Halogen | Kyle Chowning

Three ways to avoid living life in a vacuum

March 3, 2010 By Kyle Leave a Comment

Last week I had the privilege of sitting in four days worth of focus groups to have random people within a pre-defined set of variables, watch and dialogue about some of the Halogen content that we’ve created. Let’s just say, it was very interesting.

As you can guess, you can’t please everyone and our content proved to be no exception to the rule. Here are a couple of the memorable quotes from the week:

Each participant was asked to rate each show on a scale from 1-10. One of the participants wrote down a 1 and the moderator began to ask this person questions. After a minute of bashing the show, the moderator asked, “Why didn’t you rate it a zero?” He quickly replied, “I didn’t know it was an option.” – Ah snap.
In describing another show, one girl said, “My time is very valuable and I don’t have time to watch shows that are milquetoast.” – Yeah, I had to look that one up.

Overall, it seems that our demographic wants drama and a lot of it. Oh, and sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. I kid you not. I heard that a lot during the four days.

However the biggest takeaway didn’t come from what I heard, but what I realized. My perspective is not the perspective. Sure, I knew that, but these focus groups proved to be a very real reminder that we all see things differently and if we live in a vacuum, life will end up sucking. So how do we avoid this? Good question. Here are three ways to avoid living life in a vacuum:

Find your Simon Cowell – We all have those friends who will tell you like it is, no matter how painful it is. Hold them closely and rely on them for honest feedback. Most likely, they hold the exact insight you need.
Ask your “friends” – The beauty of social networking is that we have more friends today that we know what to do with. Ask them to review and respond. Everybody loves to be heard. Give them a chance.
Create your own focus group – Find people from a diverse age span, gender, ethnicity, location and worldview and invite them to be part of your virtual focus group. Incentivize them with something worth their time and start asking for feedback.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: focus groups, halogen

Help me with Halogen TV’s Tagline

March 2, 2010 By Kyle 34 Comments

I just posted this over at the Halogen blog, but I thought I would tap into my readers here too. I could really use your input.

Halogen: Socially Conscious. Empowering. Entertainment.

What does that mean anyway? If you’ve wondering the same, you’re not alone.

After sitting with this tag line for the past year or so, I’ve determined that it’s too difficult and confusing. It’s not that people can’t figure it out, they always do, but it doesn’t provide a clear indication as to what you can expect from Halogen.

So, I have a new tag line that I want to throw out to you, for your feedback:

Halogen: TV that makes a difference.

Love it? Hate it? Have your own suggestion? I want to hear from you.

In case you aren’t familiar, here’s a description of the network:

Halogen is a socially conscious television network and website that targets and activates an emerging generation who are willing and ready to give back. Using film, documentary, episodic and other formats, Halogen features a wide variety of lifestyle programming that empowers viewers to leave their mark and make the world a better place to live.

Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: halogen

The Chowning’s are moving…

January 7, 2010 By Kyle 13 Comments

…to Charlotte, NC.

Over the past 18 months, I have been working closely with a very talented group of people to dream, craft, strategize and launch Halogen TV. It’s been a lot of fun, a huge learning curve and a tremendous challenge. During this time, repeated conversations came up about my involvement and I was asked to consider taking the open slot as the Vice President of Marketing.

As of January 1, I have stepped into that position.

There’s a lot that needs to happen before we actually move. In the next week or two we’ll put our house on the market (want to buy it?), I am beginning to transition out of being a full-time consultant, and we’ll start looking for a new home in Charlotte.

Don’t worry, there are Chipotle’s in Charlotte too. (haha)

In all seriousness…did I mention that they have an IKEA?

Okay, really serious now. Leaving Nashville is going to suck on so many fronts, but we are going confident that there is a story that God has for us there that is waiting to be written, and we can’t wait to see what it’s all about.

So, thank you to our friends for strapping into the roller coaster of “do we move to Charlotte, or not?” for the past year. We can’t thank you enough for the counsel, advice, insight and wisdom you’ve shown. You’re welcome to come with us! Thank you to our parents for being so supportive. Jacob & Tara, wanna move with us? Come on, it’ll be fun. To the Halogen crew, this is going to be a fun ride—I can’t wait.

To the friends we’ve yet to meet, the church we’ve yet to find, the paths we’ve yet to cross and the worlds that have yet to collide…we’re coming and we can’t wait to meet you.

To my wife, who had no idea what she was signing up for when she married me, you give me the strength to live this story with enthusiasm, anticipation, boldness and the dare to believe that we really can change the world. I can’t wait to live out this new story with you. And to Savannah and Caleb, I love it that you’ll be with us no matter where we go…well, until you decide that mom and dad are fuddy duds and want to write your own story. Until then…