Author: Angelo Fernando

Sarah Palin Adwords contest

/ Angelo Fernando / 2 Comments

Jason Baer, a well-known digital marketing name in Arizona, has created an unusual political pay-per-click challenge around John McCain’s Vice presidential pick.

The requirement: To create an effective 25-character PPC ad around her. The winner will receive $200.

Contest closes today at 6 pm (Pacific). Details here.

In case you’re wondering, people do bid on keywords around candidates. Type “Sarah Palin” into Google, and there’s one paid ad that appears for www.indecision2008.com which links to a Comedy Central site (“Something approximating election news…”)

In what must be a measure of $$$ attached to Washington keywords, type in “Joe Biden” and you’ll see about six paid ads. One of them links to an Obama campaign site, another to MoveOn.org, one for the New York Sun, and another for CafePress (selling Obama stuff.) But one exhibits a nice guerilla tactic from the so-called unsavvy new media candidate – a link to a landing page on John McCain’s site, Decision Center.

Marketing motives for Obama’s and McCain’s VP picks

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In pure marketing terms, the vice presidential pick could be seen as a positioning statement for both Barack Obama and John McCain. After all:

  • Obama’s ‘freshman senator’ image is nicely counterbalanced with a professional hardball political insider like Joe Biden.
  • John McCain’s age factor is nicely offset by Sarah Palin who is 26 years his junior.

Both tickets have an age, youth and diversity mix. Both have experience, unpredictability/maverickism, and the vibes of ‘change.’

The Economist, in a less-than-flattering analysis of Biden paints him a loose cannon: “And when he talks the sentences and paragraphs tumble over each other with no obvious end in sight. Members of the audience just have to cross their fingers and hope.”

The Associated Press comments on Palin’s age this way: “She is younger and less experienced than the first-term Illinois senator, and brings an ethical shadow to the ticket.”

It’s shaping up to be a very exciting positioning exercise. May the best brand win!

Community uses social media to prepare for Gustav

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

As the hurricane heads toward New Orleans and mandatory evacuation orders were made, there’s plenty of emergency news and help coming through on social media channels.

Craig Newmark posed a question as to how his site, Cragslist, might help, noting now users are taking over and  ‘repurposing’ the New Orleans portion of the Craigslist site.

“Is something happening now I’m missing?” he asked?

The site looks like it is shaping up to be a bulletin board and clearing house of helpful information. One person posted this offer for accommodation for the displaced, today, even adding a phone number:

“WANT TO HELP A FAMILY or persons needing a SAFE PLACE DURING GUSTAV. WILMINGTON, NC been through hurricane andrew – Have spare bedroom / bath king size bed. Pet ok too. call my toll free # 1-877-269-2784.”

Another offered shelter in New Hampsire.

On Twitter, there’s a feed called NOLANews those in the area can subscribe to., with lots of tips and links for truckers, and others fleeing the city. CNN’s Twitter posts also carry good breaking news

Quotes for the week ending 30 August, 2008

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“Wiping away natural forests.”

Banner hung on a parking garage near Kimberly-Clark’s offices in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“At first, users were upset. They formed groups on Facebook to protest the feed. Then they became addicted to it.”

Eric Eldon, at Venture Beat, on the response to Facebook’s new design.

“People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example, than by the example of our power.”

President Bill Clinton, in his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

“To criticize China … is highly hypocritical. These Olympics were staged mostly for the benefit of the elite, massive corporations who wanted greater exposure and a greater market share inside this country of 1.5 billion people.”

“You may never know who got your postcard, and they may never know you, but you have the ability to influence a heart with your note, delivered right to someone’s mailbox!”

Message at web site ObamaEurope.org, run by a grassroots organization of Obama supporters in Europe who invite people outside the U.S. to write a message to Barack Obama. The site will then put stamps on the postcard and forward it to Obama –or his campaign.

Dan Bickley, sports reporter for the Arizona Republic

“You might be shaking your head at this point thinking this is all a little too much “kumbaya” for your liking, but trust me: unconferences will change the way you think about business.”

Mitch Joel, blogger, podcaster and columnist for the Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun, on how un-conferences helps grow a business, learn and connect.

“People want to see it, so we shoot it.”

Austin Raishrook, who with his brother Howard chase car chases and ambulances to get footage for RMG News, which they sell to TV stations.

