Re: Dateline on Cohousing
From: Susan LaBarre (susalamindspring.com)
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 22:41:35 -0600
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At 10:58 AM -0600 12/29/98, LScottr2go [at] aol.com wrote:

>> as really excited and surprised to turn on Dateline tonight 10PM EST and
> >see a feature on cohousing and Harmony Village. They did a great job. If
> >you're online and live in any timezones west of here, you might be able to
> >still catch it on NBC.
>
>I sure wish the cohousing network could let us know about marketing
>opportunities like this.  Thanks, Linda Scott

I agree that this kind of PR can and will become a powerful function of the
national network as we grow. In the meantime, there's no reason why anyone
in our online community can't notify this list if national news coverage or
a feature story in print, TV, NPR, etc., is about to break or has already
been featured. It so happens, our local NBC affiliate is really cool about
dovetailing Dateline broadcasts with a related local story and they did a
quick followup after the show and featured a segment on cohousing here in
the Triangle and also flashed the www.cohousing.org address on the screen.
I quickly logged online and within three minutes of the local broadcast, I
got 2 emails from local folks who'd just seen the show and had already been
to our local cohousing website. I've since gotten another 3 emails, one of
whom wrote:

"Last night I saw an intriguing News show about "Cohousing".  I have
thought about a cohousing situation for a few years not really
understanding the definition.  I never even knew what "cohousing" was until
last night.  I just thought that it would be great to live in a smaller
place where I can get to know my neighbors and share some common
interests..."

Powerful, huh :-) ...and...there are thousands of folks around the country
who are now thinking about cohousing as a result of the show and will seek
your community out within the next couple of weeks, if they haven't already
done so. PARTICULARLY if this PR is reinforced.

So, Linda, your marketing opportunity is first beginning!!!

TV is an amazing medium and, for better or worse, the average American
culturally buys into what they see on TV as real. Because of the Dateline
feature, cohousing as a "real" movement has just been legitimized in NBC's
viewing public's mind. People who may have heard about cohousing before...
or noticed your marketing, but weren't ready or receptive at the time, may
now have a brand new perception of and receptivity to cohousing. Let's now
roll up our sleeves and reinforce this perception in EVERY city within
reach of that broadcast. This is a great week to place ads, post or repost
flyers to bulletin boards, to call your local newspaper, radio and TV
station for some kind of interview... any interesting story twist will do
(and remind your local media about the Dateline coverage... they like to
dovetail with national coverage because it makes them look current.)

You should also send out fresh PSAs about your meetings (amend whatever you
can with tag lines that say something like: "cohousing was recently
featured on NBC Dateline." Be creative and get your local message out there
linked to the Dateline broadcast ...anything to reinforce cohousing in the
minds of millions in your city or region who may have seen or heard about
the show.

I would be interested in hearing from other communities... say in a week or
so... to see how many leads and inquiries they received as a result of this
PR.  Track the data and send to me directly (totals are fine) and I'll
compile it for the list.  Even if you have no way of knowing the source of
the lead, having a significant increase in leads compared to your usual
volume is enough to measure impact. I'm also on the TCN board and I'd be
happy to pass on your marketing comments to those members who are focused
on marketing/PR.

Whoops... just got another email lead!!  Way cool.

Susan



Susan LaBarre
ENVISION CREATIVE SERVICES
Phone: 919-846-0962  Fax: 919-846-9136
Email:  susala [at] mindspring.com
Web:   http://susala.home.mindspring.com/
Across the planet, we're all one people...we just have different service
providers.
Macintosh forever!
                                                           
--============_-1297129596==_ma============

At 10:58 AM -0600 12/29/98, LScottr2go [at] aol.com wrote:


>> as really excited and surprised to turn on Dateline tonight 10PM EST
and

> >see a feature on cohousing and Harmony Village. They did a great
job. If

> >you're online and live in any timezones west of here, you might be
able to

> >still catch it on NBC. 

>

>I sure wish the cohousing network could let us know about marketing

>opportunities like this.  Thanks, Linda Scott


I agree that this kind of PR can and will become a powerful function of
the national network as we grow. In the meantime, there's no reason why
anyone in our online community can't notify this list if national news
coverage or a feature story in print, TV, NPR, etc., is about to break
or has already been featured. It so happens, our local NBC affiliate is
really cool about dovetailing Dateline broadcasts with a related local
story and they did a quick followup after the show and featured a
segment on cohousing here in the Triangle and also flashed the
www.cohousing.org address on the screen. I quickly logged online and
within three minutes of the local broadcast, I got 2 emails from local
folks who'd just seen the show and had already been to our local
cohousing website. I've since gotten another 3 emails, one of whom
wrote:


<smaller>"Last night I saw an intriguing News show about "Cohousing". 
I have thought about a cohousing situation for a few years not really
understanding the definition.  I never even knew what "cohousing" was
until last night.  I just thought that it would be great to live in a
smaller place where I can get to know my neighbors and share some
common interests..."


</smaller>Powerful, huh :-) ...and...there are thousands of folks
around the country who are now thinking about cohousing as a result of
the show and will seek your community out within the next couple of
weeks, if they haven't already done so. PARTICULARLY if this PR is
reinforced.


So, Linda, your marketing opportunity is first beginning!!!


TV is an amazing medium and, for better or worse, the
<italic>average</italic> American culturally buys into what they see on
TV as real. Because of the Dateline feature, cohousing as a "real"
movement has just been legitimized in NBC's viewing public's mind.
People who may have heard about cohousing before... or noticed your
marketing, but weren't ready or receptive at the time, may now have a
brand new perception of and receptivity to cohousing. Let's now roll up
our sleeves and reinforce this perception in EVERY city within reach of
that broadcast. This is a great week to place ads, post or repost
flyers to bulletin boards, to call your local newspaper, radio and TV
station for some kind of interview... any interesting story twist will
do (and remind your local media about the Dateline coverage... they
like to dovetail with national coverage because it makes
<italic>them</italic> look current.) 


You should also send out fresh PSAs about your meetings (amend whatever
you can with tag lines that say something like: "cohousing was recently
featured on NBC Dateline." Be creative and get your local message out
there linked to the Dateline broadcast ...anything to reinforce
cohousing in the minds of millions in your city or region who may have
seen or heard about the show. 


I would be interested in hearing from other communities... say in a
week or so... to see how many leads and inquiries they received as a
result of this PR.  Track the data and send to me directly (totals are
fine) and I'll compile it for the list.  Even if you have no way of
knowing the source of the lead, having a significant increase in leads
compared to your usual volume is enough to measure impact. I'm also on
the TCN board and I'd be happy to pass on your marketing comments to
those members who are focused on marketing/PR. 


Whoops... just got another email lead!!  Way cool.


Susan



Susan LaBarre

ENVISION CREATIVE SERVICES

Phone: 919-846-0962  Fax: 919-846-9136

Email:  susala [at] mindspring.com

Web:   http://susala.home.mindspring.com/

Across the planet, we're all one people...we just have different service 
providers.

Macintosh forever!

                                                           

--============_-1297129596==_ma============--

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