Technocrat Takes on a Whole New Meaning...

I know that everyone on the planet is talking about the new White House website, and no doubt Gretel-who of late has been reveling in her role as the Cubicle Critic (not to be confused with our client Gordon Plutsky, aka "the Cubicle Comedian")- is going to be incredibly disappointed with me for jumping on the bandwagon, but I can't help it. I love it.

First of all, it's pretty. Yes, I know, looks aren't everything, but they definitely sweeten the deal. And the new White House site has clean, easy-to-navigate design that is accessible but still presidential. Just like our new president. Clever...

Better yet, it's loaded with information. Not cluttered with information, but filled with clearly organized, easy-to-find content that explains everything you need to know about the new administration and its policies. There's no equivocating--I'm not left to guess where the new Obama administration stands on policy-nope, it's all up there.

Want to know what Obama thinks about foreign policy? Immigration? Women's issues? No need to scrounge around online to dig up answers from long-ago speeches or an obscure NYT article, it's all there.

Looking to brush up on your administration cabinet members so you can kill next time you're drinking your way through pub trivia? Look no further...

There's video, there are press briefings, there's...the list goes on. And, last but not least, there's the blog. Yup, the White House has a blog. Sure, odds are good that President Obama won't be sitting around in his pajamas drinking Mountain Dew and eating Cheetos blogging about the latest happenings in the Oval Office, but someone on his staff will be.

How novel. Instead of being late technology adopters, the new White House is leading by example. Yes, make yourself available to the people you want to reach. Yes, offer lots of informative content so that people want to visit your site regularly. Yes, build a loyal audience through authenticity and transparency. There is no more effective way to connect with people in the digital age, and President Obama and his staff are taking advantage.

With this morning's news that Obama will also be able to keep his trusty BlackBerry, it seems clear that the new president is determined to lead for the 21st century.

Dear Big Brother: We're watching you, too.

Due to a couple recent posts in which we've offered congress some pointers for improving its talking points when communicating with the American public, Washington has been a regular fixture over at CVMonologues...

(Click to enlarge)

And we can't blame them--clearly they could stand to ratchet up their PR initiatives. Or maybe they're thinking of building themselves a snazzy facebook group or securing a home on Twitter. Then again, it could just be that the Department of Justice is interested in taking over our new business initiatives to counteract the billions blown on the bailout. The options are endless!

If Only the Government Ran Our New Biz Initiatives

Okay, even though I promised myself that I wouldn't write about politics anymore, I just can't help myself. I'm not a political buff by any stretch, but I am completely obsessed with this election and the bailout drama series.

I, like many, thought that congress was kidding when they initially announced a 3-page bailout plan. They could, at the very least, make it a solid, round number, say, 5-pages? After all, this is $700 billion we're talking about here.

Days later, 3-pages became 100-pages and I figured that they had just fleshed out the original plan with empty words the way Sarah Palin fleshes out her non-answers by repeating the same answer, yet rearranging the words ever so slightly, over and over again in national interviews (sorry, couldn't help myself). Boy was I wrong! Congress really sweetened the deal...that is, if you're a filmmaker, a wooden arrow maker, a NASCAR track builder or a company like Harley Davidson.* Because isn't that what this bailout is all about? Filmmakers? Wooden arrows? Racetracks and motorcycles? If you answered no, then clearly you haven't been paying attention.

Of course, this got me to thinking of some of the new business proposals we write. Every now and then, we'll put together a 3 or 4-page proposal for a prospect and think to ourselves, "Gee, I know we've covered all the bases but let's not forget that quantity always trumps quality. This proposal would probably be a lot more impressive if we could just add a few pages." And so we go to fatten that baby up with non sequitors and hyperbole. The government, however, has really inspired us to implement a new strategy: Skip the hyperbole and add the fat.

Here are some things we're going to keep in our artillery next time one of our proposals falls a few pages short:

• For every $15, 367 you spend with us, we will give you a lint brush.
• Each third Tuesday of every fourth month, we'll send you one 1,000 mg Flax Seed Oil capsule.
• If you listen to Dvorak's "New World" CD when showering after running on the treadmill, we'll make a $5 donation to the charity of your choice--that is, as long as that charity does not support the study of any type of frontal lobe-based cancerous tumors.
• Does your name start with a vowel? You're in luck. Clients meeting this criteria are privy to our shoe-shining service (which we house at the Phoenix airport).
• Clients who spent six or more years of their childhoods or teen years studying either ballet or violin are exempt from shipping fees exceeding $7.00

And obviously the list goes on because we really do care about our clients. Interested in seeing more of these deal-sweeteners? We'll send you a list for free if anyone in your immediately family raises Cornish hens...in Cornwall, England, of course.

