Thursday, April 22. 2010
It was only a few months ago that the conversation amongst commentators and marketing professionals was all about how this year's General Election was going to be the first influenced by social media, following the model of success used by Barack Obama in the USA.
However whilst one will acknowledge that yes social media is most definitely influencing our daily lives and those of customers and audiences, the election itself has also provided a stark reminder of the true power of traditional broadcast and in particular TV.
Whilst as an agency we have undertaken WebTV debates with the three main party leaders with excellent response, I do need to acknowledge the overwhelming power of the live TV debates. Nick who? a few months ago to now a genuine candidate who could yet have a big say in the final decision as to who is Prime Minister. What has interested me amongst all the goings on is the way the Lib Dems and Nick Clegg have mobilized the youth vote. Have they relied on social media; the media of choice for this age group?
As an observer with an interest in both media and politics I have been intrigued to see how they have used traditional methods to encourage young people to both register to vote and then show an interest. Was it Facebook & Twitter encouraging young people to vote or Nick Clegg . . . or was it the media playout i.e. the Live TV debates and his performance in front of camera? My view would be Social Media most certainly helped promote and bring it to the attention of many, but is was the performance and campaigning messages of Nick Clegg on TV that has potentially mobilized their audience to register and vote.
As I write this we are about to witness the second of the Live TV debates, and observers and commentators alike will analyze the performances once more and the tactics of each candidate to try and gauge what impact it has had on peoples choice of vote. At this point it would be good to remember we should be voting for our local MP and policy as technically we do not cross the box for who we want as Prime Minister.
So if we were to draw an analogy from the election to the world of commerce, does a strong orator and communicator automatically make a good leader ahead of their actual leadership or management skills. Is Richard Branson a better leader than Michael O’Leary?
One thing is for certain, the election has reminded us of how a strong interview on television can still have a huge influence on the masses.
However whilst one will acknowledge that yes social media is most definitely influencing our daily lives and those of customers and audiences, the election itself has also provided a stark reminder of the true power of traditional broadcast and in particular TV.
Whilst as an agency we have undertaken WebTV debates with the three main party leaders with excellent response, I do need to acknowledge the overwhelming power of the live TV debates. Nick who? a few months ago to now a genuine candidate who could yet have a big say in the final decision as to who is Prime Minister. What has interested me amongst all the goings on is the way the Lib Dems and Nick Clegg have mobilized the youth vote. Have they relied on social media; the media of choice for this age group?
As an observer with an interest in both media and politics I have been intrigued to see how they have used traditional methods to encourage young people to both register to vote and then show an interest. Was it Facebook & Twitter encouraging young people to vote or Nick Clegg . . . or was it the media playout i.e. the Live TV debates and his performance in front of camera? My view would be Social Media most certainly helped promote and bring it to the attention of many, but is was the performance and campaigning messages of Nick Clegg on TV that has potentially mobilized their audience to register and vote.
As I write this we are about to witness the second of the Live TV debates, and observers and commentators alike will analyze the performances once more and the tactics of each candidate to try and gauge what impact it has had on peoples choice of vote. At this point it would be good to remember we should be voting for our local MP and policy as technically we do not cross the box for who we want as Prime Minister.
So if we were to draw an analogy from the election to the world of commerce, does a strong orator and communicator automatically make a good leader ahead of their actual leadership or management skills. Is Richard Branson a better leader than Michael O’Leary?
One thing is for certain, the election has reminded us of how a strong interview on television can still have a huge influence on the masses.
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