Getting NYC folks to mug for cameras

Who hasn’t fantasized, even briefly, about filming a television appearance? A new out-of-home tour hopes to attract anyone who’s indulged in that fantasy with a mobile TV studio where visitors can record 30- to 60-second videos.

It’s part of a promotion for the “Today” show’s annual Where in the World is Matt Lauer feature, in which the NBC morning show co-host files reports from a different location around the world every day from April 30 to May 4.

To promote the segments and the new web site FollowMatt.com, NBC launched a traveling tour of New York City that invites visitors to answer this question in the mobile studio: Why do you deserve a vacation? NBC then posts the videos at FollowMatt.com. The network will judge the best video and send the winner to London.

The mobile studio, a “Today”-branded mini-bus with video equipment inside, made the first of eight stops on Wednesday at Columbus Circle. On Thursday it stopped at Times Square, on Friday at Penn Station, and on Saturday at Union Square.

“The [New York] radio stations are talking about [the mobile studio],” says Frank Radice, senior vice president of the NBC Agency. “We’ve got so much more out of it than if I would have just bought a billboard or radio spot.”

Tuesday through Thursday this week the studio will be outside “Today’s” main studio near Rockefeller Center, and on Saturday, April 28, it will be at South Street Seaport.

“Most people who come on it are regular ‘Today’ show viewers, because at the end of the day I want people to watch,” Radice says. “But I’m also happy to attract a new audience.”

[Via Media Life Magazine]