This year’s World Television Day could be your occasion to shine and remind your clients and the audience about the importance of television in our daily lives, as well as its crucial role in an effective advertising media mix.
Take this opportunity to promote your television stations, your sales house, your medium – be creative and don’t hesitate to think big!
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