Campaigns to Bring More Viewers to Veronica Mars

Let's Party!

2006-09-10T21:23:48Z

B.Y.O.N. – Bring Your Own Newbie!

Veronica Mars fans across the country unite for a Season 3 Premiere Party on October 3rd! Currently, premieres are being organized in Austin, Houston, Portland, OR, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, North Dakota, Charlotte, NC and Ottawa, Canada by members of the online forum www.watchveronicamars.net. Organizers hope the nation-wide effort will draw new viewers to the show, and offer longtime viewers an opportunity to celebrate the new season with other local fans.

Don't live in one of the cities mentioned above? It's not too late to host your own premiere! You just need a venue large enough to accommodate your guests and a large-screen tv or a high-quality video projector that can project a broadcast feed. Add some refreshments (snickerdoodles, anyone?) and you’ve got a premiere! Premieres can be held in movie theaters, bars, coffee shops, college campuses or private residences. Some of the parties are incorporating VM games and prizes to add to the fun.

For more information about a specific premiere in your area or hosting a VM party, go to http://www.watchveronicamars.net/forum/ … php?id=30.

Hope to see you there!

Idea: bomb netflix

2006-09-05T19:05:46Z

Hi everyone, I'm new here but have been a huge VM fan for about a year. Here's my idea:

Bomb Netflix.

If you have a Netflix account, you can influence who will receive recommendations to watch Veronica Mars on DVD. Here's how.

1. If you don't have a Friends list on Netflix, click on that tab in the header and hunt down friends or family and request to be added as their "friend" and vice versa. You only need one email address - Netflix does the rest. Based on your ratings/preferences and theirs, Veronica Mars may show up as recommended for those folks with similar taste.

2. Search for either VM season and rank it 5 stars. (of course, it is already incredibly highly rated, but it doesn't hurt and people on your Netflix f-list will see your ratings.

3. If you haven't already rated a bunch of other shows similar to VM, go do that. Search for Buffy, Serenity, etc, or search for Veronica Mars and look on the left of the screen - it will show a list of other shows that people who have rated VM highly ALSO like. If you've seen them, rate them. Globally, this can make VM show up on people's recommendations lists even if they've never heard of the show.

4. Search for either VM season and look near the top right. There should be a purplish button that says "know someone who'd enjoy it? leave a note." Click on this and you'll be taken to your friends page and asked to write a comment about the awesomeness of the show and click on people in your f-list to send this note to.

5. Below that purplish button it says "have an opinion about it? write a review" -- write a rave review. People do read them!

Small/easy/might make a difference.

Lauren

Three days left to enter the VM Promo Making Contest!

2006-08-29T18:11:13Z

We have nine entries so far. If you have a You Tube account, please join this group to watch them. If you don't, you can find links to the individual vids here.

If you are a vidder and you want to enter something, don't forget, the last day to submit promos is Friday, September 1st.

Tell your friends.

http://www.watchveronicamars.net/promo_contest.

Then we can all work together to post links to the winning vid(s) all over the internets!

Campaign brainstorming session TODAY

2006-08-20T15:13:50Z

Calling all VM fans:
International Brainstorming Session

We have less than two months left to bring new viewers to Neptune. You know what that means. Time for another brainstorming session! The last time we did this, we weren't sure if we were even going to get a third season. Now we have to make sure we keep it.

Now is the time for fresh ideas. This is a group effort, so let's get together as a group and talk. Sign on to the WatchVeronicaMars forums TODAY at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET and we will brainstorm till we drop. (Registration is free and painless.)

This meeting is open to all fans, not just those in the US and not just those who have campaigned in the past. Everybody can help.

Bring your love for the show, your enthusiasm, and all the crazy ideas you can come up with.

Veronica Mars at ComiCon!

2006-08-07T21:51:51Z

So I don't know who's seen this and who hasn't, but if you *haven't* seen the awesome Veronica Mars promo trailer that debuted at ComiCon this year, you should stop what you're doing and check it out!

Veronica Mars ComiCon Trailer!

This is the promo the CW *should* be running... but at least now people can see it. Let your VM communities know? :D

Meet the Mars Men Raffle

2006-07-05T20:38:59Z

Hey there Everyone!