*The bailout bill includes tax credits worth $8.3 billion a year for companies such as Microsoft Corp. and Harley-Davidson Inc. It will save Nascar track builders $109 million this year. Over the next decade, movie and television producers who shoot films in the United States will receive two tax breaks worth $478 million. The legislation would allow filmmakers to qualify for a 3 percentage-point reduction from the 35 percent top tax rate approved in 2004 for domestic manufacturers.

And let's not forget the wooden arrows. The arrows provision seeks to reverse an anomaly in a 2004 law that created the 39 cent excise tax on the weapons. Intended the levy more expensive arrows, the tax also applies to arrows used by Boy Scouts and other youth organizations that cost about 30 cents a piece. You see, it's all about the youth...

• [Source]

Presentation of Bailout Plan Defies Cardinal Rule of Marketing

When Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that congress had devised a 100-page bailout plan on Sunday evening, she made one grave mistake that no doubt made savvy marketers everywhere cringe: Pelosi, caught up in talking about the steps taken by congress (her company), forgot to talk about how the plan would benefit mainstream Americans (consumers). And as such, Americans weren't sold on the plan. This isn't surprising.

Of course, Pelosi was not alone in this. She was one of many messengers who didn't deliver an effective message as to how this would help the average American (Paulson and Bush being two others that immediately come to mind). In fact, while the plan may indeed be a necessary evil, the first person to give us any details as to how it would directly affect us was Jim Cramer on The Today Show Monday morning.

Consumers don't want to hear a glory rant about your capabilities or the nitty gritty details of your CEO's past accomplishments, nor do they want to read a 100-page description of your services; they want to know how you can help them:

How can you solve my problem? What resources are you offering me? You've given me no reason to trust you yet, so why should I ? Even more, sometimes the consumer doesn't even know what his/her problem is. That's something you'll also need to define. In the case of Pelosi and congress, they did neither.

What could Pelosi and the rest of congress learn from smart marketers next time they want the public to support a new bill (or anything else they say for that matter)?

If you only talk about yourself, no one will listen.
Joe Pulizzi over at the Junta42 blog explains it like this: So many times businesses want to talk about their products and services, or position one of their executives as an expert. That's all fine and good, but if your communications do not meet the informational needs of the individual, they'll be ignored.

You must tell your story and it must be authentic. - Story Worldwide
I'm not sure what Pelosi meant when she declared the following, but to me it seemed highly ironic if not a complete lie. Here's what she said: "Our message to Wall Street is this: the party is over. The era of golden parachutes for high-flying Wall Street operators is over. No longer will the US taxpayer bail out the recklessness of Wall Street. The taxpayers who bear the risk in this recovery must share in the upside as the economy recovers."

Here's what I heard: "We're bailing out Wall Street which sends a clear-as-day message that we're not going to bail out Wall Street."

Huh? My mind translates assertions such as this in one of two ways: True. Not true. And I highly doubt I'm alone on this. Why waste your breath? Why not use the same amount of time to tell us something relevant about the plan?

When pitching new business, you have to cater to the fears and problems of your prospect.
Tom Searcy, who teaches his SMB clients how to land disproportionately larger accounts, could give Pelosi a lesson on how to deliver her message a whole lot more effectively by first figuring out what fears the American public has in relation to this plan and an economic downturn, and second, how this plan could quell those fears. Problem solved.

Bottom line: if politicians weren't so busy talking about themselves, they could probably learn a lot from what their constituencies are saying.

Truthiness Redux

I know, I know. I'm hopelessly obsessed with politics. I can't help myself. I went away for a little mini vacay over Labor Day weekend, and what did I end up doing? First I watched the Democratic National Convention. I thought that would be the end of it, but no... Of course, John McCain had to choose that Friday to announce his vice presidential pick, so I spent my entire weekend glued to CNN, the NY Times, political blogs, you name it.

Needless to say, I wanted to hear what The Daily Show had to say about the whole affair. Jon Stewart and his crack team of nerd researchers (that's really what they are-these people have to watch hours-days-of footage to find the right clips) did not disappoint. The target? Hypocrisy, mixed messages, out-and-out double standards. Take a look...

Now I know that in 2004, everyone was quick to jump on the John Kerry "flipflopper" bandwagon, but there's a real difference between evolving ideologies and opinions-a reality for anyone who matures (Seriously. One of my parents actually voted for Nixon.)-and slick, rapidly shifting messages of convenience. I think we can all agree that most thinking people have been known to change certain opinions over time: after all, the more a person learns, the more s/he realizes that many issues are decidedly more complex than they may have at first seemed. Surprise, surprise, Republican or Democrat, new perspectives can take shape.

