A blimp is a BAD IDEA - here is why

Proemio said:
That's because they peddle traditional stuff to traditional targets, in a traditional fashion.
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And do you know who votes? Traditional people!

If I remember the AVERAGE voting age is between 50 or 60 years old! That crowd doesn't surf the Net for their news, they read papers, they listen to talk radio, they watch the nightly news etc... Therefore we have to go after them, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO COME TO US!




Proemio said:
Besides, people who are excited about an idea, will support that idea.
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Enthusiasm is the backbone of getting Ron the primaries, but if it is misguided then he loses. It doesn't matter if people give $20 million dollars, if it all goes into internet advertising for example then Ron will lose. We MUST utilize traditional media and advertising strategies.

Proemio said:
In the end, it all works, as long as stuff gets done...
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No, it doesn't "all work" and "being busy" doesn't necessarily accomplish anything. Some tactics and methods work better than others. Some advertising is more effective at reaching certain demographics than others!
 
When is the last time you heard someone said "Oh hey, I saw a blimp today on the way to work," or ask "Hey, did you see the blimp at the SuperBowl?" Doesn't happen.

It's "Oh man, how 'bout that Budweiser commercial?" or "On the way in, I was listening to the radio and..."

Blimps don't make news, nor do banner-towing planes - unless they crash or have a naked woman painted on them.
 
Matt Collins said:
I agree that unique is good, to an extent. The reason companies keep spending millions of dollars on marketing via traditional media (print, radio, TV, outdoor, direct mail, etc) is because these methods of advertising ARE EFFECTIVE!
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These are not as effective as they used to be. That is why internet advertising and pay per click are taking off. Google is big because you can track with specificity the ROI on internet ad campaigns.

Many of the large corporations use the old media because it is institutionalized. They are used to doing the same thing every year even if they can't measure the effectiveness of the ads.
 
You guys seriously underestimate local news stations. Since the vast majority of us don't watch the local news at all, I'm not surprised. The simple fact is that local news stations will put anything on the air that is in the least bit special or interesting that happens in their city. You guys are right that FOX, CNN, and the rest won't be covering it, but the I assure you that every local news station anywhere near where the blimp goes would have a story on it, especially if they can get a reporter up in the blimp.
 
Heres another reason its bad.


Led_Zeppelin_I.jpg


Imagine a Ron Paul zeppelin crashing down in flames on peoples heads. That would ruin him.;)
 
Matt Collins said:
I have a minor in marketing. I work in advertising (among other things).

A blimp for Ron Paul is a bad idea and the reason is because it is not very targeted.

If you fly a blimp over a city and 1,000,000 people see the blimp, only x% of those people will be registered voters, and only about 10-20% of those registered voters will vote in the primary, and if it's a major city I would venture to say most of them will be Democrats (urban areas are almost always Democratic - in closed primary states this is a waste).


This means that out of 1 million people that see the blimp, you might only reach a few thousand people that might possibly vote for Ron. This seems like a colossal waste of money for the result.

THE KEY IS TARGETED ADVERTISING!​


This means instead of buying a blimp spend money on the following things (in this order):

  • Assemble and deliver packets to SuperVoters in your region. Supervoters are people who have voted in the last few elections and are likely to vote in the primary. Your state coordinator should have a list of these people.
  • Buy air time on your local conservative talk radio stations including any commercial Christian stations in town
  • Buy TV ads on your local nightly and morning news programs, buy ads locally via your cable company on FOX, CNN, and MSNBC
  • Buy ads in local papers close to the editoral pages, in the business section, and in the local section
  • Purchase billboards in geographically strategic areas





I am sorry if I am raining on anyone's parade (or deflating their baloon - pun intended :p ) but if we want Ron Paul to win the primary, then we need to market him professionally with the best intelligence we can!




.
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On one hand, I actually buy into what you are saying. We need to target the following groups:
1. Arab Americans
2. Libertarians
3. Gun Owners/Enthusiasts
4. (suggest a group!)

On the other hand, it may be that the blimp does work as a cost-effective means of getting votes, because maybe millions of actual targets will see the ad over a month-long period. Furthermore, maybe the press that this blimp generates will be quite a lot. TV news watchers may be a group that tends to vote.

So off hand it does seem very untargeted, but maybe it ends up being cost-effective, like the 225,000 placemat ads for $900 total that end up targeting nobody in particular. In addition, many people simply hearing of Ron Paul may be valuable because name recognition is important in a campaign. So, even though they won't vote simply having heard of him could end up being valuable.
 
$350,000 for the blimp?? Good grief.

You could purchase 300 Interstate HWY billboards for a month for that and still have $50,000 left over for targeted mailing campaigns of likely voters.

The blimp is nonsensical when you really think about it.

Novel yes, strategic no way.
 
Scott Wilson said:
$350,000 for the blimp?? Good grief.

You could purchase 300 Interstate HWY billboards for a month for that and still have $50,000 left over for targeted mailing campaigns of likely voters.

