With the help of the internet in particular, fans of various shows have often mobilized to try various tactics to stop their favorite shows from being cancelled due to borderline Nielsen ratings. Most often, fans will send in items which are in some way linked to the show. Recently, due to obvious product placement in the NBC show Chuck, fans came up with a new idea--buy a product which advertised on Chuck and let the company (and network) both know the purchase was a direct result of the sponsorship. The finale of Chuck on April 27th was eat at Subway night for fans in the know. But not all fans necessarily knew of the campaign. Or if they did, perhaps some chose not to participate due to the questionable effectiveness of their efforts.
Thus, I propose a brave and progressive network organize a method by which certain advertisers can measure the effectiveness of sponsoring a certain tv show. All the network need do is create checkcards with a list of shows and corresponding sponsor(s) per each show. Advertisers could show their regular commercials, as usual, but a symbol could be shown indicating the sponsor was participating in the program. As a means of showing support for the show, fans could buy the product, sending back a checklist with a receipt or upc symbol, if desired. What a revolutionary new way for advertisers to see which specific commercial had a very real impact! It has to be frustrating to spend tons of money on an ad campaign and never really know what specific parts of it were the most effective. This would let the advertisers know. The tv execs, in return, should find a way of using the 'votes' in conjunction with Nielsen ratings to measure the true viewership of a show. Plus, if products were sold as a direct result of the campaign in significant numbers, they could most likely count on continued sponsorship from the advertisers meaning a direct impact on their bottom lines.
Obviously, there are limitations. Cars and realtors aren't going to participate as no one in their right minds and without the money of Bill Gates is going to make a purchasing decision for a car or house based on a tv show. But small items such as food products, cleaning items, clothing, etc. are all up for grabs. That covers a lot of ground.
TV networks could pilot the program at any time, and for any duration, but even doing it for one week to cover their full programming gamut would be effective. Please networks, give it some thought. Hammer out the details. But give it a try. You just might be surprised at the response.