If you are a member of rack_of_lamb or veronica_mars then you have probably heard about the Men from Mars raffle that cloud_watchers is hosting. Either way, we've tinkered with the contest a bit to hopefully accomodate some requests we've received. Check below the cut for details on how YOU can meet your favorite Men from Mars for just 10 dollars....

Chances are, you have seen the promos for the Booster Entertainment "Men from Mars" panel on one of many VM communities. What you may not know is that we are hosting a raffle to give away $600 of "merchandise." This prize includes 2 weekend passes to the event PLUS a PHOTO OP with Jason Dohring, Michael Muhney, and Francis Capra. This professional photo with the super hotties will be provided to you and your guest plus I'm betting at least one of the Mars Men will put his arm around you. See? Awesome, right?

The contest was originally slated to end at midnight on July 31. Due to popular request, we've decided to bump that date up to midnight on July 27th with winners revealed by NOON on JULY 28. This gives the winner and their guest three weeks to plan to take off work, purchase plane tickets if necessary, and prepare for an all around awesome trip.

To purchase raffle ticket(s), please send 10 dollars per ticket to cloudwatchersraffle@gmail.com via paypal. Indicate in the comments portion of the purchase form how many tickets you are buying. Within 24 hours you will receive your raffle number(s).

Contest winners are only provided the tickets to the event and the photo op and will be responsible for all their own travel arrangements to and from the event. The Booster Event is at the Burbank Hilton in Burbank, CA on August 18-20.

</div>
ALL DONATIONS RECEIVED GO TO FUND THE DVD LIBRARY CAMPAIGN.

Save Everwood to help VM?

2006-06-01T17:45:00Z

One of the best things we can do for the show is get more viewers. There are a lot of ways to do that, but one of the best kinds of viewer is the sort of person who is already loyally devoted to another well-written and endangered show. If we help out Everwood fans, even in small ways, during this final week when they're trying to fight cancellation, then they will hopefully remember us next time we need their help. VM fans have a reputation as being somewhat pushy and offputting, and this may be our chance to help reverse that.

So, here's what you can do:

1. Sign Everwood petitions here and here.

2. Write an email requesting Everwood be saved. Send it to Paul.McGuire@thewb.com and Dawn_Ostroff@upn.com.
This can be as simple as "I know you have had a lot of requests to do anything you can to bring Everwood to the CW next season. This is another one." You can talk about how bringing back Everwood would help the CW's reputation and how the fans would be an asset to the network. Basically, there's a ton you can say without knowing a thing about the show. You can even say that you didn't watch this year but you would watch if it came back next year.

3. Make it known that you, as a VM fan, helped out Everwood. Either post a comment here or comment on the fanswap thread on the eonline forums. If there is a lot of crossover help, people will spread the word and our support will hopefully be remembered by Everwood fans when Veronica needs it (if not, we'll have a record, so we can remind them).

This might be crazy, but maybe it will work. We've certainly done crazier things, and this should only take a few minutes at most. Plus, if we were in their shoes (show cancelled, but last-minute talks about renewal just reopened) we would want to know someone had our backs. So let's have theirs.

Cloud watchers! Merchandise! Big exciting projects!

2006-05-25T04:11:56Z

You may have noticed it's been a bit slow around here lately. There are a few reasons for that, but the big one is that the action these days is somewhere else: cloud_watchers. Their campaigns are big, exciting, and organized, and I highly recommend checking them out. This community will stick around because I still think it may serve a purpose in the coming months, but right now its purpose is to direct you to all the amazing things that are going on with the Cloud Watchers (a.k.a. the people who hired a PLANE to fly a "Renew Veronica Mars! CW 2006!" banner in L.A. a couple of weeks ago)

Right now they've got something going that I think everybody will love. It's a store full of VM-related merchandise. Two dollars of the price for everything you buy goes straight to a campaign to purchase Season 1 DVDs and donate them to interested libraries around the country.

The store is here.

Enjoy it, tell everybody, wear your VM clothes often and don't be surprised if it starts a lot of conversations that end with you lending your DVDs. Tell every VM fan you know who isn't involved in the internet fandom but might want this merchandise.

If you have suggestions or art for other shirts, you can post them here.

vm_campaigns @ 2006-05-20T21:44:00

2006-05-20T21:48:35Z

At thecw (here, more specifically) I made a post asking what shows everyone there plans on watching on The CW next season. While many have said that they will be watching Veronica Mars, there are still a lot of people that won't be. So, I decided that we need to alert those planning on watching other shows on The CW that they should give Veronica Mars a chance. I don't want us to bombard them with post after post, because if any other show did that to me I would be annoyed, so I want us to compile one superpost on Why You Should Give Veronica Mars a Chance.

