CFF Deadlines

CommanderTaggart · April 1st, 2004, 12:37 PM

I have received a number on inquiries regarding the timetable under which the CFF needs to reach it's fundrising goals.

The deadline is tied to the Cinescape printing deadline. To have the ad included in the September issue, the art... and payment... will need to be in Cinescape's hands by the end of June. If we have raised only $5,000 by the end of June, we will have to decide:

(a) That fundraising is going well, so we'll go ahead and buy Cinescape, confident in the knowledge that we will raise the other $5,000 in time for the September 17th issue of Daily Variety, which has much more loose deadlines, being a daily publication.

(b) That fundraising has slowed to the point that we're not confident we'll hit the $10,000 goal, thus we will skip Cinescape, and hold out for Daily Variety... as well as whatever publication we can afford with whatever amount we raise above $5,000.

So, really, 30 June is an important date for this campaign.

So, in to paraphrase the words of Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire, "Help us help you [bring your heroes back]."

And, to paraphrase the words of Cuba Gooding, Jr., in Jerry McGuire, "Show [Hollywood] the money!"

Or, at least the ad. Who knows? You might even make the 6 o'clock news on the IFB!

ernie90125 · April 1st, 2004, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CommanderTaggart

(b) That fundraising has slowed to the point that we're not confident we'll hit the $10,000 goal, thus we will skip Cinescape, and hold out for Daily Variety... as well as whatever publication we can afford with whatever amount we raise above $5,000.

Forgive my ignorance, but I do not know of Daily Variety as I am in the UK and have never seen it here ? What kind of publication is it ????

How many days will our ad run if it is placed in Daily Variety ? Surely $5000 gets you more than one day ?

Thanks,

Ernie90125

CommanderTaggart · April 1st, 2004, 02:11 PM

Hey, Ernie. Daily Variety is THE trade magazine for the entertainment industry. Much of the entertainment news you read from wire reports likely originiated in a Variety article. Directors, Producers, actors, studio heads, you name it... if they're an entertainment professional, they read Daily Variety. It's the biggie. The ad will only run once. It will only need to run once.

That's why we want to do two ads... Variety to hit TPTB in Hollywood, and Cinescape to hit the average Joe Blow SciFi fan, and have them write to Larson and DeSanto.

ernie90125 · April 1st, 2004, 03:56 PM

Thanks for the info about the Daily Variety. It's probably because I am not a TPTB that I don't know about it !!!!

My feeling is that $5000 is a lot of money for one day. But I trust your judgement.

Based upon your options above, I recommend Option A.

CommanderTaggart · April 1st, 2004, 05:15 PM

Ernie, that's the discounted rate they're giving us, special! Trust me... this is the absolute best bang we can get for our buck for this audience. It's the same rag the Farscape people took their ad out in... and they're getting a miniseries.

And we're going to get a movie. We just need to believe, and put our money where our mouth is one last time.

jewels · April 2nd, 2004, 07:00 AM

*bump*

ernie90125 · April 2nd, 2004, 07:31 AM

Commander Taggert,

Thanks for the reply. Like I said, I trust you. My problem is that I know neither magazine well, but was aware of factors like Cinescape is less regular than daily, and would get the attention of TPTB as well ?

If something is only once in a daily, then it could be missed so easily because of human nature.... We all miss a daily thing once, we all sometimes need to see something more than once to remember it, and I suspect we are likely to look more than once at a monthly mag than a daily ????

But like I said, I trust you to make the decision.....

Dawg · April 2nd, 2004, 08:47 AM

Ernie, to put it most simply, we have an opportunity to reach a whole bunch of different people depending on the publication. Daily Variety is an industry magazine; everybody in Hollywood or in the entertainment industry reads it. It's what's called a "targetted audience". Something in the Daily Variety will catch the eye of industry bigwigs, but it would go way over the head of the average joe (you and me). By the same token, Cinescape is much more widely distributed and probably isn't read by too many studio heads - but it's read by most of the people who go into Blockbuster stores, the averagle joes like you and me.

