Interview with the CW Philly 57, CW Crew
Philadelphia, PA"If you want to succeed in this field, you must have the drive for it," said Justin Dugan
one of three members of the CW Crew. The Crew, was designed to promote the CW Philly 57 (formerly known as UPN 57) and is made up of three Philadelphia natives who work as on-air hosts/ambassadors of the station.
Justin Dugan, a Multimedia Journalism graduate of Florida Atlantic University, along with Ashley Harder, the current Miss New Jersey USA and Sean Scott, wide receiver and linebacker for the Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team.
"As a part of the Crew, we promote the network. For example, we will host movie marathons, give aways and contests. We will also cover events like Phillies games and charity events" said Harder. "During the community events, we invite people over to our table and talk to them about what they would like to see promoted. We get their feedback on all things related to the network".
Dugan, Harder and Scott all auditioned to become members of The CW Crew. After several call backs, they landed the job. But, according to The Crew, the application process was the hardest part of their job.
"During the process, we developed a chemistry among ourselves which developed into the team. I met Justin in the very beginning and we clicked right away," said Scott.
"When competing for anything, a job or a spot on a team, you need to focus on your own strengths and talents," said Harder. "When you have that, you just shine".
After landing the job, The Crew jumped right into work. "We immediately started going to events and talking with sponsors. Basically they can use the services of The Crew to sell a product or advertise for them,"said Harder. The Crew's current assignments range from acting as the network's representatives at local community events to marketing and advertising spots.
Sometimes The Crew has the flexibilty to decide on how to promote a particular product or event. "What we do isn't scripted, we're just ourselves and let our personalities come through, especially in Meet n'Greet situations with the community and sponsors," said Scott.
The Crew acts as representatives for the 18-34 year old demographic, the target audience of the CW network."When the new network was in development and ideas were being discussed for its launch everyone was invited into the room. We got involved in how to advertise for the new station," said Dugan.
Working with their target demographic allows the CW Philly 57 to gain insight into its planning and development. As a part of working with that demographic, CBS3 and The CW Philly 57 offers an interesting internship opportunities to college students allowing them to gain valuable field experience. The program is open to Communication majors, as well as those majoring in Marketing, Public Relations, History, English, Political Science, and more.
The Crew sometimes works with semester interns in association to community projects. "We work with interns at various events, such as the concert series at Penn's Landing," said Dugan. "They are very eager to learn and to see both sides of the camera".
Interns are able to work in many different departments relating to Sales, Research, News, Communications, and Business. "There aren't any gophers working here," said Dugan. Interns can expect to learn about the 'real' inner workings of a television station, but this also requires the student to be very outgoing. "The student should be very personable, as they work with the community all the time," said Harder.
"Every semester the station works with new students," said Dugan. Students can expect new opportunities to each semester. "The new CW network has really broadened the audience and really opened itself up to a lot of opportunities," said Dugan.
To learn more about the CW Crew go to www.cwphilly.com. To learn about the CBS3 / CW Internships go to http://cwphilly.com/upn57jobs/
