If the term “sweeps” sounds a little foreign or conjures up an image of brooms in action when cleaning, I’m here to shed some light on the subject.
For starters, Sweeps is a term that could mean more money for you and your organization.
As a former TV News Producer, when I hear the word “sweeps”, I still get a little anxious. Sweeps happen four months out of the year, and in the news industry, it means all hands on deck (don’t even think about taking a vacation during most sweeps months.) Sweeps is so important because it’s the time many news agencies are able to gauge viewership. How they gauge viewers is complicated and can be different from station to station, market to market so I won’t get into that. Good ratings mean the networks can charge more money for commercials and turn a greater profit. Overall, as you can imagine “sweeps” months are extremely important for local TV news. But chances are, your company isn’t in the news industry, so what does this mean to you and your organization/business?
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Stories aired during sweeps are usually more long-form, thought out and time-consuming pieces. News directors want their viewers to see these stories so the promotional push significantly increases.
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If your story is a component in a sweeps piece, that means your organization is also getting free advertising, much more than a story told outside of the ratings period.
There is much to understand when it comes to how the mind of the media works for things like sweeps. Luckily, at The Creative Company, we bring the expertise and do the work for you. We know when to pitch your stories to make the biggest impact, how to pitch them and which stories will most likely get picked up and which ones won’t.
Recently, Willy Street Co-op ran an article in its newsletter about how climate change is impacting farmers. The Creative Company saw it as a great story that could have a bigger platform in the market. We pitched it to several news agencies ahead of sweeps and it was picked up to run as a long-form/sweeps piece on Channel 3000. Check it out below!
Sweeps pieces will get promotions during the commercial breaks, throughout newscasts, on station’s websites, and on station’s social accounts. That is priceless advertising for your organization if it plays a role in the story being promoted.
Wouldn't you want to maximize your organization’s storytelling potential? Contact us now.