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erran speaker
12-14-2007, 07:42 PM
i saw it suggested that the blimp was getting insufficient news, noted problems with the banner making us look like fools, delays making us look like fools, not being in boston making us look like fools, etc.

i googled 'ron paul blimp' in the news section (for the past week) and got 217 hits. last week, i got 55 hits for the same search. i did not see a single mention of a missing banner in over an hour of review. most stories, even those written today, mention the presence of two banners so getting the second banner on early next week should not be a big issue. i saw numerous mentions of the overall delay, but very few mentions of the failure to make boston outside of the boston papers. instead of castigating the grassroots, 95+% of the del ay coverage was admiring and positive - sort of an 'i can't believe they got it up in the air at all' thing.

surely, some of these articles would have been written anyway, and the tea party and general campaign momentum are truly building, but that's kind of my point, isn't it? this is called a 'publicity stunt'. a publicity stunt works because it is different and because it is big. it is the big publicity stunt that brings media attention and legions of new supporters.

in order to illustrate this point, i'd like to pick on another of my favorite projects, the 'hotties 4 ron paul' calendar. it's not the sort of thing i can pose for, but it seems to have come out nicely enough. why isn't that project as big a deal as the blimp? only 1 google news hit? simple. it's not a publicity stunt. make a plan to send one calendar to every wounded soldier in america, and get that goal into the mind of the media, schedule visits from the models (or likely looking surrogates) at major va hospitals and veterans events (2 points if you can think of why a wounded soldier might vote for dr paul... make that 3, have you heard how great his people are about supporting vets?), then raise enough money to make it happen, and 'bingo' you would have a publicity stunt - and a pretty good one (imagine the tear-streaked faces next to wounded veterans on camera to get people to look at more than the financial cost of this war).

some notes.
- i have not financially supported the blimp project or any chip-in or outside project. i am saving for the tea party, which is my publicity stunt of choice.
- claiming the blimp is worthless (if it doesn't make boston, if it has only one banner for a couple of days, or - my fav - if we don't win new hampshire) with nearly 40 specific references in various journals daily is highly suspect. please note that does not include any tv references.
- speaking of the above, we don't have to win new hampshire. i think it will take almost everything coming together just right to take 3rd in iowa and second in new hampshire. if dr paul does that, there is a very legitimate shot, given our growth curve, that he will be the actual nominee. a 3rd and 2nd place finish would hurt romney, but coming out of nowhere will increase dr paul's chances exponentially while providing name recognition.
- nobody (average american mom and pop) pays much attention to the race until after the new hampshire primary anyway. witness that less than 3.5 - 4.5 million people watch primary debates on a good day (4.4 million for the republican youtube primary was thought to be a record) vs 35 million to 45 million for the general election debates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_presidential_debates,_2008
http://presidentialcampaign2004.coas.missouri.edu/general/debatenumbers.html
- because the blimp is not politics as usual, and because it gets multiple mentions on every major news network, it penetrates that shield.
- the rudy strategy is applicable to our candidate. track the curve for donations month by month, the meetup groups and members month by month, etc. etc. and then continue the bell curve forty five days into the future. throw in the blimp, the tea party, a way better than expected finish... and start counting your super tuesday delegates. remember also that candidates will be dropping out as the primaries roll by, narrowing the field. dr paul will be in the race, spreading the freedom message on super tuesday regardless.
- if the blimp can't get north at all, i will be disappointed. but the downside of coming down to florida and flying orlando/disney/universal, the various major sports venues and the beaches for holiday break isn't a showstopper. remember our bell curve over 45 days? which very important state votes at that time? at the end of january right before super tuesday after half the candidates drop out and their supporters go looking for alternatives? which state is also a major source of campaign cash for all candidates in both parties? which state needs publicity so that voters change their registration by the end of the month?
think about it and get back to me.

xoxox,
erran

mdevour
12-14-2007, 07:57 PM
in order to illustrate this point, i'd like to pick on another of my favorite projects, the 'hotties 4 ron paul' calendar. it's not the sort of thing i can pose for, but it seems to have come out nicely enough. why isn't that project as big a deal as the blimp? only 1 google news hit? simple. it's not a publicity stunt. make a plan to send one calendar to every wounded soldier in america, and get that goal into the mind of the media, schedule visits from the models (or likely looking surrogates) at major va hospitals and veterans events (2 points if you can think of why a wounded soldier might vote for dr paul... make that 3, have you heard how great his people are about supporting vets?), then raise enough money to make it happen, and 'bingo' you would have a publicity stunt - and a pretty good one (imagine the tear-streaked faces next to wounded veterans on camera to get people to look at more than the financial cost of this war).

Ummm, have you floated this anywhere else yet? I had tears in my eyes by the end of this paragraph.

For Liberty!

Mike D.

erran speaker
12-15-2007, 07:29 AM
done :)

hawks4ronpaul
12-15-2007, 10:00 AM
A cheap way to send free calendars is to email PDF files.

Another option if for some of our code monkees to design the RP calendar as a Firefox plugin.

http://hawks4ronpaul.blogspot.com/

ronpaulblogsdotcom
12-15-2007, 10:13 AM
I would say it needs to be carefully managed if there are wounded troops.

There is a lot of psychological things going on there and we don't want to seem like we are using them or the disabilities for our benefit.

Primbs
12-15-2007, 11:23 AM
That shows the media likes to cover campaigns that are interesting and different. I am glad the media is reporting good stories.