Some ideas for readers to comment upon - a course at Northwestern on Business Lessons from Politics Using the 2007-2008 U.S. Presidential Campaigns:
Title: IMC Lessons from Politics and Policy – 2007-2009
Marketers and communicators are more aware than ever of the impact of IMC on the 2008 Presidential election and the continued communications by the White House (Whitehouse.gov). Some experts say the Obama campaign stands as the most outstanding strategic marketing and communications plan and program in history. What are the examples and evidence of the campaign’s success? What are the lessons from 2007 to 2009 that business leaders, not-for-profit leaders and political managers will need to know for achieving fundraising, volunteer or corporate social responsibility goals? The bar has been raised for client and professional expectations on IMC marketing plans and continuous campaigns. Parts of the dozen books already published on the campaign, along with research supporting the campaign decisions document the value of new marketing strategies. The class will work with political and policy business and political campaign experts to analyze the campaign with lessons for IMC practitioners in mind. The course will also provide insight to the role of government and business working on common issues and policies that will dominate the conversations between business and government over the next 3-8 years. The course planning committee includes a former Governor, an IMC graduate who is a political consultant, other communications professionals who work on campaigns and business accounts and the professor with several years of campaign and public office experience along with research and public commentary experience for the media.
Possible Readings
Barack, Inc.: Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign by Barry Libert and Rick Faulk (Hardcover - Jan 15, 2009) Buy new: $19.99 $13.59 (84)
How Obama Won by Earl Ofari Hutchinson (Paperback - Dec 18, 2008 $13.95
Campaign Advertising and American Democracy by Michael M. Franz, Paul B. Freedman, Kenneth M. Goldstein, and Travis N. Ridout (Paperback - Nov 28, 2007)
Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion) by Ted Brader (Paperback - Jan 1, 2006) (3)
The SAGE Handbook of Political Advertising by Dr. Lynda Lee Kaid and Christina Holtz-Bacha (Hardcover - Jun 14, 2006)
“Campaigns and Elections: Politics” campaign industry publication. E.g. “Case Study-Integrating Old and New Media June 2009.
oTheLivingRoomCandidate.com (compilation of 58 years of political broadcast advertising and web ads, Whitehouse.gov, www.barackobama.com ( organizing for America).
Other consulting sites, directories, sources from industry and the web.
Industry and academic research articles from the instructor.
Optional: Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web2.0 Technologies to Recruit, Organize and Engage Youth by Ben Rigby and Rock the Vote (Paperback - April 25, 2008)
Suggested Topics for lectures, research topics, speakers and discussion:
Chronology of the 2007-2008 Presidential Campaign: How Presidential Political Planning Works
IMC in Campaigns: A short history of campaign communications
Controversy about political advertising and communications: First Amendment Threats and Protection
Does political communication work? How much does it cost?
Social Media Applications in the Democrat 2008 Primaries
Traditional Campaigns – Hillary Clinton
New Politics Campaign – Barack Obama
Where were the Republicans?
Is the 2008 Campaign an Aberration?
Measuring Political Campaigns – During the Campaign and Controversy
Changing strategies and tactics mid-stream based on
instant polls and analytics
Staying the course – Theory of Leadership
Political and Corporate Corruption
Lessons from Campaigns for Business
The CEO as a public figure and the public corporation
Mobilizing voter consumers (VC) old and new school
Does Negative Political Advertising and Campaigning Work? Should Business Use it?
Campaign Transparency
Self-correcting campaigns
Does political financing of business = business financing of politics?
