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Grover: You don’t know marketing
Last night, I watched Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes attempt to get Grover Norquist to be thoughtful about his no taxes pledge. In case you don’t know, Norquist, the founder of the misleadingly named...
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Marcomm takeaways from the Iowa Caucus
Last night, FINALLY, the results of the Iowa Caucus gave us a more real sense of where people are headed in the GOP race. You can read about the results in this Karen Tumulty story for the Washington...
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Politicians, pandering and the shifting message
Although pander has some decidedly unsavory definitions (to act as a go-between in sexual intrigues, for example) I am using this definition: to cater or to indulge. Politicians seem to be always...
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First, have a message
In an op-ed piece in today’s Washington Post, Eugene Robinson argues that Mitt Romney, erstwhile front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, lacks a message. Robinson writes: Criticism of Mitt...
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Root your messages in reality not ideology
Every organization (business, nonprofit, political, association) should have a list of key messages.These key messages should be updated frequently (no less than once a year). If yours doesn’t, it’s...
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Built on a foundation of lies
We all know political speech is rhetorical–designed to fire up support. Most political speeches are short on substance and long on promises. This is true for any party, any politician. But how often do...
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Are the presidential campaigns convincing voters?
Last night, on 60 Minutes, both President Obama and Mitt Romney were interviewed. Scott Pelley interviewed Romney while Steve Kroft interviewed Obama. At the end of the hour, when both candidates gave...
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Do political ads work?
This year, we have been bombarded with political ads on TV, especially in swing states. I can attest to this since my TV DMA covers Northern Virginia, and Virginia is a swing state, so we have been...
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Authenticity matters (or, Why Bobby Jindal Won’t Win but Chris Christie Might)
Bobby Jindal just announced (via Facebook) today that he is adding himself to the slew of GOP 2016 presidential hopefuls. There are lots of reasons why Jindal does not have even a small chance of...
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Can you do advertising by algorithm?
You’ve seen advertising by algorithm every single time you go on Facebook. If you’ve done an online search for anything (books, movies, clothing, etc.), you will now see a banner ad for that thing or...
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Too many words, too little meaning
Warning—this post is somewhat political since it uses a politician as an example, and not in a flattering way. In case you missed it on Tuesday, Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump in the campaign for...
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Truth vs. facts vs. journalism: an editorial
I just watched the movie “Truth,” starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, about questionable documents, used by producer Mary Mapes and reported by Dan Rather on 60 Minutes II, which purported to...
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Why I share political views on Twitter but not on LinkedIn
Lately, I have seen a couple of opinion pieces written by marketing people that state you should never, ever share your political opinion, at the risk of losing clients and alienating your network. I...
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How do you know who to vote for when there are so many candidates?
There are thirty (that is 3-0) people running for Montgomery County, Maryland Council. Voters are allowed to vote for up to four. There are also eight candidates running in the Democratic primary for...
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