Supernatural: Fan Promotion, Ratings, and Charitable Deeds
by guest poster Liana Beck (mousitsa@sbcglobal.net)
Fan campaigns have been around a while, and really kick into high gear in reaction to news that a favorite show is facing the doom of cancellation. Occasionally fan campaigns arise that use the uniting force of devotion to a show to carry out deeds that can truly benefit society as well. In this regard, Supernatural fans have quickly become known for their generous efforts on behalf of charity. Such labors of love no doubt have a great deal of altruism built in, but there is no denying that the ulterior motive of ‘Show Promotion’ is also lurking underneath.
RISING RATINGS
Supernatural, now in its fourth season, is exhibiting a creative excellence that surpasses even its freshman year. Creator Eric Kripke and his team of writers continue to weave an intricate and captivating tale that stays fresh and unique. The two stars, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, not only carry each scene every week, but their on-screen chemistry — assisted by their off-screen friendship — brings an unparalleled depth and realism to the brothers they portray. They also prove every minute they’re on screen that they have loads of acting talent to go along with the eye-candy they provide. In terms of ratings, it’s premiere episode saw an overall increase of 40+% in all demographics, not to mention the largest yearly increase among all entertainment series returning for the 2008-09 season, despite its Thursday night “timeslot of doom.” And the numbers continue to remain steady and higher than last year as the season progresses. It appears word about this gem of a show is finally getting out. It can effectively be argued that these successes are directly connected to the ongoing and unrelenting promotion efforts undertaken by fans, heeding the pleas by Mr. Kripke of “tell a friend to tell a friend.”
Despite an obsessively dedicated fanbase and ratings that position it as the second highest scripted drama on The CW, Supernatural has been “on the bubble” in terms of renewal every year. This is in part due to the older-skewing demographic it attracts, rather than the teen female niche that CW unabashedly covets. Its viewers also pose a double-edged challenge. Genre audiences can be extremely dedicated and loyal, but can also be a thorn for the network. Their devotion, attention to detail, and above-average knowledge of inner workings can lead to a vociferous and tech-savvy fanbase that doesn’t hesitate to tell the network what is going right (or wrong) with a show — for better or worse. When it comes to Supernatural, the threat of cancellation became the driving force behind a variety of campaigns.
A PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE
This smart fanbase realized long ago that a majority of the promotion budget was being dedicated to shows serving the niche, such as Gossip Girl and 90210. Furthermore, fans knew that it is better for action to be pre-emptive rather than reactive, thus recognizing that the key to survival was based on ratings. And the key to ratings was dependent on getting more viewers. They knew that if people watched once, the quality of the show (with its perfect blend of scares, suspense, family drama and comedy) would have them coming back for more. And what better way to carry out this task than to flood the internet with mentions and praise of Supernatural? The buzzword here being the creation of “buzz.” After all, there is nothing wrong of taking advantage of an ingrained human trait such as curiosity. Besides the presence created through hundreds (thousands?) of blogs and websites, fans have also understood that it is important to make advertisers aware of the vast support through an array of postcards and communications — after all, it’s all about the money. In addition to showing appreciation to the advertisers, there is also the ongoing onslaught of postcards to the network offering a constant reminder of this support. Efforts quickly transformed from the reactive (“save Supernatural”) to the pre-emptive (“support Supernatural”).
Fan-driven promotional efforts began as early as February, 2006 and really took off the following year after Mr. Kripke’s plea. In an effort to increase the positive presence of Supernatural, as well as give back to the community on behalf of not only the show, but its talented lead actors, various charity works were undertaken. These have included sending care packages (complete with Supernatural DVDs) to American soldiers via Operation Winchester and the organizing of Fandom Rocks whose recent drive raised an unparalleled $9000 for fan-chosen charities, thanks in part to the support of the show’s producers, writers, directors, and actors.
