As a marketer, I spend a lot of time trying to get your attention (score one for me if you're reading this blog). But getting attention is axiomatic: great news travels fast and cheaply, while poor stories cost big bucks to circulate. The trick is knowing how to take advantage of what I'll dub "live lines"of communication, and how to avoid being the conduit for someone else's message.
Now let's examine the timely examples unwittingly provided by Donald Trump, President Obama and Atlas Shrugged the movie.
Making Coverage Count - Donald Trump *may* be running for president in 2012, and a presidential campaign is an expensive undertaking. But if he doesn't win (or doesn't run), he still has that reality show, hotel casinos, apartment complexes and clothing to hawk - and all of it is built on his brand, TRUMP. So while Salon's Justin Spees thinks Trump is a hypocrite, his ability to garner such fervent PR is pretty darn helpful to his brand. And it's FREE. Coincidentally, if he does run for President, he will have the luxury of saying things like "But that's already been widely reported, why is it news now?" Donald, you're hired!
Missing the Boat - President Barak Obama isn't faring as well as "the Donald." Haunted since 2008 by rumors of his not being a citizen eligible for the Presidency, Obama stayed aloof, apparently hoping the rumor would die. But he underestimated aging baby boomers, who are widely known to believe any and all emails forwarded to at least 10 or more of their friends (as any subsequent generation with parents and an email account can attest).
There was an early opportunity to quell this conversation and his opponents, possibly even with a "Shame on you" gloat on his face - but three years later and this thing has taken on a life of its own. He missed his chance to look superior (which is far more important that actually BEING superior in the world of politics) and it's cost him. Now he has conspiracy theorists who will never believe the validity of the just-released Long Form, a hoard of elderly patriots who will work long and hard to get people to vote against him (since he isn't, ya know, a real citizen) and he has wasted good political capital on quashing a rumor he could have killed to start. Morals of the story: "Uncertainty is only good when its profitable" (see Donald Trump note above) and "Never miss an opportunity to kill the monster with two shots to the head, lest it come back to haunt you."
You're Just Doing It Wrong - John Aglialoro spent a lot of time and money making a movie version of Atlas Shrugged; apparently it was just panned by some critics and will only "break even" on DVD. In a huff that's gotten more coverage than his movie, Mr. Aglialoro has apparently decided to wrap up his Ayn Rand movies because of the critics. WHAT? Doesn't a capitalist know how unprofitable movies are the first time around? Doesn't he know he should have released to DVD right away? Doesn't he know that such a whiny, "poor me" statement to the press would have been way more useful BEFORE the movie entered the market? No, no he does not. If you're going to throw a hissy fit and get attention, do it when you're best positioned to make money from it! Sure this little fit will probably make it more profitable, but he should have thrown a fit earlier and gotten publicity pre-release. Mr. Aglialoro, you are no John Galt.
No comments:
Post a Comment