Television Preview - lame
My wife and I got a letter in the mail the other day saying that some company called “Television Preview” wanted our opinions on new shows that networks were considering. It sounded like a pretty fun night - we just had to show up at a hotel in Salt Lake and watch some 30 minute shows and tell them what we thought. The only thing that I thought was weird was that the letter said that “Television Preview” would show us television shows with the commercials in them, just like we would see at home. They even told us to wear whatever we wear to watch tv - I guess they’re lucky we didn’t go.
Before we headed over to the hotel for a “free” night of entertainment, I decided to look up some information on “Television Preview” online. Here are the first 3 sites that I found (that were not actually “Television Preview” themselves):
http://teevee.org/archive/2001/05/09/
http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2000-09-07/news2.html
http://www.nfcg.org.uk/ConsNews/cn197p12.htm
So what’s the scam here? Well, they’re not trying to sell you anything (they make this abundantly clear on their own website - probably because it’s the only thing they have going for them). Advertisers pay them to embed commercials in their “pilot programs” (some of which are over 10 years old and have already actually aired) and give you a survey to fill out before and after the shows. They try to figure out what kind of impact the ads have on you.
These people are feeding on our natural instincts to share our opinions. We feel important deciding what programming will and will not be aired. “Television Preview” should be more straightforward in their approach - I’m surprised more people aren’t upset with their questionable tactics.
Marketing research is important to any marketer - the moral of this story is that you should be honest and straightforward when gathering such information. Also, be smart - my wife noticed that while the return address for Television Preview said they were located in Hollywood, the mail stamp showed that it originated in Indiana. Thank you, Google, for saving me from a wasted Friday night!
Side note: We ended up seeing the documentary “The March of the Penguins” instead - it was great.
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