Advertiser list for Community, both broadcast and hulu (please scroll down for more #savecommunity ideas)

Hello Community fans!

Current week's tweetlist (Thursday, 12/1/11) of show ad sponsors: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/eg7430, courtesy @Greendale_Love.

NBC executive mailing list: http://bit.ly/ud34hU, courtesy @SaveCommunity3. I've got my stamps, how about you? I'm handwriting them, too, which is the current general advice.

Hulu sponsor list, 12/2/11: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/egj9f4

Snail mail general list; ad sponsors: http://savegreendale.com/?p=36#more-36

Please scroll down a few paragraphs to find the tweetlist of last week's show sponsors. Also, there is a snail mail list at: www.savegreendale.com. Please scan the next couple of numbered points first, if you have a moment. We need to get some viewers (#eyeballs) on NBC quickly.

Quick update (#2): I've been doing a TON of research this week. You must know, NBC is #4 in the rankings, so the BEST thing we can do for our beautiful show is to help NBC get more viewers.

1) Tell EVERYONE to watch the new Foosball episode this Thursday, 8pm. Real life friends, Facebook "friends," twitter friends, your mom, your dog, your grandma. NBC seems to me in some sort of lockdown, don't know why, don't care. WE will do their marketing, and make it VIRAL, OK? It really is up to us. TV Guide episode listing: http://bit.ly/uH6NDj
a) Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement are REPEATS this Thursday. Community and Parks and Recreation are NEW. Let's cross promote Parks and Recreation and ALSO Up All Night.
b) Think like a marketer. Think big. Think what the Nielsen household reads and buys. Target your tweets. Try to attach a viral video if possible (funny scene from the show, or a fan video, or a song you wrote, or even just a picture. You can shorten videos using www.bitly.com). I used the top magazine (http://t.co/p1Lfesl9) and newspaper (http://t.co/gMe4ZZMb) circulation lists to write this one:

@CosmoOnline Watch hottie Joel McHale play naked pool! bit.ly/ugUIU7 New Foosball ep, NBC's Community, Thu 12/1, 8pm. Funny=sexy!

In contrast, this: @nytimes New Foosball-related episode of NBC's Community, Thu 12/1, 8pm. Critically acclaimed; full of elegantly-constructed jokes. Thanks!

@danharmon is a gamer. So also: @gameinformer there's a new Foosball episode of NBC's Community, Th 12/1, 8pm. @danharmon (creator) avid gamer, show is FUNNY. Pls tune in!

And:  Skyrim fans, @danharmon is one of you. Please spread the word abt his funny show, NBC's Community. Foosball ep, Th 12/1, 8pm. #savecommunity

c) reach out to products, services, and websites you love and use all the time. Mention the Foosball episode this Thursday, 12/1, 8pm. Tie it in with the TV guide Fan Favorite, a viral video, a funny picture, whatever you want. We are really vibrant, goofy fans, and our enthusiasm is a beautiful thing to behold (I'm talking to YOU, @EvilTroyAndAbed!)
 2) Once I realized NBC is dormant, I decided we need to do it all ourselves, take initiative. Don't Give Up The Ship! (http://bit.ly/tSlcuR)
a) @YoplaitYogurt is very nice to me, responsive and sweet. They asked me to mention www.greek4good.com, a website that donates 25K to a local foodbank. NBC is in whatever mess, but we aren't! We're alive and want to save the show! Please reach out to Yoplait on Facebook, twitter, hand-written notes, and the Greek4Good campaign. Buy some yogurt and tweet it with #savecommunity. WE CAN DO THIS! I can't do it alone, I NEED all of you! (Jeff Winger style speech).
b) Reach out to Foosball people on twitter, online, and Facebook. I'm going to email the United States Foosball League: http://t.co/VayXGP0P
c) Let's start this ourselves. We can have Foosball players from around the world send in scores and funny pictures or videos. We can take a poll about the funniest ones, prize of Funniest Grand Foosballer to the winner. Maybe offer some of our personal merch as a present. Have them send the tweet to #communityfoosball, OK?
d) a professor friend of mine said that suggestions to friends have more impact than tweeting to strangers (re: increasing viewership). So status updates on Facebook, DVD purchases for friends, and viewing parties are a good way to go.