“When it comes to viral video, you need to make sure 1) you create something people will spread and 2) that the video carries a payload — a message about your product. Fail on point 1 and your video won’t spread. Fail on point 2 and you’ll be a hit — but it won’t help your company.”

Forrester researcher Josh Bernoff, author of Groundswell, the book and the blog, on Will it Blend, the company he visited to create a viral video about social technologies.

“If Skype hadn’t been around when we started FIR, I very much doubt we would have started at all.”

Nevile Hobson, co-host of For Immediate Release, wishing Skype on its fifth birthday.

Media Circus follows Democratic Circus

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Apart form lots of coverage of the Greco-Roman set at the Democratic convention, the timing of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech with Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech,” there was a media circus of sorts.

The Media Guardian‘s  magazine-styled podcast reports on the bloggers and the media that covered the event. Amazing how there was a ‘pecking order’ for the media. Businessweek had an oak paneled desk! Watch a Guardian video from Shehani Fernando (no relation).

Some interesting facts of media and corporate attention this event received:

  • There was a 4:1 ratio of media and delegates at the event.
  • ExxonMobil sponsored CNN’s coverage of the convention. It’s an equal opportunit sponsor, though. EM is also backing the Republican convention coverage.
  • New media was well represented. Bloggers, podcasters and vloggers were housed in the ‘Big Tent,’ a 9,000-square foot, two-story structure close to the Pepsi Center. This, however, was sponsored by Google and Digg.

What business is Google in? How about you?

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Google is a search engine. No it’s an advertising company. No scratch that, it’s a monitoring service. A software company. A brand monitoring service, a publisher and library a….

Most organizations have been schooled on the practice of identifying what their core business is; (as the ‘law of focus‘ goes) of sticking to one thing and one thing alone. But Google has been successful by doing precisely the opposite. It’s the brand that violates all banding laws. Even how it has fun at the expense of its own logo!

It’s hard to pin down what the Google brand stands for, or is moving into. As CEO Eric Schmidt said in April, ” All options are open. I don’t want to rule out or rule in anything.”

Imagine if FedEX said that and decided it needs to be in the passenger transportation business too? After all it is not just a delivery company, with Kinkos, so it has expanded its core offering. I believe that companies, like communication professionals, are starting to rethink what focus means.

Meatball Sundae revisited?

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

“Social technology smoke -don’t breathe it,” says the Will it blend guy Tom Dickson in a conversation with Josh Bernoff, author of Groundswell.

The two throw in a handful of ‘technologies’ including flash drives, toothpicks, video camera etc and blend them. The smoke and dust left behind become a perfect backdrop for Bernoff’s line about picking just one objective and choosing your technologies carefully.

Where did we come across this message –with a kitchen metaphor –before? It’s a more dramatic version of Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae, which essentially cautioned folks about the unappetizing results of badly mixing social media.

Olympic video edit excusable?

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We all make mistakes –editing mistakes, in the rush to tell a story.

So when the BBC made what they called a ‘chronological’ editing mistake of an event at the Olympics, they were quick to own up. Most viewers –unprovoked by the due-diligence that takes place in the blogosphere– will let it slide. But I find it ironic that criticism reigned down when the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games was found to have been digitally enhanced –an elegant euphemism for editing.

“Thankfully, it’s human beings that make TV and human beings that watch them,” said the Beeb spokesperson. He also called the humans “illogical, irrational and unfair.”

The Chinese could easily have said that.

Quotes for the week ending 23 August, 2008

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“I don’t need to answer that. You guys know that answer. I am the best.”

Usain Bolt, on being asked who was the greatest sprinter in history, after winning his second gold at the Beijing Games.

“You Facebook / Twitter people are a bunch of losers. Who cares how many “friends” anyone has on Facebook”

Someone going by the name Fred, commenting on the Sports Illustrated story about Michael Phelps having one million Facebook “Friends.”

“The teeny bikinis that pass for uniforms tend to overshadow the nature and soul of the athletes inside. Without those uniforms, though, will would anyone be paying attention?”

Dan Bickley, on beach volleyball at the Beijing Games, filing one of his brilliant reports for The Arizona Republic.

“Wikis are troughing”

Tech Crunch, commenting on the Gartner chart that shows the peaks and troughs technologies go through in a hype-cycle.

“This is not a copy of a PC on TV.”

Intel’s Eric Kim, on the ‘Widget Channel’ that will allow TV users check more information on TV and share it with others from the TV set.