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Links and Comments 16/11

Posted on | November 16, 2010 | 1 Comment

A valuable insight about Adwords: target the long-tail: you want to reach voters who are researching issues, voters who are likely to be undecided (example here: “North Carolina unemployement rate”)

If you listen to the Tea Party candidates…actually listen to what they (as opposed to the media filters) are saying, you start to hear the same language of hope and optimism we heard in 2008. You may not agree with their philosophy for creating a better future for America, but the optimism is the same. The goals are the same. It is simply the media narrative that’s changed.

An article about the role of the media..makes me wonder to what extent popular defiance against the media – not even politics – will change the “game” of political communication in the years to come (if it hasn’t already). In other words: people are not just tired of politics, they’re also tired of traditional media which is said to distort “reality.” Perhaps social media is not so much good for politicians as it’s bad for traditional media.

There are some forms of television programming that typically aren’t watched on a delayed basis, specifically news and sports. As DVR use increases, you’re likely to see political advertising concentrated around these types of programs where the audience is more captive

An interview about the new “comprehensive approach” of the NATO which is said to include more extensively on civil actors – including political communication?

Defining power as attracting our interest, stimulating our attention..

You’ve all seen the “I’m You” video – here’s an interesting anecdote:

With Ms. O’Donnell, he met her over dinner and within five minutes came up with the “I’m You” concept. She wasn’t the freak outlier as portrayed by the press, he decided. After dinner, he scripted the spot in the hotel and shot it the following night. “That’s politics,” he said. “You only have so much time.” [...] Recently, however, Ms. O’Donnell told “Good Morning America” that she regrets the “I’m You” ad, which only increased visibility of her supposed extreme views.

And yes, it’s true, she still lost.

Using Facebook Places for exit polling? Why not!?

Google is perceived as a brand for Democrats; FoxNews (surprisingly?) for Republicans, and so forth. I wonder what the likelihood is for “political co-branding” to occur? But I guess there are few brands who’d take an explicit political stance..but, speaking of Adwords, one could imagine associating one with the other….

This race has been very negative from the beginning. Of the $2.2 million spent on TV ads, approximately 82 percent of it has been negative — with the help of both parties and outside groups, of course.

In short: it’s not about the technology, it’s about the people; inform/consult/involve/engage; be user-centric – it’s not about the candidat, it’s about the people; be reactive. Good stuff.

A short article about (the impossibility of) communicating a health care reform; the specificity is that there is no target group, or rather that the public in its entirety is the target group. The paradox: communications seems to be of no avail, yet it’s more and more important. Let’s hope nothing truly is impossible then..
The logic of negative political advertising: if they ain’t gonna vote for us, let’s make sure they’re at least not gonna vote for them either..

An article trying to explain just why there are so many negative ads (from a different perspective as above): 1. it’s potentially free PR as it gets discussed 2. politics, unlike business, is a zero sum game: you either win or lose; there’s no shared profit 3. these “brands” are only active during a very short time period so they’re less inhibited. (Not sure I’m buying into the last two explanations though.)

A rich article about public speaking in a political context; first lesson: don’t just adjust your message to your audience (tell them what they want to hear), adjust it to yourself as well (tell them who you are) – that creates authenticity. Secondly, according to Aristotle, effective communication uses logos (reason), ethos (virtue) and pathos (emotions) but “one of the main “sins” committed by politicians today is that they don’t have authentic passion.”
And a good piece of advice:

I generally have the politician write down three words on the top of the page (of any speech): Conversation, punctuation and pause.” The conversational tone lets the speaker talk with the audience rather than over their heads. Punctuation can help generate passion, and pausing underlines the speaker’s gravitas and authority.

What role for humility in politics?

“Humility is a great quality, and it’s one that people will respect,” said historian Douglas Brinkley, who teaches at Rice University. “Ronald Reagan could be seen as a polarizing presence, but he also knew how to play humble when it was necessary. Where is President Obama’s self-deprecating humor? Kennedy and Reagan could both be very self-deprecating. People liked that.”

Some stats about the recent midterm elections and social media:

More than 12 million clicked Facebook’s “I Voted” button on Tuesday, more than twice the 5.4 million from two years ago. Foursquare encouraged users to vote by awarding a special “merit badge” to those who went to polling places. More than 50,000 of its 4 million users received it.

You cannot effectively communicate change if you haven’t done a thorough job communicating the challenge; so far so good for the corporate world. Couldn’t we understand elections as just this activity of ” communicating challenges” (I guess this falls under framing, doesn’t it)? (That’s being an optimist, of course.)
Just a piece of history:

Theodore Sorensen, 82, was not only Kennedy’s speechwriter but one of his most trusted advisers. While Kennedy is remembered for the 1961 inaugural address in which he declared, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” Sorensen became known, too, for his part in drafting the speech.

Economics Professor Thomas Stratmann says his research on political advertising found a candidate who spends as little as $100,000 more than the other guy will increase his or her share of the vote by just over one half of one percentage point.

The growth of political neuromarketing as inevitable? Maybe..maybe.

Some empirical studies of what works and what doesn’t during elections..

Some received an oversize postcard encouraging them to vote, others the same message via a phone call or in-person visit. One control group received no contact whatsoever. After the election, The in-person canvass yielded turnout 9.8 percent higher than for voters who were not contacted. Each piece of mail led to a turnout increase of only 0.6 percent. Telephone calls, had no effect at all.

Two other techniques to increase voter turnout: “implement intentions” (make the visualize) and spread “everyone-is-doing it messages” (I suppose that falls under peer pressure).

The “hyperpresidency” of Sarkozy is part of the constitutional heritage of De Gaulle, except for the fact that he crosses the traditional public/private boundaries. I find this convincing.

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One Response to “Links and Comments 16/11”

  1. Tweets that mention Links and Comments 16/11 | politicaldot.com -- Topsy.com
    November 16th, 2010 @ 9:32 pm

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