As I mentioned in my earlier post, Barack Obama’s historic presidential campaign was successful due to a skillful and disciplined messaging campaign, one with no leaks, public infighting or drama.
Here, in contrast, is a five minute news interview with Fox News reporter Carl Cameron that is based entirely on leaks from unnamed sources from the McCain campaign. And it’s brutal stuff – claims that Palin didn’t know that Africa was a continent, for example, and that she relished buying high-end clothing on the campaign’s dime.
Members of the McCain camp apparently sat down with Carl for hours sharing their bitter gripes about Palin. This isn’t the last time we’ll be hearing about what really went down.
I post this because it’s evidence of what can happen if you don’t have an effective, unified communications strategy.
Ira Tenowitz from Ad Age published a provocative story today. The morning after the historic election of our first black president, Tenowitz’s topic of the day is regulation anxiety for the ad industry, opening with this thought provoking line: “Now that the election’s over and Sen. Barack Obama is the president-elect, the real fighting can begin.”
Tenowitz raises legitimate issues that were already controversial long before Obama even announced that he would run for president; for example, the consumer backlash against direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads from pharmaceutical companies. Consumer advocacy groups have long been pushing for tighter regulation of many pharmaceutical ads that they deem misleading. Tenowitz’s main theme seems to be that a Democrat president and Congress will likely tip the scales toward tighter government control and regulation, which could hamper advertisers and marketers.
The article goes in-depth on a number of other hot-button issues relevant to anyone in the media and advertising industries. Whether or not you agree with Tenowitz’s portentous tone, it’s definitely worth reading.
Please share your views and comments.
In my view, Tenowitz is jumping the gun and feeding the fear mongers out there. He’s also doing his job by putting together a provocative headline and story to engage readers to react and respond.
Doug “VB” Goudie interviewed the owner of “Fill-A-Buster” restaurant in Boston where Senator Wilkerson allegedly accepted cash for bribes. The owner of the restaurant was almost ecstatic about the amount of free publicity (even if slightly negative) he was receiving because of the Wilkerson scandal. With pictures on the front page of The Globe and numerous mentions in local media, the owner couldn’t be happier, saying he was even going to frame the front page of today’s paper and possibly create a Wilkerson sandwich.
Will “Fill-A-Buster” have new customers coming in for a sandwich or breakfast meal to see the scene of the “crime?”
I know one thing’s for sure; “Fill-A-Buster” had a lot more press overnight and may owe Senator Wilkerson a thank you for any increase in business. Looks like someone’s bad news created a lot of good news for one local restaurant.
