By Katina Arnold, Director, Affiliate and Corporate Communications/ESPN
Digital, high definition, dolby sound, and plasma display are all words that describe high-definition television. Look at your Sunday newspaper's circulars and there are so
many different high-tech television sets to choose from, it's no wonder consumers are confused.
When ESPN launched ESPN HD, the country's first 24-hour sports service in high definition, the company faced a huge challenge. How does the company communicate the benefits
of watching sports programming in high definition to drive demand for the service, without getting bogged down in all the confusing details of this new technology?
Despite the complexity of ESPN's undertaking, ESPN's PR approach to explaining the benefits of high-definition programming and how to obtain the service embodied the KISS
principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid. The strategy was to focus on the benefits of the service, and not the technology:
- Get the media and consumers in front of the high definition television to see the clear picture, crisp sound and experience the sporting event as if they were sitting in
the stands. ESPN did this through view-ing parties at the ESPN Zone, showing the press during a road show and setting up ESPN HD-branded televisions in the press box during
ESPN sporting events. - Educate consumers by providing information on various ESPN platforms including ESPN's television networks, ESPN.com and ESPN Radio
- Use ESPN talent to talk about the wider viewing area and better picture during game telecasts.
The road to HDTV hasn't been a smooth one. However, with more programming like ESPN HD, HDTV is making tremendous progress because now consumers have a reason to buy a high
definition TV set. The fact is, people love their HDTV once they have something compelling to watch, and through ESPN's communications PR strategy, now they know.