Nexstar Launches Brand Studio Unit to Produce Custom Content for Marketers; ‘My American Story’ Campaign Leads the Initiative

has launched Nexstar Brand Studio to produce custom content for marketers with an emphasis on material that leverages the station group’s massive local and national footprint.

Among the first projects to come from the unit is “My American Story,” an interstitial campaign that features everyday Americans telling their stories of triumph and patriotism. The spots are designed to work for marketers on a local basis, given Nexstar’s reach with 200 TV stations across the country, plus the CW Network, CW Sports and News Nation. The overarching sponsor for the campaign is automobile windshield replacement firm Safelite.

The unit is led by Dan Lanzano, Nexstar’s president of advertising sales, and Laura Lamattina, Nexstar’s senior VP of marketing solutions and brand partnerships.

“When you think about the marketplace, what advertisers want is personalization at scale. We think that can mean multiple things. We can create a content message that’s different for different parts of the country. We can deliver multiple messages across 160 markets and then amplify that across our whole network,” Lanzano told Variety.

Other major initiatives designed to be modular and adaptable to various advertiser demands include “Main Street USA,” a series on News Nation focusing on business success stories that have revitalized small towns; “Celebrating Main Street on Route 66,” a nostalgic look at the fabled highway that stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles. Also planned are specials for Veterans Day , the Boston Pops Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular and a NASCAR street race at the Coronado Naval Base.

With the nation’s 250th birthday approaching next year, the big focus is on Americana and celebrating everyday Americans. Nexstar has also established MyAmericanStory.TV digital hub to collect the spots and also encourage viewers to upload their own short videos.

“The beauty of having creative teams across the country is that we can be really agile in executing,” Lamattina told Variety. “We have a core team of writers, producers, editors and designers. And then at our disposal we have these great creative production teams across our stations. We can tap into those when it makes sense. That is a very rare resource.”

Nexstar’s move is one of many in recent years that reflects dramatic changes in how marketers want to reach consumers. Even local and linear TV outlets have to elevate the game beyond booking 30-second spots.

Nexstar Brand Studio is “purposely built for partnership and curation to create the right message, to create the right for the right platform for an advertiser to break through,” Lanzano said. “This is about marrying the art and the sciences of content and distribution at scale.”