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Rangers Sponsor list

J

Joseph DeMartino

Moderator
Here are the names of all of the national sponsors of Rangers that I could identify going through the tape last night. (Odd feeling, that, fast-forwarding through the program and stopping at the commercials, but these are the sacrifices that have to be made sometimes.
smile.gif
)

The information is presented in this form:

Formal Company Name
"Friendly" (short) Name
Product Advertised
Website URL
Attention
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City, ST Zipcode
E-mail address or "contact us" URL

I was not able to find snail-mail addresses for all of the companies, so use the contact URL or e-mail where provided. The names are set-up as they are to make it easier to turn them into a mail-merge file for use with a word processor. (The "short name", for instance, is for use in the body of the letter, the full name for the address.) That's what I did, typed one generic thank-you letter (with space for specific comments on the product advertised), ran the merge, then tweaked each individual letter. Did over 20, with envelopes, in a few minutes.

Anyway, here's the list:

CDW
CDW www.cdw.com
Media Relations
200 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Vernon Hills, IL 60061

Domino's Pizza LLC
Domino’s
Cinna-sticks www.dominos.com
30 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr.
P.O. Box 997
Ann Arbor, MI 48106

DaimlerChrysler Corporation
DaimlerChrysler
Jeep www.jeep.com
Auburn Hills, MI 48326-2766

H & R Block
H & R Block www.hrblock.com
World Headquarters
4400 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64111

IBM
IBM
Infrastructure guide book www.ibm.com
1133 Westchester Avenue
White Plains, NY 10604

Education Direct
Education Direct www.educationdir.com
P.O. Box 1900
Scranton, PA 18501
ims@educationdirect.com

Pfizer Inc
Pfizer
Dentyne ice gum http://www.gum-mints.com/conaffairs/dentyneice.shtml
235 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017-5755 http://www.prodhelp.com/contactus.shtml

The Walt Disney Company
Disney
Tron DVD http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521 http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/

Burger King Corp.
Burger King
Burger King www.burgerking.com
17777 Old Cutler Road
Miami, FL 33157

The Clorox Co.
Clorox
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing www.hiddenvalley.com
1221 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612

Maytag Corp.
Maytag
Hoover Vacuum cleaner www.hoover.com
403 West Fourth Street North
P.O. Box 39
Newton, IA 50208-0039

Sprint PCS
Sprint
Voice dialing www.sprintpcs.com
PO BOX 8077
London, KY 40742

DirecTV
DirecTV
Sports package www.directv.com

A diamond is forever
N/A
Diamonds http://adiamondisforever.com
No contact information available

Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup
Chunky Beef Soup www.campbells.com
Consumer Response Center
Campbell Place
Camden, NJ 08103-1701

Lenscrafters
Lenscrafters
Fashion eyeglass frames www.lenscrafters.com http://www.lenscrafters.com/cs_faq.html

Bowflex
Bowflex
Exercise machine www.bowflexdirect.com
1400 NE 136th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98684

10-10-220
10-10-220
Discount long distance www.1010220.com http://www.1010220.com/ask_us.html

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Wal-Mart www.walmart.com
702 S.W. 8th Street
Bentonville, AR 72716

McDonalds
McDonalds www.mcdonalds.com http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/usa/corporate/info/contacts/comments/marketing/index.html

Universal Pictures
Universal
The Brotherhood of the Wolf www.universal.com

Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru
Outback SUV www.subaru.com
Subaru Plaza
P.O. Box 6000
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034-6000

Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Passatt www.volkswagen.com http://www.vw.com/VwSFB/feedback/1,1126,,00.html

Office Depot Corporate Support Center
Office Depot
Expert Advice www.officedepot.com
2200 Old Germantown Road
Delray Beach, FL 33445

Crucial Technology
Crucial Technology
Computer RAM www.crucial.com
3475 E. Commercial Ct.
Meridian, ID 83642

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism
Travel
the Ministry of Travel www.bahamas.com
Pamela Richardson - Suite 809
One Turnberry Place
19495 Biscayne Boulevard
Aventura, FL 33180-2321

Regards,

Joe

------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
The diamond one is most likely De Beers.

