Mission-Driven Marketing

Weather forecasting can be an incredibly challenging job. A correct forecast means more than just helping commuters headed into work, it can also effect life or death decisions, especially for Emergency Services and mountain professionals.

The Skytracker Meteorologists take their responsibilities seriously and we developed this campaign to promote the exceptional work they do on a daily basis while staying true to their science-first mission of public safety and information. While we did produce traditional :15s promotional spots for broadcast, like what you see above, our main priority was raising the teams profile by educating viewers during the most dangerous seasons of the year.

Below are two examples of that in action. We created 20x longer-form spots (10x for each season) focused on safety and education. The variety and length allowed us to run these spots more often and on more platforms giving the Meteorologists greater credibility as well as expanding their visibility within the market.

Quiet Messaging

In addition to our education focused promotion we also made the decision to produce much smaller, quieter vignettes that offered a “moment of zen” while still reinforcing the campaigns message of unrivaled, 24/7 weather coverage which you’ll find online and on the radio as well as on your tv.

Forecasting for Fun

While public safety is the first priority, in Vermont recreation is undoubtedly a huge reason the audience turns to the Sktracker Team’s coverage and consequently the team focuses more analysis on the tricky weather patterns in and around the Green Mountains & Adirondacks.

The spots you can see below we created to underscore how the team serves those viewers and ensure they have the info they need when venturing out on the lake or into the mountains.

It didn't hurt that the Meteorogists on the team are all avid hikers, runners, & skiers either.

Making it Personal

This 30sec. promo (below) was easily our most successful of the campaign. The team received more impressions on this than on any other single piece of promotion the station has ever released.

It can be easy to forget when watching at home or reading weather analysis that the meteorologists aren’t solely interested in accuracy for the sake of science, they are just as invested in the accuracy of their forecasts because it effects their weekend fishing plans as much as it effects yours.

Every other video featured here was conceived, written, shot, edited, and animated by me (Christopher Williams). Credit for this piece however really rests with the Meteorologists Sean Parker and Amanda Thibault who had to live these lives that are so easily marketable (as you can see below it was tough work) and Ben Carstens for the original concept.

An Evolving Team

As with any team, when new players are introduced the team itself needs to grow and adapt. While the Skytracker Weather Team has been fortunate to have several bedrock meteorologists we’ve also used the opportunity, when new talent arrives, to insert new design elements and update messaging to fit the evolving team.

Social Media Direct

Finally…Viewer submissions have always been a key part of coloring in-between the sterile lines of Highs/Lows, Pressure Fronts and wind events. This is especially true during storm days where “on the ground” coverage is the most important. We created this as a special treat for one of our best submitters.