I want everything you can give me, testimonials, picspams, quotes, summaries, links, anything you think we should give to fans of Supernatural, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, and other CW shows to get them to give Veronica a chance.

I finally get to say my mood is INDESCRIBABLE!

2006-05-09T20:47:00Z

Hey, campaigners! Did you hear the WB rep who talked to the plane guy was so excited he was "giggling in excitement"? Did you hear that he requested that the plane "circle" the UPN building? Did you know that he has a photographer perched on some roof up there right now just waiting to take a picture of it as it passes? And when he does, he will send it to athenacqd before he dustributes them to the AP? Yeah. Now you know how I feel.

*breathe*

Detailed info on the Flight Plan

Vote for Veronica Mars in SOS

2006-05-03T00:10:50Z

I know that there have been more than a few posts on this topic over the past few days, and I hope that no one will be overly upset at this post appearing on their Flist as well.

I'm involved in some other fandoms that are among the 5 finalists for the SOS poll, and I found out the following:

If you go to http://www.netscape.com/, there's a "Mail" tab in the upper left-hand corner. From there, you can log in with your AIM screenname/password and send emails to tvdiva@eonline.com with "VERONICA MARS" in the subject line.

I'm sure a lot of you have at least one (if not more) AIM screenname, and apparently one show is bringing 49% of the vote right now. (according to Kristin's chat from yesterday) I don't know if we're winning (since she said that "I think you'll be surprised!" ... and we won last year), and I figure there's no harm in continuing to VOTE VOTE VOTE!

REMINDERS
1 - Revote if you haven't since the finalists were announced. She hasn't been clear on whether or not she cleared out those votes or not - and it's better safe than sorry.
2 - *ONLY* put "Veronica Mars" in the subject line. Anything else and your vote risks being disqualified.
3 - Create free email addresses (http://mail.yahoo.com/ OR http://www.hotmail.com OR Gmail invites) for the purposes of voting. If you have the time to create some Gmail accounts, leave a comment here with how many accounts you're willing to create and I'm sure that someone can send along some of their extras. I've got about 500 Gmail invites, and I don't think I'll have time to create that many. Share the wealth and all that, you know. :)
4 - Pimp on your LJ, your MySpace, your Facebook ... EVERYWHERE you can think of. Winning this will really show the execs at the CW that we are SERIOUS and PASSIONATE about our show.
5 - Vote by THURSDAY NIGHT, so we can make sure that all our votes are included.

One last request! Pleeeeeeease leave all spoilers for 221 OUT of the comments, even after the episode airs. Veronica Mars isn't airing by me tonight, and I'd like to stay as spoiler-free as possible. Thanks! :)</b>

Mars Bar Campaign

2006-04-29T19:39:26Z

Everyone knows by now that Veronica Mars isn’t necessarily guaranteed a season 3. I don’t know about you guys, but if Veronica Mars isn’t picked up for another season, I will be devastated. I know many of you have sent the $4000 Shower Postcards, have been ceaselessly voting in the teavee.com poll (which I’m still not certain is beneficial towards a season 3, but it’s addicting nonetheless), and those dedicated fans who have a already cast their vote in the Save My Show eonline poll (http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristin/Archive2006/060428.html)
But will any of this be enough? Well, who knows for sure? It certainly doesn’t hurt.

But then, of course, we have Dawn Ostroff. Who is Dawn Ostroff, you ask? Well, she is the president of UPN, the one who will have a huge say in whether or not VM will make the cut for The CW. It’s no secret that she likes Veronica, but will this be enough? I was very interested, however, in something I read concerning Dawn’s reaction to the fervent Everwood fans. Take a look:
The following excerpt taken from Ask Ausiello on tvguide.com:

Question: Please tell me you have good news about Everwood going to CW. — Shauna
Ausiello: Actually, I do have a bit of good news. In an e-mail exchange last week, exec producer Rina Mimoun told me that Greg Berlanti met with CW boss Dawn Ostroff last Tuesday and "pitched a whopper of a fifth season." But more important, Rina noted that Dawn was "overcome by the amount of letters/flowers/fudge and even necklaces she has received from Everwood fans! Once again, our fantastic fans could truly save us. So tell everyone to keep 'em coming!" You heard the pretty lady, get busy! Here's that address in case you lost it:

Dawn Ostroff
UPN
11800 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

I’m impressed that the Everwood fans got such a reaction. Shouldn’t we show Dawn just how much we love Veronica Mars? </div> I have heard talk of a “Mars Bar Campaign” being circulated on some different sites. This campaign would involve VM fans sending a mars bar (or just the wrapper) to Dawn with a message such as:

“Veronica Mars: More addictive than chocolate! Satisfy our craving for Season 3!” or
“A MARS for you, a Mars for me. Nothing Would be Sweeter than a Season Three!”

But, also, I was informed that some places no longer sell mars bars. This is where I was informed of some using a Milky Way with the phrase: “We won’t stand for imitation, give us our Mars.” or something of that variation.

Hell, it may be a long shot, but I don’t care. I’ll do anything to get Dawn’s attention, to let her know that I want Veronica here to stay. Won’t you do the same?

x-posted, like whoa

Vote for VM in the Save One Show poll!

2006-04-28T01:59:43Z

VERONICA MARS among the top 5 shows for the Save One Show Poll at E!Online

Send an email to tvdiva@eonline.com with "Veronica Mars" (and only the name of the show) in the subject line. Only one vote will be counted per email address. The winner will be revealed on May 9, so make sure to vote as much as possible by May 8th. (make sure that your vote is included)

4 of the shows in the top 5 are CW candidates, so it's REALLY IMPORTANT that we kick some ass this year.

Tips to get as many unique votes as humanly possible and KICK ASS for the second consecutive year:
1 - Unearth all those "forgotten" email addresses that you hardly use anymore.
2 - Get as many of your friends to vote as possible! (get them hooked too, if you can, but ... baby steps :)
3 - If you've got the time, create new free email acccounts (via gmail invites, yahoo signups, hotmail signups, whatever) and vote for Veronica Mars!

View Poll: #718365

Vote for Veronica Mars

2006-04-26T00:26:10Z

At TeaVee.com, they have a show ranking going on. Right now, VM is ranked 9, but you can give it a positive vote and help it move up in the rankings!

Vote HERE!

You can revote every 5 minutes (without needing to refresh the page), so just leave it open in a browser window and keep going back to it. :)

Also, don't forget to send multiple emails to tvdiva@eonline.com with "VERONICA MARS" in the subject line to vote for VM in the E!Online Save One Show poll! :) And by multiple I mean use all of your old email addresses that you never use anymore as well.

(Thanks herowlness!)

Tell Ellen What to Watch

2006-04-25T23:20:10Z

I was watching Ellen while on the treadmill and she has a segment where she asks her viewers to tell her what to watch on television (today she totally pimped House--grrrr...). So I just submitted the following on her website:

Hi Ellen-
I absolutely implore you to check out Veronica Mars (airing Tuesdays at 9). It is simply the best show on television. Joss Whedon (Buffy's creator), actor/director Kevin Smith, and writer Stephen King agree and have each reviewed the show positively in various publications/blogs, including Entertainment Weekly. In fact, the show receives critical raves across the board. However, its ratings are lackluster and it is on the bubble for a third season. The fans have started impressive renewal campaigns and are reaching out to columnists, bloggers, and entertainment personalities to give the show the boost it needs to ensure a pickup. The fans are hoping that Dawn Ostroff, President of Entertainment for the fledgling The CW, looks past the ratings and realizes what a gem she has for next year's lineup. Personally, I am quite involved in the online fandom (I moderate a popular web community devoted to one of the show's stars) and have been doing everything in my power I can do to increase viewership. I have resorted to bribing friends with chocolate and pizza, writing crazily to media bigwigs like yourself, hosting viewing parties, commenting on blogs, etc. Every little bit helps!

It’s a difficult show to accurately describe and summarize, but here is what some viewers are using to write to newspaper columnists across the country:

Each week, Veronica’s writers create a complex, intriguing mystery for the title character to unravel. Juggling high school and personal relationships, Veronica solves her cases with wit, determination, and a multitude of snappy comebacks. The show’s noir-infused universe illustrates life lessons, such as the corrupt nature of power and wealth and the sometimes harsh but empowering consequences of loyalty to loved ones and to your own values, without ever becoming trite or didactic. In addition to the case of the week, Veronica dedicates herself to a season-long mystery (this year a bus crash that killed 6 of her classmates) that fans of intricate plotting can take comfort in knowing will be solved satisfactorily by the end of the year.