Even an innocent and sincere idea such as a photobook project can transform into unexpected fundraising. When Becky (a.k.a. janglyjewels) offered to print a book that included photos of fans with Jared Padalecki to present to the actor at the recent EyeCon Convention, over 200 fans sent in their pictures taken with the actor and kindly offered a few dollars to help offset the printing costs. When those few dollars added up to not only cover the cost but surpass it, the extra funds were then earmarked for the Animal Rescue Site. Other fans also jumped in to donate, leading to an astounding $5000, an amount which in essence helps about 2500 dogs and increases their chances of adoption. Watching videos from EyeCon and seeing Jared’s emotional reaction easily brought tears to our eyes and an an admiration in the ability of this fandom to come together in such a manner.
GATHERING THE TROOPS
The latest effort arose as a simple suggestion among online friends on the CW Message Board and blossomed into a full-fledged promotional one-stop shop. Lindsay and Heather, better known as “LindsayW” and “sn1fan” first met on the CW Board before meeting in person at a Supernatural Convention. The friends certainly did not fit into CW’s demo niche, each being over 30 and with professional backgrounds of Market/Event Planning and Software/IT instead of high school term papers and pom-poms. Lindsay says of their humble beginnings, “We had a thread on the CW Lounge for ways that fans could help, but knew a cohesive website made more sense and could serve as an all-inclusive resource for a fan looking for ways to promote his/her favorite television program, Supernatural.” Heather adds, “It first started off being called ‘Save Supernatural’, so we started all these promotions and were trying to find a way to get all the info into one place for all the promos like postcards and letters. This led to creating the website, which we decided to change to ‘Support Supernatural’ since it looked like the show was already ‘saved’ by gaining renewal.”
Following in the inspiration provided by preceding charity projects, and the naming of specific charities from show stars Jared and Jensen, the two friends proceeded to launch a campaign to raise funds for PETA, the Humane Society of the U.S., St. Jude’s Children Hospital, and Doctors Without Borders. Fans came forward and helped them meet their initial goal of $500 per charity (or $1000 per actor) and the outpouring of support has been truly touching, especially in these financially troubled times. At the urging of supporters, the fundraising time period was extended to allow even more fans to participate, and with about one week left in the campaign, are hopeful that the support will continue in order to allow at least $1000 per charity. The hope is to have combined donation amounts that will truly make a difference. And as an added bonus, every person who donates will be entered to win one of two subscriptions to Titan Magazine. Please take a moment to visit the plethora of information organized on the site, which includes detailed info on this current fundraising project. Even a $5 donation will help towards meeting and surpassing the goals. (www.supportsupernatural.com)
The ladies have already received an acknowledgment from PETA’s Director of Major Gifts who has made Jared Padalecki aware of the efforts as well. Donations are accepted via PayPal on the website, a direct gift to the charity of choice, or forwarded to the ladies to submit in one bulk package. It is their hope now that they will be able to announce impressive numbers at Creation’s Salute to Supernatural, scheduled on Nov. 14-16 in Chicago.
GET ON BOARD
Once again, the beauty in all this is that the love and appreciation for a television show led to an idea, then a friendship, and ultimately to a desire to want to go beyond that and make a difference. Any show that has that kind of power to bring together total strangers in such a manner must have some special quality about it. Supernatural most certainly has this special quality. If you have yet to experience it, we urge you to tune in to The CW, Thursday, 9 pm to discover it for yourself. Although you might want to leave the lights on and hang on tight to your security blanket when you do! Oh, and don’t forget to tell a friend to tell a friend.
As mentioned in this article, other Charity and Promotional Links on behalf of Supernatural:
Operation Winchester: http://opwinchester.supernaturalunderground.com/index.php
Fandom Rocks: http://www.fandom-rocks.com/
Supernatural Underground: http://supernaturalunderground.com/
Promotional materials at Team Winchester: http://teamwinchester.com/
Live Journal promotional community: http://community.livejournal.com/promote_spn/
Editor’s Note: While we here at SFUniverse are fully behind fannish charity efforts as a whole, we do not endorse any of the above named charity efforts specifically. Though most fannish fundraising does go to the announced charity, there is a potential for money going astray. Please be careful about where and to whom you give your money.
