Hope, Nobel and Public Relations!!!!

The burden of ‘Hope’

 

US President Barrack Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize could be termed as the most media savvy subject in recent times, second only to him becoming the 44th American President.  A lot has been written about, how Obama never deserved the Prize and was awarded the Nobel by virtue of – just not being George W Bush.

I do not consider myself a political expert to comment on wether Obama receiving  the Nobel and his acceptance was a good political move. However from a Public Relation prespective, I feel Obama accepting the award was one of the best PR moves…..

Obama’s entire presidential campaign was focussed around ‘Hope’.

In his inaugral address- he attributes his Presidential win to the US citizens who had chosen ‘Hope over fear….’

In fact his campaign and his speeches harped on ‘Hope’ so much that by the time he was elected not just US but the entire World was rooting for his victory.

I am sure it takes a lot to change the world, and probably it is resonable to give the US President some more time to prove himself before we actually go out and pass a judgement on his failure.

I have always believed that Obama’s Presidential campaign made one grave mistake from the beginning, while on one hand they made him out to be a human, by talking about his racial roots, his grandmother, his wife, his daughters etc. somewhere down the line they also made him look like the saviour, the only super hero who could save us from despair. A reason why not just US but the entire World has been waiting for something truly out of the World from Obama.

As a human, its often difficult to live upto such super human expectations because there is always room to fall short..

Obama is making the right noises, reaching out to the Muslim world, talking of Nuclear disarmament and is again giving ‘Hope’ to the people of this world that probably his head and heart are in the right place and all he needs is some more time and faith to set things right.

If Obama had refused to accept the Nobel Prize for Peace, it is a very different discussion we would be having today – “Oh, maybe US is planning to wage a war on …. soon.” Or “US is probably diverting its fund to increase its nuclear arsenal.” “ President Obama’s decision to refuse the Nobel Peace Prize shows that all his promises of working towards ’World Peace’ is a farce.”

Enemies of US might have taken this as a hint and might have overworked to read between the lines.

Most importantly the Americans themselves might have thought, that maybe Obama does not have confidence in himself and the promises he made to them.

Hence, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize with humility was the best thing Obama could have done to keep his ratings, keep International diplomacies intact, keeping anti-US elements at bay and also it made perrrrrfffect PR sense.

Critics might go on and on but what really matters in PR is what your target audience thinks and perceives of you…and with this one move Obama has ensured, his core target audience, the American people, other nations and anti-US elements are all probably debating over his Nobel win….but are at peace.

This might also act like a course correction for Obama in the long run, people will start thinking of him as human rather than a super hero (only super heroes say No to Nobel Prizes!) and expect more humanly changes from him….

I am sure, in his heart Obama knows he has not recieved the Nobel Prize for ‘Peace’ but ‘Hope’……

Every voice on the Internet will matter – S/he will matter!

The concept of micro marketing is fast changing the way we market our products and services on the Internet. Like, the advent of Web 2.0 technology led to the growth of social media in a big way; similarly, micro marketing has the potential to make every person using the internet an important link in a company’s marketing and Public Relation strategy.

Image courtsey:www.differenttrends.net

Well known marketing blogger Greg Verdino discusses this concept in detail in his upcoming book named microMarketing:A breakthrough approach to building brands by thinking and acting small. In the book he speaks of how “A media revolution is underway, fueled by a micro-content phenomenon that is shifting the balance of power from mass communications to masses of communicators. This shift plays out daily on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Ustream and other social sites.  It’s in the notion that an otherwise normal individual can use social media and low-end technology to become a micro-celebrity with a significant following.”

In the changing world of Internet, opinions and views which were never considered that significant in the past will soon become the most important aspect of generating buzz. Every sound, every noise online about your product would matter. Imagine the immense power the consumer would enjoy; in his own right he could make or break a company’s reputation. News travels fast on the Internet and bad news faster, hopefully companies will take customer relations a little more seriously, more than selling their wares, they would be forced to focus on how happy a customer is with their product or service, because one negative comment on the Internet and they will feel the heat. Companies will feel like living in glass houses where even one stone could damage their image.

Micro marketing is a wise tactic to counter the negative aspects of the growing influence of the masses and every PR and marketing professional should consider making it an important part of their overall publicity strategy for any client.

The concept in itself talks about taking the masses into account when promoting a product or service online. Mobilize the masses and you will ensure the bigger and more influential voices in the social sphere sit up and listen. Keep the masses happy and they will ensure your success, by believing in your product/service, showing solidarity and heartily promoting to other like minded people. Recognize their efforts and they will stand by you for life.

Micro marketing is about reaching out to that one insignificant individual and answering his queries, meeting his needs and in turn winning his trust and the trust of his social network. Micro marketing is the technique of using the word of mouth and word of trust to promote anything.

Every tweet, every status update and every blog post is a reminder of this growing force of micro marketers.  Maybe its all for a larger good, in the time to come hopefully we can all look forward to better services, better products and more concerned and responsible businesses and overall a better world, where every voice matters and has the power to make a difference.