------------------
 
For the less energetic among you, here is the same information (for those sponsors who have snail-mail addresses only) in comma-delimited form. You should be able to copy and paste this into any text editor, and from there save an ASCII file that can be imported into the database or spreadsheet program of your choice for doing the mail-merge. The truly lazy can e-mail me, and I'll send them an Excel spreadsheet with all the information already in it.
smile.gif


CDW,CDW,,www.cdw.com,,Media Relations,200 N. Milwaukee Avenue,Vernon Hills,IL,60061;
Domino's Pizza LLC,Domino's,Cinna-sticks,www.dominos.com,,30 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr.,P.O. Box 997,Ann Arbor,MI,48106;
DaimlerChrysler Corporation,DaimlerChrysler,Jeep,www.jeep.com,,,,Auburn Hills,MI,48326-2766;
H & R Block,H&R Block,,www.hrblock.com,,World Headquarters,4400 Main Street,Kansas City,MO,64111;
IBM,IBM,Infrastructure guide book,www.ibm.com,,1133 Westchester Avenue,,White Plains,NY,10604;
Education Direct,Education Direct,,www.educationdir.com,,P.O. Box 1900,,Scranton,PA,18501,ims@educationdirect.com;
Pfizer Inc,Pfizer,Dentyne ice gum,http://www.gum-mints.com/conaffairs/dentyneice.shtml,,235 East 42nd Street,,New York,NY,10017-5755,http://www.prodhelp.com/contactus.shtml;
The Walt Disney Company,Disney,Tron DVD,http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/,Buena Vista Home Entertainment,500 South Buena Vista Street,,Burbank,CA,91521,http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/;
Burger King Corp.,Burger King,Burger King,www.burgerking.com,,17777 Old Cutler Road,,Miami,FL,33157;
The Clorox Co.,Clorox,Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing,www.hiddenvalley.com,,1221 Broadway,,Oakland,CA,94612;
Maytag Corp.,Maytag,Hoover Vacuum cleaner,www.hoover.com,,403 West Fourth Street North,P.O. Box 39,Newton,IA,50208-0039;
Sprint PCS,Sprint,Voice dialing,www.sprintpcs.com,,PO BOX 8077,,London,KY,40742;
Campbell Soup Company,Campbell's,Chunky Beef Soup,www.campbells.com,,Consumer Response Center,Campbell Place,Camden,NJ,08103-1701;
Bowflex,Bowflex,Exercise machine,www.bowflexdirect.com,,1400 NE 136th Avenue,,Vancouver,WA,98684;
Wal-Mart Stores,Wal-Mart,,www.walmart.com,,702 S.W. 8th Street,,Bentonville,AR,72716;
Subaru of America,Subaru,Outback SUV,www.subaru.com,,Subaru Plaza,P.O. Box 6000,Cherry Hill,NJ,08034-6000;
Office Depot Corporate Support Center,Office Depot,Expert Advice,www.officedepot.com,,2200 Old Germantown Road,,Delray Beach,FL,33445;
Crucial Technology,Crucial Technology,Computer RAM,www.crucial.com,,3475 E. Commercial Ct.,,Meridian,ID,83642;
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism,the Ministry of Tourism,Travel,www.bahamas.com,Pamela Richardson - Suite 809,One Turnberry Place,19495 Biscayne Boulevard,Aventura,FL,33180-2321;

I've tested this, and in imports into Excel perfectly. Sorry if this screws up the display, but any extraneous line-breaks might screw-up the resulting ASCII file.

Regards,

Joe

------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>The diamond one is most likely De Beers.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's what I would have thought but

1) de Beers website isn't up yet.

2) There actually is a website called www.adiamondisforever.com which represents a consortium of diamond companies (presumably including de Beers.) I can only assume that their long-time tagline went to the consortium as part of the deal. In either case, I couldn't come up with a snail-mail address, and the group that owns the website appears to own the phrase and to have run the commercial. I did notice when I watched the tape that the usual de Beers line did not appear on-screen. (I rewound the tape and double-checked.
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)

Regards,

Joe

------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
(Boy that horizontal scrolling bugs me, even though I'm the one responsible.
smile.gif
)

I considered dropping the DirecTV spot, becuase I thought it was probably an "in-house" ad. (I would imagine a certain number of slots are available for satellite and cable companies to promote their own shows.) But I've seen similar promos on over-the-air TV, so I decided to err on the side of including them. Either way, I'm guessing they paid for the ad in some form, so it might be worth a thank-you.

