A blimp is a BAD IDEA - here is why

[Ozwest]

Oh Oh Matt, Looks like Proemio did the advertising course.

And the rest of us rely on superfluous shit...

 

[Proemio]

Oh Oh Matt, Looks like Proemio did the advertising course.

Much less dangerous than a course, where you might get educated...

I started in advertising by cleaning ashtrays, getting coffee+ and cutting galleys 12 hours a day for some of the greats in the business. An old-fashioned apprenticeship; some 40 years ago. Eventually, one of them let me touch a pencil, then a pen - the rest is opinionated history and great fun...

 

[Rhys]

I'm still working on getting quotes for ads, they're starting to come in.

Since the blimp is up to half a million, I'm going go ahead with our conventional ads fundraiser.

I did just get quoted for the Wall street Journal... $215k. I kinda want to run a full page on Dec. 16 in the journal... what do you think as that for our debut? (assuming we can raise the cash, which I am assuming. I'll have a site up as soon as I can get to it. trying like hell today.)

Again, I'm setting a 30 day, $1 million target. Is this crazy?

Also, if we hit 1mil, the WSJ ad would be 1/5 of that. That will be leaps and bounds the most expensive.. but is it enough bang? We can figure it out if we get the money, I guess... but I do like the target market of the Journal for Paul's case... especially on THE money day... tea party.

 

[Matt Collins]

Marketing is all about bureaucratic formulas which are about as useful as those of the government.

No, marketing is a science.

Advertising - on the other hand - is about vision, innovation and daring...

Advertising is a form of marketing.

 

[Matt Collins]

I'm still working on getting quotes for ads, they're starting to come in.

Since the blimp is up to half a million, I'm going go ahead with our conventional ads fundraiser.

I did just get quoted for the Wall street Journal... $215k. I kinda want to run a full page on Dec. 16 in the journal... what do you think as that for our debut? (assuming we can raise the cash, which I am assuming. I'll have a site up as soon as I can get to it. trying like hell today.)

Again, I'm setting a 30 day, $1 million target. Is this crazy?

Also, if we hit 1mil, the WSJ ad would be 1/5 of that. That will be leaps and bounds the most expensive.. but is it enough bang? We can figure it out if we get the money, I guess... but I do like the target market of the Journal for Paul's case... especially on THE money day... tea party.

I think you should spend the ads in an area that needs the support. That much money could buy almost a months worth of advertising in almost any major city. It is all about multiple impressions over time (known as frequency). THIS is what changes peoples minds.

 

[Matt Collins]

F*ck Prudent.

I think Ron would disagree with you.

 

[RlxdN10sity]

Ok, I am not a marketing genious like Collins, but here are my 2 cents. Many of you know that alot of the support for Ron Paul comes from people who have never cared to bother with voting for the lesser of two evils. I personally am one of those people. I have never been so inspired by a presidential candidate that I would bother voting for them over someone else. I am not only inspired to vote for Ron Paul, I talk to everyone I can about him, I have spent hundreds of dollars printing out tri-folds and flyers, I give them tri-folds and fliers, I have donated multiple times to HQ, I find myself constantly scanning MSM for coverage on him, and I have concluded that I am officially addicted to the message and the man. You never would have exposed me to his message through targeted advertising because I would not be found on any list of targets you might aquire through traditional marketing resources. I personally feel Ron Paul is going to be elected in no small part due to people who have never been inclined to participate in politics being exposed to his message and character and taking action they have never taken. The first impression about Ron Paul for me was, something is different about this guy. I probably should at least look into him. A blimp is certainly something different. We are not selling gaming consoles or lawn furniture that is 20% off. We are letting people know that something truly different and real is now available for them to be a part of. There has never been a supporter funded frickin blimp with a candidates name and message on it floating around the country. People will wonder why supporters feel so strongly about this guy that they would spend this kind of money. Of course we have donated more to HQ than this blimp will cost but the "Money Toward Freedom" counter is not in these peoples faces. It will in my estimation at least bring postive exposure to the campaign equal to or greater than the amount it costs to fund. A blimp is different, this campaign is different and Ron Paul is different. Go Ron Paul!