Please check out Veronica Mars, Ellen. After tonight's episode, there are two episodes left in the season. I would be happy to fill you in, lend you my Season 1 DVDs, send you links to great websites for beginners, or whatever you need to get caught up. Heck, I am even going to be in CA visiting friends for the May 9 finale and could update you in person (hee)! I (and the rest of the fandom) will do anything to get more people watching this fantastic show and would be much appreciative of your support.

I did this rather quickly and hope I did it justice. If you would like to tell Ellen to watch VM, click here.

Low-Priced DVDs at Target

2006-04-23T16:12:32Z

Target has the Veronica Mars DVDs listed in today's ad for $22.99. That is a fantastic price and a great opportunity to pick up a set for your friends, family, and everyone else. Go forth and spread the word!

Kristin Veitch's Save One Show campaign

2006-04-21T02:46:26Z

This is the sixth year running of this campaign. Four of the five shows that have won this campaign did get saved for the next season (including Veronica Mars, last year).
For more information about the campaign and the shows you can vote for, see Kristin's column about it.
To vote for Veronica Mars, send an email to tvdiva@eonline.com with "Veronica Mars" as the subject line.

ETA: If you vote multiple times from the same email address, she will only count the vote once. So if you want to help more, get your friends to vote, rather than sending in multiple votes yourself.

vm_campaigns @ 2006-04-20T18:38:00

2006-04-21T00:52:21Z

Go vote Kristen as sexiest female vegetarian! Crazy poll but hell.. why not!

http://www.peta2.com/OUTTHERE/o-sexyveg06.asp?c=p2sv86

Blog first discussed in this community is now a reality!

2006-04-17T18:27:12Z

The first edition of neptune_online is here!

This is a fan produced blog, featuring characters from Veronica Mars commenting on a range of topics.

In this installment, Madison dishes celebs, Veronica explains how to do a "Bump and Bait," Logan answers your letters, Weevil tells you what makes the Impala the car of kings, and Gia gives some advice on making friends. Yes, I said Gia.

Long time fans of Veronica Mars will love this, but we created it specifically with non-fans in mind, so be sure to encourage all of your friends, especially the ones who don't watch VM, to give it a read. Hopefully it will give them a little taste of Neptune and make them want to watch the show.

Be sure to friend the journal to get weekly updates!

Week Fifteen Campaign: Write to Local Newspapers

2006-04-16T22:33:17Z

Note: This week's campaign comes from this excellent writeup on watchveronicamars.net.

Not everyone scours the Internet looking for their entertainment news and a great way to reach those people is through their local newspapers. Unfortunately, Veronica Mars has flown under the radar of many local papers and, as a result, their loyal readers may not be aware the show even exists. Let the editor of your local newspaper know what the show is all about and how much their readers will enjoy Veronica Mars.

Step one: Track down the mailing address for your local paper’s editor. This can typically be found in the paper itself or online at the newspaper’s web site. If you’re not sure what your local paper’s web site is, check out http://newslink.org/. The site lists thousands of links to local papers across the country and beyond.

Step two: Write it! The best way to get the attention of a newspaper is to write out your letter longhand. If you care enough to write it all out, they will see that you’re passionate about your subject and take the time to read it. Make sure to write a neat as possible. If they can’t understand your handwriting, they will likely ignore your letter. Explain what the show is about and suggest a review by one of their writers. It’s always good to do some name dropping. Mention a few of VM’s famous fans and what they said about the show. Be sure to let them know that you enjoy their efforts. If they have a great entertainment section, tell them. If you enjoyed their coverage of the city’s annual dog show, let them know. A little compliment goes a long way. Finally, professionalism is key. Be sure your letter includes correct spelling and punctuation and that it is grammatically correct. Not exactly sure what to write? Here is a terrific sample letter to get you started. Feel free to copy this letter verbatim (with all the personal touches and flourishes you want to add), but if you do please leave a note with the name of the paper you sent it to, so that the newspaper does not get identical letters from multiple people. That would totally blow our cover.