SUPERNATURAL Pictured: Jensen Ackles as Dean, Jared Padalecki as Sam Photo Credit: Brian Bowen Smith/The CW ©2008 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
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POSTED IN: Fandom, Supernatural
14 opinions for Supernatural: Fan Promotion, Ratings, and Charitable Deeds
Kelly
Oct 25, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Man, you guys ROCK. I’ve been donating to Fandom Rocks since the first campaign, and as a fan and partcipant I’m thrilled to see it finally getting some more widespread recognition, as well as the rest of the charitable efforts. The actors and Powers That Be behind the show are very affable and approchable, and it helps creating a rapport and family-like feel that makes the fandom–no matter how cranky we might get with each other, like brothers and sisters are wont to do–feel like we’re one big family, all fighting for the same thing.
Fan Charity Drives Support Supernatural « Supernatural Television
Oct 25, 2008 at 7:46 pm
[...] SF Universe, “Supernatural: Fan Promotion, Ratings, and Charitable Deeds” by Liana [...]
Shadow
Oct 25, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Very nice article but you left out the “Photobook Project” for Jared that started out making a book of pictures for Jared and turned into a fundraiser that raised $5000.00 for The Animal Rescue Site.
janglyjewels a.k.a Becky was the person who started this but the fandom really came through and Jared was speechless when he received the book and donation.
The fans of Supernatural really do rock the house!
~ Mousitsa ~
Oct 25, 2008 at 9:13 pm
EEK! Shadow, you are so right… I was afraid that was going to happen. This is such an active fandom that I knew I couldn’t cover it all… let me see if there is a way to edit that info in… it’s notably important and worthwhile!
Malantmage
Oct 25, 2008 at 9:29 pm
This is a well written article. Very thought provoking. My post is not meant take away from the efforts of fans to promote the show and/or run charity drives.
It is a response that offers another side to the issue.
Fans have put a lot of effort into and effort to promote the series there is no doubt about that.
The thing is fandom run charity drives, as wonderful as they are and even with all the good they have done to raise money, rarely have had any impact on the ratings increases of television shows. I think it probably likely that the ones for Supernatural may have had very little impact on it’s ratings as well. The reason I think this is because none of these charity drives have obtained the kind of mainstream media attention necessary to bring them to the notice of the casual viewer and non internet related viewer and in turn draw their attention to the series.
Also for the same reason this site had to add a disclaimer to the charity drives so must the studios, networks and such for legal reason put a certain amount of necessary distance between themselves and the promotion of the charity drives thay have not sanctioned.
Also there is always the potential for fandom division about charity events and fandom politics/arguments and that keep studios, networks and series production staff from using them as promotion tools for the series. It’s often this uglier side of the issue that has more of a potential to keep new viewers away.
Also on the other side of the coin, both the network and the studio has made decisions that have had an effect on the increased interest in Supernatural. As pointed out in the article, the author notes that Supernatural doesn’t have the coveted demographic that the CW might seek out for the rest of their programing, but Supernatural is gaining ground in viewer interest in a place where the other shows are not, in some cases even involved in yet.
Supernatural has merchandising that is starting to increase and to come into the market. Comic books, novels, trading cards. All of these things contribute to increasing viewer awareness of the series.
Also, for the fourth season, the CW and Warner Bros has really done a kick ass job of putting out some amazing and innovative promotional means for the series. Teaser clips, more interviews, and that wonderful little Jensen Ackles surprise at the end of Yellow Fever.