On to the twitter section! If you're like me and need a primer on twitter, here's the NY Times blog: http://nyti.ms/I3QZm
If you'd like to join the twitter campaign to save our show, Community, here's a couple of ideas. To avoid our tweets looking like spam, we're using one hashtag (#) apiece, with one advertiser (@). General consensus is to stick to #savecommunity. To avoid message dilution, please use one advertiser per tweet, and try to make the tweet personal. Please thank the advertiser for their support. Some of us are taking pictures of purchases and posting them with our tweets. Ultimate goals: to keep Community on the air, and to encourage product placement from advertisers. Also, there are rumors that @SonyPictures may save the day (they create the show, and may buy it from NBC to keep it going). Let's show them some love, too.

In direct response to @nannysox, here's whatever list I can compile after too many sleepless nights. @Greendale_Love is a rockstar, and here's their reddit list:
http://www.reddit.com/r/community/comments/mge0t/list_of_advertisers_and_twitter_accounts_for_east/

Also, here's a general season advertiser list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AlkUqRXhD0SAdHktT2lFWnRIU0NCLVVlX0lnMDNDUUE&toomany=true

Please research them before you send, OK? We've been busy on this week's ads. Please fill in gaps if I missed or made a mistake on anything, and please tweet me (@violincatherine) and the others with your own lists, OK?

Notes: @YoplaitYogurt tweeted me right away, which makes me love them even more. @HallmarkPR replied to some people with goatees, so please show them some goatee love! And, I've been looking through FB to find all these advertisers there, too. Thanks! #savecommunity!

@PizzaHut, @YoplaitYogurt, @PopTarts411, Infinity @Infinitinews,
@OldNavy, @The_OliveGarden, Cherry @7Up (found Wild Berry in my store), @Dodge
@Htc and @HtcUsa 4g @Tmobile, @Macys, @Windows and @ToshibaUSA, @Disney @MuppetsStudio
@FiatUSA with @JLo in @Gucci, iphone on @sprint, @SportsAuthority and @NorthFace

GE @generalelectric @GEaviation (jet engines)

For Kay Jewelers, who has no FB or twitter presence (does not diminish our loyalty, but it's just harder for them to communicate with us), we found a comment page on the website. I gave them my email/snail mail info and mentioned #savecommunity. I was impressed by how quickly the customer service team responded, and I hope their corporate office will develop a social media presence soon (interns are free, my friends):
http://t.co/GwuvLYHp

Hulu advertisers from the following day: @MartiniRossi, @HtcUSA @tmobile (Radar 4G w/Windows)
@AmSigFurniture (pre-Thanksgiving sales), @Starbucks, @Lowes, @HallmarkPR (recordable storybook)

Please note: I have bought from the following companies this week: @The_OliveGarden, @OldNavy, @7Up, and @YoplaitYogurt. When I pass by a @PizzaHut, @Lowes, @HallmarkPR store or @Starbucks this week, I will stop in and buy something. Period. Online versus broadcast, both have equal weight, but: I spend most of my time online. Hulu/online needs to have more weight, is all I'm saying.

Thanks!
Yours,
Catherine

Viral and Non-Traditional Marketing Ideas

Hello Community fans!

I am aware that this blog is generally long-winded, and I'm a newbie. Until I get css and java script sorted out, you'll have to scroll down to catch up (sorry)! Also, twitter rumors about Sony and a possible save abound. Even if that's true, I still want to see viewer numbers and publicity increase for the show so it's profitable and kept off the chopping block for a LONG time.

The post after this one (Great American Comedy Revival 101) is for Community fans, and I welcome input and ideas from all of you. The next post is a letter specifically for NBC executives, but if you work at NBC, I hope you find all these posts and information useful.

• Is a songwriting/funny video contest possible in aid of the show? The goofier, the more outrageous the video, the better. Cast members could be the judges?
• Universal owns many large properties which can be used as prizes and incentives at little cost to the company (theme parks).
• I mentioned a paintball, or maybe a snowball war.
• My friends and I all watch funny viral videos. Anything that makes me laugh gets my attention. Let me know if you'd like the list of videos and I will send them to you. I will not list anything publicly that's not on NBC or hulu websites right now.
• John Stewart casually mentioned Fruit Ninja, which led to a happy phone gaming addiction. I love and trust him and would follow him over a cliff like a lemming. I'm not a sheep, though. He earned it.
• I trust ads, but only if they're honest or socially conscious. The Apple Think Different ads still affect me, and I love the VW Lemon ad (hi, @AlisonBrie and Mad Men!) The ads need to focus on the group bond and the healing refuge from being misfits. 
• For me, it feels like more than coincidence that the Occupy and Internet censorship topics are coming up at the same time. What will I do if basic freedoms, rights, and purveyors of happiness are removed? The show is a personal refuge for me. Call it bread and circuses, call it extended childhood, call it a plea for high quality of life, call it a wish to feel I can change my world. Please protect this spirit in ads and through actions. You can pull in more of an audience if this idea is swung the right way, OK?
• I trust critics, but only if they cut down nonsense shows and movies. I go to blogs, not big news outlets. One blogger I read is brutally honest if she dislikes something, but also influences people to watch/buy DVDs of Friday Night Lights. She is on your side, even as she says that #AnniesMove is obscure. Do not try to buy influence. You have enough critic support, so this should be natural.
• Someone mentioned marathon viewing parties. NBC needs to release at least 3 free videos to entice the masses. How can a person buy a DVD of a show they've never seen? 
• Why is the Levar Burton clip not on hulu? 
• You can also make a series of show montages, with all the in-joke references, so a person can get caught up. I don't like Glee's intros, so please make it classier than that, but please do something similar so the buy-in process isn't so hard.
• Like I said, to get the laugh track watchers, please use slapstick, viral videos, standup routines, and some BIG stunts. Put it out there: see what better minds than mine can conjure.