 

[ronpaulfan]

Everyone I've told thinks the Blimp it is the coolest idea ever

Everyone on the news will be talking about Ron Paul's blimp

Everyone voting will respect and envy Ron Paul for having his own blimp

And, Blimp > Chuck Norris


The OP is wrong about it not targeting the right audience. I 100% guarantee Everyone voting in the primaries will know Ron Paul has his own blimp. The *viral* nature of this marketing tool is bigger than anything anyone has ever utilized.


Why does this thread keep popping up? It has been debunked for a while

*presses "Submit Reply" and watches the thread go to the top *

 

[wxflyguy]

I find it funny how there are 250 threads about arguing for/against the blimp. I think it's pretty safe to say that - barring any major SNAFUs with false pledges - the blimp? The blimp idea is what is going to be used.

Whether some think it is a waste of money or not, when the decision is made by "the powers that be" who are motivating everyone, it's time to rally behind that idea with full force. I'm all for trying the other ideas too if we can get someone else to take that ball and run with it.

This'll be exciting...looking forward to seeing this thing on TV in a couple of weeks!

 

[Matt Collins]

Everyone I've told thinks the Blimp it is the coolest idea ever

"Cool" does NOT = win

Everyone on the news will be talking about Ron Paul's blimp

We will be of course. But we can't guarantee that the media will be.

Everyone voting will respect and envy Ron Paul for having his own blimp

Not hardly. You are living in dreamland.

The OP is wrong about it not targeting the right audience. I 100% guarantee Everyone voting in the primaries will know Ron Paul has his own blimp.

With all due respect, you are ignorant.

 

[Proemio]

And that's precisely the kind of thinking that makes "marketing" such a nuisance.

Marketing is all about bureaucratic formulas which are about as useful as those of the government.

Advertising - on the other hand - is about vision, innovation and daring...

"What worked yesterday will get you yesterday's result." - moi

No, marketing is a science.

It's a 'science' alright, just like "political science" - completely useless in unconventional (non-traditional) settings.

Advertising is a form of marketing.

While advertising has been around for ever and maybe longer, marketing is a 20th century phenomenum:
"The development of marketing thought began early in the twentieth century with the conception of marketing. Early students of marketing were actually educated as economists." - Bartels, Robert (1976) “The History of Marketing Thought,” 2 ed.

Economist/accountants; the mothers of marketing - tells a whole lot in itself...

Marketing is an attempt to codify what worked yesterday and extrapolate the result for tomorrow. Mildly useful in selling the 999th variety of pop to a pop-conditioned audience - common sense x experience does at least as well - but completely useless in our unusual situation, where the 'competition has:
- access to unlimited amounts of money - their handlers print the stuff.
- pre-arranged support from the chattering class, a.k.a. the 'corporate' media and editorials.
- guidance from the oracles of marketing, with round-the-clock focus-grouping and market-testing.
- protection through election 'laws' which are carefully designed to preserve the status quo.
- etc. - an insurmountable advantage in the quantifyable, traditional factors - the stuff marketing 'theory' is largely based on.

If money would solve their problems...

Now, your prudent 'marketing' answer is to make our best bets on their rigged table - nuts...

Good point and that makes sense. But since we are on the short end of the fundraising stick compared to Romney and Rudy, I think we should still continue to do what is known to work. If we had more money than anyone else, then yeah I would say diversifying to experimental efforts as you have mentioned would be an okay thing to do. However right now it is not a prudent use of funds.

And no, advertising is not a form of marketing - it's at best the other way around. Marketing is to advertising, what bureaucracy is to free markets - a perfectly predictable control mechanism for the dark-ages where nothing ever changes, and I hope - and fully expect - the dark side to continue to bank on it...

 

[Paul4Prez]

The blimp is a great idea. It hasn't even launched yet, and it's already earned a lot of publicity for Ron Paul, at least online, because it is such an original idea.

