The Weather Brand is More Than a Slogan

Almost every local television station weather team has a brand name: First Alert, First Warn, First Weather, Next Weather, PinPoint Weather, StormTracker Weather, The Weather Authority, The Weather Leader, The Storm Team, or some other combination of active weather words.

The weather brand is more than a slogan and logo. It’s a promise, an agreement, a bond between the television station and the community it serves. Fulfilling the weather brand promise is a powerful form of Meteorology Marketing. It’s one of the Fundamentals of Effective Weather Communication.

What’s in a name?

The weather brand helps identify the television station and differentiate the weather coverage within the local market. It says to viewers, “This is how we cover the weather on this television station.”

Good brands convey credibility and foster loyalty. Defining the weather brand is the first step in developing an aggressive weather coverage strategy:

What does it mean to be The Weather Authority or The Severe Weather Leader?
What do consumers expect when a television station claims to provide the First Alert?
What does Next Weather mean to viewers watching at home?

These are the questions broadcast meteorologists must answer every day, not with words, but with action.

The best promos air during the newscast

Television station marketing and creative services departments typically produce commercials that promote the station, specific news programs, and news team members. Weather “promos” also spotlight the technology that keeps viewers safe.

There’s another promo that is more effective than a slick, highly-produced commercial. This promo airs multiple times a day, sometimes multiple times within a single newscast: the weathercast.

The way broadcast meteorologists cover the weather is itself a promo. How the weather is explained, the stories told, and the message delivered should always fulfill the weather brand promise.

Define the weather brand first

The most challenging thing for me as a talent coach is to work with a weather team that doesn’t have a definitive brand. Luckily, most do. During our initial coaching session, we discuss the weather brand, what it means to the team, and what viewers expect.

On average, viewers only watch local news a couple of times a week, and we don’t know which day they’ll be watching. That’s why we also work together to define actionable steps the weather team can take to fulfill the weather brand promise in every weather hit.

From there we work to reinforce the weather brand in the daily weather webcasts recorded for the station-branded website and apps, and in the social media posts published by members of the weather team.

Consistency is crucial when building a strong brand. Along with the marketing and creative services department, the weather team and the entire news team must work together to reinforce the weather brand every day.

Tim Heller is an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, Talent Coach, and Weather Content Consultant. He helps broadcast meteorologists uplevel their performance and productivity by communicating more effectively and efficiently on-air, online, and on social media.