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Update - #41
September 14, 1998

Hi all- I have lots of information to share with you about campaign activities in this update.

 

1. For this week's reminder gift to the network executives, we will be presenting them with a letter from Habitat for Humanity acknowledging the contribution of PREY fans in the amount of $805.00. We are also tallying the Canadian contribution and that will also be included when it is available to me. (I will update this page as soon as I get the info). I will post the wording of the accompanying card in my Thursday update. Again, I want to thank Susan S. and all the PREY fans who contributed to this cause.

2. I am delighted with the benefits your generosity will bring to HFH, but I also want to help PREY receive some benefits from your kind actions. I have listed some followup activities that will be done and some that I will count on all of you for to help give PREY and our campaign some recognition. Please look over the suggested activities and try to lend a hand with one or more. The network executives' mailout will be on Thursday. To make sure that the executives have a chance to receive the materials before they are asked about the campaign, please time your emails, mailouts and phone calls so that your efforts do not reach people or the media before Monday, September 21st. Emails and letters could certainly be sent over the weekend. Here are some ways you can help:

  • If you are unfamiliar with Habitat for Humanity check out their web site at http://www.habitat.org
  • Look over the letter that was sent with our donation and the letter received from HFH at the bottom of this message. Feel free to print out or quote from either of them in your publicity efforts
  • Mary T. is organizing volunteers to divide up newspapers and media organizations across the country. If you would be willing to help her out with some of them, please email her at hshermanii@aol.com This would be very helpful, even if you could only take a few in your home state.
  • Check out the local affiliates section at the HFH site and contact your local affiliate and let them know about our campaign, including copies of the letters if you wish. I will make sure that the affiliates in LA and New York City get the info.
  • I will be sending info to the major talk shows listed in our contact section. If you could send an email supporting doing a story on our efforts, we might have a better chance. The shows will be receiving the letters below and an intro letter from me, so you might not want to email or send the same thing, but rather a personal appeal to showcase regular viewers and their anything but regular efforts to get an exceptional show renewed.
  • Of course we want to continue with our followup letters to network executives, sharing your passion and our unique strategies for supporting PREY
  • POST....POST.....POST, anywhere that there is a board that would be appropriate for our message. Let people know what we are doing. To make it easier for you, you can select and copy the message (holding it in your scrapbook or clipboard) and then just continue to paste it as you visit each new site.
  • I will be sending info the the major national newspapers and entertainment media, but followup letters from everyone would also be helpful. Of course, we would love to get publicity from the LA Times and NY Times, so those should be high on our contact list.

Thanks for your help in this important campaign activity

 

3. For our Canadian fans, here is a contact that you might want to investigate: Women's Television Network at P.O. Box 158/ Stn L./ Winnipeg, MB Canada R3H 0Z5 The email is wtncomments@wtn.ca

4. Maggie, one of our Canadian fans, is putting together a PREY calendar for 1999. If you are interested in putting your name down for one, contact her at pbarnett@pangea.ca

5. A few weeks ago I shared with you that several major advertisers were joining forces to try and gain some control over television programming. The five major advertisers are: Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Sears, and Ford Motor Co. ( most of which have addresses listed on our sponsor page). Advertising executives from these 5 companies will be meeting in New York on September 28th. It might be a good idea to drop them a note sharing your concern for quality programming and the current system that lets quality programming fall by the wayside ( one special program in particular :-) ).

6. In some more industry news, it was reported that networks are battling to come up with the cash that a very few top rated shows are demanding. NBC will pay a record $13 million per episode to the producer of ER, more than 6 times its previous cost. Of course with money going out on a few shows and advertisers looking at other options as the market broadens, you have a vicious circle in which a few programs gobble up the money leaving little time or patience for nurturing shows that take time to develop. We can expect to see more shows that are less costly to produce such as news shows. This situation is chasing the networks and creating a reactive environment that will crush the majority of programs as networks scramble to "discover" the megahit that will drive advertisers to them.

