This past Saturday while watching TV, I was thinking about how programming shows us what marketers and advertisers are thinking with their messaging during particular shows. My disclaimer is that my television fare is limited to news, sports, a few prime time shows and PBS. Although my views are not broad by television standards, I think they are on target regarding a specific audience.

Saturday, after the Red Sox defeated the Yankees, I watched in the following in order: The Zombies, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jethro Tull performinhg on PBS. I skipped Austin City Limits, but that was a rarity.

For those who may be unfamiliar with these bands, The Zombies were part of the English Invasion in the late '60s and early '70s, with a number of hits including songs covered by such bands as Kiss. Lynyrd Skynryd is the definition of a southern rock guitar band and the authors of the greatest rock anthem ever--Free Bird, and Jethro Tull's lead singer plays a flute (an oddity in and of itself) and is most famous for Aqualung.

What does this have to do with how marketers think?

The first concert came on at 8 p.m., each lasted an hour, getting us to 11 p.m. It's a Saturday night. Who is likely to be staying home on a Saturday night, wanting to watch a rock band whose members are in their '50s and '60s, and want the concerts to end at 11 p.m. so they can go to sleep? Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1960 are the prime audience. And we know where the PBS channels are on our remotes, meaning we know how to get to these concerts, and we know enough about PBS to realize rock and roll bands from the '60s and '70s are likely to be playing. Now, guess what was going on at PBS? Pledge week.

These marketers had it all figured out. For a $200 per person pledge, viewers can buy tickets to a special performance of each of these bands at a local venue, where the audience is made up entirely of those of us watching and pledging during these concerts.

About a month ago, my wife and I pledged $220 each to see the Moody Blues on August 4. Although we once pledged yearly, we have in recent years let our memberships slip. Now we can pledge and get tickets to spend a few hours blowing our minds (and our ears) on music that recalls our youth. And all the monies go to our local PBS station, as the band's performances is a PBS benefit. Wow! For us, we are doing good while getting our mojo on (which, as we get older, becomes harder and harder).

In terms of marketing, this is really smart: The stations form a strategic partnership with a business (a rock band) that fulfills the wants and needs of their typical Saturday night audience. The station benefits by raising more money than the old "this is your station, we need your support" pitch, and the bands get to play before an audience who idolizes them and will buy their merchandise and their music.

Here is a perfect example of how smart marketing pays off. What other examples can we think of? Are there other things this strategic partnership could do to enhance results?