Selling WeatherEye

"WeatherEye was one of the easiest sales I’ve ever made. We sold this on our first visit to Pillsbury. They had already seen the WeatherEye promos we had been running. We showed them the Web site…and closed the sale in 20 minutes. Now I wonder if we should have asked for more money!" –Tom Nankival, Account Executive, KGAN-TV.

WeatherEye is a natural buy for any company that wishes to enhance its public image. A number of these companies would have no reason to buy television time without this kind of product. WeatherEye is a connection to this new money, building your bottom line.

WeatherEye gives account executives a three-pronged sales approach:

• Potential sponsors can easily understand buying TV time.
• Companies are intrigued by the idea of sponsoring an Internet project.
• Executives love being able to use their positions to do something good for children.

Combining these three elements makes a powerful sales presentation.

The easiest way to sell WeatherEye is to think of it as a television campaign, supported by a great web site. The television time is the core of the purchase for many buyers.

WeatherEye’s television time comes as co-branded promotional commercials. WeatherEye provides each station with six "doughnut" type commercials per year. Stations can customize these promotional spots as needed.

The spots offer education tips for parents; ideas on how to help students do well in science. The commercials build the image of both the sponsor and the station. Both are identified as high-tech, leading edge companies that are concerned about the future of children and the community.

The web site takes the sponsorship a step further. The sponsor’s logo appears on each page of the site. Online sponsorships are done tastefully, designed to not offend teachers. Since teachers feel uncomfortable with commercials in the classroom, online recognition is strong, but not overwhelming.

To back up the television promotion time and online recognition, you can support WeatherEye with collateral material. Co-branding this information with your sponsor’s logo will help build advertiser loyalty to the project. You can work with local education groups to send fliers to local teachers. Your weather team can visit local schools, then play a sponsorship billboard along with the video. Each station can develop a custom approach that works for its market.

WeatherEye is a great way to boost local sales, taping into new television and online dollars.