7. As many of you know, ABC has ( at least for now) added a PREY board back to their listing of message boards. I have been unable to access it as it seems to be perpetually "under construction". I have no idea what their motivation or agenda is in putting back a board for PREY. I see that Nothing Sacred also has one. However, regardless of the motivation, we can still use it to help our cause. As always we embody our 4 words whenever we spread the word about PREY: polite, professional, persistent, and passionate. PREY needs allies not enemies. You never know where help can come from and we lose nothing by presenting ourselves and PREY in a consistently professional manner. PREY did and probably does still have some "friends" at ABC and we can best support them by standing above the usual tactics that campaigns employ. We gain nothing by attacking a network. PREY needs all the allies it can get, from anywhere we can get them. Who knows what bridge we may need to walk across in the future? Best to not burn down any of them! REMEMBER, we do not NEED the board at ABC, we have a strong and active presence in cyberspace and their board is simply one further place to post.

PREY continues to be talked about because you are continuing to support it in so many ways, large and small. I am convinced that it is the sum total of all the many efforts that makes the difference. Like water dripping on a rock, your persistence and passion will make a difference. Who knows, your next letter to an executive or a sponsor or a media person might be the catalyst for action. Know this, you have kept PREY alive and well these many months. You have held on with a tenacity and faith that is seldom seen anymore. You have made people notice and think about PREY. You, individually and collectively, have been the lifeline holding PREY above the quagmire of primetime death by cancellation. Thank you for your faith and passion....thank you.....for everything.

 

Gina

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Gwinnett County Habitat for Humanity, Inc.

August 31,1998

 

Gina Evers

Campaign Coordinator

'PREY for Us"

 

This donation made to the Gwinnett County Habitat for Humanity on the behalf of the "Prey for Us" online support group is greatly appreciated. The amount of $805.00 raised by the members of the We are the Prey Messageboard in a little over 20 days from all over the U.S. and Canada is impressive.

Your group has come together over the internet and as a byproduct of supporting a television show has chosen to make a tangible investment in reality. Habitat for Humanity partners with worthy families to build affordable homes. The families work for their home and repay the cost through a long-term mortgage. There is no profit to us and no interest is charged. Over 65,000 Habitat homes have been built worldwide with donated money, building materials and other items and voluteer labor.

 

Gwinnett County Habitat for Humanity is celebrating its tenth year. We are presently constructing homes 13, 14, and 15 since our local group was formed. We hope to complete six homes this year and will apply your donation to helping us reach that goal.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Walter Thompson

Executive Director

 

1362 PINE CIRCLE. STONE MOUNTAIN, GA 30087. (770) 931-8080

 

************************************************************************************

 

"PREY For Us" Campaign

http://start.at/prey

 

August 31, 1998

 

Walt Thompson

Executive Director

Habitat for Humanity

Gwinnett County

1362 Pine Circle

Stone Mountain, GA 30087

 

Dear Mr. Thompson:

 

It is with great pleasure that fans of the sci-fi drama PREY enclose checks that total $805.00 for the Habitat for Humanity fund. The many dedicated fans of this exceptional show are working to have PREY renewed for a second season. In discussing ways to promote PREY, a decision was made to focus our funds and efforts not just on renewing a television show, but also in helping to make the world a little better for real people who are struggling with the basic survival need of adequate housing. You will find that the people involved with our campaign are intelligent, compassionate and pro-active individuals. Although we come from many different professions, a common thread of involvement and dedication to excellence is found in our members.

 

PREY focuses on the survival of the human species and how different groups (in the case of PREY, humans and an advanced species of humans that are more evolved than us) attempt to coexist and integrate. We thought that Habitat for Humanity would provide a most appropriate way for us to share our passion while benefiting people in need.

 

We hope that our small contribution will help you to help families attempting to build a stable and more secure future for themselves. We are delighted to be able to assist you. Please accept our sincere appreciation and admiration for the wonderful efforts of your organization.

 

On behalf of all PREY fans,

 

Gina Evers

Campaign Coordinator

"PREY For Us"

 

GEvers3@aol.com