What to do with them? I've written a brief letter, telling them a little about myself (40-something computer geek, for demographic reasons) and pointing out that I don't generally write to sponsors of TV shows and movies (which is true.)

Then I thank them for sponsoring Rangers, encourage them to continue supporting the Sci-Fi Channel in general, and Rangers in particular, if it goes to series. Finally I say something nice about their commerical or product. (If I honestly can.
smile.gif
)

If I have used, or plan to use, or will consider using their product, I mention that as well. (Some people during the Crusade campaign went as far as putting product labels or store receipts in the envelope to show they really did use the sponsors product.) So far I'm obligated to test-drive a number of four-wheel drive vehicles when I shop for my next car.
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(But that's not a hardship, since that is exactly what I'm looking for in my next car.)

Since I actually have or do use most of what was advertised, or at least other products made by the same company, I didn't have to stretch the truth much. (I hate ranch dressing - all salad dressings, in fact - but luckily Hidden Valley is owned by Clorox, and I do use cleaning products.
smile.gif
)

Like I said, I wrote a generic, one-page letter (with fields to insert the short version of the company name where appropriate) and then modified the "commercial/product" section of each to "personalize" it. When I wrote to IBM, for instance, I mentioned that I'm a former IBMer myself, and actually used to work in the very building the letter is going to.

Mostly it is a matter of letting the sponsor know that you noticed their add, rather than that you were just in the room when it was on. Companies usually only hear about shows or movies that their commercials run on when someone is upset with a show, so this sort of thing is a pleasant surprise to them.

And they generally will let the network know about such communications. Even if it seems that there is an organized effort to get letters sent, the fact that people took the time and trouble to do so counts. (Especially when no company gets the same letter from any two individuals - one reason I discourage people posting "sample" letters. Better that everyone writes their own, honest, letter, even if poorly, than that CDW get fifty "carbon copies" of the same note.)

Will this make a huge difference? Probably not. But it can't hurt, and if the ratings are right teetering right on the edge between "series" and "no series", a little nudge like this could be enough to tip the balance.

BTW, McDonald's e-mailed me a snail mail address today. Here it is:

McDonald's Corporation
1 Kroc Drive
Oak Brook, Illinois 60523
Attention: Customer Satisfaction Department #808

Regards,

Joe

------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
If you buy something from them and tell them that you made your purchase because you saw their ad during Rangers they will want to put more ads on during Rangers. If scifi gets requests for ads they will see the money they can make. People, including scifi execs, like money.

It probably won't amount to much but it couldn't hurt. You may get something free from the company regardless.

------------------
"Crying isn't gonna get your dog back. Unless your tears smell like dog food. So you can sit here eating can after can of dog food until your tears smell like dog food or you can go out there and find your dog."-Homer in The Canine Mutiny
 
I wasn't going to mention it, but Dr. Gonzo is right - many of the sponsors I wrote to during the Crusade campaign sent coupons or key-rings or the like. I still use an attractive pen the nice folks at Kia sent me.
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But that is not a reason for writing a letter.
laugh.gif


Regards,

Joe

------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
You obviously watch through DirecTV. I watch through DishNetwork and definitely got commercials for their PPV movies during the LotR - probably at the same time you were getting the DirecTV Sports Package ones!
www.dishnetwork.com
(Parent Company: Echostar Communications Corporation)
Founder/Chairman/CEO: Charlie Ergen
Based in Littleton, CO
Phone: 1-800-333-DISH (3474)

I haven't been through all the commercials, but I know they were different again on my feed from Cox Cable. Have both airings on s-vhs so I could go through them again, if you need.

Cari www.coribright.com

newbannervsmall.jpg
 
Since it also couldn't hurt to write the network, here's that address, as well:

Ms. Bonnie Hammer
President
Sci-Fi Channel
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020-1513


Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
Thanks so much for the info, Joe. And yes, I was also pleasantly surprised at the responses I got from my letter writing on behalf of “Crusade”. Even if we didn’t save the show back then, I did get some nice coupons.