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The day of President Obama's inauguration and the departure of former President Bush, was a safe celebration. It was clearly a reward for the thousands and thousands of the new political activists and voters who found "hope" in the Obama message, style and substance. The visual message of the crowd must have been astounding to the new President and to the professionals in the military and law enforcement who made it a safe day. All the reviewers were articulate on his message, but one message that I noted was not discussed was his chastising of politics. With a Biblical reference President Obama called for the Congress (and I think Illinois in a subtle way) to give up childish ways. The most worrisome phrase in politics, I think, is to "play politics". Politics as a serious and generally successful process in the U.S. has been the "game" in Washington, the states, counties and cities rather than the facilitation process to deliver outstanding policy decisions. The President noted (to the former President and others) that the "ground has shifted" under the system and that new approaches and attitudes are needed. It is difficult to know that a new model might look like and whether it might be dangerous, but it is not difficult to believe that the substance of politics can be more professional, less personality driven and more authentic. Next, an analysis of the President's speech in terms of the "authentic enterprise" from www.awpagesociety.com study by the same name from class preparation this week.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Two major marketing IMC events in 2008
Preview of JIMC (Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications publisher’s essay for Fall 2008
As this Journal goes to press, this is a spectacular year for anyone with an ounce or metric measure of interest in communications. It is in this year that I I have pointed my students, colleagues and audiences in the direction of two significant global events. Each event was widely open to both professionals, diverse and general audiences. Each event was also free; only requiring the commitment of time and some intellectual energy to watch and learn.
The first event that caught my personal and professional attention was the U.S. Presidential election campaign for 2008. Naturally, it started many months before but, as a fan and an academic author on political communications, I welcome the political season.
This year, I heard questions from the press regarding the early horserace; in the most contested party primary in recent history. With a presentation slide entitled “We call them Hillary, Barack, Fred, Mitt, John 1 and John 2, etc. (if you are searching for last names you can feel the pain of the candidates who did not establish their identities). From a more contemporary IMC point of view, the election offered some of the most interesting signs of a constantly evolving form of IMC and communications.
Political campaigns have long represented the most strategic use of every communication tool available. This year’s election added some new ways to link with audiences With a more intensive use of the internet, to not only raise funds (2004) or build an information site (2000) but, in 2008, to connect directly with voter and other highly relevant “communities.”
Politically-oriented, and IMC educated graduate student, Jesse Greenberg and I found that the Obama campaign built one of the earliest and most voter-oriented sites. The Obama Web site included twice as many links as Hillary’s did to other on-line communities. These communities were based on race, sexual preference, religion, age and other unifying concerns about which people gather to have conversations, including those about politics. The links between sites, in a Facebook fashion, created a new sense of community, and implied a form of mutual endorsement. Even John McCain “got it” when, post primary, he re-launched his website with a spectacular demonstration of reaching out to more than the proverbial “base.”
Greenberg and I argue that the opportunity for access to the candidates, via the tools of Web 2.0, enables a more open and progressive form of political access. This access offers voters a greater connection to the candidates’ ideas and actions. In our minds, the leverage of Web 2.0 technologies marks a new contribution the democratic process. This is an important departure from the historical form of access , which had only been available to the wealthiest and most generous donors. You know the rest of the story.
The second event still lingers in your short-term memory: The 2008 Olympics held in China. China has become one of my favorite countries. Over the past five years I have travelled frequently (enough so that I don’t have to pay the airlines’ profit center mistake of extra bag charges when I fly) to teach at a half dozen Chinese MBA programs including Sun Yat-sen, Jinan, Xiamen, Nanjing, Hunan, and Hangzhou Universities. I have rooted for the American Olympic heroes (what else could you call these dedicated men and women, who employ greater discipline than any of us?). Based on a series of talks in China that my colleague Bobby Calder and my friend, the former Governor of Wisconsin, Scott McCallum, I was already telling my audiences to watch the Olympics. Our work at Northwestern allowed us to teach a lesson for business to use IMC in extraordinary ways including building and protecting product, corporate and national brands.
The Olympics demonstrate the dedication of individuals, corporations and nations to the serious and valued marketing of the Games. Again, every possible tactic in marketing was employed; with most incorporating an integrated strategy to fully gain audience, stakeholder and customer allegiance. What a great show of fully-developed branding.