Yours,
Catherine

Great American Comedy Revival 101

Dear Community fans,

First, a big congratulations to Donald Glover (@DonaldGlover, on twitter), for his standup comedy special, Weirdo, on Comedy Central. Cool cool cool! He is trending on twitter worldwide. Also, he is an amazing comedian and we love him!

Please sign the petition! http://www.save-community.com/
Join the Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/SaveCommunityTV
Follow the official Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SaveCommunity_
Other nice websites: www.WeLoveCommunity.com, www.savegreendale.com
Call NBC and ask to leave feedback: 212-664-2333 and 818-840-4444.

UPDATED 11/21/11: We have an East Coast-West Coast situation. 
Eastcoast Steve: Stephen Burke, President, NBC Universal, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NY NY 10112. Westcoast Bob: Robert Greenblatt, CEO, NBC Uni, 100 Universal City Plaza,Universal City CA 91608
Others:  http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate
Some people are suggesting paintballs and purple pens. I'm picturing mailmen covered in paint; are paintballs durable? Also, I've posted the end of the Evil Timeline show to the right so you can see the origin of the beards. Maybe a nice goatee for Mr. Greenblatt will be a refreshing change for him? In the meanwhile, I will content myself by imagining goatees on all the executives' faces. I will try to keep this succinct. As you can see in the rest of the blog, that's not so easy for me.

1) I made a personal pledge to reach out to one college professor and one blog/news writer this week. If each of us did that, then we could get some inroads with the What and How of publicity.

2) Currently, we are shackled by Nielsen ratings, DVR within 3 days, and maybe itunes sales. Not DVD sales, and NOT HULU! This is weird for me, since Universal owns both NBC and Hulu. Also, I watch most of my shows online. Ads sell for around $98K, half the cost of other shows. This is all business, people. And I understand this! The advertisers need demographic information, so I'm proposing a demographic study of Community viewers. I don't know what the advertisers need, whether a professor can do this with a student, or whether it needs to be privately done. Please contact media studies/social science/PR professors that you can think of and ask what they think of this. Also, this is a hot topic, and any scholar speaking on the subject will probably find a wide audience. Win-win!

3) MUST READ (http://bit.ly/cAKfCF): large number of people in twitterverse plus moderate tweets helps a topic achieve highest twitter trending . Many of us on twitter are newbies, and our power may be fragmented by first-time use and confusion (I'm speaking from personal experience). Someone mentioned that we need to keep the total number of hashtags (#) or handles (@) down in any given post. Is it true that Twitter treats such posts as spam, and that they won't count them for trending topics? Also, there are SEVERAL hashtags in operation right now, and I'm worried about message dilution. Thoughts? Is the main one #savecommunity? #sixseasonsandamovie is also popular. I'm wondering if our tweets can be considered as an aggregate? Who would be able to count this; twitter? How much does a sponsored result cost in twitter? I'm personally proud of #luisguzman and @donaldglover for trending. Also, I look first to @Greendale_Love for inspiration and ideas.

4) Thanks to @andreastreeter, http://bit.ly/rCV4Rt, I am purchasing and tweeting advertisers who support the show, thanking them and using the #savecommunity hashtag. The show Chuck managed a longer life with product placement. On Mondays, fans went to Subway, bought some food, the wrote the show's hashtag on comment cards. Subway featured prominently on the show afterwards.

If you tweet, current advice is one handle and 1-2 hashtags a piece on each one. Like I said, I am a Newbie!