What everyone should know is that, if you know how to mass-letter-write, once the first one is done, the rest follow quite quickly. Just be careful that you always edit as you move from company to company. I think that I told Campbells that I really admired their recent programming decisions or something like that. They were very nice about it, and even sent me some great coupons. I mean like 5 dollar coupons, as well as smaller ones.


------------------
"The Bible is a book: it is a good book, but is is not the only book" - Inherit the Wind

"I do not believe that the same God who
has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."—Galileo

hypatia@b5fan.b5lr.com
 
There are only two things I would add to the advice on writing letters:

1) Tell them something about yourself. I described myself as a forty-something computer professional, and mentioned that I rarely write such letters to advertisers This give them some demographic information (CDW and IBM were probably happy to know that I paid attention to their commercials) and lets them know that they aren't being bombarded by a bunch of pimply teenagers who wouldn't make the buying decisions on the products they are selling.

2) If you didn't watch the first airing of the movie because of the football game, say so. It is important that the sponsors, as well as the network, understand that the game was a one-time distraction for people who would ordinarily tune in for every episode of a Rangers series.

Regards,

Joe

[edited to add:]

Here are two more sponsors. Their ads were seen by DISH Network subscribers, but not by DirecTV customers like me. I should have additional sponsors to list from someone who watched the movie on Cox cable later in the day:

Jan Mueller's Space Bags
New West Products
7510 Airway Road
Suite 4
San Diego, CA 92154

Nautilus Sleep Systems
Customer Service
1400 NE 136th Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98684


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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

[This message has been edited by Joseph DeMartino (edited January 26, 2002).]
 
Just posting to keep this topic active, as it is probably the most sought-after these days...
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-Londo's Hair
"Vir, intelligence has nothing to do with politics!"
 
Hey, how's this for easy? Monica has added a whole page to her website about the Rangers letter-writing campaign with a list of do's and dont's for creating an effective letter. She's also made my Excel and ASCII contact list files (which are now finalized and contain all national advertisers with published snail-mail addresses) available for download directly to your computer.

The letters can practically write themselves. Go here for all the details.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
One side note:

While I havent yet downloaded the template (I will when I get on my home PC) there is something I think we should bare in mind. Having an overall preset template is a GREAT idea. However, people should take the extra few minutes to make sure they change some of the information and make it more PERSONAL. Sci-Fi and the sponsors getting 10,000 letters that are identical save the names and addresses may weight a bit differently than letters that are a bit more unique. Just a thought.

------------------
'I don't believe in the no-win scenario' - JTK
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>While I havent yet downloaded the template...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just to be clear on something - what is available to download is not a template. It is the company names and addresses, organized in such a way that it can be used as a data-file for a mail merge. The actual letter into which the data will be merged still has to be written by each user - who should, indeed, personalize each letter for the particular company before printing and mailing them.

While Monica and I have both made suggestions on what should go into the letters, we have both avoided providing a "sample letter" that others can copy from, precisely to avoid the sponsors or Sci-Fi getting what looks like "form letters."

The only way this campaign can be effective is if they receive unique letters from everyone. Sure, they'll realize that the effort was organized, but they'll also see that each writer took the time to compose his/her own letter - rather than copying and pasting it from some generic "master file" This can make all the difference. 2,000 for letters can be dismissed easily. 2,000 individual letters can't.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
Here's an additional sponsor that advertised during the movie in the north Jersey area. As posted below though, only write to Perillo if you live in north Jersey or the NYC area.

Perillo Tours
577 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07675

with tours of Italy, London, Parish, Rome

------------------
God be between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.

[This message has been edited by StarStuff (edited January 28, 2002).]
 
StarStuff:

Thanks for adding that. However, I caution everyone that a certain number of ads on your individual tapes are going to be purely local or regional ones, especially if you watched the show on cable instead of satellite. I left a number of such companies off my list because an advertiser who knows his ad only ran in New York and New Jersey is going to be suspicious when fifty letters thanking him for running it start coming in from Minnesota and Colorado.
smile.gif
He'll start to suspect some kind of organized campaign
laugh.gif
and likely dismiss them.

If you spot a local ad for a company that you'd like to write to, by all means, go ahead. But I won't be adding such listings to the master list.

Regards,

Joe

------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
 
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