Let’s veer into the political arena for a nanosec, and talk about a couple of recent events – and how they pertain to marketing.
Yesterday, John McCain announced he would temporarily suspend his campaign, in order to go back to Washington and help pass the bailout legislation that would save our financial bacon. Those that support McCain insist that his move was statesman-like. Those that don’t, insist that he was practicing gamesmanship.
In truth, I believe McCain is sincere (although I certainly acknowledge that it’s also a politically-charged move). My reasons are that: A) McCain is an experienced debater, with the topic (National Defense) that is a McCain specialty, B) McCain “won” the Saddleback debate, and has proven that he’s more comfortable speaking extemporaneously than is Obama, C) The McCain camp has hounded Obama even before he’d been formally nominated, to debate McCain – Obama has been the one reluctant to debate.
Today, both candidates spoke at Bill Clinton’s soiree in Florida. At a number of times during his speech, Obama paused, and stumbled verbally. Those that support Obama insist he was pausing for audience applause – that the TV viewers could not hear. Those that don’t, insist that Obama was having TelePromTer problems, with this yet another example of Obama’s difficulty with speaking without the ‘crutch’ of a TelePrompTer.
I own a TelePrompTer, and I’ve worked with it – both in front of and behind the camera. TelePrompTers are tricky things. You’re largely at the mercy of the operator – if they scroll your script too fast or too slow, it makes things difficult, and you’re likely to stumble or look as if you simply don’t know what you’re doing. I’ll cut Obama some slack on this one, however, if you’ll recall, Governor Palin’s TelePrompTer was on the fritz at the GOP convention, and she had no problem winging it. In fact, nobody knew her TelePrompTer was malfunctioning during her speech – it was only after that the news was revealed.
So – who wins, and who loses? That depends…on marketing. Marketing is simply storytelling, at its most elemental level. There are two sides to each of these incidents, and that means two stories to be told. Whoever gets traction with their story, to put it simply, wins the debate. If McCain’s camp can convince the majority that he did what he did for the good of the country, he wins. If not, he loses. Maybe not the election, but the issue. Same with Obama.
Elections hinge on little things – factors that seem insignificant, but can be magnified in the minds of the public through the power of perception. In the Nixon/Kennedy debates, those that listened on radio thought Nixon won. Those that watched it on TV believed Kennedy did. Why? Nixon was ill, shunned pancake makeup, had a five o’clock shadow, and looked pasty on TV. Who really won? It depended on your perception.
In marketing, perception is everything. It’s not what you say – it’s what the other guy hears. Deal with that, and your marketing will go from “well intentioned” to “effective.”
Entries (RSS)