If you go to @Greendale_Love, @AndreaStreeter, or @violincatherine (if you search a major advertiser, like @Fiat, @Pizzahut or @OldNavy, you'll find many, many more tweeters of these) and scroll down to the broadcast dates (both real-time and hulu), we live-tweeted the advertisers. I've been up two nights in a row, all night, trying to save my precious show, so when I've had a little rest I'll put all of them up here for you.

5) We are in the embryonic stages of sorting out what our demographics are. I am aware of some of what an advertiser needs, so I trotted some facts about my life and buying habits to form an hypothesis. That is, that the average Community user is:
college grad, high HHI, owns computer, 18-45 demo, avid user of social media, uses computer for frequent purchases. I'm not sure what other breakdowns are important. I suppose race/sex?
@rerorerocandy pointed out that my hypothesis isn't including all viewer demographics. Along with @Greendale_Love, we are adding in college student, grad student, and straight out tech geeks. So, so far, Elite-Snobs + Tech-Geeks. I would like to know the other voices out there, and include them. I am not savvy enough to do this, so I'm just putting out there that we are an Internet-savvy bunch, passionate and vocal, and very eager to help save the show. By the way, we all watch a LOT of stuff on our laptops. This is a BIG plus, right? Who wouldn't want this group? Oh, right, we're misfits!?

6) What happened to CBS? Wasn't it a zone for sneezers and geezers? (Whoa, RIP Mr. Rooney, sorry). What's with this laugh track, cop procedural, eat bugs business? Also, American Idol, Blergh! #savecommunity! That is all.

Yours,
Catherine

Letter to NBC executives

Good morning!

First of all, I would like to thank you for creating and producing some of the finest comedy shows in the world. I am very grateful to you for allowing Community to exist at all, period.

I will cut to the chase, since I know you are all busy. Extra notes will be at the bottom of this letter, to save your eyeballs. I am writing to you before I post most of this information on my blog: http://savecommunitynow.blogspot.com.

I would like to propose a 4-prong approach (and, please note, as proposed, most of these ideas are low cost):

1) Demographic study of Community viewers (can be done with local professor supervision to ensure controls, as student thesis, or with interns). This study could be used to break out the key points to sell to your advertisers: age/race/ HHI/computer use. My hypothesis is that viewers of this show are predominately college grads, reasonably high HHI, early adopters, social media savvy, and own several computers. The show is well-written and intelligent, so the viewers are in an "Affluent Geek" category all their own. 
IN MY HOUSE, we are considering purchase of an electric car (Nissan looks good), bought a new computer this week, and are avid computer users (we now have 4 computers and 4 printers, and use the both Internet for business and pleasure).

I am personally willing, and volunteer myself, for any such study, and I am sure the nearly 1 million facebook and countless twitter users (#savecommunity, #sixseasonsandamovie, #community, et al) would jump at the chance to help you with the advertisers.

2) Leverage Social Media Interests (social media interns)

Currently, there is a campaign going to purchase items advertised on the show, both real-time and on Hulu, and tweet support. I personally bought both Yoplait yogurt and Wild Berry 7Up tonight, which were not normal consumer behaviors for me. I have also personally pledged: perform a test drive of an electric car this month (Nissan preferred), look at an htc tmobile phone, buy food at Pizza Hut, visit Lowes, buy boots at Old Navy, buy dinner at Olive Garden, buy the BOGO Starbucks winter drink, and visit a Hallmark store to purchase Christmas cards. My twitter handle is @violincatherine, and please feel free to copy and distribute any of my tweets. Yes, I am giving you legal permission, and yes, I want you to give it to your advertisers.

My current dream, a la Chuck, is Pizza Hut product placement. Who doesn't like pizza? Just make sure the actors don't eat more than one bite per take.

Your show is groundbreaking; I have never felt this kind of call to action before, and I would like your staff to document the scope of it and use it to help your ad sales department.

You can also join the conversation. Again, aside from twitter, you currently have nearly a million followers on the FB Community page. This is a vast, free, untapped resource for you. You can email people through facebook, have them join a group, ask for opinions on the page. You can even run closed focus groups.

3) Crazy stunts for publicity (can be sponsored by various partners)

Top idea this week: Paintball War. Bring in celebrity athletes, actual veterans (ooh, a high-ranking current soldier or war hero would be divine), the cast (with guests Levar Burton, Bette White as referee, Luis Guzman, et al), and other celebrities known as having little physical prowess. I don't know how this would work, but broadcasting it on ESPN would attract new viewers.

Other ideas: snowball war (big in Japan, and a real sport now, who knew), viewing party (sponsored, with plane and hotel tickets, meet and greet, and magazine coverage), stand-up and/or improv comedy contests (the actors on the show would be excellent mentors and referees).