And there is always the one thing no fan really wants to talk about and even gets defensive about. The release of spoiler information they get ‘access’ to including casting sides, photos and other means of information. From the beginning of Season Four Kripke and the studio/network were trying to build some mystery and suspense about how Dean was going to get out hell. They wanted to create enough intrigue that new viewers might be intrigued enough to tune it. It was an uphill battle for them because of all the spoilers and information fans were ‘revealing’ on the net. but Kripke and company managed to hold onto some vital secrets and keep them away from the casual viewer/new viewer long enough to draw them in by making them intrigued about what was going on and that in turn increase the ratings for the show, possibly more than fan campaigns or charity drives.
The thing is for every supportive post card a fan might send to an advertiser, there is the possibility that it gets counteracted by all the ‘reveal’s the fans flood the internet with that take the mystery out of an episode.
Maybe what Kripke and company need from the fans in form of help to promote the show is that ‘word of mouth’ he asked for. Which means also knowing when to without some vitial information and let the viewers be intrigued enough by the mystery and the surprising plot twists to want to tune in. Word of mouth doesn’t translate to ‘give everything away’. Maybe the best help is to let Kripke and company do their job and tell their stories and then go out and tell friends ‘hey this is a great show and I like it because’.
Malantmage
Oct 25, 2008 at 9:35 pm
“Which means also knowing when to without some vitial information ….. ”
Just to clarify that should have read “which means also knowing when to withhold some vital information.
Sandi Campbell
Oct 25, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Wonderful article, Liana.
Supernatural is, indeed, a heretofore “hidden gem” that is finally getting the media recognition it has long deserved. Eric Kripke has gathered together a group of such amazing talents, from cast to crew, from behind the camera to the writer’s room, and they have created a show that keeps us on the edge of our seats week after week. And, a show that not only entertains, but makes you think, as well!
I applaud the Supernatural fans for their charitable work. Through our mutual love and support of Supernatural, we have worked together to say “Thank You” to Kripke and Company in a way that has helped some very worthy causes.
I work with Fandom Rocks and, as you mentioned, our last campaign raised $9000.00 for Writegirl and Invisible Children, thanks in part to an online auction for some great items donated by a lot of the awesome folks at Supernatural.
We have just begun our latest campaign, which will benefit HSUS (the arm of the Humane Society which works to investigate and expose the cruelty and mistreatment of animals in the US and abroad, and Children of Tomorrow, which provides assistance to children and families who have become victims of war, persecution, and violence. These organizations were chosen by SPN fans through an online poll on the FR website.
We will be holding online fundraisers and promotions, as well as being at the Supernatural conventions, so we hope to connect with many, many Supernatural fans.
Thanks again, for your wonderful words about the best show on television!
Stacey
Oct 26, 2008 at 12:21 am
Very well written article!
Brande Ruiz
Oct 26, 2008 at 1:24 am
Thanks for the mention of Fandom Rocks in the article. I’ve been with the organization from the very beginning, and I think those of us on the board can be very proud of the work, of our fandom, and of the fact that 100% of the funds that we’ve received have gone directly to the chosen charities.
It’s no secret that any charity can easily go awry - and certainly anything run on the Internet increases that potential. That is why the FR board has taken every step we can think of to run our campaigns as transparently as possible. We even ave allowed fans to view the reporting on our Paypal account directly.
In addition, we’ve sometimes spent a great deal of our own funds covering expenses to help ensure that fan donations go *exactly* where they were intended.
I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been there to personally hand off the donations to our charities on two occasions. It was an immense feeling of success, and in many ways, it has been humbling.
While these campaigns may not have huge impacts on the ratings at large, they have impact, nonetheless. Every time I go out with my Fandom Rocks shirt on, every time I hand over a check, every time I run to the printer to get cards or flyers - someone (or three or four!) asks me about Fandom Rocks.
I tell them about it and I tell them about the show. And 100% of the time, those people tell me if a show can inspire that many people to work for charity in its name, then it’s something they have to check out.
If every fan gets just new ONE person to watch, then it’s a good day. And if we can do that while also doing something good for our fellow man, then it’s a GREAT day!