Despite my affinity to the brand and people of China, I did not realize that I would find myself carrying the Olympic Torch in Lijiang China, “One World, One Dream.” In June I brought home the Torch to Northwestern (don’t worry; it is the flame that we pass along). And with the flame, I brought to my family, students, colleagues and audiences another example of the brilliance of the human mind to create and perpetuate brand symbols of ideas, people and products that can even last centuries. Long live free elections, the Olympics and IMC!
As this Journal goes to press, this is a spectacular year for anyone with an ounce or metric measure of interest in communications. It is in this year that I I have pointed my students, colleagues and audiences in the direction of two significant global events. Each event was widely open to both professionals, diverse and general audiences. Each event was also free; only requiring the commitment of time and some intellectual energy to watch and learn.
The first event that caught my personal and professional attention was the U.S. Presidential election campaign for 2008. Naturally, it started many months before but, as a fan and an academic author on political communications, I welcome the political season.
This year, I heard questions from the press regarding the early horserace; in the most contested party primary in recent history. With a presentation slide entitled “We call them Hillary, Barack, Fred, Mitt, John 1 and John 2, etc. (if you are searching for last names you can feel the pain of the candidates who did not establish their identities). From a more contemporary IMC point of view, the election offered some of the most interesting signs of a constantly evolving form of IMC and communications.
Political campaigns have long represented the most strategic use of every communication tool available. This year’s election added some new ways to link with audiences With a more intensive use of the internet, to not only raise funds (2004) or build an information site (2000) but, in 2008, to connect directly with voter and other highly relevant “communities.”
Politically-oriented, and IMC educated graduate student, Jesse Greenberg and I found that the Obama campaign built one of the earliest and most voter-oriented sites. The Obama Web site included twice as many links as Hillary’s did to other on-line communities. These communities were based on race, sexual preference, religion, age and other unifying concerns about which people gather to have conversations, including those about politics. The links between sites, in a Facebook fashion, created a new sense of community, and implied a form of mutual endorsement. Even John McCain “got it” when, post primary, he re-launched his website with a spectacular demonstration of reaching out to more than the proverbial “base.”
Greenberg and I argue that the opportunity for access to the candidates, via the tools of Web 2.0, enables a more open and progressive form of political access. This access offers voters a greater connection to the candidates’ ideas and actions. In our minds, the leverage of Web 2.0 technologies marks a new contribution the democratic process. This is an important departure from the historical form of access , which had only been available to the wealthiest and most generous donors. You know the rest of the story.
The second event still lingers in your short-term memory: The 2008 Olympics held in China. China has become one of my favorite countries. Over the past five years I have travelled frequently (enough so that I don’t have to pay the airlines’ profit center mistake of extra bag charges when I fly) to teach at a half dozen Chinese MBA programs including Sun Yat-sen, Jinan, Xiamen, Nanjing, Hunan, and Hangzhou Universities. I have rooted for the American Olympic heroes (what else could you call these dedicated men and women, who employ greater discipline than any of us?). Based on a series of talks in China that my colleague Bobby Calder and my friend, the former Governor of Wisconsin, Scott McCallum, I was already telling my audiences to watch the Olympics. Our work at Northwestern allowed us to teach a lesson for business to use IMC in extraordinary ways including building and protecting product, corporate and national brands.
The Olympics demonstrate the dedication of individuals, corporations and nations to the serious and valued marketing of the Games. Again, every possible tactic in marketing was employed; with most incorporating an integrated strategy to fully gain audience, stakeholder and customer allegiance. What a great show of fully-developed branding.
Despite my affinity to the brand and people of China, I did not realize that I would find myself carrying the Olympic Torch in Lijiang China, “One World, One Dream.” In June I brought home the Torch to Northwestern (don’t worry; it is the flame that we pass along). And with the flame, I brought to my family, students, colleagues and audiences another example of the brilliance of the human mind to create and perpetuate brand symbols of ideas, people and products that can even last centuries. Long live free elections, the Olympics and IMC!
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