Better than a 30-second spot?
So, by now you have probably all seen the latest YouTube entry from Hillary Clinton spoofing the final scene of the final episode of The Sopranos. The point of it was to announce the winner of an internet vote sponsored by the Clinton campaign to choose the theme song for her presidential run. This might be a turning point in her campaign in terms of the use of technology to soften her image and present her in a more playful light.
Bill Richardson created an online ad campaign that was humorous and helped him to maximize an ad budget that is probably a fraction of the Clinton campaign.
The presidential candidates are beginning to tap the power of the internet to reach a broader audience. Could it be that they are realizing that maybe the medium is not the message, but perhaps the message is the message.
Read MoreWell, they’re getting closer…
It was announced that CNN and YouTube will be sponsoring a Democratic debate on July 23 and a Republican debate on September 17 where all the questions will be taken from the YouTube submissions. While CNN will decide which videos get picked, the ancillary benefit to those interested in follow up is that the debate will no doubt continue for days afterwards online. Of course, the potential for mash up is there, too, since all the videos will remain on YouTube and can then be edited together with the candidates’ responses, creating a new "1984" style phenomenon.
Most of the candidates are still missing the point of how to use internet video to their advantage. To use a sports metaphor, they are still letting the game come to them, instead of taking the game to the viewer. Podcasting allows you to talk about yourself before people start talking about you. This is true whether you are an individual, a company or a candidate for office.
"Candidates are starting to recognize that the only way to fight the potential tsunami of voter-generated video is to produce lots of video themselves, " says Andrew Rasiej, a co-founder of the non-partisan website techPresident, which tracks the candidates use of technology.
As we have previously noted, the hang up is financial, but not in the way you might think. Podcasting is so efficient in terms of both cost and as a communications tool, it will emerge as the most important message tool of our era.
"But there is both a component of habit and a component of financial self-interest here among consultants here in Washington, which is, you know, once they say well, you’re right, you know, these ads don’t really matter and people aren’t really watching them and they’re skipping over them on their Tivos, and they’re not especially well produced and they all sound the same, and everybody’s zoning them out, and maybe this isn’t the best way to get your message out there – once they say that, they’ve just thrown away a pretty significant [LAUGHS] meal ticket, right?
Essentially, consultants keep driving up the costs of a race by insisting that it has to be fought over the air at high expense. The networks keep raising the money to astronomical rates for these ads, ‘cause they know that the campaigns are raising it, and the ad guys are making out like bandits. And I don’t think they’re going to be quick to tell anybody that that business model no longer works, but I do think it’s going to become apparent."
Source: On the Media-April 27, 2007
Read MoreThe New Rules of Marketing and PR
Caught a great podcast recently featuring an interview with author David Meerman Scott. His new book is entitled The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly (whew! Quite a mouthful.)
ANYway, his premise is clear and well-delivered: "You are what you publish." In the old days, if you wanted to get your message out there you had two options: try and convince someone to write about you (and hope for the best), or buy expensive advertising, trade show floor real estate or spend a lot of money in some other way and hope your message sticks.
With the advent of blogging and podcasting, your business can now take control of the conversation and influence people based on your positive content. Think about the people you are trying to reach. Don’t force your corporate message on them. We get enough of that everyday. As we have said before on this blog and in our podcast, it is not about hucksterism. Rather, write about a problem people are having, and then help them solve it. Once you establish that trust, people will stay with you and rely on you as a source.
The rules of marketing are changing for the better. This is allowing MORE people in and is making things LESS exclusionary. Take advantage. The time is now.
Commercials, and the viewers who skip them
A much-anticipated Nielsen report was released last week talking about DVR penetration, such as Tivo, what percentage of users skip over commercials. The conclusion…Nielsen wouldn’t say. The OBVIOUS conclusion… a lot of us.
The takeaway for podcasters and other new media producers was this:
According to an analysis of Nielsen ratings data by Sanford C. Bernstein, live viewership among 18- to 49-year-olds of non-sports, prime-time programming at Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS was significantly down during the season, owing to more people using DVRs to watch their favorite shows at later dates.
In other words, the time-shifting habits are well-formed, meaning all we need to do is continue to provide more compelling content.
More on politics and podcasting
Today’s podcast episode takes a more in depth look at the role of podcasting in politics. Whether you’re running for dog catcher, city council or the White House, if you don’t embrace technology, you’re going to be left out in the cold.
You can listen live here on the blog or, better yet, subscribe for free in iTunes. New content will arrive to your computer automatically.
Click here to listen
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