Canwest Broadcasting is unveiling what it calls its biggest ad campaign to date for the Global National news broadcast to spread the word about new anchor Dawna Friesen’s debut Sept. 20.
The campaign officially kicked off with TV spots on Global Aug. 30 but is branching out to additional media this week, including radio, outdoor, transit and print.
Friesen will also be hitting the road on a multi-city publicity tour to Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and others.
“I think it’s safe to say that Dawna is the perfect choice. She’s an experienced, well-traveled, credible journalist with a resumé that’s absolutely incredible,” said Walter Levitt, chief marketing officer, Canwest Broadcasting. “This campaign is really just a good chance for our viewers to get to know her. We have 1 million people who watch Global National every weeknight and the news cast has really grown up over the last number of years. It’s a huge responsibility for a new anchor and I think viewers expect the anchor to do more than just read the news. They expect the anchor to help them understand the news and provide perspective. Dawna’s title is anchor but also executive editor, meaning she will play a very active role in choosing what stories are featured on Global National and how those stories are told.”
In July, the former NBC News foreign correspondent and Winnipeg-native was named successor to Kevin Newman, who announced his departure last spring.
The TV spots feature Friesen talking about why she got into journalism, how she got to where she is and her return to Canada. One spot ends with her saying, “I always knew I wanted to come back to where I belong–Canada. To the familiar places, the stories about Canadians, the people I love. I’m coming home.”
Levitt said that viewers can also expect some changes to the look of Global National, but not too much. “From a look and feel perspective we’re certainly going to refresh some things,” he said. “When Dawna starts you’ll see her in a slightly different environment with updated graphics in the show. But for our loyal viewers, it will still be the newscast they’ve come to rely on.”