Dear [Newspaper name] Entertainment Editors,

[Introduction and personal details, for example "I am a student here in the Milwaukee area and I enjoy reading the Journal Sentinel. One of my favorite sections is Cue; I love reading about local events and your coverage of national television shows."]

However, I am a little disappointed that you have not yet covered critical darling Veronica Mars. This fantastic show has been hailed as the second coming of "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" crossed with "Twin Peaks." Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy, has expressed his love for the show effusively, heralding it as the “Best. Show. Ever,” and Buffy alums Alyson Hannigan and Charisma Carpenter have both had recurring roles on the show. Among its other famous fans is Kevin Smith, the cult auteur of View Askew Productions, who called it “an amalgam of some of the best TV ever produced.” Even thriller writer Stephen King has admitted his love for the show, noting that he “can’t take his eyes off” it.

Each week, Veronica’s writers create a complex, intriguing mystery for the title character to unravel. Juggling high school and personal relationships, Veronica solves her cases with wit, determination, and a multitude of snappy comebacks. The show’s noir-infused universe illustrates life lessons, such as the corrupt nature of power and wealth and the sometimes harsh but empowering consequences of loyalty to loved ones and to your own values, without ever becoming trite or didactic. In addition to the case of the week, Veronica dedicates herself to a season-long mystery (this year a bus crash that killed 6 of her classmates) that fans of intricate plotting can take comfort in knowing will be solved satisfactorily by the end of the year.

Nonetheless, Veronica Mars is suffering in the ratings and might fail to make it onto the fall schedule of fledgling net, The CW, if things don’t change. It has endured a cutthroat timeslot, airing opposite "Lost" and "American Idol," making it difficult for the sophomore show to gain the attention (and viewers) it deserves. Just last week it moved to Tuesday nights, a scheduling change that needs all the advertising help it can get.

Veronica Mars transcends the teen genre, and I am surprised that the [newspaper name] hasn’t written more about its far-reaching appeal. Please put one of your skilled writers to work reviewing this great show. I am confident it will be an assignment they will enjoy very much.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Step three: Mail it out!

Step four: (Optional UNLESS you used the sample letter) Fill out poll

View Poll: Letter to local newspaper

NEW CAMPAIGN: Pimp VM with Cryptic FLYERS!!

2006-04-10T19:54:20Z

And so it's been a crazy week filled with highly-energized OMGSWAY and overall general Episode Love. As we wind down to the last couple days before a new episode, what do you say we put some of the love to good use...

Less than 48 hours until Veronica Mars moves to its Tuesday timeslot where it MUST score some good ratings. That means one thing. PIMP THE SHOW LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!!

Well, how do I pimp the show any more than I already have?

You go places during the day, right? Work, school, library, book store, grocery shopping? Yes? If you leave your house at all within the next two days, you can help.

alliterator made these excellent cryptic flyers:

Of the 'more cryptic' variety, a la WoCD's KillThemAll.net:

Of the 'less cryptic but still effective' variety:

And backup10 put up the website www.sheswatchingyou.com to correspond with the flyers.

Your job? To print these babies out and hang them everywhere you possibly can!

If it makes your life just a bit easier, I've made a ZIP FILE of four word documents that already have the flyers aligned so they are easily printable. Just download the zip, open up the word file of your choice, and press PRINT. ('Bang' Word File here)

And if you'd rather use the blatant 'This is Veronica. Ain't she pretty? Watch her show.' UPN posters, I've got three (in both b/w and color) HERE

Come on everyone! Let's cover every square inch of the world with our VM crypticness!

View Poll: Spreading VM the Flyers Way

Duracell Batteries

2006-04-07T23:23:01Z

I meant to post this earlier but forgot. I never manage to notice who the sponsor is until I watch the episode a 2nd time. (I think my brain is always too busy going "Eeee!" or "Hmmm..." during the first viewing to actually notice commercials.)

Last week's "official" sponsor (of The Rapes of Graff ) was Duracell batteries. Link to contact is here: http://www.duracell.com/company/contact.asp?id=58& (you can call or write. there's a way to email, you have to hit the "Gillette Contact" button - Gillette is the parent company)

This week's sponsor... I don't know. I watched it and then accidentally taped over the episode so now I can't rewatch it. :( Anybody else catch this week's sponsor? (It's announced at the first commercial break.)

