What propels us?
Propel: (n.) to drive forward or onward by or as if by means of a force that imparts motion.
Here at CT1Media, propulsion is a continuous and constant part of who we are. It’s woven into every call, every event, every update, every article…you get the idea. And with that, it’s important for us all to see what we’ve done, what we’re doing and what’s next. So welcome to a brand new area on ct1media.com that showcases “forward motion” and so much more.
POSTED: 6/4/2012
FOX CT Wins Four Emmy Awards
(HARTFORD) FOX CT was awarded four Emmy Awards at the Boston/New England Emmy Awards ceremony on Saturday, June 2nd.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our employees, from our newsroom to our creative services department, they consistently demonstrate the highest caliber of work every day,” said Richard Graziano, vice president and general manager of FOX CT/WCCT-TV and publisher, president & CEO of the Hartford Courant.
Joseph Schiltz, CT1 Media Vice President of Marketing and Strategy commented, “It’s an honor to push the limits of creativity and to receive an award like this when competing in the fast-paced and competitive environment of local television.”
“Our FOX CT team works every day to bring our viewers the best news coverage in the state. To be recognized with these Emmys reinforces the commitment we have to our viewers,” FOX CT news director Coleen Marren added.
The following are the four Emmy Awards presented to FOX CT:
Outstanding Editor News Within 24 hours – Mike Piskorski
Outstanding Feature New Report – Light Series: Sarah French, Dustin Schultz
Outstanding Reporter – Feature/Human Interest: Jim Altman
Outstanding Promotion News – Single Spot: William Murphy, Joseph Schiltz, Chad Sherman, Chris Moran, Christina Messino, Scott Vargas
POSTED: 4/27/2012
Introducing…The CMD and CT1Media Ventures
POSTED: 4/27/2012
Hartfordmag.com Is Now Mobile Ready With HTML5 Site
The authority on the area’s dining, arts and entertaining, fashion, decor, travel and shopping just got better for our mobile users. No more pinching and pulling to view HartfordMag.com. No more waiting for standard web pages to load while your data usage and costs increase and your time and patience dwindle. HartfordMag.com is now mobile-ready, providing quicker mobile web page load times, hyper-relevant content targeted for mobile surfers, and content indexed by mobile search algorithms – all aimed at providing users with the richest mobile experience possible.
POSTED: 4/26/2012
FOX CT/WCCT-TV Receives 37 Emmy Nominations
(Hartford, CT) FOX CT and WCCT-TV are the proud recipients of 37 Emmy nominations from the Boston/New England Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, three times more than all the other Connecticut television stations combined. FOX CT 37 nominations include 33 for news coverage and four for promotions or magazine features. Award recipients will be announced at a reception and dinner in Boston, Massachusetts on June 2.
Nominees included Hartford Courant Columnist Jim Shea, and editorial cartoonist Bob Englehart for their segments on the FOX CT news, reporters Jim Altman, Jennifer Bernstein, John Charlton, Sarah Cody, George Colli, Anthony DiLorenzo, Ayana Harry, and Laurie Perez. Videographers Garett Allison, Ryan Bernat, Bob Hoover, Garth Millen, Mike Piskorski, Shawn Sienkiewicz, Michael Townsend, and Scott Vargas were nominated as well. Dana Killebrew, producer of the News at 4 P.M was nominated. Former staff members Sarah French, Matt Matt Nodland, Angie Reyes, and Dustin Schultz were nominated for work done while at the station last year.
The news department, under the direction of News Director Coleen Marren, received a nomination for Team Coverage for reports on Hurricane Irene.
For promotional spots Bill Murphy, Christina Messino, Chris Moran, Chad Sherman and Joseph Schiltz were nominated. Also nominated were Tony Colapietro, Pete DiMatteo, Christopher Panton, and Jeff York.
“We have a great team here at FOX CT” said Richard Graziano, vice president and general manager of FOX CT/WCCT-TV and publisher, president & CEO of the Hartford Courant. “These nominations reinforce and recognize the hard work and dedication that our team puts in each and every day for our viewers all across the state.”
Award recipients will be announced at a reception and dinner in Boston June 2.
A full list of nominees is available on the New England Chapter’s website.
