It’s fall pledge drive season – radio and tv. We, on the radio side of the equation, met our goals, thanks in no small part to the obscene amount of thank you gifts we were giving away. One evening while I was asking for your support (yes, your support) , one could call in and, for a $120 gift, receive no less than 6 thank you gifts. Yes… 6. This included a dvd, a tote bag (of course), a magazine subscription, a restaurant coupon card, a coupon for a free burrito, and entry into a magnificent sweepstakes. My partner, Adrienne, and I had a hard time keeping a straight face at all of this, let alone keep track what was being offered. What’s the next step? Will we actually start giving cash back on your contribution? Maybe some sort of 2 for 1 offer: you donate $50, and as a thank you gift we’ll send you a check for $100. Sounds fair to me.
I thought we had really ventured into the realm of the absurd that night. That is, until I got home and turned on the public television pledge drive. As boomers have aged and turned into the targeted donors for pubcasters, you may have noticed that the Doo-Wop specials we used to be forced to endure on PubTV are slowly being replaced by classic rock concerts. Indeed, I have seen a few great ones: a concert honoring George Harrison comes to mind. But the other night, WTTW was playing a concert by an Australian Pink Floyd tribute band. That’s right, a tribute band. I sat there stunned at what I was watching, and then found myself truly entertained watching the pledge breaks as they tried to use this concert as a justification for giving to PubTV. Could they not afford the real Pink Floyd DVD to broadcast? Maybe they really do need my $15.99… Maybe I should bring my mechanic down to the station next pledge drive and we can recreate Car Talk and use that it a case for donating. You’d call in, right? Right?….
