These seem to be all the rage nowadays. A good video introduction can set the right tone, be shared virally, and kickoff a campaign right sort of energy needed to drum up support.
Of the three candidates that have announced so far (Allen, Radtke, and McCormick) all three have produced just these sorts of videos. I’d encourage you to check them all out and add below whether or not you feel the are effective… or not.
For those wondering, this video introduction business is quite a big deal, with politicos and consultants paying high-dollar for just the right welcoming card:
Republicans appear to be using neuromarketing more than Democrats, if this midterm is any indication. They are appealing to the emotion of voters’ “Red Brain” triggers. “No Democratic candidate I know of has used them [neuromarketing tactics], nor has any major Democratic organization appeared to express any interest in them,” says Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain and consultant to major U.S. national Democratic Party candidates.
Then again, 17 of 19 neuromarketing and political consultants contacted for this story stated they did not engage in the practice–including Neurofocus, which bills itself as the world leader in the emerging field and whose Chief Innovation Officer, Steven Genco, did political neuromarketing work previously at Lucid Systems.
“The real risk is that politicians will not want us to know that they are using influencing tools,” says Patrick Renvoise, a neuromarketing consultant. “The one with the most knowledge wins and this probably explains why a lot of people are reluctant to talk about neuromarketing, especially with the word politician in the same sentence.”
…and before anyone goes off on a tangent about how “neuromarketing” is the new mind control, keep in mind that this isn’t the “how” a video or speech or argument or even a good movie is done… it’s the “why” you find those videos appealing. Even the Greeks understood this and devised a whole system of argumentation around the concept.
Welcome to the 21st century. Neuromarketing, social media, and expressive choice theory. This is just a taste as to what the big boys are doing for competitive advantage in the war of ideas and culture.
