After a couple of months of construction, hype, and one incredibly flat social media teaser campaign, Griffin Communications-owned News 9 has officially unveiled its new Storme Jones-less set for the Oklahoma news-watching world.
Here’s the big reveal:
I know nothing about TV news sets, but I guess that’s okay.
That being said, it really doesn’t look any better or worse than what they unveiled two years ago when they launched their then-new robotically controlled and operated studios in downtown OKC:
If anything, I actually liked the old set better. It kind of had a futuristic and sterile strip club feel, while the new one looks like it was built inside a Lumber Liquidators. Seriously, I think I can smell the formaldehyde from here!
Plus, at least the old studio gave us great clips of Dean Blevins:
As I mentioned, this is the second time in less than two years that News 9 has unveiled a new set.
The first one was launched in November of 2022 when they opened their new downtown studios.
If 22 months seems like a short lifespan for a TV channel to install a new set that could cost easily cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1-million, it is.
According to my Moles, Griffin Communications president David Griffin absolutely hated the frozen-Dean version of the set from 2022. In fact, he hated it so much that it was a big factor in him booting Todd Spessard—the station’s former news director who designed it.
Once again, I know nothing about TV news sets, but that feels like an overreaction.
I would say the visual appeal of a news set ranks very low on the list of reasons why people watch the news, trailing far more important factors like the quality of news coverage, the preferred biases of the viewers, how hot the anchors are, and, most importantly, whether or not they have an Ogle.
Basically, I would say people care about TV news studio sets in the same way people care about fast-food dining rooms. It’s something you notice, but it doesn’t play a big role in where you choose to eat. For example, I seriously doubt anyone has ever said:
“Hey, do you want to go eat at that old Wendy’s? I really love the sunroom.”
Although I don’t have strong feelings for or against the set, I will say I’d give News 9 a solid “D” on its social media teaser marketing campaign!
It apparently consisted of sharing ultra-zoomed-in photographs of the new set, paired with cryptic captions:
Listen, I don’t want to be too tough on the News 9 Ad Wizard who came up with that campaign.
As a former Marketing Guy for some incredibly unsexy, difficult-to-promote industries, I know how challenging it is to promote something boring that your boss thinks is important, but most regular people don’t care about.
That being said, was this teaser campaign the best they could do?
The point of a teaser is to build intrigue and excitement about something mysterious and new, not make people wonder if some 92-year-old great-grandmother was trying to figure out how to take pics with her new phone and share them on Facebook:
If you ask me, the News 9 marketing geniuses got a little too cute with the teaser. Instead of sharing ultra-zoomed-in pictures of walls with vaguebooking updates about details, they should have just posted pics of Lacie and Lacey boobing around on the new set, teasing the new fake hardwood floors, furniture, etc.
As we’ve documented, those curves would have gotten way more engagement than these:
But, sadly, there’s no time machine, and News 9 has to live with the boring teaser campaign they came up with. When they unveil another new set in a couple of years, hopefully they will have learned their lesson.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
