In Austin, KXAN’s New Promos Have Texas-Sized Look and Feel

By Paul Greeley
817-578-6324, Paul@NewsBlues.com

KXAN, Nexstar’s NBC affiliate in Austin, has released some new promos for its investigative unit and new streaming option that are worth writing about.

Erik Candiani is the station’s marketing and creative services director and has provided some background on the spots production and rationale.

Candiani is a movie buff and his work often has a cinematic quality to it from the shooting to the lighting to the editing.

One of the features I like is his use of words on the screen. When studying to be a teacher, we were taught that students will remember 1/3 of what you tell them. But that improves dramatically when you provide a visual to go along with what you’re telling them at the same time. So not only does using font on the screen add a nice production value, but it increases the effectiveness of the message.

This first spot is for the KXAN Investigates, the largest investigative unit in Central Texas, led by Josh Hinkle. KXAN Investigates has earned awards from the Investigative Reporters & Editors, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University, six National Edward R. Murrow Awards, six National Headliner Awards and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi.

I really like the music used in this spot and the way font is used. But what really makes this spot work for me is how it uses evidence, proof of results, like in a court of law, to convince me that the team is exceptional.

Here’s what Candiani says:

We originally took that Investigative team photo for a print only project. I liked how it came out so much that I wanted my team to find a way to integrate it into a spot. Since we were already producing a new Investigative spot covering our recent successes at the Capitol, we felt it made sense to tie the two ideas together and stick with the sepia-style look. The clarity of the spot and message really speaks to the incredible accomplishments our investigative team has had and does it in a way that sells viewer / community benefit over station assets or a laundry list of overused news stereotypes.

You may have noticed the end graphic group shot of the KXAN Investigates team Candiani mentions.

Here’s what Candiani says:

The station’s latest KXAN Investigates poster was a fun concept we tried at the Capitol last week that ended up working as well as we’d hoped. We went from taking the photos at 7pm in the Texas Capitol Thursday to having a final published image on Friday. We shot these in a very non-traditional way that was really more experimental than typical news photography. Thankfully, we’ve earned the team’s trust, and they allowed Seth to walk around uncomfortably sticking a light directly in their faces. The results were a striking and memorable image of our incredible investigative team. This was a brief four-person project: Seth Skuza did magic on lights and edit, Riley Bozarth on camera and Chris Ayers on graphics.

https://vimeo.com/1071964180

This next promo is also for KXAN Investigates. It does double-duty as an image promo and has a call to action for its tip line.

Here’s what Candiani says:

Our Investigative Team is incredible, so producing promotional work for them is easier than any other station I’ve worked for. Josh Hinkle, KXAN’s lead Investigative Journalist, is more organized and driven than I’ve ever seen, and local and national accolades are seemingly awarded weekly for the in-depth investigative work he and his talented team produce. Nearly 50 bills have been filed by lawmakers after our reporting over the years. Given that Investigative is such a pivotal part of the KXAN brand, it’s important to remind viewers of our successes outside of regular TSR spots and produce an occasional Proof of Brand spot. These are generally quick turns. I’m a firm believer in getting our talent out in the community for image spots and have a department “rule” about not shooting talent on green or in the studio unless the spot calls for it. This spot succeeds because of the strength of the shooting, strong stories, and effective soundbites. This time, we decided to only select stories that had originated as tips from our long-running and very successful viewer tip line, Report!t. Generally, that brand is promoted separately — but in this case, I felt that saying “All of these stories began with you” would be a great way to turn this into a dual-purpose spot. Seth Skuza, Riley Bozarth and Wendy Gonzalez worked together to pull this POB off, and we are currently working on our next one.

The next two spots are for a new initiative for both Nexstar and KXAN.

KXAN+ is the station’s brand-spanking new CTV app now available on Roku, Fire and AppleTV.

I really like the visuals in this spot.

Here’s what Candiani says:

Again, as with most work we try to produce, visuals and music are vital.

It’s important to get – and hold – viewer attention. High energy, unique visuals, and a constantly moving camera… very similar techniques to what you find on socials. A bit of trivia: The opening shot of the couple on the couch is the only piece of stock footage we’ve used here in a year. We were against a hard deadline and just didn’t have time to shoot it ourselves! Chris Ayers made this one really flow with his graphics & compositing work… and raised it from being an average “service” spot to something special.