For those who don't like the blimp idea, just donate to some other project, or to the campaign if you're not maxed out already. Me, I'm in.

 

[overcoming hope]

easy now

Sorry - at this point I don't care about hurting people's feelings. My only goal is to win. If a few people get their egos crushed but Ron gets through the primaries, then that's what it takes (my ego included). This isn't about me, this isn't about you, this isn't about how people feel, this isn't even about Ron. It's about our country and putting it back on the right track!

I cannot stand idly by and watch fellow Ron Paul supporters throw away good money that could be better used elsewhere to get Ron elected. I have the knowledge and education and I am going to use every bit of it to get Ron elected.

first of all, no offense we are all RP people, but even if you really do have a marketing degree (which I find highly improbable given how difficult a marketing degree is to attain) that doesn't really mean anything. You are wasting time and energy here, if you don't support the idea then don't donate and move on.

Your false assumption is that people who are motivated to donate to the blimp cause will turn right around and donate to what you are suggesting. Whether your argument is valid is irrelevant.

The point is you don't have a blimp and blimps are really cool, so unless your plan involves a blimp then you probably won't be able to channel the money coming from those people excited about the blimp. See... what you would need to get the money from those folks is a blimp.

It's the open source concept. bad ideas die. good ideas flourish. I can't say whether the blimp will be a success, but I can say that you can't say that it won't be. It's different. It's wacky. It could work.

(and I demand to see that marketing degree, until then I'm not buying it!)

I love the passion brother, but move on and do something productive.

If you agree with this statement do not comment and let this thread die in peace.

 

[Man from La Mancha]

Again Matt has a limited view of money available. We have the potential to out raise all the money of all the candidates combined and as long as this election process continues. 10 million people x $100 = $1 billion



ronpaulblimp.com...donate both

 

[Rhys]

Again Matt has a limited view of money available. We have the potential to out raise all the money of all the candidates combined and as long as this election process continues. 10 million people x $100 = $1 billion

If he raises that much, I want a blimp! We all get a blimp! Vote for Paul, get a blimp!

 

[Matt Collins]

Again Matt has a limited view of money available. We have the potential to out raise all the money of all the candidates combined and as long as this election process continues. 10 million people x $100 = $1 billion

We have the potential to do anything we want. But what will likely happen and what can potentially are not even close. Again, you are unrealistic.

 

[Matt Collins]

It's a 'science' alright, just like "political science" - completely useless in unconventional (non-traditional) settings.

I don't think you fully understand what science is.

Now, your prudent 'marketing' answer is to make our best bets on their rigged table - nuts...

Fallacy. The media is in the business of making money and although they are biased, they are still in the business of making money. Traditional media works when targeted to a traditional audience. That is a fact.

And no, advertising is not a form of marketing - it's at best the other way around.

When you get a degree in marketing and have studied it for years and have carried out theory into execution for years, come back to me and talk intelligently. Until then you are making an idiot of yourself and it is showing... badly.

 

[Matt Collins]

even if you really do have a marketing degree (which I find highly improbable given how difficult a marketing degree is to attain)

HA. A degree in marketing is actually one of the easier degrees to attain to be honest.

The point is you don't have a blimp and blimps are really cool

If the goal is to be cool, then that is one thing. Last time I checked, THE GOAL IS TO WIN!

I can't say whether the blimp will be a success, It could work.

Yes, but for the amount spent on a blimp traditional advertising is guaranteed to work. There is ZERO risk with traditional advertising.

 

[punjabimunda]

Why this is a good idea.

1. The media coverage will be worth 10 times the cost of the blimp.
2. This in turn will spread his names even further.
3. International and maxed out supporters are mostly the donators, and others have been told to give to the campaign first, so this is a non-issue.

 

[punjabimunda]

Why will this receive alot of coverage? Because this is original and its unprecedented, and the news want to broadcast original material. its doesn't take a rocket scientist to show that this 350,000 is the most creative effort and investment we have thought of.