Margie: I'm home, Edna. I was walking back from Bailey's and I saw this huge truck pull into town. The logo on the side said CBS. Who are they?
Edna: I have no idea, Margie. Maybe CBS stands for “Can’t Bring Satisfaction”? “Could Be Snoring”? “Clowns, Buffoons, and Simpletons”? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
• Fans are engaged, watching episodes and embedded ads over and over. • The online audience continues to grow, with ample consumer evangelists. • Even with less-than-stellar ratings, the rating are better than many other shows. • It’s a leading program among the network’s growing online inventory. • There were notable flaws in engaging the fan base that saved show while CBS continues to get up to speed on how to best engage online fans. There is an opportunity to do it right with a third season." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"As I sit here tonight waiting for the second to last episode of the season, it occurred to me that the world of social networking has really changed since the last time around. The Save Jericho movement broke new ground the first time by leveraging social networks like Digg to communicate with the outside world. We even had a few of the articles on this blog hit the front page of the entertainment category on Digg because they were heavily dugg by Jericho fans. Surely, this time around they must have gained even more momentum."
Boondoggie of Find-The-Boots gave us a lot of help during Save Jericho. Here's a look back at some of the inspiration he provided.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and make a prediction.
The Save Jericho campaign will change the way Old Media interacts with the internet.
Google for "Save Jericho" and you get 48,000 hits as of this morning. Think of the amount of time and money it would take a public relations agency to put up 48,000 pages with your message, all with unique and clearly human content.
This absolutely dwarfs the famous Star Trek letter writing campaign. Today marks the 1 week anniversary since the cancellation of the show. Things move at a different speed on the internet.
And all because executives at CBS were told by the Nielson ratings that the show didn't have much support. They're only 10 years behind the times, so I guess that's not too bad for corporate America. My experience has been that even "high tech" companies trail by about 10 years from what's available in their IT capabilities. That's why the power company has to ask me my account number instead of just looking at the caller id, and why I have to repeat it every time they transfer me. Hmm, make that 20 years. CBS is making its decisions based upon an old model, and sometimes that collides with the New Media and the result isn't pretty for the old guys.
CBS is under the impression that the old technology of set top boxes and personal diaries from Nielson families controls their business model. In some ways, it still does, because advertisers go along with it. The viewers aren't CBS's customers, the advertisers are. But when the advertisers figure out that the old measurements are pretty much useless, they'll start to change their models. Spending $500K for 30 seconds of prime time advertising won't seem like such a smart idea when that same $500K could be spent elsewhere.
And when that happens, we'll look back at the Save Jericho campaign and say that's where it started."
"But the real lesson to be learned is that the monster isn't controllable. The NY Times ran an interesting article on "The High Price of Creating Free Ads." They tell the story of how Heinz has had so much difficulty controlling what they hoped would be a viral marketing strategy. Read the article and you'll see another example of how foolish it is to think that you can control something like fans that don't work for you."
"In the past several years, TV fans have taken to the internet to launch campaigns in support of the shows they love. There was "Save Farscape," that lead to a resurrection in the form of a series of TV movies. There was the effort to save Firefly that ultimately lead Universal to believe that there was enough interest in the franchise to greenlight the Serenity movie. Most recently was the resurrection of CBS's apocalyptic drama Jericho. The campaign to save Jericho involved thousands of peanuts being sent to CBS in a symbolic gesture from the shows fans. In what seemed an almost impossible development, the network agreed to bring Jericho back for a shortened 7 episode season."
Since Kraft Television Theater premiered on NBC, the first regularly scheduled drama series on a network, networks have dictated what's on television. Viewers were left with one choice: watch it or not.
That seems to be changing. Viewers want more than one choice. To give them what they want, CBS will provide short-form video content for a CBS "brand channel" on YouTube starting this month. It will include news,sports, Showtime and prime-time programming. Among the offerings, CBS also said it plans to provide clips from top programs like "Survivor" as well as mini-previews for new fall shows.
CBS is not the only one trying to appease fans. Nielsen Media Research has a new website called Hey!Nielsen. "If you think your opinion doesn't matter or won't be read, all you have to do is see how a few organized voices on the web put a little town called "Jericho" back on the map earlier this year," said Steve Ciabattoni for Hey! Nielsen.
Fans like these will not be forced to watch television in the same way they once did. When networks pull the plug, consumers will fight for the show they love. When networks pull the plug consumers will fight for the show they love.
With increasing passion and armed with the Internet,consumer outcry and aggressive marketing is starting to reach the networks. The message: the time to change is now.
The Hollywood Reporter calls it the "Jericho Effect." Jericho fans campaigned to save CBS' canceled post apocalyptic drama* ‘Jericho’ and a succeeded.
When asked why fan marketing can or cannot change the way the networks operate Boondoggie, a business blogger who also followed the 'Jericho Effect, replied," Obviously it can, because it already has. The networks currently think of themselves as broadcasters, and I think that widespread broadband means that they need to think of themselves as content providers. The fact that just about every TV show now has a web component speaks to this."
That's not the only place it's seen. With increasing speed, entertainment content is filling the Web. NBC Universal's Hulu.com venture with News Corp. will syndicate content over sites reaching a reported 96% of all Internet visitors (including AOL).
Earlier this month, ABC agreed to distribute its fall lineup of full-length programming through a Web portal on AOL Video.
Under CBS' Outernet plan, every possible real and virtual square inch of digital surface will be considered for promotional spots.
