The Reason: A marketers guide to engaging cliques

Obama The Advertainer

When I first heard Obama was airing a 30-minute ad during primetime on 6 major networks my first thought was – overkill.  But, then I realized folks like “Jeff, The Marketer” aren’t the target audience for this one. In the home stretch ... Obama’s targeting “Jack (or Jill), The Undecided Voter” 

Apparently, the ever-elusive “undecided” still needs to be convinced - in spite of already having seen three debates, a barrage of 30 second ads, and seemingly endless coverage of stump speeches. So, leave it to AdAge’s Marketer of the Year to get it right again ... these guys and gals need a different approach. Enter the 28-minute storymercial - a well-produced, personally delivered narrative, designed to do one thing - let Obama’s brand essence shine. Re-affirming voters desire for change, but not just any ol’ brand of change ... Change We Can Believe In. Good move Team Obama, Here’s The Reason…

• New Hampshire Primaries. Yeah, “that one”.  Key learning - never underestimate the competition and the persuasiveness of their message.

• Branded Entertainment.  The undecided voter who watched Obama’s ad was engaged to learn more about the democratic Presidential nominee. How were they engaged?  They saw stories of themselves and their neighbors; they were able to connect with Obama, his message, and more importantly, his brand.  I’m a big fan of branded entertainment.  Remember those BMW films back in ’02?  BMW sales jumped 12% after the films’ release.  And, just to take it back for the old school heads, what about the movie Top Gun partially financed by the Navy, Navy recruitment soared to record highs after the films release.  Bottom line, it works.

• Educate Consumers.  In an age of instant information at your fingertips, Americans do lots of research when making big purchases.  Everyone wants to make an educated decision.  It’s why McCain’s camp has gone away from the “vote with your gut” approach (read: blatant fear tactic).  Obama needed a chance to appeal to voters minds ... clear out the negative noise and simply articulate his platform - educate voters on who he is and who he isn’t.  No mention of the competition - just his message, just his brand.  This is big because every other time we’ve heard or seen these candidates, the other one is mentioned.  This was Obama’s closing argument - the undecided jury waits to hear a rebuttal ... ummm ... still waiting ...

I’m Jeff “the marketer” and I approve this message.

Obama gaming Ads

Put simply, political campaigns are marketing campaigns. There is a consumer and a product. We, the American citizens are the consumer. The Presidential candidates are competing products, each with their own brand essence - their own vision for our country's future. Quick Marketing 101 re-cap: When you  have an aging consumer base, but you want to grow that base - what's the segment you need to capture? Yep, just like for every other consumer brand ... gotta get Gen Y.

So, both candidates have their social networking profiles on both Facebook and Myspace. Pretty much standard operating procedure with the Gen Y set. But, how do you differentiate yourself from the pack, or at least from the other guy - not "that one", the other one? How does the consumer learn your brand; how your brand makes sense for them; how it fits into their lives?  Apply a little Reason ... Take the time to understand their lives and bring your brand to them.  Become a part of their rituals, and find a place where your messaging has a chance to stand out from the clutter.

Apparently, the Obama camp took a page from The Reason playbook, recently placing virtual billboards in online video games. Step 1: Know your consumer - check! Step 2: Become a part of their rituals, don't make your brand an extra effort for them - check, check!  Step 3: Start with the basics and build credibility - social networking, then add in-game advertising, text messaging and an IPhone app - check, check, check! The Obama brand tells young voters, "I get it. I respect your lifestyle and I'll play according to your rules. I'll communicate with you on your terms." According to GameSpot, the ads are only being shown in 10 potential battleground states - again demonstrating the targeted nature of this campaign; investing in high impact markets.  So, when young males are racing through the streets of Burnout, or driving up the field with the Patriots in Madden '09, or running up the score with the Celtics in NBA Live, they’ll be reminded to VoteforChange by the 44th President of the United States. Did you catch that... I had to get my Nostradamus on for ya'll.

CodeBlack YouTube partnership

Guess who's Back!!!  Spent a couple of weeks in S. America on "Sabbatical"…inside joke for my friends.  Thanks for the emails; I'm back and better than ever.  So, let's jump right back into it.

With the handful of entertainment clients on our roster, I keep my eye on the industry for brands employing creative, innovative strategies to capture new consumer segments.  And, creativity is what I see with Codeblack Entertainment, an African-American owned film studio partnering with YouTube to bring original programming online.  I like the deal for both parties, partly because I had the same idea...

Let me set the stage here – my barber's an aspiring film producer.  He's got a website and a little bit of traffic; good for whoever does come through his site, not so good for increasing his exposure.  Problem is, his website is literally his only channel – the only place to watch his videos.  Not very web 2.0.

 So, with clippers buzzing over my head and him asking for my thoughts on how to get more eyeballs on his project – I thought… hmmm… how do you get a bunch of eyes on a video, get viewers' feedback, create an organic buzz, and make it easy for folks to share the video with their friends? Yep, just what I was thinking … I recommended he develop a channel on YouTube.  Ok, yeah, a bit of a gut response … so let's use the Codeblack deal to test it out with a little Reason-ing.

 Why it makes sense for Codeblack (and my barber):

• It's tough to get traffic to or interest in an unknown website or brand.
• YouTube has tremendous reach – it's the "go-to" online video library – a known, trusted and heavily-trafficked channel.

Why it makes sense for YouTube:

• YouTube needs original content to grow revenue from advertisers.
• Advertisers won't use a channel with unpredictable content. 100% user-generated content is about as unpredictable as you can get.
  • Competitor sites like Hulu.com are making money with much less traffic because they can let advertisers know which content their ads will be next to.