Poll results for Veronica Mars blog idea

2006-04-01T23:47:50Z

I emailed hellopoe about contacting the fic_from_mars contributors today. If that isn't fruitful enough, people's second choice was to have an open submission policy, so that will be our backup. (Awww, Backup.)

The blog will be an online extention of the Neptune Navigator and will be written in alternating character voice (a hodgepodge of articles, reviews, personal rants, etc.) by - hopefully - the fandom's best fic writers. The runner up was the personal blog in Veronica's voice, so maybe we can just make sure that she is the major contributor. She is the most identifiable to non-fans anyway, right? Which is who we are trying to appeal to...

It will be about Neptune and pop culture/current events in the real world. I explained it to hellopoe as mostly about pop culture/current events in the real world - since we want it to be something non-fans read - but by throwing in character, location and plot references here and there, it will have a distincly Neptune flavor. The idea is to hook a new viewer. 'Hey, that's pretty funny/shocking/original/well-written stuff. I should check out that show tonight!'

We voted for its function to be to catch up new viewers and to appeal to non-fans. I realize now that this is going to be impossible. We can't catch up new fans with issues of the Navigator... Veronica can't mention who she thinks killed Felix in her review of "V for Vendetta." So I am going to make an executive decision and say that we go for the non-fans. Leave the catching up of new viewers to others. (If you disagree, explain why in the comments.)

We have a pretty split decision on where we should host the blog. I will talk to some people tonight and get back to you on that. Right now the top choice is LJ, with a page in MInet coming in second.

But, yay, we have a concept! Let me know how you feel about it in the comments.

To people interested in contributing:

We don't know how often it will go out, since we don't know the amount of writer interest yet. It would be great to get a bunch of articles together now and then as the season progresses, start focusing on the main NHS students the mysteries are dealing with (Madison, Weevil, Logan, Veronica, Jackie, etc). We don't have much time, so getting it out often is the goal. And the articles should be short, more like ficlets, so that people will be more likely to read them and forward the link to friends.

We haven't figured out yet how we would give assignments - part of the creative process is figuring out a topic that would be interesting to readers who don't know the show and yet still make sense from a canon standpoint. We don't care if they are actually in the journalism class, but they should be main or major secondary characters. Interested writers could really help us by get started by posting any article ideas they have in the comments of this post.

Examples (made up by me, so, you know, lame, but you get the point):

Veronica reviews "V for Vendetta" using examples from her life in Neptune as she relates to (or dismisses) the film.
Dick writes an "op-ed" about why chicks are overrated.
Mac writes an article about wire tapping and how to protect yourself from online snooping.

Campaign Strategy Brainstorming Session Today

2006-04-01T08:55:49Z

Today, Saturday April 1st, at 1:00pm EST, MI.net will be holding a Fandom-Wide Brainstorming Session where we can meet as a fandom and work out a campaign strategy to strengthen the show's ratings for the remainder of the season. It will be at this site: http://watchveronicamars.net/.

This should be a great forum to discuss ideas, divide up responsibilities for various strategies we decide to go forward with, and so on. Everybody who is interested is invited to attend. We're looking for people from all corners of fandom, whether you're an artist, vidder, writer, leader, or lurker. There will be room for everyone to help and the more people involved the better, so please help to spread the word.

Why can't Veronica have a blog?

2006-03-31T18:22:06Z

Over on TWoP, misschinabeth brought up the blog that Keith was joking about Veronica having (you know, when the ~~hooker~~ escort came by) and it gave me an idea.

A blog would be great for catching converts up and promoting the show in general. And they don't have to be solely "episode guides" like the Veronica's Diary entries over on UPN dot com. As athenacqd remarked, "The Office has Dwight's...people email me lines and links... all the time. They aren't blogs about the show (that only watchers would get) but are instead commentary on things going on in the real world. Thus, anyone could relate."

Problem is, people who work on the show have their hands full writing the show and I think writers' assistants barely find time to write said Episode Guide for the UPN site. Maybe we can get some of our best fic writers together and start a "Blog from Mars" (working title, of course). Who writes the best Veronica voice? (Or maybe a few people could alternate...)

If you think this is a good idea and you have posting rights, could you post a link to this entry in fic_from_mars and any other VM fic communities where volunteers might be found? Comment when you do so people don't double-post. Thanks.

I would be willing to help edit/maintain it. Maybe even occassionally attempt to write for it. Anyway, thoughts on this?