But there's a real difference between an evolving understanding and a message that blatantly shifts depending on the audience. Think someone who's the mayor of a small city isn't qualified to be VP? Think teen pregnancy's not such a great idea? Those aren't positions that change overnight. Let's be honest... No, really, let's be honest. It's hard to get caught (and don't worry, you will get caught-someone's always watching) in a lie when you decide to stick to a consistent, honest message. The whole "truthiness" thing? It's funny because it's ridiculous. Is that the image you're going for? Didn't think so...

That's where authenticity comes in. We're big fans of it around here. What you see is what you get. Do you really want your brand to be associated with "truthiness"? To be called out for having double standards or mixed messages? It's hard to create brand loyalty when your company is guilty of slick messaging, half truths, or strong-arm attempts to control media. Create a great product, lead your industry with compelling ideas, respond to your customers' needs and concerns.

Authenticity. Now that's change we can believe in.

Marketing Lessons from Al Qaeda?

It seems that everyone is trying to figure out how to navigate Web 2.0 and social media these days, including Al Qaeda. Yup, that's right. Al Qaeda. In today's New York Times, Radio Free Europe/Liberty Radio Senior Analyst Daniel Kimmage looks at the challenges Al Qaeda is facing as the Web moves from "anonymity and accessibility" to social networking, which is making it much harder for the terrorist group to control its message.

Funny that. Sounds pretty similar to the whole discussion that's going on here on the pr and marketing side of things. While I'm not one to compare even the most loathsome of corporations to the radical evil of Al Qaeda, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that corporate America is in the very same bind that Al Qaeda is in.

In the good old days, it was pretty easy to create a top-down message and disseminate it-in all its unpolluted, unquestioned glory-throughout cyberspace. Sure, it might not be embraced by the masses, but you didn't have to worry about entire communities openly and publicly commenting on and criticizing. Now, not so much. Create a crappy, questionable, specious product or message, and you're going to get called out. God bless democracy.

That's not to say that businesses-yes, even Al Qaeda-don't want a piece of the social media action, but many are still wedded to the idea of controlling the message. Why? Well, for starters it's a definite break from a time when every message could be moderated. Other reasons? Fear of the unknown, and for some, being called out for a shoddy product.

Which is exactly what happened when Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri solicited questions on the Web this past December. When his responses finally came out in April (months, Kimmage notes, after the initial call for questions-hardly striking while the iron is hot), experts pointed out how Zawahiri's responses revealed the numerous cracks in Al Qaeda's reasoning and motivation.

Sure, that may not have an immediate effect on radicalized young men (and the occasional woman) the world over, but as many argue that Al Qaeda's influence is on the wane, it is worth thinking about Web 2.0's role in that. And worth thinking about whether your brand and product have the power to withstand its influence. As accountability replaces anonymity, the veil is off, and we'd all better take a good, hard look at the value and authenticity of our work. Because the people are paying attention. God bless democracy.

And if Ayman tries to friend me on Facebook, I'm, like, totally saying no.

Obama in '08

We're feeling a little emotional over here at Channel V this morning. Like most sensible offices, we don't talk a ton of politics, but after last night's big news (in case you missed it-not sure how this could have happened, but just in case-Obama's pretty much wrapped up the Democratic nomination), it's been hard to keep our leanings under wraps. And, really, why bother? Especially now that we've figured out that Obama is-without a single dissenter-the house favorite.

Truth be told, I got a little weepy during his speech in St. Paul last night. Everything about it-the little affectionate moments between him and Michelle, looking at a crowd of supporters that was so diverse and really invested in their candidate, the feeling that at long last Democrats may have actually backed a winner-well, it was just too much for me. Hope. Change. Yes, we can!

So that's it. The cat's out the bag. Channel V is officially backing Obama for president in 2008. And that's big news. Huge news, really. Sort of like Oprah's stamp of approval. Sort of. Well, maybe only in the sense that we have a stamp of approval to give. In any case, we're going to be throwing our weight behind our favorite candidate for 2008 (without all the painful accidental rhyming). Who knows, maybe we'll even take a day off from business as usual (our self-deprecating term for the magic that happens here at Channel V) to help spread the Obama gospel.

In the words of the man himself, we are at the beginning "of a journey that will bring a new and better day to America."

(Admit it...you just got a little weepy yourself...)