Friday, November 30, 2007

Ad Storm #4: Grassroots Support


Hey Guys,

It's been awhile but I've been involved in the political sphere as of late supporting Ron Paul. If you are a campaign supporter the question I'm about to pose is a no brainer, but if your not it's the question everyone is dying to understand, how does Ron Paul use the internet so effectively in communicating his message.

The Answer...

He Doesn't

While the Ron Paul official website is one of the most Web 2.0 candidate pages and is great at providing info and tools, the fact that he has permeated the net so strongly has nothing to do with a tech savey campaign staff, it's the message. The message behind his candidacy resonates in a way so deep rooted that people can get behind the Ron Paul brand to make grassroots videos, fundraising campaigns, and even renting a blimp without spending a dime.

This is where the other candidates fail in developing their marketing communications, they focus on how to make their message resonate without asking the question, what do the people want? Ron Paul himself doesn't quite have the campaign machine visibility as Romney or Giuliani yet he still permeates stronger in the free media, it's cause his supporters feel Ron Paul is the only one who understands them and is truly out there for them.

While Ron Paul isn't a marketing expert, he has a level of brand equity from a long career of honesty, integrity, and rationality which has afforded him the credibility and authenticity to have the strong loyalty he demands.

So what as Marketers should we learn from this?

  • No amount of gimmicks and media saturation will beat having a clear target based marketing message
  • Credibility and Authenticity is something that only develops truly over time, taking short cuts for short term gains only hurt your long terms brand equity
  • A strong brand can survive on what it represents and will permeate without a huge marketing budget

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