ABC's owned TV stations have launched a campaign to boost the local businesses in their markets hit hard by COVID-19.
The #BeLocalish campaign is a call to action to help showcase those businesses and suggest ways the community can support them.
Related: Gray Stations Launch Free Directory for Local Businesses
“We are facing unprecedented times and now more than ever, our role as a news organization is expanding beyond delivering critical information to also serve as a resource to the communities in which we live and work,” said Jennifer Mitchell, senior VP of content development for the stations.
There is some self-preservation in the initiative since local businesses are also a key part of the ad base broadcasters need, themselves, to revive as well if they are to thrive in the post-COVID-19 lockdown world.
The multiplatform campaign begins with a PSA as well as launching web pages across ABC's eight owned stations.
The web pages offer tips on how to continue to patronize local businesses in a shelter-in-place, social distanced reality. Those include buying gift cards, support GoFundMe and Kickstarter campaigns for small businesses, and more.
