Kids’ Contest Focuses on Hometowns
To build excitement in local communities, the Travel Channel and Time Warner Cable are shining the spotlight on cities across the U.S. to inform schoolchildren about what’s cool where they live.
After students have learned what makes their hometown great, they can enter the My Hometown contest and write a 30-second TV spot promoting their hometown. The grand-prize winner will receive a $5,000 college scholarship, a national TV appearance on the Travel Channel and a school visit by Travel Channel on-air personality Tracy Gallagher. The top five finalists will receive a digital camera, and one first place winner in every market will receive a portable DVD player with titles from the Travel Channel and the Discovery Channel.
This educational and promotional campaign runs throughout the month of October and emphasizes the unique travel destinations America’s cities and towns have to offer. The My Hometown campaign will provide public and private middle schools participating in Time Warner Cable markets with a curriculum for teachers to help students learn about their community and what makes it unique. The free, online curriculum focuses on each hometown with lessons on geographic location, history, local culture and demographics, as well as an interview with a Travel Channel producer who will help teach students how to communicate to a television audience.
Adults can also get in on the fun, as the promotional portion of My Hometown encourages consumers to write a creative slogan describing their hometown. Each slogan is entered into a local market contest where a local grand-prize winner receives a digital video camera, and his or her winning slogan will be featured on oversized stickers distributed at Time Warner Cable outlets and at participating local retailers.
