CPR Promotional Check-Up

Another Politics/Radio Marketing Metaphor

At the end of the day, Promotions is really just the Art of getting people to notice you. And playing by the rules and staying inside the box you were assigned to, rarely accomplishes that.

As Tommy Kramer so aptly put it, "If everyone is doing something, don't do it."

Like with concerts. The promoter and arena will tell you where to set up, give you a 10X10 square of concrete and decree that that's where you'll be. And blindly, like sheep, we say "Sure".

• 1. Doesn't mean you can't have interns standing at all the entrances in shirts, greeting people and taking their photos, and then standing there to say "Good night, thanks for coming to our show" as the masses stream out, handing them bounceback cards for a stealth contest the next day.
• 2. Doesn't mean you can't do stuff OFF site. They can't tell you to not stencil all the sidewalks from all the neighboring parking garages.
• 3. They can't stop you from doing the highway message boards on all the major roads leading to the venue.

There are so many analogies between Radio Marketing and political campaigns that it makes your head spin.

Take lawn signs. Just a few weeks ago they were EVERYWHERE. To the point that they just blurred together.

So a savvy candidate out in my neck of the woods thought "Hmmm...no one is going to notice more lawn signs...so what if I got a giant cow and covered it in signs?"

The opposing candidate freaked out. Tried to get an injunction. The other guy wasn't playing by the rules!!!!

And he lost.

It's not the message, it's how you deliver it so that people actually notice.