Texas Rangers Partner with Fox Sports for Advertising Spot

August 9, 2012

FOX Sports Southwest and the Texas Rangers have teamed up on a unique promotional campaign featuring kids from the Lena Pope Home in Fort Worth who participated in the team’s annual Texas Rangers Summer Academy.

“The kids really enjoyed the experience of being in a commercial and learning how a spot is produced. Hopefully the activities we offer each year inspire the students to begin thinking about a career path and instill the confidence and determination needed to be successful in life.”

The kids will be featured in a promotional television spot that will begin running Monday (Aug. 13) on FOX Sports Southwest Texas Rangers telecasts.

For more than 12 years, here the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation has hosted a summer camp for Lena Pope Home students. As a longtime supporter of the team’s community initiatives, FOX Sports Southwest has been involved in the summer camp for the past seven years.

This year, more than 150 campers ages 9-17 were given the special opportunity to be featured in a television spot promoting Rangers games on FOX Sports Southwest. The spot was taped at the network’s studio, providing the students with a unique, “behind-the-scenes” television experience.

“FOX Sports Southwest and its staff continually raise the bar for children in the Summer Academy,” said Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation Executive Director Karin Morris. “This year the experience was a complete home run. The network provided a unique opportunity to see the production of a promotional spot from start to finish – including being the talent in the spot. For the children in this program, who are rarely given opportunities to shine, this was a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. We are so fortunate to have a partner in FOX Sports Southwest that goes far beyond the broadcast of baseball games.”

In previous years, FOX Sports Southwest offered Lena Pope Home campers a tour of the network’s studio and a complimentary DVD of their “Sportscaster for a Day” segment taped with a FOX Sports anchor.

“We wanted to try something different this year,” said FOX Sports Southwest Senior Vice President/General Manager Jon Heidtke. “The kids really enjoyed the experience of being in a commercial and learning how a spot is produced. Hopefully the activities we offer each year inspire the students to begin thinking about a career path and instill the confidence and determination needed to be successful in life.”

Lena Pope Home Director of Development Marilyn Sammons, said: “The FOX Sports Southwest visit was especially memorable this year, as the students had the opportunity to go ‘behind-the-scenes’ and discover all aspects of a television broadcast. We were overwhelmed by the patience and generosity shown by everyone at FOX Sports Southwest. Their time invested in these kiddos is worth more than gold.”