The challenge: Promote a great public school system to the state’s largest metropolitan TV market.

The solution: Enlist Broadcast Media to help create an effective TV campaign.

When the Clinton Public School District needed help in communicating their message,  they called on the team at Broadcast Media Group to help craft a TV campaign.

“We were blown away by the ‘Believe’ video that BMG created for the Starkville School District,” said Sandi Beason, Public Information Officer for the Clinton Public School District. “We wanted to do television ads for our district, so I called Robbie Coblentz to find out more information. After shopping around, we decided that BMG would be our best option.

“Robbie quoted us a fair price, and arranged the shoot to be held in one day, to cut out travel expense and to be more convenient for everyone involved.”

With a creative vision already developed, BMG spent a day in the Clinton schools, talking on camera to parents and students about the district.  While one crew concentrated on the interviews, another traveled the district, gathering footage of students and teachers in classrooms.

“Sandi had a vision for her project,” said Robbie Coblentz, president of Broadcast Media Group. “With her help and assistance from the CPSD administration, we were able to capture some of their great stories over the course of that day. We were able to meet budget in the allotted time.”

The result is a three-commercial campaign that tells the story of the district and its importance to Clinton.  Parents and students share their own Clinton Public School District experiences and how the schools have changed their lives.

The commercials will be used to promote awareness of the district during it’s upcoming bond issue campaign.  They will also be used later on TV and the web to market the district to area newcomers.

“The videos were shot in high definition, and featured interviews with parents and students as well as classroom footage at different grade levels,” said Beason. “The spots turned out great.”

STARKVILLE, MS (June 2, 2010)—Broadcast Media Group, Inc. of Starkville has won a Telly Award for the project “Believe” produced in 2009.

The video was selected from a large group of submitted work from across the United States and around the world. A panel of more than 40 industry professionals judged the national competition.

“Believe,” a four and a half minute inspirational video produced for the Starkville School District, won a Silver Telly, the highest honor given by the Telly Awards. The project features a simple but powerful message. Teachers and students appeal to each member of the community to believe in, lean on, respect and encourage one another.
“It is a compelling video that stirs emotion, but more than that, it spotlights who we are in the Starkville School District and what we believe,” said Nicole Thomas, public information officer for the district.

“We’re very proud of this project,” said Robbie Coblentz, Broadcast Media Group president. “It was fulfilling to be involved with the development of this message.”

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, film and video productions, and web commercials, videos and films. Winners represent the best work of advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments around the world.

Broadcast Media Group is an award-winning media production company serving clients across the state of Mississippi and the Southeast. Broadcast Media provides video production, Web and duplication services.

Both projects can be seen at www.getBMGNow.com. A complete list of Telly Winners for the 31st annual competition is available at www.tellyawards.com.

For more information on Broadcast Media, contact Robbie Coblentz at (662) 324-2489 or robbie@broadcastmediagroup.com.
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STARKVILLE, MS (June 2, 2010)—Broadcast Media Group, Inc. of Starkville has won a Telly Award for the commercial “Pick Peppers” produced in 2009.

The commercial was selected from a large group of submitted work from across the United States and around the world.  A panel of more than 40 industry professionals judged the national competition.

“Pick Peppers,” was produced for the West Point, MS-based advertising agency Quest Group and their client, Sweet Peppers Franchise Systems, LLC.  The 30-second energetic TV 
commercial is currently airing in markets around the southeastern United States.

“The ‘Pick Peppers’ commercial was the most fun video shoot we have experienced. Partnering with Broadcast Media and Quest Group produced a branding commercial that is one of the major factors in increasing our sales,” said Arma delaCruz Salazar, director of marketing for Sweet Peppers.

“The commercial highlights the energetic atmosphere, great food and superior service offered by Sweet Peppers Deli.  Their customers had fun attempting the ‘Petey Pepper’ tongue twister — a play on the traditional ‘Peter Piper’ — and the ad shows that,” said Cindy Hodo, partner with Quest Group.

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, film and video productions, and web commercials, videos and films. Winners represent the best work of advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments around the world.