Maria
Oct 26, 2008 at 11:39 am
Liana! Long time no “see” Not since I met you at hotel check in before AFGM. :) Well, I just want to say that this is a wonderful article and very informative for a fan that lives on the outskirts of fandom like myself. I knew of a few but never really understood the extent and impact of each organization, and I do mean Organization. :)
Again, Awesome article! And quick note, the link to http://www.SupportSupernatural.com is missing an ‘r’ in super so it’s not going to the site. Thought you’d like to know. :)
Lindsay
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Dear Anna,
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for including our little site in your wonderful tribute to the Supernatural fandom.
Sincerely,
Lindsay
http://www.SupportSupernatural.com
maria
Oct 26, 2008 at 10:38 pm
hi jared and jensen my name is maria
i live in new york with my grandma.
i love supernatural i watch it evey thursday
i want to meet you someday.
jensen your a good actor
jared your a good actor
your fan maria
Dawn
Oct 30, 2008 at 5:13 pm
What a wonderful & wellwritten article highlighting the GOOD side of this fandom! It was really needed after all the recent drama over Sam’s character & then Dean’s character. And thanks to this site for giving this guest author a chance to share.
~ Mousitsa ~
Nov 1, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Malantimage, thank you for your comments and offering another way to look at things. Ultimately, there is only one thing that affects ratings and that is those darn Neilsen boxes — and I have yet to run across someone in this vast fandom with one of those. You correctly state that none of the fan-driven charity drives have gained mainstream media attention, so perhaps it is time to once again change the approach and work on getting that mainstream attention. As for the drives themselves, they are always voluntary. Fans give to and support those projects that they are comfortable with and those organizers they have developed a trust for. But if an act of charity then results in the mention of Supernatural on that charity’s site or some blurb in a news item, which can result in new viewers curious to see the show that inspired the charity, then every little bit helps. And it is fully understandable that the network and studio have to maintain a legal distance from these drives. When I had called the studio well over a year ago to ask what charities the stars supported, an answer could not be provided without running it through the legal dept. first. After all, “Supernatural” is a brand name with all the legal rights associated to such.
The additional merchandising the series has only serves to strengthen the support of the series by fans, and that benefits all around. And thank goodness WB jumped in and took the initiative for some promo assistance considering CW was way too busy focusing on Gossip Girl and 90210.
In regards to the spoilers, I am of mixed feelings on this. The casual or new viewer is not going to be entrenched in fandom to get immediate access to the spoilers, but they will get the necessary intrigue-building blurbs from the mainstream sources, like TV Guide for example. People within fandom who WANT to get a glimpse into what’s coming up (like myself) are not going to be any less intrigued or any less likely to tune in; in fact, my anticipation and excitement grows with the more I learn. And same goes for those within fandom that avoid spoilers. This fandom is so vast and connected, that anything associated to Supernatural showing up anywhere in the world is almost immediately shared. The bad side to this is the potential revolutions that arise from those bits of spoilers taken out of context (i.e. JoGate when Jo was named as a love interest; the RuBela fiasco when they were dubbed ‘hot, kick-A hunter girlfriends’). Yes, fandom went into revolution mode at those times, but looking back at the whole picture, it certainly was NOT without good reason. Of course, one can justifiably argue that it’s not our place to question these things, but instead should sit back and allow the creators to tell their story the way they want. Not a problem with something like Grey’s or Heroes and their 15 million viewers… who cares if a million walk away, there’s plenty more there. Supernatural does not have that luxury of introducing elements that the majority find unpleasant and start walking away.
As far as the promo vids and pics that are provided by CW/WB, I would hope that those are being shared through legitimate outlets. In a way, CW indirectly causes this problem by not including overseas access to sections of their site. The overseas fans (including Canada where the show is filmed) should have the same privilege of seeing those vids as the US fans. Even though they don’t contribute to the ratings numbers, they DO contribute to the purchasing of DVDs, comics, mags, etc.
Anyways, I am rambling again. Thanks to everyone for their support and kind words and to SciFi Universe for allowing me to share my thoughts. :))))
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