Pick A Side, Any Side!

By Bob Lawrence
CEO/President
Pinnacle Media Worldwide
760.731.1141

With an election that probably will not be over for another month and races around the country being determined by populations the size of a large neighborhood, most political analysts have been talking about how the country appears divided right down the middle.

But is the country divided? Are we all that different from each other? Perhaps in reality, we are being drawn closer to one another by outside forces. It appears as if the political strategists have removed all the gray from our decision making process and created a world of black and white – “one or the other” and we are all simply choosing a side. As a nation, we all fail to see any real “issues” anymore, forcing us to just push buttons, pull levers, and cast our ballots based solely on party affiliation and habitual, comfort zones.

As I watched the returns come in from across the states, it dawned on me…maybe the parties have simply created habitual behavior through strong branding more than anything. The election process has shifted from the world of politics and issues to smart, well thought-out, and creative marketing plans. Is the difference between the two parties about which is actually better or just about with which one you align yourself? Welcome to the new world order of politics!

Democrats and Republicans may have outsmarted themselves though, by attempting to instill strong brand images to their respective party, through attacks, innuendo, half-truths, or even out-and-out lies. This is more about taking a side than it is about picking the best person for the job. This however, means it may be difficult to use a specific issue as leverage, since it's becoming more about our general values. Think back when issues were issues and candidates ran on their own points-of-view. Sure, politics has always been about party support and making a candidate look good… but today it’s more about making the other party look bad and how their party will effect change. So today, we find ourselves down to one specific race that will determine who controls our future. Notice that, “who” actually wins and represents the people of Virginia is secondary. This race is not about the constituency of Virginia. It is about which party will control the Senate! What about the people in the state? Honestly…who cares? Political Marketeering has made our entire election process about the parties! Not the candidates – not the issues - and certainly not the people!

Wow! Maybe radio should consider hiring political strategists to run successful marketing campaigns. Because in the end, we all have to realize that “targeting” your market is not only about age, sex, and music taste. Successful stations today are building communities of people with similar tastes, beliefs, and values and forcing them to pick a side! Just look at FOX News. They didn’t takeout CNN by appealing to old, republican, right-wing men, who smoke big fat cigars… they built coalitions of like-minded people. Fair and Balanced? Really? No...it’s really only fair and balanced to the people who like Fox News….and that’s OK! That’s the audience they built.

So what is your goal as manager? Are you taking advantage of all your resources to find out what is important to those who listen? First of all, create a side! Be about something and create that identity. Find the common ground and provide compelling content that targets those values. In every research project, ask questions of your listeners that will help you determine what they require to improve their lives and THEN go provide it, or at least create the illusion that you provide it. And don't try to provide it for everyone…just to those who share the values that will help you build a strong coalition. Maybe it is child care, marriage, romance, finances, whatever. You can start by taking away all the gray, making who you are about similar values that listeners share and then begin appealing to those like-minded people.