Broadcast Media Group is an award-winning media production company serving clients across the state of Mississippi and the Southeast. Broadcast Media provides video production, Web and duplication services.

A complete list of Telly Winners for the 31st annual competition is available at www.tellyawards.com.

For more information on Broadcast Media, contact Robbie Coblentz at (662) 324-2489 or robbie@broadcastmediagroup.com.

Client: Starkville School District

Creative: Broadcast Media Group

The Starkville School District took home two first place awards during the Mississippi School Public Relations Association’s 2009 Awards of Excellence program in Jackson on Friday. SSD was awarded first place in the audio/visual category for its video, “Believe,” and in the marketing material category for a newspaper ad campaign promoting Starkville’s public schools.

“It is rewarding to be recognized for your work, especially work that you really believe in,” said SSD Public Information Officer Nicole Thomas.

“The awards reflect the talent of those who helped to create the ad campaign and the video as much as the quality and effectiveness of the projects themselves. The Starkville School District shares these awards with Parents for Public Schools and Broadcast Media Group, Inc.,” Thomas added.

“The MSPRA awards program recognizes outstanding school public relations efforts. The winning entries represent the diversity of education in Mississippi and epitomize the creativity and unique approaches to problem solving,” MSPRA President and Public Relations Director for McComb School District, Monique Gilmore said. “By honoring the best practices in school communications, MSPRA seeks to encourage the highest standard of school public relations.”

The eight-week newspaper ad campaign, sponsored by Parents for Public Schools, featured SSD students and alumni and showcased the numerous areas where SSD excels.

“This campaign would not have been possible without the financial support of PPS,” said Thomas. “PPS has always recognized the importance of marketing in public education, and they have always supported the efforts of the Starkville School District.”

“There are so many elements of quality in the Starkville public schools that are not reflected in accountability ratings,” said Brother Rogers, PPS president. “PPS is proud to showcase this quality and pleased to see it recognized statewide.”

Visit http://www.ppsstarkville.org/ to see some of the award-winning ads.

“Believe,” a video that has garnered national attention and received more than 10,000 hits on YouTube, uses teachers and students to appeal to each member of the Starkville School District and the Starkville community to believe in, lean on, respect and encourage one another.

The video was a collaborative effort between the Starkville School District and Broadcast Media Group, a Starkville-based production company and a friend of the Starkville School District.

“The best way to tell a story is through the eyes and voices of those most impacted,” said Robbie Coblentz, Broadcast Media Group, Inc. president. ‘Believe’ is an example of that type of story telling. “Believe” is the Starkville School District’s story.”

“This video represents the best that we have to offer. Our greatest resources are our students and our teachers and our belief in each other,” said Supt. Judy Couey.

“The shared vision for the project is evident in the final product,” said Thomas. “It is a compelling video that stirs emotion, but more than that, it spotlights who we are in the Starkville School District and what we believe.”

“We’re very proud of this project,” added Coblentz. “It was fulfilling to be involved with the development of this message.”

View the video above.

Nicole Thomas
Public Information Officer
Starkville School District
401 Greensboro Street
Starkville, MS 39759
nthomas@starkville.k12.ms.us
Phone: 662-615-0021
Fax: 662-324-4068

Commercial Dispatch

November 25, 2009

by Tim Pratt

Jim Lytle can’t help but get a little teary-eyed when he talks about his new business, Mediagraphix Photography, on North Jackson Street.
Lytle for years served as chief photographer at Mississippi State University’s Office of Agricultural Communications. He also has shot for The Associated Press for more than 20 years.

But Lytle’s dream has always been to open his own photo gallery and studio. These days, he’s living that dream.

Mediagraphix Photography is one of a handful of businesses which opened recently in “The Studios on North Jackson,” located in the 1000 block of North Jackson Street.

“In the back of my mind I’ve always wanted to do this,” Lytle said with a smile from his new studio space. “I never believed, never dreamed, that this could ever become possible. You know, this truly is a lifelong dream.”

Robbie Coblentz, president of Broadcast Media Group, purchased the old Black Eyed Pea restaurant and divided the 9,200-square-foot building into three “creative offices.”

