Everything You Should Know About Your Members

1. Everything You Should Know About Your Members TRAC Media Services

2. What We Need to Know • Why do people watch PTV? What kind of audiences does it attract? • Why do some people and not others become members? • Who are these members and what is special about them? • Why do some people become multi-year members and others do not? • Last, why do some people lapse after supporting the station for years?

3. Reasons for Viewing PTV • “Fills a void…commercial services do not carry the same quality of programming” • “Expands our minds and awareness” • “Supports different viewpoints and promotes diversity” • “I want to make sure they’re around...they are an important part of our community”

4. PTV has Core Values • Programs, sometimes explicitly, but always implicitly, proclaim their values (e.g., balance, fairness, tolerance) that viewers love. • When people talk about PTV they can identify the core values of programming. • These programs are both intellectually and emotionally rewarding for viewers.

5. Synching Up the Value Clusters • Value identification has led to viewers forming a “relationship” with the station and its programming, although people vary in their intensity of identification. • The central point - they said they trusted PTV’s programming. • Six main value themes emerged

6. Six Core Drivers of Liking and Support • Advertising free programming • Safe and moral children’s programming • Balanced programming content • Programs that promote lifelong learning • Programs that deal with the arts • Programs of high quality

7. Viewers and PTV • Givens: People like PTV programs and view them. Many have long viewing histories with PTV. They have formed quasi-human relationships with the “station”. • Most viewers have vague, ill-informed images of who provides them with their cherished programming.

8. The Core Values Results • The values just reviewed were enough at one time or another to drive and sustain multi-year memberships. • You need a long positive history of viewing with “in-synch” value systems between the viewer and the station to build sustaining relationships. • Naturally, we have described a certain kind of viewer. An NPS loyalist.

9. Member Characteristics • PTV members are very civically active • Over perform in belonging to civic organizations and in participating in neighborhood fix up projects (despite age)

10. Importance of PTV • The station is important to core viewers & members. • Viewers believe that the community can be strengthened by PTV and it can make the local community a better place • They trust PTV and have high expectations

11. Potential Partners • Station has high potential to positively impact local community • Believe that they have potential to impact their community too • PTV and concerned members are potential allies “Just tell us what to do!”

12. Now Giving and Lapsing

13. Types of Giving • Our members see only two kinds of giving. • Philanthropic donations are organizations for which nothing in return is expected. (Homeless, Red Cross, some diseases and disasters.)

14. Types of Giving • The second category was reciprocal giving and it is about 90% of all giving. • In this kind of giving the giver received something back in return for their gift. • In some instances it was a thank you from a family member, fulfilling a tithe obligation, or a premium!

15. The Social Context of Giving • Most giving is to other family members such as adult children and relatives. • Only 38% give to non-religious charities according to one source. • All giving is a decision made in a social context.

16. Checkbook philanthropy • Most give small amounts of money, generally taken from the family or household’s operating budget, hence… checkbook philanthropy. • Charities are “competing” for money within the household’s discretionary budget – which is always limited.

17. People Have Gift Guidelines • There were three levels of gifts: • Modest or small gifts of $5-$25 usually given to health organizations, Red Cross and other philanthropies. • Average gifts were in the $50-75 dollar range and that is what they gave to PTV, museums, animal shelters, or environment groups. • Large gifts were over $100 and were rare, going to the church, one’s children and maybe a premium.

18. People Have Comfort Zones • People told us they were comfortable gifting in the modest and average range. • Large gifts made them uncomfortable and “anxious” about affording that gift level. • Giving is both innate and learned

19. Types of Members • It became apparent that there were types of members and lapsers. • The primary distinction between members was age and education. • Another distinction was a person’s money personality – impulsive versus rational.

20. Frugal Civics • Older over 65 or 70 • Renew by mail and give the basic amount. • Dislike pledge drives. • Probably the biggest part of your file. • Will age off the file. • Some GenXers.

21. Rational Professionals • Mostly professionals such as lawyers, accountants, mid-level managers who give the basic membership. • Men watch but tend not to pledge. • Women are prudent and could pledge. • Under 60

22. Pledger Ladies • Mostly women who are professionals, or married to one, who often have renewed by mail. • They love pledge and some only renew by pledge. • Under 65+ • Civically engaged.

23. Cyclers and Rotators • Like the NPS and pledge drives. • Most are boomers and they use pledge to renew and they want the premium. • Know they are lapsed and will be back when it is convenient for them.

24. Premium Driven Casuals • They tend to be light viewers of prime time PTV. Weekends? • Attracted by pledge drives and the premiums. • Have given more than once… hence a new variation on transactional

25. Public Television is Different • PTV is free. Hence, the free rider problem. Generally, there are no negative consequences for not giving. • A minority of viewers donate money to Public television. • An even smaller group of donors see Public TV as a charity or philanthropy. • Giving is a reciprocal act. You use it you should pay for it.

26. Why Members Lapse

27. Lapsing’s Psychological Drivers(Traits and States) • Personality traits are stable predispositions to behave consistently across time and locale. • States are temporary psycho- physiological arousal conditions are usually emotional or feeling based that pass quickly. • Some states result in pleasure others in discomfort.

28. Lapsing’s Psychological Drivers • Almost all lapsing is the result of some state of discomfort between a person’s needs and the demands of the charity. • Is the worst villain in tipping the lapsing decision the appeal to reciprocity? • What about philanthropic appeals?

29. The Eight C’s • Change in personal/HH finances • Change in use • Mommy Lapsers • Cable competition • Critical incident • Programming • Viewer/Member Services • Cyclers • Competition for charitable dollars • Confusion • Coroner or change of address

30. Most lapsers are still watching! • The station, its people and its communication strategies could still win these people back to the file. • But you have to know who they are and what to say to them.

31. More Information… • Summary is in the TRAC Primer on Viewing and Membership • Full study reports and ppts located on the TRAC website