Clinton & Obama: A lesson of losing control of your brand

Many of my colleagues (Mitch Joel, Shel Holtz, Valeria Maltoni) and I frequently speak to members of PRSA, IABC, and advertising agencies explaining as best we can how consumers now own the brand. Good will increasingly cannot be bought and the political season is giving us striking examples of the mechanics of how "web 2.0" - "new media" - "social media" (choose your buzz) have changed the landscape of both business communication and brand marketing.

Frank Rich has this in today's New York Times editorial page:

The Hallmark show, enacted on an anachronistic studio set that looked like a deliberate throwback to the good old days of 1992, was equally desperate. If the point was to generate donations or excitement, the effect was the reverse. A campaign operative, speaking on MSNBC, claimed that 250,000 viewers had seen an online incarnation of the event in addition to "who knows how many" Hallmark channel viewers. Who knows, indeed? What we do know is that by then the Yes We Can Obama video fronted by the hip-hop vocalist will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas had been averaging roughly a million YouTube views a day. (Cost to the Obama campaign: zero.)

Ed. Note: Video inserted at the end of this post to save you a click-thru.

I have two points to make. First is to note the extreme shift in balance of power as to who controls your brand. Hillary is trying, some would say desperately, to control her brand and essentially trick people into voting for her. She (along with Bill presumably) are convinced they are the best for the country. The country, increasingly, is demonstrative otherwise. She can spend money and stage "staged" events with planted questioners, but we have learned as consumers of media as well as of products, when someone is "faking it up." (My favorite way to describe the traditional art of advertising's dark side.)

Second, one of the best measurements of how well your brand is being received, is the way that people play with it. Are they promoting you or are they disparaging you? It is not that hard to tell these days.

The great opportunity for business is that we can learn from the political season. We can observe how losing control can be tragic, comedic, and/or a fast trip from relative obscurity to leader of the pack.

Footnote Observations

1. It is still early on the date of publication of Frank Rich's editorial (cited above) and there are over 500 comments already posted. People have opinions and they want to share them.
2. My mom, a lifelong Republican, said she would consider voting for Obama before McCain because, "Obama has class." In this age of communication transparency, things like class definitely can shine through all the traditional mud-slinging.

HAF Members - Let’s Get the Jan 24 Party Started

I've been asked to speak at the Hawaii Advertising Federation annual "university" this coming January, 24, 2008. Since I want to evangelize about new media, I'll be using our blog to start connecting with the members as well as asking for input from others of you who have opinions and recommendations.

For the members of HAF:

• what do you love and hate about the internet and technology?
• how often do you read blogs or consume podcasts?
• do you have an iPod?
• on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a technophobe/luddite and 10 being a geek, where do you rate yourself?

For the rest of you:

• what do you think of the state of advertising?
• what do you want to hear from a company, as a consumer of its products and services?
• are there do's and don'ts for companies who want to converse with their customers and potential customers?
• what's the best way to reach you and influence your buying habits?

Peas in a Virtual Pod

I can get cranky easily about all of the social networks I am invited to these days. If you were a fly on my office wall, you'd definitely be hearing the unanswered threat, "If I have to fill out one more profile and find any more friends to invite, I'm gonna..." Fortunately there is increasing discussion on being able to manage one's identity online and reducing social network fatigue across multiple locations.

But meanwhile, there is Twitter.

The place with the most inane underlying concept that can suck enormous time and energy time while becoming a major communication tool has created the most valuable new contacts and conversations in my world.

Do you remember when you realized that you can more comfortably say things in an email than you would typically say in person? Well, boil that down to 140 characters (including spaces) and it is amazing what we can communicate to each other. People are emboldened to open their hearts and their rolodexes knowing there is system-imposed limit. I often find that limits can be incredibly liberating within their confines.

My role model this month is Susan Reynolds, an amazing ageless woman who is a geek goddess, lives in Second Life part of her days, and now is literally twittering her way through a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. She manages to share her experience and receive our abundant love, all in little snippets of text and now the burgeoning growth of avatar pics featuring green peas as our sign of support.

She came home from the biopsy and described her use of frozen peas in the bra to heal faster.

So regardless of the time zone, of the age, of the gender, of the political affiliation, hundreds of us peas are realizing we are all in this pod together. Some are just getting boiled sooner and hotter than others. And we couldn't have a more creative and loving unleader than Susan Reynolds. Follow her on Twitter to get your own morsels of peace.

Blog as Weather Report & ISP Status

We had a large winter storm here on Oʻahu last night. Power was off intermittently, but is now working.

Our main internet connection, via Oceanic Cable, is down. That includes TV service too - so we won't be watching any OC16 or HGTV today!

My internet service via my cell phone, the AT&T Edge network, is also down. Calling and internet services are both unavailable.

Our third redundant backup, EVDO service on the laptop from Sprint, is working and so Shane and I are taking turns on that.

If you need to reach us you may call our land line at 808-262-9409. That is working.

Funny that I did a Beach Walks with Rox episode yesterday on appreciating all those things that just work in the background for us. Even though our main pipeline (and somedays it feels like a lifeline) is down, I very much appreciate all the tech workers who are out in the rain trying to put it back together!