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  Conventions '08 Marketer's Chat Up

  http://tangerinetoad.blogspot.com/2008/08/conventions-08-mar...
  131 days ago in The Toad Stool by Alan Wolk · Authority: 156

  Christina Kerley ("CK") has put together a panel discussion of sorts over on MP Daily Fix where six of us give our (wildly divergent) opinions of Obama's speech last night from a marketing perspective. Panelists include Cam Beck, Stephen

  • Photo of DrewMc62

    Did Barack's speech keep his brand promise alive?

    http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2008/08/did-baracks-spe....
    131 days ago in Drew McLellan - The Marketing Minute: · Authority: 464

    84,000 screaming fans a la a rock concert. An estimated 40+ million watching at home. On the 45th anniversary of Dr. King's historic "I have a dream" speech. The stage was set for magic. Barack's acceptance speech last night was clearly one of

    • Author unknown

      Left, right or center: Can we all agree how REMARKABLE this election truly is?

      http://www.ck-blog.com/cks_blog/2008/08/can-we-all-agre.html
      130 days ago in CK's Blog · Authority: 54

      As we analyze the marketing merits of the candidates' speeches, strategies and platforms...and we tirelessly debate our left vs. right political views with friends, family and colleagues...I hope we all take a moment (or two) and reflect on how truly remarkable this election is. Because it truly is a historic campaign season of firsts. (And I fear we'd otherwise miss out on the BIGGEST marketing lesson of all) Folks, no matter which way you're voting, and how much you may dislike "the other guy," it's remarkable to see what all is being forged on so very many fronts: A woman got closer to landing the presidential nomination than ever before. A past two-term president was campaigning for his wife to be president--and could have been back in the White House...as first "gentleman." A biracial man landed the Democratic presidential nomination (everyone refers to Obama as African-American but that's not correct since he is as white as he is black). What's more, the Democratic nominee--that no one had really heard of before the '04 DNC--just filled-up a stadium of 80,000 people for his acceptance speech. And had to turn people away. An American presidential candidate "went global" in presenting to and engaging a crowd that can't even vote for him, being they're not American (in having Obama go overseas to Berlin). Even on the floor of the DNC, delegates were still splitting their votes between two Democratic candidates. The oldest man to ever run for Commander-In-Chief is the GOP's nominee. What's more, the GOP has appointed its first female VP nominee (the Dems already had a female VP candidate in Ferraro but the GOP never has). On the day of the Democratic acceptance speech, the GOP candidate ran a broadcast TV ad congratulating his opponent on his accomplishments; whether you find this gracious or shrewd it was a first. The Democratic nominee text-messaged his VP pick to his supporters before broadcasting it at large to mass media. A talk-show host--and arguably the most powerful woman on TV--actively campaigned for a presidential candidate (Oprah didn't just show up at rallies, or wear a t-shirt supporting the cause, she gave speeches during the primaries). CNN held YouTube debates where nominees answered videotaped questions uploaded by everyday citizens. People whom have never met have been twittering with one another the whole way through. And I portend that the ratings for the upcoming VP debates (not just the presidential debates) will be the highest EVER of any VP debate. Please let me know other firsts that I've missed. I'm sure there's more history being made than I'm recollecting...because there are so many firsts this go 'round. Speaking of remarkable, this 3-minute piece on Hillary's speech is truly apt (email and RSS subscribers, please click through to the blog to view).

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        Did McCain's speech keep his brand promise?

        http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2008/09/did-mccains-spe....
        123 days ago in Drew McLellan - The Marketing Minute: · Authority: 386

        Just like we did last week with Barack Obama, 6 marketing pros watched John McCain's speech through a very specific lens. How did the speech support their brand? McCain had a tough act to follow. Sarah Palin's speech has shattered expectations in terms of viewers and buzz. He had to build on that momentum and remind us that he was #1 on the Republican ticket. He also (in my opinion) had to continue the delicate balancing act of his duo-brand. McCain is part Country First/War Hero (very traditional) and part Maverick (very non-traditional). Could he capture both sides of his brand and deliver them in a memorable, believable way? So how did he do from a pure brand/marketing perspective? That was the question posed to six of us (CK, Ann Handley, Cam Beck, Alan Wolk, Stephen Denny, and me) over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix. We had to (in 200 words or less) critique the speech based on message, brand delivery and relevance. We also had to give a 0-5 star rating. McCain got everywhere from a 0 to a 4.5 from the six of us. Come read what everyone had to say and give us your take. And if you missed part one, here's our take on Obama's speech last week.

