Presidential Elections and Media Revolution

Are you aware that the US Presidential election historically shapes media creation and consumption trends for the foreseeable future? It's essentially the NBA of communications: high stakes, big budget, years of planning and effort to get there. This is why some of my former colleagues will never lack for work, and why it was so cool to sit on the same floor as people who had been political operatives for both Clintons, Bush, and Obama.

Need examples? That’s what I’m here for.

FDR invented the fireside chat. In the 1930s and 1940s, he spoke with familiarity to millions of Americans about recovery from the Great Depression, the response to the banking crisis, the recession, and the course of World War II. On radio, he could quell rumors, counter conservative-dominated newspapers, and explain his policies directly to the American people. They were later described as a "revolutionary experiment with a nascent media platform," ultimately validating radio as the new media titan.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the power of the 1960 JFK/Nixon debates on TV, which were the tipping point for video to kill the radio star. But did you know that those who listened on the radio thought Nixon won the debates, while those who watched thought JFK did?

The next leap? Obama and social. It was the catalyst for big businesses harnessing the power of social media for their content production.

And finally, our friend Trump? What did he do? Data analytics.

Mass personalization, as I've spoken about before in advertising. You know, the Coke can with your name on it? Well, the Trump campaign was way ahead. They analyzed vast amounts of data from Facebook and used it to create a series of mini campaigns that were hyper-targeted to tiny populations of that dataset. This allowed them to feed voters subjects they cared about and present positive solutions to those issues. They could address a whole neighborhood in terms that made their story relevant, timely, and interesting to each individual. Sound familiar regular readers?

It's the dominant political strategy now, and the fallout includes not only mass personalization but also the opposite response of privacy and data security. However, most corporations are still playing the social media game, especially SMEs who are only just figuring out how to collect more data and understand what to do with it once they have it.

So, in his underground lair at the base of a volcano, what are The Donald and his cabal cooking up for 2024 and beyond? Say it with me now:

GENERATIVE. ARTIFICIAL. INTELLIGENCE.

ChatGPT, Midjourney, etc., may only be 12-18 months in the public consciousness, but when we look back on who won and why, I promise you we'll see the combination of Social Media, Data Analytics, and AI as the big driver behind the victory.

As you were,

MrMcK.

Before I go, the past few posts have gotten me in the habit of looking back to look forward. Our past must inform our future strategy, and I want to share a little with this delightful audience.

On March 7th, it's my Dad’s birthday. He'll be 77. Three open-heart surgeries, endless medical issues, a goblet of pills to swallow every morning and then some. He is the definition of embracing the grind. Every day, he shows up and does his best; it's been that way for most of his life. He’s also deeply interested in other people’s stories, so there’s definitely a genetic hangover down to me - and it’s something I’m just starting to see clearly.

March 9th will be the 4-year anniversary of 'date day' in NYC. My wife was 8 months pregnant, and her mom was in the city with us for a week. I took the day off work, and we hit the town. Starting with breakfast at the Plaza, we went up and down the island, eating, shopping, exploring. We went to Brooklyn and deepest darkest Queens on a Bobby Axelrod pilgrimage for hot dogs and pizza. We made some pretty big life decisions and plans; I don't know if we even remember them all, because if you do the math, you'll realize that the one lady we saw in a mask and gloves on the Subway that day had much more foresight than us.

If I'm honest, those decisions and plans we made on "Date Day" never made it. Thanks COVID. They may have been the last ones to date that weren't out of necessity or under duress. If you know our story, it was probably the last day in 4 years we weren't stressed, didn't feel displaced, weren't in fight or flight. I don't think we ever acknowledged it, but I know I’ve been waiting for the day when it didn't feel like we were on the run anymore.

March also marks a watershed moment from my previous employer. A time to properly move on.

Over the next few weeks, I have a story to tell. One that's rooted in family, born out of decisions made 4 years ago and will probably be the defining moment in my professional life. Whatever the heck that is.

Stay tuned, it’s about to get real interesting.