New focus in letter-writing?

[Kerlin]

Since we shoved that poor other thread OT, I'm going to start a new one here so that we can discuss the merits of shifting the focus on the letter-writing to advertisers.

Here is B Sharp's original comment:

Just noticed a thread started by Harveywhispers that had a very specific, positive statement in it about the future of FS; this made me think we should collect the response information and collate; then maybe start to target the content of letters to the future (rather than the cancellation).

This might mean writing some 'form' letters or suggesting a different style of feedback in the messages than so far- and if we focus on those advertisers who've been friendly so far, that might help Henson's efforts....

or is this one of those out-in-left-field brain fart sort of ideas I have sometimes?

And my response to this:

B Sharp, are you thinking statements something like:

"With the recent sale of the Henson Company, we now have more chance than ever for Farscape to return to the television screen. As a great admirer of your company due to your past advertising on Farscape, I will wait faithfully to see your commercials during the new episodes!"

or (slightly more specialized)

"Since the cancellation of Farscape, I have found myself watching nothing else [or little else] on television. If your company would like to continue to reach me with your advertising, I encourage you to make it known that you would like to advertise during any new episodes of Farscape that were produced - in order to better reach me, and any number of other very desirable viewers with similar demographics."

or

"The Jim Henson Company has always been known for quality programming, and recently it has been returned to the Henson family, who have great ambition to return the company to its rightful place in the entertainment industry. Among its high-quality productions is the program Farscape, which was cancelled recently. As a company that has advertised previously on Farscape, I encourage you to make it known that you would support the Jim Henson Company in all endeavours, and that you would appreciate once again being able to reach the unique Farscape demographic."

And then blue chimed in:

And maybe something about the amount of money viewers have to spend based on what has been spent on this campaign (what's a good estimate? I used to estimate over $150,000 but it must be higher now) and what has been pledged to TVC (over $375,000 now?)
And maybe the suggestion to write to the Henson Co. to say they would like to run ads during Farscape on any station that it broadcasts on in the future?
Do we want to continue to ask advertisers to contact UPN, Showtime, etc? Or would it give more leaway to Henson's negotiations if advertisers contacted Henson about future support? Or both? Any thoughts?

And finally B Sharp added:

This is one of those somewhat OT posts- we're all mods now, so feel to move this or delete it (we have to practice this anyway to learn the extent of our new power....)

Kerlin: agree, I was thinking of something exactly like you wrote. I think we need to start a new thread on letter writing suggestions in the main campaign forum, then maybe directing them to this subforum for who, etc. Something with a catchy title...

I also think we need to request something specific be added to the to-do list- I think that's a PM to Red or Jul, but not sure....

blue: I do think we should make a conscious shift away from advertisers that don't help Henson's efforts- that seems like the best way to go to me. I think we still need to collect the info- this is more of a recommednation thgat gets people re-energized on writing to advertisers for a specific purpose.

So - in light of all that, brainstorm away!

[RescueFarscape]

I like this shift in focus. A lot. Writing to the advertisers, especially with a chance for Farscape gone for Skiffy, seemed like beating a dead horse. Looking in from the outside, it would appear to many that FS is dead.
However, with the return of Henson to the family, writing letters re Henson and Farscape would, even if it did nothing for FS (naw, couldn't happen!;) ), certainly wouldn't hurt the Henson Company any. Kill two birds with one stone:aok:

[blue]

I don't know quite where to put this thought, so I'll try putting it here. I think it might be a good idea to check out :

1. Which companies have been highlighted on a to do list (we need a list)

2. Which companies have answered at all (see the list that exists)

3. Which companies have answered in a positive way (this list may change over time if a company is on to do lists multiple times)

I agree that we should target the companies with positive responses and keep the letters coming to them, changing the focus to the Henson news. However, I do not think that we should ignore other companies that have not yet responded positively. Let us not just focus on the companies that have been positive, without also ascertaining which companies have not, perhaps simply because they have not received enough letters from us yet. Let us separate those companies that HAVE been targeted on to do lists and have NEVER responded from those companies who have not yet responded because they have never been targeted and have not received enough letters to think about a response.
Notice that some companies keep changing their response after receiving more and more letters. Lets not decide that a specific company is no longer worth our time if they respond in a noncommittal way after being targeted. At least they bother creating a response. It is possible their response will also change after more letters are directed their way. That's why I think that ALL companies who have responded at all deserve more attention from us.

[B Sharp]

Originally posted by blue
I don't know quite where to put this thought, so I'll try putting it here. I think it might be a good idea to check out :

1. Which companies have been highlighted on a to do list (we need a list)

2. Which companies have answered at all (see the list that exists)

3. Which companies have answered in a positive way (this list may change over time if a company is on to do lists multiple times)

.......