POSTED: 4/23/2012
CT.com Events and Venues
CT.com has officially launched a new listings pages to truly offer the “Best Of What To Do and Where To Go”. With a boatload of events from major concerts and local music to live performances and gallery openings, CT.com is the first place to turn for what’s happening.
Can’t decide? Check out our continuously updated featured events, like: Howlin’ at 8 Poetry Slam at Sully’s Pub, Fiddler on the Roof at The Bushnell, Anoushka Shankar at the Jorgensen or Jay Ungar and Molly Mason at The Kate.
Thinking about dinner and a club, but not sure where? Let the CT.com Venue pages help with our extensive database of restaurants, bars and clubs throughout the state. Not quite ready for dinner? Use our venue pages to find vineyards on the CT Wine Trail, or golf courses – even the mini ones – throughout the state. There’s also art galleries, museums, performance venues, well, you get the picture.
So check it out: events.ct.com will get you started. Have fun!
POSTED: 4/23/2012
Advocates “Before” & “After”
POSTED: 4/23/2012
Hartford Advocate “Best Of” Wrap-Up
Letter from Joseph Schiltz to staff, 4/23
Team, I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone and ask that you revel in the success of this year’s Hartford Advocate “Best Of” editions and party. As a signature franchise and Connecticut tradition, we have a lot to celebrate. Some highlights below:
Publication:
- Split into two packed editions for the first time in years with a total of 208 pages
- Over 200 interviews with winners
- Two days of photo shoots
- More readers voted than ever before
- Special thanks to John Adamian, Mike Hamad, Greg Hladky, Chris Moran and Peter Morlock for their hard work
Digital:
- 264,552 PVs: Hartford Advocate Best Of Survey
- 398 Best Of Apps downloaded
- Extensive build out of unprecedented Best Of database and tools at CT.com. Click here
- As always, remember your clients can receive the digital issues every week
- Special thanks to Dona Prindle, Chip McCabe, George Burgess, and Tom Zeleznock for their ingenuity and long hours
Revenue:
- Exceed last year’s revenue by +15%
- 250 ads sold in total
- Digital revenue over goal by +102%
- Great effort by the entire sales team and leadership by Camille Stinton and Kelly Tremaine
Party:
- Held at the awesome Avery Room at the Wadsworth Athenaeum
- Over 500 people in attendance, including Mayor Pedro Segarra
- Great red carpet experience. Slide show, click here
- Live broadcast from 5-8 pm by Radio 104 promoting the party and the Best Of issues
- Champagne toast congratulating all the winners by yours truly. Labeled “best toast ever!,” I think mainly because it was short and hard to hear
- Special thanks to Chip McCabe for orchestrating this killer party
Here’s to our continued success. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication.
Best,
JS
POSTED: 4/9/2012
Second Annual Rising Pint Brewfest
Get ready to raise a glass at the Second Annual Rising Pint Brewfest on May 12th at Rentschler Field in East Hartford! The event will feature over 250 craft beers for tasting; loads of restaurants selling featured food dishes, live local music performances and cooking/grilling contests.
The Brewfest is part of the weeklong American Craft Beer Week celebration and proceeds from the event go to both the Arthritis Foundation and the Fields of Honor Foundation, which offers scholarships for the children of American soldiers.
The website is live at www.risingpint.com
POSTED: 4/6/2012
Introducing hartfordmag.com
In March, hartfordmag.com officially launched to the public filled with articles, features and beautiful images that Hartford Magazine is known for. Product Manager Greg Angelillo has worked tirelessly to develop and produce the site and will be adding new functionality like ecommerce tools and mobile and tablet sites very soon. Here’s a ‘reveal’ of the print ad in Sunday’s Travel section:
POSTED: 3/23/2012
Welcome to the new WCCT-TV- It’s On!
A brand built to handle a true local attitude, a diverse programming mix and digital destiny.
As the slogan says… literally “It’s On.” Take a few minutes to discover what the new WCCT is all about. Below you will find a helpful internal video that will help you understand the look, feel, attitude, energy and position of the station. Attached is a poster that demonstrates the filter we use to define WCCT along with who or what influences us. And yes that is Martha Quinn at the top of the poster. What is old is new again. Down to earth VJs have made a comeback on WCCT as they help showcase relevant culture and events throughout the state. At its core you will also find a robust digital offering at CT.com, along with a groundswell of grassroots-oriented events and event marketing.