        • Author unknown

          How to Make Political Predictions This Election Season

          http://www.chaosscenario.com/main/2008/09/how-to-make-pol.ht...
          127 days ago in ChaosScenario · Authority: 50

          Trying to woo younger voters, John McCain changed his name to J-Mack and picked as his running mate Sarah Palin, the spunky 44 year-old governor of Alaska. This came as a shock to most members of the media (and those who believe their political analyses), who figured the Republican would pick a liberal, a moderate like himself, or someone who conveniently pretended to be conservative for his own presidential run. This move didn't surprise everyone, however. The day before the pick, I had to suffer through Barack Obama's acceptance speech in order to provide an analysis for CK and the Daily Fix. While writing editing my contribution, Paul McEnany and I tweeted up a conversation about who the Republican formerly known as McCain would pick on August 29. A little backstory - Paul, Erin Middleton and I had lunch at Genghis Grill awhile back... back when Hillary Clinton had a big lead in the polls and fundraising. I said then that Barack Obama would win the Democratic nomination, not Hillary. This officially makes me 2 for 2 in political predictions this season.* So how did I guess it? Well, of the names that had been floated, this is the only one that gave J-Mack a shot. The rest were either too boring, too liberal, or both. J-Mack needed desperately to do three things: Inject energy and hope into his campaign, Reinforce his maverick credentials, but only While shoring up his conservative base Why? J-Mack established his darling "maverick" status among the (90% Democratic) media by voting against his own party. This was evident in a few particular areas that caused his party to be less than thrilled that he ended up being the nominee from a crowded field of less-than-exciting candidates. Among the issues that angered the Republican Party's base, the Senator from Arizona sponsored, voted for, and/or spoke in favor of: Campaign finance reform that limits free speech. Comprehensive immigration reform that had, at its centerpiece, pardons for those who illegally came into or stayed into the U.S. against the will of the people as expressed in their laws. Shutting down the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to gain favor in world opinion. Besides voting against President Bush's proposed tax cuts, it also didn't help McCain allegedly considered accepting an offer to be Democrat Sen. John Kerry's running mate in 2004, a move that even Joseph Biden (Obama's current running mate) endorsed at the time. In addition, in the last 8 years, J-Mack has repeatedly thumbed his nose at conservatives and Christians, the activists who dominate Republican politics. It was so bad that Focus on the Family founder and leading Christian activist, psychologist James Dobson openly wondered if he would even be able to cast a vote for President, if McCain became the nominee. The media loved McCain for it, of course, but this put him on shaky footing moving toward the nominating convention. Now even James Dobson is changing his tune. I wouldn't have guessed he'd pick Palin had the name not surfaced a few weeks ago. I had heard of a Republican governor trying to weed out corruption in her home state (including among Republicans), and of course I considered this a good thing, but with the exception of former actors, I don't make a habit of memorizing the names of governors of other states. The base of the Republican Party has been yearning for a young, incorruptible leader. Someone who is not wishy-washy but who could also appeal to the masses. In Palin, J-Mack selected someone indisputably more conservative than him, but who, like McCain is unafraid to vote against her own party (Though she typically attacks it from the right, while McCain attacks it from the left). If Palin acquits herself well in this election, and if she has the desire, win or lose in November, she may have the support she needs to become the person to lead the Party well into the future. That is motivating enough for many to get off of their hands and jump into the fight. But what does this all mean? How do you duplicate this phenomenal success in making political predictions? Easy. Candidates of the two major parties will always act in what they believe to be their best interests. Even if they have noble intentions for the country while running, they cannot govern if they lose the election. So it makes no sense for a candidate to sabotage his own chances by doing what the media and other people who have no desire for him to win want him to do. The candidates need the support and excitement of their party faithful. They know they cannot win an election on the strength of their ideas alone -- or even in their ability to communicate it. They need to motivate someone else to do the grunt work for them, for even though we can read all a candidate has to say about a subject, our friends have more influence over us than the candidates we never met and probably never will meet. These are the same people who work the phone banks until after the sun has set. These are the same people who stay up late at night to read and write the planks of their party's platform. These people talk to their friends about how excited they are. They ensure nobody cheats at the polling places. Just picking a conservative wouldn't have been enough. Because he didn't just need to placate conservatives, he needed to motivate them and give pause to those who would vote for his opponent on more superficial grounds. What is true of electioneering is also true of marketing. Do you want to accurately predict your own success? Then start by delighting your customers. They will be better advocates for you than even the snazziest suits or the cleverest of advertising campaigns. They will do for you what a microsite never could, but only if you pay attention to their needs and their worries first. That way, you, too can pretend you're a prognosticating genius when all you were doing was following decisions according to their logical paths. - Cam Beck *Full disclosure: I never predicted who would win the Republican nomination -- I just didn't know -- but I underestimated the confusion the lackluster field would cause. Because of the difficulties I listed earlier, I (unofficially) predicted that McCain would drop out of it. So really, I'm a respectable but unremarkable 2/3 this season.