Lytle and Mediagraphix Photography occupy the southernmost end; the middle area contains Broadcast Media Group’s production offices, including three state-of-the-art high definition video-editing bays, an 850-square-foot studio and mass DVD duplication equipment, plus conference areas and office space. Coblentz moved his office to The Studios on North Jackson from his old building down the street.

The northern space contains six individual offices Coblentz is renting to individual businesses. Three tenants rent the space so far, including a start-up company which offers high-quality work clothes.

Jobman Workwear is a company which is based out of Sweden, but Charlie and Kathleen Griffin recently opened a U.S. office in The Studios on North Jackson. The clothing, which includes pants, jackets, long-johns and other items, is designed for the working man, Kathleen Griffin said.

“We’re real excited about getting this up and running in the U.S.,” she said. “This is a brand new thing.”

Griffin also commended Coblentz for the work he’s done to rehabilitate the building. The structure was built in the early 1950s and first served as a car dealership. It has since been a truck repair shop, a nightclub, a restaurant and a community counseling center.

Coblentz estimated he put a “a couple hundred thousand” dollars worth of work into the building. Griffin and the other tenants appreciate the hours Coblentz and his wife, Bonnie, spent renovating the building this summer.

“I think it’s a real asset, not only for Starkville, but for this area of North Jackson,” Griffin said.

The north side of town is often seen as underdeveloped and neglected, Coblentz said. He lives in Plantation Homes, down the street from The Studios on North Jackson. He wanted to change what he called an “eyesore” into state-of-the-art workspace.

“Bottom line is that we took a vacant and underutilized building, invested in a significant rehab and are housing five businesses, two of them (Jobman and Mediagraphix) startups,” Coblentz said. “We are cleaning up a corner that has been neglected and creating a new professional work space. On top of that, we have installed state-of-the-art video production suites alongside a new video studio and photography studio. All this happening in the middle of a recession.”

Main Street Arts also plans to relocate from its downtown location to The Studios on North Jackson, owner Linda Wade said.

The Greater Starkville Development Partnership sponsored a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Broadcast Media Group at the new Studios on North Jackson.

Broadcast Media Group has been in business for 13 years, but held an Open House Nov. 19 to celebrate the relocation into the Studios, which Broadcast Media owner Robbie Coblentz and his wife Bonnie Coblentz renovated with a vision in mind of creating incubator space for small businesses, as well as other professional offices.

Attending the Ribbon Cutting were GSDP Events Coordinator Tasha Hill, Architect Chris Cosper, who also has his offices at the Studios and designed the property’s new floor plan, Miss Hospitality Haley Smith, GSDP Administrative Assistant Robyn Cain, GSDP President and CEO Jon Maynard, Charlie Griffin, Jobman USA, Bonnie Coblentz, Broadcast Media Group President Robbie Coblentz, GSDP Ambassador Mandee Lewis, Bob Coblentz, Trisha Coker, BMG, GSDP Ambassador Phil Hartness, Richie Davenport, BMG, Laura Crum, BMG, Richard Linley and Cindy Seymore of Northeast Exterminating, GSDP Vice President of Membership and Community Development Allison Matthews and Jimmy Wilbourn.

Broadcast Media Group wins national awards for video production

STARKVILLE, MS (July 30, 2009)—Broadcast Media Group of Starkville has won two Telly Awards for videos produced in 2008, bringing the company total to nine Tellies.
The videos, “The History of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association” and “Building the Dream: The Story of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway,” were selected from a large group of submitted work.  A panel of more than 40 industry professionals judged the national competition.
“We’re thrilled to have these projects recognized nationally,” said Robbie Coblentz, Broadcast Media Group, Inc. president.  “It’s an honor to be selected.”
“The History of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association” traces the beginnings of the Starkville, Miss.-based organization and its impact on Fastpitch Softball throughout the world. The project features interviews with some of fastpitch softball’s greats along with historic photos and footage.
“Broadcast Media did an excellent job of producing the 25th anniversary documentary of the NFCA, and I’m so pleased that the industry recognized their efforts with a Telly Award,” said Lacy Lee Baker, NFCA executive director.