Slogan:
“It’s On”
Literally it is in fact “on.” We don’t take ourselves too seriously by stating the obvious here but the slogan is built to retrofit many situations. A live Yankees game… Best Of vignettes… Maury Povich… Family Guy… CW Prime…definitely, a diverse programming mix.
Target Audience:
Persons 18-49
The Brand Defined:
WCCT-TV is all about being local, authentic and relevant.
Reaching young viewers with active lifestyles, WCCT-TV, CT.com and the Advocate entertainment weeklies will work together to bring our audience the best of where to go and what to do in Connecticut.
WCCT-TV will feature topical, hosted interstitials each night during early fringe, access, prime and late-fringe programming.
These segments will talk about what you’re watching right now; what’s on next and what’s going on in Connecticut.
Our hosts will deliver these segments from great local establishments and locations that make up the fabric of what it means to live here.
From a vintage duck-pin bowling alley, unique restaurant or the hottest nightclub, we’re on the scene connecting with viewers from local place they know… or should get to know. This is something that our cable network competition – which carries much of the same programming – simply cannot do. As a matter of fact, the graphic treatment is very organic and uses the local backdrop of Connecticut as a base… buildings, street signs, places, people, etc.
We also intend to tie our location shoots to some of the establishments that have won our “Best of Connecticut” reader polls from the Advocate newspapers. This a natural synergy and great opportunity to generate additional revenue from this successful franchise.
It’s on-air. It’s on-line. It’s on the scene. WCCT-TV… It’s on.
Internal Positioning Video (Not For Air – INTERNAL USE ONLY):
Sample Image Spot:
WCCT Image Prolifik – HD39042 from FOXCT on Vimeo.
http://vimeo.com/user10368726/review/38249549/e2e2aadec5
New Interstitial Samples:
WCCT Monday 7:25p http://vimeo.com/user10368726/review/38382674/1da8ec2648
WCCT Tuesday 9:00p http://vimeo.com/user10368726/review/38382776/50cb58ca48
CT.com:
503% Growth Rate!
Jan1 – March 7 2011- 177,666 page views
Jan1 – March 7 2012- 1,071,215 page views
CT.com is also an HTML 5 site ready for audiences’ mobile preference and growth.
Check it out on your smart phone.
The New Events and Entertainment Listings Engine: http://events.ct.com/
New apps to check out:
CT.com news app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ct.com-news/id497715576?mt=8
Hartford Advocate reader: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hartford-advocate/id493286418?mt=8
New Haven Advocate reader: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/new-haven-advocate/id493291183?mt=8
Fairfield Weekly reader: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fairfield-county-weekly/id493289123?mt=8
Events:
Used as a grass-roots marketing vehicle, events help us reach our audience one-on-one and in local contextual settings.
Below is a our latest list of the events that we produce or sponsor:
- Liquid Lounge (& Hartford Advocate after-parties) – June/Sept/Dec
- Meriden Daffodil Fest – April 28/29
- Black-Eyed & Blues Fest – June
- Live & Local (monthly)
- Grand Band Slam (August)
- Acoustic Fridays @ Firebox (monthly, starting in April)
- Wadsworth Music Festival (June)
- Craft Beer Fest at Rentschler (May)
- SantaCon Pub Crawl (December)
- Manchester Road Race (November)
- Oktoberfest (our own block party?)
- ConnectiCon Comic Book Convention (July)
- Gathering of the Vibes (July)
- Hartford Film Festival (not sure of the dates)
- CT Pride Fest (June or July)
- Glastonbury Apple Harvest Fest (September)
- Fright Fest at Lake Compounce (October)
- CT Roller Girls (monthly, March thru November)
- Halloween Costume Contests (various locations)
- Allyn Street Block Parties (May thru October)
Marketing
WCCT-TV will utilize three primary tools for marketing:
- Events
Grass roots localism meets guerilla marketing… The station will go to the places our viewers are and engage in their lives through music events, festivals, venue promotions, and more, giving the public their fifteen seconds of fame on-air
- New Media
WCCT-TV will touch its audience at non-traditional points through social media, social media advertising (Facebook) and mobile marketing (Pandora/Spotify)
- Tri-fecta
All three products produce a larger aggregated audience and complimentary cross-promotion platforms. This helps leverage marketing power, make the brands more sustainable and easier to bundle for selling strategies. See the graphic below.