The blimp is nonsensical when you really think about it.

Novel yes, strategic no way.
Click to expand...
Would the billboards be shown all over TV stations, could the billboards cause people to come out their houses to look, could the billboards inspire all sorts of contests for people to ride them just generating tons more PR, could the billboards hang over major sports events to be shown on national TV, could the billboards be unique as the 1st presidential candidate blimp in history, could the billboards be in places where billboards don't exist, could billboards cause whole small towns to come at it lands in their local High school football field, thus generate PR in that whole section of the state on local media including in newspapers that have to explain who Ron Paul is that all the old people read. Could the billboards be hovering all day over state capitals on primary day. And on verbatim. But to do it all at the same time would be best. Let the market decide and pick what one wants to support.

.
 
Matt Collins said:
I have a minor in marketing. I work in advertising (among other things).

A blimp for Ron Paul is a bad idea and the reason is because it is not very targeted.

If you fly a blimp over a city and 1,000,000 people see the blimp, only x% of those people will be registered voters, and only about 10-20% of those registered voters will vote in the primary, and if it's a major city I would venture to say most of them will be Democrats (urban areas are almost always Democratic - in closed primary states this is a waste).


This means that out of 1 million people that see the blimp, you might only reach a few thousand people that might possibly vote for Ron. This seems like a colossal waste of money for the result.

THE KEY IS TARGETED ADVERTISING!​


This means instead of buying a blimp spend money on the following things (in this order):

  • Assemble and deliver packets to SuperVoters in your region. Supervoters are people who have voted in the last few elections and are likely to vote in the primary. Your state coordinator should have a list of these people.
  • Buy air time on your local conservative talk radio stations including any commercial Christian stations in town
  • Buy TV ads on your local nightly and morning news programs, buy ads locally via your cable company on FOX, CNN, and MSNBC
  • Buy ads in local papers close to the editoral pages, in the business section, and in the local section
  • Purchase billboards in geographically strategic areas





I am sorry if I am raining on anyone's parade (or deflating their baloon - pun intended :p ) but if we want Ron Paul to win the primary, then we need to market him professionally with the best intelligence we can!




.
Click to expand...

Matt, I think what you should do is actively promote giving money to targeted groups, but refrain from raining on parades, as you put it. Go ahead and pump out posts about who should be marketed to and how, but avoid saying "don't donate money to the blimp". Anyone who reads your postings would tend to donate to targeted ads over the blimp idea without you specifically creating conflict. Your post would have been great if it were about what groups to target and how. Instead you put controversy in there that doesn't really need to be there to achieve your goals of selective targeting.
 
Can't a blimp be rented?
Also what about sky writers or planes dragging banners above football games?
 
James R said:
Matt, I think what you should do is actively promote giving money to targeted groups, but refrain from raining on parades, as you put it. Go ahead and pump out posts about who should be marketed to and how, but avoid saying "don't donate money to the blimp". Anyone who reads your postings would tend to donate to targeted ads over the blimp idea without you specifically creating conflict. Your post would have been great if it were about what groups to target and how. Instead you put controversy in there that doesn't really need to be there to achieve your goals of selective targeting.
Click to expand...

Well, I for one am glad he gave his opinion about the blimp. A lot of us do not have marketing experience.
 
Well, this parade isn't going anywhere anyways, it seems.

And FWIW, I'd pay to "ride a billboard." lol.
 
noztnac said:
Can't a blimp be rented?
Also what about sky writers or planes dragging banners above football games?
Click to expand...

The one they were considering the last I paid much attention to the details *was* a rental. And it only included 100 miles!
 
20+ years in marketing. Researched targeted advertising always generates more "bang for the buck".
 
I agree with OP. I haven't looked into this blimp idea, but I think it will be ineffective. Spend the money more wisely by going by the advice given by the OP.
 
Primbs said:
These are not as effective as they used to be. That is why internet advertising and pay per click are taking off. Google is big because you can track with specificity the ROI on internet ad campaigns.
Click to expand...
I sell and buy Google advertising in addition to other forms of media.

Keep in mind though that only 30% of registered voters are proficient on the Internet. That mean's 70% of our efforts need to be OFFLINE!








.
 
centure7 said:
On the other hand, it may be that the blimp does work as a cost-effective means of getting votes, because maybe millions of actual targets will see the ad over a month-long period. Furthermore, maybe the press that this blimp generates will be quite a lot. TV news watchers may be a group that tends to vote.
Click to expand...
A single impression doesn't do much of anything. It must be multiple repeated impressions (known as frequency). A blimp will offer millions of people seeing something once. That is not targeted, and ineffective. Anyone who takes a freshman marketing class understands this.


centure7 said:
So, even though they won't vote simply having heard of him could end up being valuable.
Click to expand...
That is indeed true. A buzz is always nice. But right now we need votes more than a buzz. And votes can ONLY come from registered voters, so we should target them!




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