Plus: Warner Bros. Discovery splits streaming from cable; YouTube quietly eases content moderation rules.
Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the Goodyear Blimp!
The massive zeppelins continue to be a mainstay at sporting events around the world 100 years after the tire company started flying the airships. But it wasn’t until 1955 that the blimp began acting as more than an airborne billboard. That year, they provided live aerial coverage of the Rose Bowl Parade and game to NBC. Ever since, the blimps, which take in the action from about 1,000 feet up and no more than 70 miles per hour, have offered “blimp pops” — a bird’s eye view in exchange for a brand mention on the broadcast.
Since 1955, networks have far more tools for getting the big picture at the event, namely drones, but the blimp continues to be popular: it can fly higher and stay up longer than the flying robots.
The blimps aren’t cheap; each of the four blimps (three based out of the U.S. and one in Germany) costs about $20 million. That’s not counting its hyper-specialized flight crew. But the novel marketing method continues to resonate even in a digital, drone-driven world.
Why it matters: We aren’t encouraging you to go out and build a blimp. Though honestly, the world needs more blimps, so we’d support the move. But what makes the Goodyear blimps so enduring isn’t just their stunning, anachronistic appearance, majestically soaring over a sporting event like something out of a steampunk novel. It’s also their utility to sportscasters.
Goodyear found a way to become indispensable to the broadcasters whose audience they most wanted to reach. They had a kind of footage no other company could provide. And in return, they could demand regular, organic brand mentions on the biggest sports broadcasts.
Your organization’s version of this will almost certainly look different, but the principle is the same: what can you offer journalists that no one else can? In many cases, that might be proprietary data that sheds light on a trend. It might be inside access to an event or process. Or, like Goodyear, it could be a different perspective on a major happening.
Spend some time thinking about what makes you indispensable to journalists.
Editor’s Top Reads:
- It’s a day that ends in Y, so there must be upheaval in the cable and entertainment industry. Warner Bros. Discovery announced Monday that it would split into two publicly traded companies: one focused on its cable networks (including CNN, TNT Sports and the Discovery portfolio) and the other focused on streaming and film studios (including HBO and the newly renamed HBO Max). “By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today’s evolving media landscape,” said David Zaslav, current WBD CEO and soon-to-be leader of the streaming and studios company. This is happening at the same moment that Comcast spins off its own cable networks, including CNBC. We’re clearly at a tipping point between cable and streaming, with companies striving to find how to maintain traditional TV avenues while also taking advantage of streaming. This could have major impacts on news outlets, including CNN and CNBC, which are already eyeing pivots to streaming themselves. Keep an eye on how this all shakes out — and what it means for the future of linear TV.
- YouTube quietly changed its rules about content moderation to allow some content that contains slurs, vaccine misinformation or election lies to remain on the platform, as long as it is considered to be in the public interest, the New York Times reports. Previously, videos that comprised at least a quarter of objectionable material would be removed; now that threshold has been raised to half. “Recognizing that the definition of ‘public interest’ is always evolving, we update our guidance for these exceptions to reflect the new types of discussion we see on the platform today,” YouTube spokesperson Nicole Bell said in a statement to the Times. She added, “Our goal remains the same: to protect free expression on YouTube while mitigating egregious harm.” This move puts YouTube more in line with other social media platforms, including Meta and X. But unlike those platforms, YouTube did not publicly announce the change until journalists asked about it. That lack of transparency can make for a worse headline than if the news had been announced with a statement including all the supporting details. And for PR pros, this loosened moderation means monitoring for brand mentions and watching out for adjacencies is more important than ever.
- Accounting giant EY is using AI not to eliminate jobs, but to try to lure young professionals to an industry that’s notoriously boring. The number of students graduating with degrees in accounting decreased by 18% over the last decade, while 40% fewer people are sitting for the CPA exam. But accounting will always require a human touch, even with automation, EY says. So, it’s touting the ability of AI to handle drudgery, allowing humans to focus on more interesting tasks. In particular, they can act as a second set of “eyes” amid stressful, high-stakes audits. “The accuracy of the audit becomes a lot better. Our ability to catch fraud is a lot better in that particular area,” Raj Sharma, a global managing partner at EY, told Business Insider. “So, AI is a welcome relief for these people that are out there, that they have another tool to be able to help and do more.” Not only does this tactic act as a strong employer relations play in a fiercely competitive industry, the headline also sets EY apart. They’re doubling down on human auditors — but ensuring they have the backup and tools they need to do the best work possible. The storyline serves both prospective employees and prospective customers.
Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.
The post The Scoop: How Goodyear made its blimp indispensable to journalists appeared first on PR Daily.