$10,000 is an attainable goal, even within the next 90 days (we're 20% there already, in less than 30 days). With ads in both magazines, we reach the power brokers who want the audience's money, and we reach the audience whose money the power brokers want. Best of all possible worlds.

I will not settle for one penny less than $10,000 in the CFF coffers by the end of June.

Neither should you, if you really want a continuation movie made. Have you contributed yet?

I'm serious, though - tell your friends and family, anybody who might remember TOS BSG fondly. The fans can make a difference.

I am
Dawg

ernie90125 · April 2nd, 2004, 12:43 PM

Dear Dawg,

Thankyou for your reply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg

Daily Variety is an industry magazine; everybody in Hollywood or in the entertainment industry reads it. It's what's called a "targetted audience". Something in the Daily Variety will catch the eye of industry bigwigs, but it would go way over the head of the average joe (you and me). :

I must be honest and say that I have never seen this mag, as I do not think it is available here in the UK. My comments (which I hope are coming across as constructive, as they are intended) are about the principle of a 'daily'

To give the basis for my thoughts :

TPTB must get loads of mail everyday, are we sure they will have time to go through every page on the day we place our ad ?

What if they are away on a shoot/business etc for a week or two, will they find time to go through every page of the daily mag to find our Ad ????

Will having seen it once, on one day, be enough to make the idea stick enough to influence them ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg

Neither should you, if you really want a continuation movie made. Have you contributed yet?

I have indeed. I was the first person to contribute aside from organiser Bill Gordon.......

I have contributed on two occasions. Further to that, if you see the news room of CF, you will see I put some of my BG stuff on an ebay aution for the benefit of CFF.

I hope my comments are coming across in the positive way there are intended....

Ernie90125

Dawg · April 2nd, 2004, 02:23 PM

I understand what you're saying, Ernie, and I don't take them as negative, I take them as understanding the real world. But I also submit that full-page ads are hard to ignore, even if you're just leafing through the paper. Variety is, I believe, a "must read" for the people who subscribe, so they'll be leafing through it, page by page, looking for articles of interest - and noticing the full page ad placed by a fan group - something that is, I beleive, rather rare. There's nothing but "up-side" here. If a minor percentage miss it (and I think it would be a minor percentage), so be it. Most will see it.

Same with Cinescape - a wider general distribution, but a longer one, too.

BTW, I do recall your contributions to CFF; my comment was meant somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and a jab at some of our members who haven't contributed yet. I am personally grateful for your support of CFF.

I am
Dawg

ernie90125 · April 2nd, 2004, 02:37 PM

Thanks for the reply Dawg. What of course might happen is that 'word of mouth' might attract the powers that be to take another look at the Daily Variety if the missed it....

BTW, I know you were Tongue in Cheek above, but I wanted to state my commitment, in order to qualify these and other concerns that I have voiced for the benefit of the CFF.

Were any other mags considered, just out of interest ? Of the less regular mags, what was behind the decision to use Cinescape ?

Ernie90125

ernie90125 · April 4th, 2004, 06:45 AM

If the only mag to show an ad is Daily Variety, then will this mag generate enough of a letter writing campaign ? Bear in mind that it is an industry mag, and any 'for joe public' ad in Cinescape would follow some time later.....

Ernie90125

koenigrules · April 4th, 2004, 06:46 AM

Well- I informed David Eick of CFF.
Check out the other thread.
Let's hope he contributes to the cause too!
KR

Dawg · April 4th, 2004, 08:27 AM

We'll see if we get any kind of response from Mr. Eick. I hope so.

Ernie, to answer your questions, a number of different magazines and newspapers were considered, from USA Today to Time to the Star to TV Guide. As the "audiences" we wanted to target with the ad became clearer, and as we learned the costs involved in each of the suggested publications (

), the decision to go with these two, Daily Variety and Cinescape, was actually pretty easy.

Actually, Ernie, The plan is for the ads to appear at the same time - in the September issue of Cinescape, and the September 17 (date sound familiar?) issue of Daily Variety. Remember, though, that these are two different audiences we're talking about - industry and the public. Simultaneous ads would not be as critical given these circumstances, but that's what we're shooting for anyway.