          • Photo of bostonscott

            Juicy Links: August 25 - August 29

            http://blog.exclusiveconcepts.com/?p=632
            128 days ago in Exclusive Concepts Blog · Authority: 3

            HAPPY LABOR DAY!  Enjoy this week’s Juicy Links! Marketing: Conventions ‘08: Come Chat It Up, Marketers Search: Exploring Internet Explorer 8 Google Google Wants The Government To Fund Green Tech Google’s Experiments to Mess With Your Mind Google adds geolocation to Gears offline plug-in Google Makes AdWords Quality Score “Improvements” Yahoo! A Nip & Tuck for Yahoo Site Explorer Yahoo Mash: When getting social isn’t enough Yahoo Mash gets smashed, bashed, quashed Social Networking: The Secret Behind Obama’s Nomination: Social Networking Facebook’s Live Feed challenges FriendFeed, Twitter LinkedIn spruces up Groups platform Report: Facebook screenplay based on book Around the Web: Cows have animal magnetism Sarah Palin Wikipedia edits–fast and furious Adobe gets an e-earful, and listens

            • Photo of paulmcenany

              Another Bout of Link Love

              http://heehawmarketing.typepad.com/hee_haw_marketing/2008/08...
              130 days ago in Hee-Haw Marketing · Authority: 43

              A Free-market Loving, Big Spending, Fiscally Conservative, Wealth Redistributionist. With all the politics flying around lately, it's probably a good idea to read this article about Obama's economic worldview. It's long, but about the best description I've seen so far. Back with theWB Continuing in the Hulu tradition of both moving professional content to the web and innovating past YouTube, The WB launched their own show portal to compete, but also added some nice perks like a video search that allows you to search for text within a show, not just show names, and a show remixer with embedded Adobe Premier Express. Pretty cool stuff. Now if only I watched the Gilmore Girls.... Information and Knowledge Over at Chroma, Dino is talking about how the way in which we interact with information is changing, and the importance of tacit knowledge to understanding. "Presence applications and formats that capture "snippets" of thoughts, data or information are generating streams of data about us and the world, and the process of assimilating that flow of information is also resulting in interesting new forms of "knowledge" that don't really have anything to do with reading books. It's pretty fascinating to me how knowledge and emotion emerge as a result of patterns in presence media and the flow of information, and how the network is the infrastructure for this. One of the most radical implications here is the notion that in a web of flow, information and knowledge finds us, rather than the other way around." Sex and the Olympics Great article about how the massive amounts of testosterone (in both the men and the women) equals a whole lot of shagging in the Olympic Village. "There is a famous story from Seoul in 1988 that there were so many used condoms on the roof terrace of the British team's residential block the night after the swimming concluded that the British Olympic Association sent out an edict banning outdoor sex. Here in Beijing, organisers have realised that such prohibitions are about as useful as banning breathing and have, instead, handed out thousands of free condoms to the athletes." The Functional Collective Conscious Mike Aruz discusses his theory of the functional collective conscious with a real word example, in regards particularly to a global game called I Love Bees. The notion plays well with transmedia planning, another mode of planning that seems to be gaining more and more steam.

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