Two new satellite TV tours for 2004

NORFOLK, Va. – Following two successful boating satellite television tours this year, Rhodes Communications has plans to produce two more of the national TV news telecasts in 2004, the company reported in a statement yesterday.

The first telecast will originate from the Miami International Boat Show in February, and the second has been scheduled for May, just prior to the Memorial Day holiday, to kick off the boating season, stated the company. The Miami TV broadcast will be hosted by Dick DeBartolo, who will present the latest new boats and gear from the boat show, according to Jim Rhodes, president of Rhodes Communications.

“This year’s boating satellite media tours, which aired from Miami in February and Annapolis in July, were tremendous successes,” said Executive Producer Mandy McCall. “Together, they reached a total audience of over 11 million viewers in hundreds of major markets nationwide.”

McCall noted that the company also produced a co-op satellite media tour for the outdoor recreation and camping market this summer. The outdoor tour was broadcast August 21 from Cherokee, N.C., in the Smoky Mountains. It was hosted by Aileen Avery, who presented products from companies including Eastman Kodak, 3M and S. C. Johnson.

“This was the outdoor industry’s first satellite media tour, and it did very well, appearing on some 220 stations with a total reach of over 4.4 million viewers,” said McCall.

“A co-op satellite media tour is a unique promotional medium, permitting several companies to share the costs of presenting their products on TV news programs across the country,” Rhodes explained. “It’s as though you were touring the country and holding one-on-one interviews to demonstrate your products to TV reporters, except it’s all done from one location by live satellite feeds.”

Rhodes added that after the completion of the tour, participants will receive a certified usage report based on Nielsen figures.

The number of participants will be limited to no more than six for each tour, according to McCall.

“We are already getting a lot of interest from major boating industry companies, and we expect to fill all of the slots for the Miami tour very quickly,” she said.

The boating satellite media tours are produced jointly by Rhodes Communications, a PR firm specializing in the marine industry for over 20 years, and Gourvitz Communications, a New York broadcast PR firm.

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