Pre-Broadcast Materials

Postcards build awareness for your broadcast and/or for local events. The best postcards allow you to localize broadcast information with a stamp or sticker (rather than depend on the ubiquitous "Check your local listings"). Postcards can include information about other print materials, such as a teacher's guide. They also have room to promote your other educational outreach efforts, including person-to-person activities and Web/interactive materials. The biggest plus of postcards is their low cost.

Pre-broadcast brochures alert viewers to your broadcast date, drive users to your Web site, and (if you choose) generate orders for your print materials, videos, or other resources. They can include information about the program or series, your Web site, your community-based activities or national partners, your educational materials, and video ordering. They can also include an order form for a teacher's guide or community action guide.

Using a pre-broadcast brochure to generate orders for, say, a free teacher's guide has pros and cons. The pro is that you don't have to print as many guides, thereby saving money. The con is that you don't know how many orders you will get, making it more challenging to budget accurately. Direct mail of this sort traditionally gets a 1 to 2 percent response rate. Free offers of PBS-related materials, however, often generate about a 10 percent response rate, even higher for hot properties like Arthur.