4) Ideas for increasing viewership (minimal actual cost)

I've done a lot of thinking, and I really think I understand what it means to run a big company in a difficult economic climate. So take ideas which make sense, and leave the rest.

My first idea (again, with the help of tweeting interns or new media employees), is to publicize, then re-release for Hulu, AT LEAST the first three episodes of the first season. I dearly want to try to get newbies to fall in love. It needs to go with a twitter hashtag, like #joincommunity, #communityFTW, something like that. Fall in love with Community! And yes, please use those if your guys don't come up with something better. One of my twitter colleagues bought 10 Season 1 DVDs and handed them out to people in the parking lot. Get that: $450 to help save the show. This is a grassroots idea, but let's brainstorm increased viewership ideas together.

I understand, also, that Netflix is a nuisance to a lot of broadcasters. I get it, and I get why. But, again, releasing 3 episodes on their service could get some new people hooked. The gesture would be an AMAZING rush for your existing viewers, too.

OK, bullet points over, thank you for listening, over and out for those of you who have 12 million things on your desk. When you have another minute, I will post a few extra thoughts about online presence in the PS. Thank you for your time, and thank you for broadcasting and nurturing my beloved show, Community!

Yours truly,

Catherine Boyd

twitter: @violincatherine

Harvard-Radcliffe alum, class of '92

fiddle player, Blondage Rocks

(PS - OK, I gave you my bio in 2 lines to emphasize the strong demographics that you're working with. Also, I may not be 25, but I have the online surfing habits of a 25 year old, with strong preferential buying loyalty.

The viewers of community are different from your Nielsen viewers, which is what is causing ad revenue fall off. I am personally saddened by how cheap these ads are for you right now. So, what can you do?

I understand that the ad sales are driven by Nielsen ratings, DVR eyeballs within 3 days of recording, and sometimes itunes purchases.

NBC's parent company, Universal, owns Hulu. You guys have the viewership numbers, right? I don't have a Nielsen box or a DVR. I watch all my shows online, mainly on Hulu. If I'd known about viewer rules, I would've tried to install DVR service somehow.

I would like to propose that the normal Community viewer is highly tech savvy, and early adopters of technology. Since the demographics are strong, the purchasing power is also strong. For instance: My Android 2 and my laptop are two of my best friends. I am also interested in a electric car, and was considering a purchase of one within the next 2 years.

If you would like more detailed purchasing or demographic information about my household, please let me know. I am happy to help you.

I admit, I don't understand why Nielsen is so strong in this process. It makes me sad that reality shows, procedurals, and 2.5 (crackheads), dominate the Nielsen scene. The numbers don't reflect anyone I personally know, or my own household, which makes me sad. I know your advertisers need the demographic information to make an informed purchasing decision. Is there any chance of introducing your online numbers, or creating your own surveys? I think most of your Community viewers are online, which is why you're having this trouble.

Again, I'd like to encourage a friendly banter with your twitter and FB communities. We will run to help you.

OK, I've really rambled long enough, but I really love this show. Also, I am like a female Abed. The recent episode, with Jim Rash in the spotlight, was absolutely breathtaking. I was a Harvard English major, by the way, and your show's writing stands up to the best comedic work that has ever been written. -CB)

Hello, everyone! Let's save our show!

Dear friends of Community,

I'm determined to work towards saving this beautiful show. For anyone new to the series, I'm going to post two things in a minute. One is an embedded Hulu video, Season 3 Episode 8. It is a genius episode, and my money is on an Emmy (thank you, Megan Ganz) for outstanding writing. Jim Rash shows phenomenal dramatic as well as comedic chops, and Luis Guzman steals the show.

Also, here is a link to the latest analysis of why the show is on hiatus (http://theweek.com/article/index/221477/community-pulled-from-nbcs-schedule-the-backlash), and I will analyze all points one by one in subsequent posts. In the meanwhile, please feel free to add any comments you may have. If you have an article pertinent to saving the show, let me know. I'm willing to post your words in their entirety, with your name listed prominently at the top.

Thank you, all of you. My plan is to analyze all factors and to find solutions. This show is beautiful, like nothing else on TV, and deserves to live!

Yours truly,
Catherine (aka, a Female Abed)
(PS - I'm making an effort to contact the NBC legal department right now for permission to use the show's image. I am interested in attracting new viewers, finding new sources of revenue, brainstorming ways to increase advertiser confidence, and increasing the profits of NBC with no personal profit or self-interest. -CB)