Hope this helps.

I am
Dawg

dilbertman · April 8th, 2004, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg

We'll see if we get any kind of response from Mr. Eick. I hope so.

Ernie, to answer your questions, a number of different magazines and newspapers were considered, from USA Today to Time to the Star to TV Guide. As the "audiences" we wanted to target with the ad became clearer, and as we learned the costs involved in each of the suggested publications (

), the decision to go with these two, Daily Variety and Cinescape, was actually pretty easy.

Actually, Ernie, The plan is for the ads to appear at the same time - in the September issue of Cinescape, and the September 17 (date sound familiar?) issue of Daily Variety. Remember, though, that these are two different audiences we're talking about - industry and the public. Simultaneous ads would not be as critical given these circumstances, but that's what we're shooting for anyway.

Hope this helps.

I am
Dawg

Hi

Will be putting my money where my mouth is soon. My question is did you check into the cost of an ad in the following magazines.

Dreamwatch
Starlog
SFX
Starburst
TVZone

Or Diamond Comic Distrbutors "PREVIEWS" catalog that is used by over 90,000 consumers and retailers to order their comics and related merchandise.

Jim

Westy · April 8th, 2004, 06:56 AM

Wow, that June deadline will be here before you know it. I just sent another donation. I'll see if I can do another one in a few weeks. Thanks for all the hard work you guys, it's very appreciated all over fandom.

jewels · April 8th, 2004, 08:34 AM

Jim, Get me enough publishers info and web address info on that comic preview thing. I know Dragoncon used ads on comics themselves last year to encourage their attendance. Additional plans are always a good idea: we want everything we raise spent on advertising.

Starlog's demographics claim they reach 18-25 year olds. They are not as widely distributed as Cinescape which most Blockbuster Video stores here carry. (Blockbuster is the biggest video/DVD/game rental chain in the US. Guarantees it's in every suburb and town with a Blockbuster.)

Daily Variety is the first read of every industry exec every day. It's not unusual for a fan group to place something there but it is still something that gets noticed and talked about and even picked up on by news media.

Jewels

CommanderTaggart · April 8th, 2004, 10:39 AM

Thanks, Westy... and everyone else who has donated!

dilbertman · April 10th, 2004, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jewels

Jim, Get me enough publishers info and web address info on that comic preview thing. I know Dragoncon used ads on comics themselves last year to encourage their attendance. Additional plans are always a good idea: we want everything we raise spent on advertising.

Starlog's demographics claim they reach 18-25 year olds. They are not as widely distributed as Cinescape which most Blockbuster Video stores here carry. (Blockbuster is the biggest video/DVD/game rental chain in the US. Guarantees it's in every suburb and town with a Blockbuster.)

Daily Variety is the first read of every industry exec every day. It's not unusual for a fan group to place something there but it is still something that gets noticed and talked about and even picked up on by news media.

Jewels

Hi Jewels

Just put my money where my mouth is. Now on to the PREVIEWS thing and the others.

==========

PREVIEWS

http://www.diamondcomics.com/

http://vendor.diamondcomics.com/adve...g_contacts.asp

==========

Dreamwatch

http://www.dreamwatchmag.com/index.html

http://www.dreamwatchmag.com/pressmagazines.html

==========

Starlog

http://www.starlog.com/

http://www.starlog.com/advertise.php

==========

SFX

http://www.futurenet.com/sfx/

http://www.futurenet.com/sfx/contact...sectionid=1200

==========

Starburst
TVZone

http://www.visimag.com/index.htm

adverts@visimag.com c/o Martin Clarke or Nolan Griffith

=========

Jim

JLHurley · April 10th, 2004, 11:01 PM

I've already donated but plan to do so again soon. IMO, money spent on a shot at a continuation movie is money well spent. (Even if a TOS theatrical return never happens, it'll still be worth the $$$--as well as the "peace of mind" that I at least helped with the effort.)

CommanderTaggart · April 11th, 2004, 03:41 PM

Thanks, JL! It will, indeed, be money well spent... and I have a strong feeling that our message will be heard. The time is right.