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Pledge Culture: Rituals and Truths. Or Why the Regular Schedule Programs Don’t Pledge Very Well. Pledge is. Not like being a doctor –formal school Pledge is an apprenticeship On the job training Learn the rituals and mores from a master/mistress - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 1
Pledge Culture: Rituals and Truths
OrWhy the Regular Schedule Programs
Don’t Pledge Very Well
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 2
Pledge is
Not like being a doctor –formal school Pledge is an apprenticeship On the job training Learn the rituals and mores from a
master/mistress All of that training and practice
constitutes the pledge culture
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 3
Pledge Culture Rituals
Many are true… scientifically The practices are garnered from
years of use… and change gradually Example: from taped breaks, to air
checks to virtuals So why is it so hard to pledge regular
schedule?
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 4
Rituals are Habits
Look at how we learn to ride a bike Or more complicated to drive your car After lots and lots of practice you
finally get it And it goes on “automatic” Old habits hardly ever die… after
decades you get on a bike and after a bit be back in form
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 5
Effort Expended Learning
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 6
Biology of Habits
After you learn a habit or understand a ritual your brain slips into automatic
You no longer “pay attention” That’s what happens when you watch
a TV program or a pledge break… Automaticity dampens attention Neuroscientist have more dire label
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 7
Habituation
A habit or ritual is different Habituation is the result of lengthy
practice or repeated exposure Good side: Automaticity. I can drive to
work without sweating bullets. Bad side: if you are an addict, your
dose has to increase to get buzzed
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 8
Habituation:Continued
A television program suffers from habituation where people’s attention wanes from repeated exposure
And the same for a pledge break or a pledge drive
So one – not all – reason the regular schedule does not pledge is habituation
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 9
Learning from Antiques Roadshow
A television format is another form of ritual/habit
We have spent years learning the mores and have conditioned expectations about what is proper and expected… Judy Woodruff does not kiss and make out Ray Suarez on the NewsHour set
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 10
Antiques Roadshow Appraisal
1. Introduce object with some mystery2. Bullet points on distinctive features3. Provide historical context4. Epiphanies of lives and antique 5. What’s it worth6. Close the loop between owner, object
and apprasier
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 11
Why ARS is a Hit
There is a variety Objects Casting owners and apprasiers Length
Pacing is quick – short two minute segments
Cutting is quick and pink
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 12
Show Colleene Fesko segment
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 13
Segments Are Habits
Antiques Roadshow has a basic format that it spins off variation
The viewer has conditioned expectations and pays attention to that varies from expections
Pledge Breaks are expectations that rely on traditional TV practices
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 14
Ritual Pledge Break Elements
Type of break Live or virtual? Challenge break? Sustainer
Casting pledge talent Pacing and variety in the break
mostly occurs through editing
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 15
Building Blocks of Break
Program (reference to it)Program (reference to it) Incentives (Premium, member card etc.)Incentives (Premium, member card etc.) Mission of stationMission of station Case statement (Basic needs statement)Case statement (Basic needs statement) Member benefitsMember benefits Vote (your pledge is a)Vote (your pledge is a) How to pledgeHow to pledge Call to actionCall to action
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 16
Message Points PercentagesEight Station Averages – Two Selected Stations
0
10
20
30
40
50
Member
Benefits
How To Incentives Case Program Vote Mission Call
Action
Average WGBH KPBS
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 17
Pledging Antiques Roadshow
AETN pledged a special edition and it was #9 in total dollars for the drive
They used local talent, the usual premiums, and two breaks…
It uses a three talent rotation of 60-90 seconds per talent with each working up the premium ladder.
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 18
Show AETN segment
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 19
AETN’s Approach
The viewers hear their own voices and see their friends and neighbors
The tone is civil – southern civil The set is warm and red The appeals were mostly social
contract – the loaf of bread… Local is local
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 20
Using Tools of the Trade
Kansas City successfully pledged Finding Your Roots
Created a clever set of premiums that tapped into reservoirs of success elements: viewer desires/craving and the magic of TV
The program delivered a primed audience interested in genealogy
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 21
Creating a Premium Craving
Kansas City has one of the top 10 genealogy research libraries in the US
The “city” has a robust library culture and the librarians are raised in the civic culture to create public value
The premium was a $120 one day training session at the library (box lunch included)
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 22
Premiums Exist in Context Premium price ladders focus attention on the
mid range choices. In KCPT they had $3,200 premium, $ 120 and basic membership…The $3,200 premium makes $120 look like a bargain.
The breaks were mostly traditional with two major “new” elements… all the librarians on the set explaining things and a video visit to the library to see the “tools” and how to use them
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 23
Progressive Discourse
AETN Blencko excerpt
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 24
Creating Tension
KCPT employed a version of progressive disclosure – that is they did television and captured the viewers attention…
By mid-break viewers want to see that library and what you are going to do that day… and finally you do see… (play excerpt)
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 25
Show KCPT segment
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 26
Key Take Aways Habitation normally dooms efforts to
pledge the regular schedule, since both the breaks and the program are on automatic pilot
The station has to strive to localize their appeals (hear your voice) and appeal to local guilt mores to succeed
And/or create compelling local pledge premiums.
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 27
Pledging Local Acquisitions
These series tend to be music, Britcoms, travel, docs and drama
These programs attract genre specific audiences and have more varied appeals in terms of emotion and social relationship (drama)
Why we pledge is based on emotion not reason and contemplation
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 28
Most of Your Life is Unconscious
Emotions are feelings and not words…
Music is emotionalA Picture is worth a
thousand wordsSpeaking and thinking
in words is slow, cumbersome and mostly boring
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 29
Why Spock Would Never Pledge
Generally you decide first, often impulsively
Once you decide to pledge your mind goes looking for alibis
The premium is a part of the problem, not the alibi
Ergo our mission and case statements
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 30
Pledging Drama is Easy?
It is a local decision, and that has deep social roots…
The pledgers are local viewers hooked on the drama’s relational emotional hooks
Pledging is votingThe embers of arousal
need only be fanned
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 31
Erupter Breaks Could Float the Titanic Even the most
taciturn breaks can not stop the phones
Even the lack of premiums, logical ladders of offers can quell phones
Erupter breaks spoil pledge producers
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 32
Maine excerpt
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 33
Pledging Foyle in Seattle
Again local talent, local references, “your choice to view and pledge”
Bell shaped curve of pledge tallies
Here there is wit and wisdom
The middle level disappears
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 34
Does it Make You Warm/Mellow?
There should be some type of emotional “connection meter” If drama connects with viewers then it
should pledge if the series has density and production values
Same with music and some local docs
Nostalgia is a personal but it is a powerful emotional buzz…
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 35
Creating Local Pledge Documentaries
Designed to evoke nostalgia for times or people gone by
They validate people’s lives
Create a link between the station and its viewer community
They have some unique properties to succeed
January 2013 Pledge Culture and Biology of Pledge 36
Take Aways