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DR: 07/2011 UPDATE LETTER FOR
FRIENDS OF SPGAS
As a long-time
supporter of The Society for the Preservation of The
Great American Songbook, I am writing you today to bring
you up-to-date on a number of milestones as we continue our
development efforts on behalf of the foundation.
FREE GAS
On the Radio
... Our syndicated radio program, American
Standards by the Sea, is now heard weekly on dozens
of radio stations.
Thanks to our
archive of music and interviews with the superstars of the
genre, the program is an invaluable source of historical
information, and news about the artists performing the music
to this day. The continued production and distribution
of the show assures the music is, not only not
forgotten, but exposes it to listeners who have not
had the benefit of hearing the music on a regular bias, as
the economies of commercial broadcasting have effectively
eliminated the availability of this, historically
significant, "Soundtrack of America."
On the
Internet ... An incredible extension of the radio show
that is ready to bring us into the future of technology!
Since going
live with our stereo Internet music stream in January, our
team has been devoted to making constant adjustments to the
programming. I'm happy to say we are about to go
public with
www.TheOriginalGASStation.org ... if you haven't had a
chance to sample it, now's a great time to become familiar
with it ... while you enjoy the over 15,000 songs in our
library.
As a SPGAS
supporter, you have every reason to be proud of end product.
I know of no other stream of this caliber, devoted entirely
to the music that punctuated the lives of many generations
of Americans ... meanwhile, your involvement in the
foundation helps further set it apart.
I'm pleased to
be able to report that the initial outpouring of response
from listeners who have discovered the channel is
overwhelmingly positive.
FOUNDATION
DEVELOPMENT
As with any
endeavor, in order to gain significant momentum in the
marketplace, we need to expand our reach — ideally with
the support of new underwriters and promotional partners.
This will help us achieve sustainable, and meaningful,
growth.
We have
articulated two very reasonable — and achievable —
goals for the organization.
- To
expand the reach of our radio and Internet offerings ... by
partnering with an underwriter (or underwriters) who can
promote these unique offerings to their existing
customer or membership base.
We can easily
use the programming as a platform to reward an underwriting
partner to deliver a marketing message. That messaging
can be for themselves, or more likely, for themselves and
for members of their family of vendors or other
marketing partners.
This allows the
SPGAS partner (or partners) to dramatize their support of
our programming, with accompanying messages that are not
unlike what listeners are accustomed to hearing everyday on
public radio or TV stations.
And, in the
case of our Internet presentation, there is one very
distinct added advantage ... the ability to present an
interactive "tile" on the SPGAS on-screen player, a tile
coordinated with the "on-air" advertising message so a
listener can respond to an advertising "call-to-action"
immediately.
- To
extend the reach of SPGAS ... there are so many other
opportunities to reach out, to expand the public's
opportunities to appreciate The Great American Songbook —
from special events and consumer promotions, to exhibits and
other outreach efforts.
We are in a
unique position to combine our resources to have a
significant impact on our key objectives — today — now!
A am pleased to
say, that the time is here. We are ready to seriously
undertake our challenge.
I am writing
today, to ask you to consider, from among your circle of
contacts we might contact to introduce SPGAS in the hope of
eventually making contact with people who'd invite us to
craft specific requests for support.
I am pleased to
announce our development infrastructure has been expanded to
include two important professional team members:
-
Betsy Keteltas, an experienced, credentialed grant
writer, who understands how to articulate the goals of SPGAS
and the benefits to the community to organizations that can
support our efforts on a benevolent level.
-
Gregg Simonsen, a marketing specialist who I've known
and worked with for decades. Gregg has the expertise
to work with potential partners so they can maximize
the benefits they receive by being involved. Those
benefits can range from simple recognition programs to reach
the general public, to sophisticated and intricate programs
for an underwriter to share their benefits with other
stakeholders, such as vendors or retail channel partners, to
actually stimulate incremental trade as a result of their
investment.
Obviously, when
everyone benefits from a sponsorship, a rewarding, long-term
relationship is the likely result.
We've
established a webpage, which is essentially an entry point
for prospective underwriters or sponsors. SPGAS.org,
not only details the goals I've touched upon hers, but
expands on other ideas and opportunities to extend the
outreach of our efforts. When the campaign is
implemented, we'll no only be in a position to help preserve
the music of The Great American Songbook, but to expose new
generations to the art and to the history surrounding this
important part of Americana.
In closing, I
ask that you consider entities, from retailers to services,
from service organization to charitable foundations, who
would benefit from hearing an introduction to SPGAS. I
feel confident that we've created a platform that will allow
us to pursue this very worthy undertaking while providing
benefits and other courtesies to those who lend their
support.
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