Post Earth Day thoughts

Earth Day and the Butterfly Effect go pretty much hand-in-hand in my mind. It is the little small changes we have made, or not made, that have gotten us where we are today. Always true of course.

As a child of the 70's I remember the first gas shortage. 30 years later it seems like there have been alot of small actions that could have created a healthier outcome. Brian Baird's green rebate strategy encouraging citizens to go green with money from the economic stimulus package, could be one of those small individual actions that has a greater effect.

Reading the Tea Leaves: Paid search and presidential personality

Sometimes it is the little things that reveal a lot about a personality. In 2008, there is no doubt that the Internet is at the center of the presidential communications campaign. And since a website is generally a good reflection of a brand, let’s begin at the beginning (as Lewis Carroll would say), with a Google search.

The top three presidential contenders are all running paid search campaigns.

A great deal of thought goes into the landing page for a paid search keyword. The click costs money, and what is returned must be a single, focused message designed to produce the desired response, or in search lingo, the conversion. Everything you care about has to boil down to one or two actions.

All three are using a classic PPC (pay-per-click) conversion technique…clicking on a paid search term (those highlighted in pale yellow at the top of Google)

returns a web page with a single message and primary conversion. The theory is that someone who searches on your keyword, and clicks on a paid link, is an active prospect. They have sought out information on you (your brand, product, whatever), and you must now present clear choices that push them through to the next step, to your conversion.

All three use video to support that conversion.

McCain’s landing page is dominated by video, shot at what is called a heroic angle. The last quarter of the page surrenders to an email form and donate button. Along the top, navigation provides support and reasons to believe.

With Clinton, the priorities are shifted …video is smaller and the donate function dominates the page. And it’s not simple. Contact information must be provided, select type and amount (ummm type? Cash? Recurring? So many choices…)

Obama, on the other hand, just wants you to participate. His landing page has a single conversion, to “Join Us”. This is reinforce by his video. There is no "Donate" button on this screen. There is however a Spanish version.

Conclusion: McCain wants you to watch, Clinton wants you to donate, and Obama wants you to join. The leaves are in the bottom of the cup. Read them as you will.

Why Blog?

1. Because value is associated with content. We like to talk, listen, we absorb information that is interesting to us. I work at what used to be called an ad agency...we are now conversationalists, generators of content, and statisticians. We create content. All different kinds. Video, words, pictures, stories, concepts, brands.

2. To build your brand. You are your brand. You are the most important product you will ever sell (unless you sell the cure for cancer, or world peace, or you take care of children). Like any good brand you have to be authentic, you need a true differentiator, and you need to appeal to your market.

3. It is important to enter into the conversation. There is a great shift going on in our world. Physically, environmentally, and socially. Young people under 25 don't know a world without broadband. They have never used dial-up. They txt, twitter and share experiences constantly. Open public parks not walled-gardens will win this war.

4. Because it's fun.