Media Strategy
By: BJ Lawson
Why is fundraising so important? So we can take our message to the voters, win the primary election, and prepare for a great campaign and victory in November.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve discovered that taking the message to the voters via radio and television gets pretty expensive. But I think you’ll be pleased with the results.
First, here is the radio advertisement (lo-fi version for download) featuring Col. Steve Acuff’s endorsement that we’ll be running into the primary.
Next, here are three 30-second clips that we produced — we’re going to air the final one, entitled “Local Control”:
What do you think? It was a challenge to film the second and third videos, as it was in the thirties that morning in D.C. and my face was just about frozen. Should have brought a coat!
We’re going with the third commercial since it actually has the “ask” for election day. Also, please help us leverage this media investment as much as possible — forward these links to your friends and family in the Fourth District, and remind them to vote on or before May 6th!
Finally, we really do need your financial support. Please make a donation today so we can air this message to as many voters as possible, and be well positioned for the next step in this battle to reclaim our government.
April 29th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Hi BJ (William),
The clip was fine. Really. No strong reaction either way.
I guess my only point in commenting is just to say that I use Tivo (a digital video recorder) and haven’t seen commercials in over a year. So, while *a lot* of people watch commercials, I’m glad that I had friends tell me about you and the signage on the sign of the road as well as your blog. As an aside, I finally saw a presidential commercial (by accident) the other day. It was for Obama. Man, he really doesn’t say anything at all.
Cheers!
Mike
April 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Hi BJ.
Great commercials. The 3rd one is the best for generating turn out in the next 7 days. Good luck over the course of the next week!
April 29th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Wow! Great! I love these ads! Is there anywhere we can download them?
April 29th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Jeremy - You can link/embed them by following the hyperlinks in the titles, which will take you to the Vimeo pages. From there you can also view them full screen.
Need to work on the aspect ratio — these started out 16:9 hi-def and were rendered here 4:3 so they look a bit squished…
April 29th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Is it possible to be able to download them though so we can compile clips for YouTube videos, etc? Just wondering.
=)
April 29th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Hey… me again. I just noticed Vimeo is having some problems with it because it got too many hits or something. :p (130 minutes wait time it says). Maybe you should upload them to YouTube as well. Not necessarily for this, but it gets the word out more and the subscribers of the channel would see them…. I dunno! =)
April 29th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
What camera did you use? It’s very pro-like :).
April 29th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Yes, I’m getting a wait time of 125 minutes for the first video and 100 minutes for the second. The third is EXCELLENT and I can’t wait to see the others.
Fantastic touch to shoot it right in front of the Jefferson Memorial. For a follow-up, it would be great to see you saying that in DC and then switch to walking in front of, say, the Old Well at UNC or something and say that you’ll work for North Carolina too, and you won’t just be in Washington all the time (like David Price is).
April 29th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Brent - I don’t know what kind of camera it was but the guys are truly professional… maybe Martin or Brandon could weigh in on the equipment:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawsonforcongress/2428593071/in/set-72157604655991548/
I was the amateur that morning — it took more than a few takes
April 29th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Are those terra eclipse guys or is it unrelated? Just curious :p
April 29th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
But of course, terra eclipse! Huge props to Martin, Wyatt, & Co…
April 29th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
BJ,
You are easily the most effective “Ron Paul Republican” running right now. Top-notch site, top-notch ads, top-notch speaker, you know what you are talking about and you have great background experience. Easily the best campaign this year.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:19 am
BJ,
You make me so happy! The message that you present is unmatchable. You’ve got a solid chance for winning the election for the 4th District. We’re working hard in Chapel Hill for you. By the way, I’m totally impressed by Terra Eclipse. These guys are outstanding!
May 4th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Dear Mr Lawson I have a question. Your ads ask people to vote for William Lawson. But arent you listed on the Ballot as BJ Lawson? Wouldnt that confuse people who want to vote for you? Although Im confident you will win in a landslide did you make any internal polling? How do your numbers look if so? I wish you well at the election
May 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
ConservativeKid - I’m listed on the ballot as William (B.J.) Lawson. Hopefully that will alleviate any confusion :).
Regarding polling, the only poll that matters is on Tuesday. There is no room for complacency leading up to the election. Tell your friends to get out and vote!
May 5th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Thank you for the reply Mr Lawson. I told many of my friends already and they all love your website and your “Clear & Detailed” positions on the issue. Wish you well at the real poll tommorow. Get a good rest Congressman Lawson
May 5th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Lol, calling him Congressman Lawson already? Hey, why not? Might as well… November isn’t that far.