Virtual pledge: saves cash, time, loses local feel

Originally published in Current, Oct. 21, 2002
By Dan Odenwald

What’s the bad news about great pledge results? Several pubcasters struggled with that question in Dallas as they debated the use of preproduced pledge specials. Typically called "virtuals," the pledge programs include prerecorded pitch breaks, which often feature the performer or self-help guru who stars in the special.

Many development pros applaud virtuals as a cheap way to obtain highly produced pledge breaks, which can attract thousands of dollars without lighting up their own studios. Others believe virtuals detract from the local feel of pledge, make it easier to balloon pledge drives and taint them with commercialism.

As most stations grow dependent on virtuals, some question their value. Until recently WGBY in Springfield, Mass., used lots of virtuals and pledged nearly 70 days a year, said Daren Winckel, director of annual giving.

Station execs concluded their over-reliance on packaged pledge specials threatened their local presence in the community. While virtuals saved money in production costs, the station lost its on-air connection to viewers, he said.

To help regain that connection, WGBY shot 20 pitch breaks to insert as hometown cutaways in the Civil War pledge event offered by PBS in September. The station partnered with the historic Springfield Armory, which supplied guns for Union troops, to produce the spots.

Though more costly and time-consuming, the local breaks allowed the station to leave its own imprint on the pledge special, reinforcing the message of localism lost in most virtuals when stations don’t take advantage of cutaway opportunities, Winckel said.

Connecticut PTV’s Lo Hartnett said virtuals make it too easy for stations to leave their studios dark, hiding the staff from viewers. Ultimately, the lack of familiarity could hinder off-air fundraising. What happens, she asked, when the community no longer recognizes the people who ask them for major gifts?

Virtuals also make it easy to pledge during hours a station didn’t pledge before, contributing to an overall increase in on-air fundraising, said Anne Ibach, membership director of KUED in Salt Lake City. Her station uses virtuals during previously untapped weekend mornings and overnights.

Twin Cities PTV hasn’t added pledge days, but pledge minutes have soared, said David Preston, director of membership and viewer services. It’s tempting to pop in a tape and extend pledge drives when a station needs to make payroll, he said.

Winckel said WGBY was the "king" of using virtuals to extend pledge. "It made it very seductive," he said. "Everybody would go home on the weekends and come back on Monday, and there are ‘X’ number of thousands of dollars in the pot."

But the station’s members rebelled, complaining that WGBY pledged too much. "Regular programming was becoming something less than regular," Winckel said. First-year renewal rates began to drop significantly. To make amends, WGBY cut pledge days by 15 percent and pledge minutes by a quarter.

Development pros also question the tone of virtuals. Harriet Unger, a CPTV senior producer, said virtual pitch breaks focus too much on premiums and not enough on mission. Slots allocated for local cutaways, as little as two minutes, don’t allow local talent the time to build support for their cause, she said. "If we’re going to get our mission points across, it’s not easy," Unger said. "We’re saving money short term, perhaps in production costs, but are we hurting ourselves long term?" she asked.

Virtuals also make it difficult to attract donors at the basic membership level because they’re designed to pull in huge sums for book and CD collections, Preston said. Plus, stations can’t agree on a fixed basic membership level.

Despite the problems with virtuals, many pubcasters who criticize them also see their benefits. Preston sees virtuals as a way to get the most talented national pitchers into his studios at little cost. Many viewers don’t know whether the pledge talent is national or local. "Some people think Big Bird lives in our studio," he said.

Virtuals allow stations to pitch with more voices for more time and less work, Preston said. Other development officers concede self-help gurus are better at pitching their own books and CDs than they are.

Independent pledge producer Jim Scalem said the economics of live pledge production prevent most stations from being able to afford it. KCET in Los Angeles, for example, uses tape on more than half of its pledge nights, he said.

Ultimately, most pubcasters agree balance is the key. Hartnett recommended mixing virtuals and live pledge events. Preston advised stations to find local cutaways in virtuals and make more frequent use of them.

	To Current's home page
	Earlier news: "Virtual Suze" canned pledge breaks began the trend toward virtuals, 1998.

Web page posted Nov. 6, 2002
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