I don't have a good answer, but it does seem like we could do some combination of research and askin for help- e.g. for #1, if one of us (please, not me, my RL is hell right now- I'm sitting in a darkened conference room hiding from people just to type this) could first check the news items for all the to-do lists, and then if that doesn't work, then PM Jul or someone that may know who actually puts together the to-do lists...

For #2, I think we could use Kerlin's spreadsheet, add a column for responses, and then (laboriously) add in based on the response threads, then we could sort and get an idea- not perfect, but a start.

For #3, I think the problem is that (as you said, blue) responses change as they get more (or less, in my company's case) input.

I'm still excited about this shift in strategy- I think we're onto something! :D

[blue]

As for #2, Jpfarscaper compiled a list of responders to letters, so far. (I've added Wendy's since the list was compiled.) Perhaps we could start with this, and list all their addresses on another thread, as deserving of more letters, re the Henson purchase. Here it is again:

Best Buy
CDW
Charmin
Clorox
ConAgra
Domino's Pizza
FedEx
General Mills
Gillette
Hershey
HP
KFC
Kia
Kraft
Long John Silvers
Mazda
Michelin
Mitsubishi
Nestle
Nissan
Norelco
Orkin
Post
Proctor & Gamble
Quaker
S.C. Johnson
TGI Fridays
Wendys
Visa

edited to add UPS

[Kerlin]

I can handle the To Do list end :) I'll have a list for you sometime soon.

In regards to the advertisers: might it be a good idea, now that we have this new forum to play in, to start a thread for *each* advertiser that has responded to us?

For example:

First post would contain the advertiser's contact information and what episodes they advertised during.

Second post would contain any and all responses this advertiser has made, and how they have been targetted (ie, were they on To Do lists?).

Subsequent posts would offer suggestions on best ways to continue contacting this advertiser, strategizing based on previous letters, etc.

I'm really liking this shift in strategy, too :). Goes to show that while other campaigns may copy us in the contacting advertisers department, we'll always stay one step ahead of them! :D

I actually have an updated version of the spreadsheet ready to go, I just haven't been able to upload it yet due to finals week. I'll have it online and ready to go soon.

[Stargate2077]

Sounds good to me!

[blue]

With respect to a thread for each advertiser, I think that might be too many threads for people to check each one. It would probably go off a page, and I doubt that so many threads would be looked at by more than the very few obsessives among us. Maybe we could consolidate a bit? A thread with the most responsive? A thread with the cars or the household items or the restaurants who have responded? Or some other system that would have a manageable number of threads to monitor?

[blue]

I wonder if there are any other thoughts about specific suggestions on the new direction of what to write to advertisers--the ideas above are good, but not specific in terms of whether people might ask advertisers to contact stations, like Scifi and UPN, companies, like Viacom, or Henson specifically. There seems no point in asking a company to contact Showtime, since it does not accept advertising.

[Kerlin]

Sorry this took a while...

In regards to the "thread per advertiser" approach I was thinking less of use to those who might be casually browsing this forum than for us for research and discussion purposes. We have this whole forum to play in so we don't have to worry about cluttering CS up. :)

Conceivably, the fruit of our debates would be cross-posted in CS. Say we pick an advertiser a week to really break down and research and figure out best ways to crack the nut. We discuss that here. Questions to address: the corporate execs, what they've done, how best to contact, what the product in question means to him, whether this advertisement was a blanket one or targetted specifically toward Farscape demographics, what demographics would be the best ones to stress when contacting this advertiser, where in the country they're located and whether it would be a good idea to focus regional groups on them, etc.

At the end of that week we cross-post the results of those discussions in CS and possibly submit for To Do Lists.

In regards to what we ask the advertisers...well, I think we just want to get them talking. In the end I honestly don't think it matters too much *who* we tell them to ask about Farscape. Henson would be good because it would assure them of a continued market for their product; Skiffy because it would prove to them that the advertisers are still interested in reaching us via Farscape; UPN because it would show them the potential advertising revenue they could gain. We could offer up variations on each and let people pick and choose as to their preference. As long as there is buzz and Farscape's name is attached to it, we're one step ahead. Does that make sense?

[blue]

"In regards to what we ask the advertisers...well, I think we just want to get them talking. In the end I honestly don't think it matters too much *who* we tell them to ask about Farscape. Henson would be good because it would assure them of a continued market for their product; Skiffy because it would prove to them that the advertisers are still interested in reaching us via Farscape; UPN because it would show them the potential advertising revenue they could gain. We could offer up variations on each and let people pick and choose as to their preference"

Good ideas--I always like offering preferences--so shall we include ways to contact Henson, Scifi, and UPN?