2008 Primaries, Leadership, Messaging, Views on News, wispundits • March 5th, 2008

Tuesday’s big winner? McCain

by Chris Lato

Mike Huckabee is out of the race. Hillary Clinton scored enough of a comeback victory to keep the Democratic primary battle rolling along. And John McCain has sewn up the GOP nomination once and for all.

This is all very, very good news for the Republican from Arizona. It’s like a gift from the gods, and he can’t squander it if he wants to be president.

With the GOP field free and clear, the machine should now immediately kick into overdrive, organizing the troops with a grassroots field plan across the nation for their newly-minted nominee. McCain himself needs to take this quiet-time opportunity to continue mending fences with the conservatives, including reaching out to Huckabee. (Maybe even a role in the RNC, as I alluded to in an earlier posting.) And, as the Democrats remain distracted by all the in-fighting, the GOP should be working actively to define the Democratic competition’s weak points.
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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Messaging, Views on News, public relations, wispundits • February 26th, 2008

Huckabee begs: Rip on me, too!

by Chris Lato

In the world of Mike Huckabee, there’s no such thing as bad PR. Huckabee is out there begging the New York Times to take a shot at him, similar to the Times’ hit on John McCain last week, which was widely derided by conservatives.

Maybe Huckabee said this with tongue in cheek — the article doesn’t make that clear. After his self-aware appearance on Saturday Night Live, who knows which angle he’s coming from. But it’s clear he recognizes his last best hope is getting as much free media coverage as he can. From any other way you slice it, it’s all over for the guy. But he’ll have an awesome clip file when all is said and done — which raises an excellent PR question about generating media coverage that matters.

It’s interesting to ponder what Huckabee hopes to gain from all this, beyond the ego boost. Does this build his credibility? Will people be impressed by all the coverage he’s received - or is he veering off into joke-of-the-campaign status? Will his relationship with the press be an asset to the GOP after 2008? Can Huckabee parlay this candidacy into a power-broker role after the elections? After all, four years ago, Howard Dean was considered a joke, too - a joke he parlayed into leading the Democrat party through an historic rout at the ballot box in 2006. Who’s laughing now?

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2008 Primaries, Creative, Messaging, public relations • February 25th, 2008

Huckabee brings the funny

by Chris Lato

Mike Huckabee has suddenly raised his stock, just a tiny bit, after his amusing bit on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

At least he’s self-aware enough to do something like this, and as I’ve said before, as long as he’s enjoying the run of free press attention, the guy has no reason to drop out of the race (except for all the Republicans he’s annoying by not stepping aside).

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Grass Roots Organization, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • February 20th, 2008

The Wisconsin post-mortem

by Chris Lato

Well, I can’t say I’m shocked. Turnout appears to have been impressive, especially for the Democrat presidential candidates. In such a hotly contested race, that is not surprising.

What is intriguing: the margin of victory for Barack Obama. The numbers are still rolling in as I write this, but all indications are that Obama really swamped Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin.

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Messaging, Views on News • February 19th, 2008

Bowling for votes ………. Wisconsin’s national brand

by Karl Robe

Salon.com’s Edward McClelland reveals how the rest of America views Wisconsin in his post today entitled Bowling for votes in Wisconsin. For better or worse, this is the equivalent of our brand. Does this position us well in the grand scheme of things or not? Before you answer, a few quick notes on Branding 101.

What is a brand?
Sum total of all of an audience’s experiences.
Promise/commitment to produce a specific experience .

Brand Identity
What does an audience think of when they hear your name?
Do different people think the same thing?

Cheeseheads, let your voice be heard. How would you like to see Wisconsin branded?

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2008 Primaries, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News, public relations • February 19th, 2008

The battle in the badger state

by Chris Lato

First, the horserace and where things stand in Wisconsin. If you believe this poll (and putting actual percentages aside, I think this is where things stand), then it’s McCain and Obama who will be standing tall Tuesday night.

The interesting thing is on the GOP side, where Mike Huckabee has started moving the numbers in his direction. To his credit, Huckabee recognized the public relations opportunity here – to score a whole lot of free press in Wisconsin. Consider the amount of time he’s spent in Wisconsin. Still, too little too late.

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