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project was commissioned to create an oral history of the waterway for the museum. “Building the Dream” incorporated interviews and archival footage to trace the history of the waterway through seven Presidential administrations and countless hurdles. The program is scheduled to air on Mississippi Public Broadcasting in September.
“It presented a great challenge to capture the many important milestones, events and champions spanning more than 250 years within the time constraints imposed by the production of a video of less than 30 minutes,” said Agnes Zaiontx, executive director of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum. “We are very pleased with the results by Broadcast Media Group in accomplishing this Herculean task in such an outstanding manner.”

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, film and video productions, and web commercials, videos and films. Winning entires represent the best work of advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments around the world.

Broadcast Media Group, Inc. is a full-service video production company serving clients across the state of Mississippi and the Southeast. Broadcast Media provides video production, DVD authoring and duplication services.

For more information on Broadcast Media, contact Robbie Coblentz at (662) 324-2489 or robbie@broadcastmediagroup.com. A complete list of Telly Winners for the 30th annual competition is available at www.tellyawards.com.
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Top 40 Under 40: Robbie C. Coblentz, 36,

President and CEO, Broadcast Media Group, Inc.

STARKVILLE – In the late 1980s, Robbie Coblentz helped make a music video that aired on a cable channel in his hometown of Meridian.

The impressionable teen fell in love with the creative process of video production, bought a small professional editing system, taught himself how’ to use it, and set up shop in his room.

“I still get great satisfaction from being in an editing booth and manipulating picture and sound,” admitted Coblentz, an award-winner producer who now heads a company serving clients nationally and internationally from the college town of Starkville.

To know his parent’s background, it may seem surprising that Coblentz pursued a career in a high-tech, global industry. His father, Robert, grew up Old Order Amish in northeastern Indiana. “I find it highly ironic that I work in a leading-edge technology field and I hail from Amish roots,” he admitted. “How my grandparents were asked to leave the Amish church makes for a good story, also.”

After transferring from Meridian Community College, where he earned an associate’s degree in pre-engineering studies in 1991, Coblentz briefly considered pursuing a career in architecture. In 1998, he earned a liberal arts degree, with an emphasis in computer animation/multimedia, from Mississippi State University (MSU). During his college days, he advanced from disc jockey to producer for various radio stations, and from television producer to general manager of WOBV-TV in Starkville.

In 1996, Coblentz established Broadcast Media Group, concurrent with his Work at the local television station until 1998, when he moved his young company into the first slot of Mississippi’s inaugural high-tech business incubator in Starkville. Since then, his company has grown to employ six staff members that produce videos and DVDs, and he has made it top priority to give back to the community.

“(Robbie’s) participation in that pioneering effort (in the incubator) has inspired him to reinvest in such efforts to expand the area’s ‘brain trust’ potential for economic development,” said MSU’s Ned Browning, Ph.D. “In particular, he has been involved in a grass roots campaign to restore funding to the Golden Triangle Enterprise Center, the local high-tech incubator. Just this summer (2006), he produced a pro bono DVD for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership and local realtors to promote the area.

“Robbie Coblentz pays more than his due in community service.”

Don Moore, sales manager of WLOX-TV in Biloxi, stated emphatically, “Bottom line, if I get opportunities to send business Robbie’s way, I will not hesitate to do so. Robbie’s professionalism and approach to client satisfaction is exemplary and worth recognition. In today’s world, we’re so connected that small businesses like Broadcast Media Group in Starkville can paint with a big brush.”

Kathy Shaw Kenne, co-owner of Quest Group in West Point, whose customers include Bryan Foods and BankFirst, said, “A company takes on the character of its leader, and Broadcast Media is known throughout Northeast Mississippi and beyond for its attention to detail, quality product, creativity and superb customer service. It’s for these reasons that we’ve come to rely on them.”

Coblentz’s wife of 10 years, Bonnie, said while business consumes much of his time, “Robbie is no stranger to the community. He’s actively involved in his church, Faith Baptist Church, where he helps maintain the technology used there.”

His church involvement doesn’t stop at providing technical advice. Faith Baptist’s Blaine Allen said, “In all my dealings with Robbie, both on a personal and church level, I’ve found him to be an excellent role model for all ages.”