So the networks already know: if they do not change television, someone else will for them.
Were you around for the Nuts to CBS campaign? If you were then you'll remember Boondoggie of Find-The-Boots. If you're not a Ranger from that time then let me say you should get to know Boondoggie. His help and advice were crucial during our Nuts campaign and he gave us so many ideas. He's definitely one of our unsung heroes.
I will post some links to his Jericho articles at the end of the interview. Do you remember " Partnering With the Monster" or " Lessons To Be Learned From Save Jericho"? Be sure to read the articles if you need motivation or just want to know what we should be doing now.
In the meantime it truly is my honor and a privilege (I was scared to ask for this interview) to introduce Jericho Ranger and friend to Jericho- Boondoggie.
1. How did Find The Boots come to be? Was it your idea?
TierFlyer and I were on a train from London to a meeting and were quite pleased with ourselves that we had stayed at the Paddington Hilton, allowing us to take a train to our destination and arrive faster than if we were taking a cab from a hotel in the city we were traveling to. The Hilton is much more comfortable, and the food options around London are much better than, say, Slough. So we decided there might be a cool blog with those types of tips.
We started off as a travel/expense account living blog. It had a good following, but it didn't really get popular. We decided to open it up and start talking about political issues that business people tended to think about. We still do the odd gadget and travel tip, but it's much more of a society/internet/business/politics blog now. And the readership is much larger.
2. Is there an overall message you're trying to convey?
We're optimists. We see big things happening with technology and society, and we enjoy our gadfly status. But the overall message is whatever we feel like at the time.
3. What blogs/websites are your favorites?
Hmm, every morning the first thing I read is Dilbert. As far as I can tell, Scott Adams has worked at all the same companies I have. It's uncanny as to how accurate he is about corporate life.
I scan about 40 blogs every day via an RSS feed. They range from Kim DuToit to Steve Pavlina. Michelle Malkin and Instapundit get a perusal every day.
BTW, it was one of the high points of my life when Michelle Malkin quoted my article on Jericho.
I read Matt Cutts' blog every day because I'm really into SEO/web monetization. This has nothing to do with my day job, I just find it interesting.
I also read Rich at Copywrite Ink every day.
4. What topic do you most enjoy writing about?
I enjoy writing about the internet and politics. The Jericho series was a lot of fun because I was able to apply my experience in sales, marketing, and internet technology to a cause I wanted to see succeed.
5. Do you have any hobbies? Any favorite TV shows?
I'm really into the outdoors -- hunting, fishing, backpacking, camping, anything. I also play ice hockey (badly). I'm a huge NHL fan.
TV Shows: Jericho, of course. My other shows are Battlestar Galactica, 24, and The Sopranos. Recently I've started watching Mad Men on AMC, which is really catching its stride.
I've been hooked on several BBC series on DVD -- I spend a lot of time on airplanes to that's a convenient entertainment route. MI-5, otherwise known as Spooks in the UK, is my favorite. I'm working my way through the last season right now. Other great shows include Dead Like Me and Men Behaving Badly.
But in general, most of TV is junk. I spend much more time reading.
6. You wrote some fantastic articles about the Nuts campaign for Jericho way back when. I'm going to add the links so newcomers can read them. Did you ever truly believe the campaign would be successful?
I did, but not as quickly as it happened. I wrote a lot about the speed of change in the corporate environment. The fact that the campaign was successful so quickly still blows me away. In corporate time, CBS changed in an instant.
I thought it would be a long slog. I thought CBS would do a movie to wrap things up in January, and then the fan movement would go on for another year and they might do a mini-series, and eventually a show. But I should have been able to track the levels of internet activity (the google footprint) for Jericho vs other campaigns such as the Browncoats and seen that they were having a much larger impact.
7. Why do you think that fan marketing can/cannot change the way the networks operate?
Obviously it can, because it already has. The networks currently think of themselves as broadcasters, and I think that widespread broadband means that they need to think of themselves as content providers. The fact that just about every TV show now has a web component speaks to this.
8. How do networks differ from other corporations in their operations and why or why not is that important for fans to know?
Most people think that viewers are the network's customers. Unless you consider that part of your cable bill goes to the network, that's just not the case.
I think the Jericho fans figured out fairly early that they aren't CBS's customers. The network's customers are their advertisers. The fans are a commodity to be delivered to the advertisers. Telling CBS that "we want good TV" wasn't nearly as effective as contacting the advertisers and letting them know about the movement.
9. Do you think Old Media learned something from that campaign?
I'm in a wait and see mode for that. CBS seems to be trying, but I don't think they've completely gotten the message. They'll probably need a few more whacks with the new media 2x4 before they get it.
10. How do you think things are going now since Jericho has been renewed or do you keep up with it?
I haven't really kept up with it. I had another project get very busy almost the same day that CBS announced the renewal, so I did an article suggesting what the fans could do and then got out of the way. I decided that I'd wait until the Jericho message hit me from another source before I'd start writing about it again.
It's funny, your email arrived the same day that I was at the local Home Depot and saw someone with a Jericho t-shirt. I asked them about it, and they told me all about the show. So there's a Jericho fan out there that has had a chat with Boondoggie and doesn't even know it!
I love that t-shirt story. Wonder who that fan was? I thank him and I thank Boondoggie for the motivational interview.
Articles by Boondoggie: Save Jericho: Corporate Life
Save Jericho: Old Media Shows its Age Save Jericho: Flexing Muscles Save Jericho: A Movement with a Heart
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