Over the course of the Fair, many have been the times I have had interactions with the media. Whether it is playing hide and seek with a camera man or visiting with reporter friends or giving an interview or posing for a picture … I get the chance to watch and study how the media works and feel I have earned my wings to comment thereon.
This is for local Channel 5.
Guys … you really need to rethink your Fair strategy. Obviously a great deal of money was spent both in renting your location and in installing that gigantic television that blasts in the faces of everybody who enters Gate 1. In theory, you have a good plan.
But, I began to notice a problem. Yesterday I had the chance to schmooze with one of your bigger advertisers and Fair sponsors. He and I both agreed that the Channel 5 exhibit has a fatal and fundamental flaw.
See if you agree.
WTVH is a television station. Its product is entertainment. True, its primary source of income is through advertising dollars, but the PRODUCT being sold is the quality of programming. That is the draw. More viewers translates to higher book numbers which translate to greater revenues.
At the Fair WTVH has this gigantic television screen. Yet not once does this screen show anything other than commercials. One after another, one sponsor then another, then a promo for a CBS show, and then another commercial … this goes on all day long. That may explain why not a single soul ever has a reason to be standing in front of the WTVH exhibit.
The sponsor with whom I was talking was standing in front and watching his spots airing and too noticed the lack of public interest. It seems to me, that WTVH should be showing elements of its actual programming. This way, they would have a drawn audience trapped to see the gigantic commercials running incessantly.
Having a few celebrities hanging around would be a good idea as well. Your sponsors might be happier.
I also felt very bad for Joe Galuski and the rest of the WSYR morning radio crew. Having spent the entire week hawking their “live” appearance at the Fair for Friday; over the course of the 90 minutes of their appearance, five people stopped by to say hello. Though I am sure next week’s promos will sound like the whole world was with Galuski and gang because along with them was an over–the-top hyper reporter who was pitching softball questions.
“What is your favorite locally produced talk radio station?” Like duh.
A better question would have been, “wouldn’t you like to have an option in locally produced talk radio and instead of puffery and who did what to whom on survivor, the region could be open to a greater variety of opinions?”
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
Oh, and Cathy Denman … looks just like she sounds: All attitude, no substance.
Finally, to my dear few remaining friends at the Post Standard; let me say thank you. Indeed you had the “best coffee at the Fair”. Certainly the coffee was pricey, but for flavor, convenience, and a free newspaper, you can’t beat the Post Standard Booth at Chevy Court.
Unfortunately, the Fair reporting by the newspaper has been like everything else. Overall, the Fair has been moved away from the romantic image of the Fair and boiled down to its lowest common denominator. Likewise in the newspaper: Generally, the same stories are written on the same subjects by the same writers. I bet if someone did the research and compared Fair stories from year to year, there would be little variation on content and subject matter.
Even Jeff Kramer let go of the Fair and abdicated responsibility. He is the guy who moved me to action and I began writing my Fair stories. In three years, he has run out of gas and I am just getting warmed up. The use of cheesy interns, writing homilies to dead roosters, and selling Pizza Frittes that have been boiled in sweaty hat oil just does not express the ambiance and lifeblood of the Fair.
By the way, I noticed that someone set all the internet computers in the Time Warner exhibit on Rat Tales. I wonder who might have done that?