Active in the Starkville Area Chamber of Commerce since 1999, Coblentz has been involved in several community advocacy groups related to political and economic development issues. He has been a board member of the Golden Triangle Advertising Federation, served as president of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s (PRAM) Starkville chapter, presided over PRAM statewide in 2002, and has been nominated to serve on the board of directors of the Southern Public Relations Federation for 2007.

A local Boy Scout leader, Coblentz has developed promotional videos for the Pushmataha Area Council, and has also provided his company’s services at reduced or no cost to the Mississippi Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, March of Dimes, Jubilee Mennonite Church in Meridian and The United Way.

Within the last six years, Coblentz, the father of two sons, David, five, and Mark, three, and a member of the Gospel Music Association, has found time to remodel several houses and an office. “What began as a weekend project has expanded…,” he joked, “Plus, it’s a lot cheaper doing it yourself.”

Copyright Mississippi Business Journal Feb 26, 2007

‘Cow’ flick a real hit, Miss. dad discovers

May 31, 2004

By Gary Pettus
gpettus@clarionledger.com

Watching his young son stare wide-eyed at the large animals grazing in roadside pastures, Robbie Coblentz realized you can get more than milk out of a cow.

An education, for one thing.

“Our son David, who’s almost 3 now, was about 18 months old when this started. He thinks cows are the greatest thing in the world,” says Coblentz, of the video production company Broadcast Media Group in Starkville.

“So his mother and I looked for a video about cows that we wouldn’t mind hearing and seeing over and over.

“But we couldn’t find it.”

So Coblentz made it.

He calls it Oh Wow! Cows, a 28-minute production that attempts to “educate and entertain without being obnoxious.”

“It started as just a fun thing for me to do,” Coblentz says. “I shot video on a car trip to a family wedding. I was going to put something together real quick for David.

“Then my wife Bonnie wrote a script for it. I took it to some of my guys at the office, and before you know it, we have a bona fide kids’ video.”

Cows was named a finalist this month in the national, Cincinnati-based 25th annual Telly Awards, which honors outstanding video and film productions, along with local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs.

Featuring David’s “favorite animal,” the video is designed to educate kids about cows and teach them how to spell a few rural-related words: “cow,” “moo,” “hay,” “calf,” “milk” and “farm.” Narration reinforces each word with bovine facts.

Only Mississippi cows appear in the video, says Coblentz, 33.

“We have tons of images from across the state with cows in the field, close-ups of cows, wide shots of cows. A lot of greenery. Calves in a nursery. We visited a dairy outside of Starkville, and show cows getting milked.”

Their son, David, gives the production a thumbs up, says Bonnie Coblentz, a journalist with Mississippi State University Agricultural Communications.

“We figured if David likes it so much, it’s something other kids would enjoy watching, too.” Their younger son Mark, 14 months old, bore them out.

“He’ll crawl from one end of the house to the other whenever he hears the

“When kids hit that age, animals fascinate them.”

The music, “upbeat classical pieces,” are for adults, as well as kids, Robbie Coblentz says. “We used classical music because of a study about the Mozart Effect kids are supposed to learn better when classical music is played. It’s also something adults can enjoy.

“It’s not happy, bouncy music with silly words to it.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with happy, bouncy music.”

The music of Oh Wow! Cows, says Linda Breazeale of Starkville, “is special for me as a parent.

“It’s easier for me to listen to, over and over. And I think the children enjoy it, the combination of seeing the animals and seeing other children on the video. The kids hold up letters as they spell out different words. Given that (Coblentz) had unprofessional child actors, I thought he did very well.

“My daughter (Debra Ann) is in it, though. So that may rule me out as an unbiased source.”

Oh Wow! Cows is a departure for Broadcast Media Group, which produced, among other films, One Night in March, a documentary about the 1963 Mississippi State basketball team’s flight from the state to play integrated Loyola of Chicago.

While this is his company’s first foray into kids’-video territory, it’s not the last, says Robbie Coblentz.

“We hope to have another one out in mid-summer, about horses. We may call it Horse, Of Course.”

Copyright © 2004, The Clarion-Ledger.