Uba Kontrovasie

Obama won because of hip-hop

I saw this interview live whilst I was eating my supper, other friends who also saw it said they cringed.

I’ve got all of Dizzees’ albums and I know for a fact he’s not stupid, some of his lyrics are quick witted and quite clever. Part of me thinks was he playing up to the camera?

Judging by the comments on youtube his views, combined with Jeremy Paxman selecting him for the interview did not go down too well with the public.

Did Obama win because of hip-hop? Er…No!

I do however think that rap superstars and I mean real rap superstars like Jay-Z and Puffy endorsing Obama definitely worked in his favour. Obamas’ political campaign was executed in a close to perfect manner, endorsements from key celebrities showed that he understood or at least was trying to understand youth culture and I believe this helped him secure a lot of crucial votes from younger 18-25 year old voters.

Who did McCain get backing from? Arnold “Hum-Vee” Schwarzenegger (I can’t believe I spelt that right the first time) and Sly Stallone, hmm…who do you think made the smart the move?

Either way if you were ever looking for a good example of word of mouth marketing try Jay-Z bigging up Barack Obama at a packed Glastonbury headline performance.

Tags: advocacy, McCain, Obama, US election 2008, WOM, youth culture

Get involved - “Pass it on”

I’ve been watching Jamie’s Ministry of Food for a couple of weeks and I think it’s brilliant! A real life example of a social experiment that encourages people to cook, eat well and pass on their learnings.

In the show Jamie drives around Rotherham, knocking on peoples doors, holding cooking classes and getting people to “pass it on” that’s real WOM in effect!

The show covers all the ups and downs of his campaign and the effects it had on the community he had been working with.

Not many people in Rotherham cared about cooking or eating healthily, Jamie (probably without knowing it) has followed some of the best practice recommendations we pass onto clients in order to make their social initiatives work effectively:

> Create a value exchange - Jamie got involved himself and passed on his knowledge

> Encourage advocacy and WOM - His slogan and concept “pass it on” was designed to get people to teach each other how to cook and take part in the greater initiative

> Aggregation - He organised branded events and set up a Ministry of Food, both were tools or hubs, which bought his communities and advocates together along with new followers

> Taking a personal approach to managing negative commentary and PR - He addressed any cynicism or criticism about his concept personally by converting skeptics through providing examples of proven successes

We often tell clients that utilising social media is graft, it’s hard work and this is especially true if your brand or offering has no equity with your prospective audience.

Jamie really grafted in order to get his concept to work and as a result of his efforts the followers and advocates he gained became loyal, helping him to make his concept a success.

This show is a must see for any Brand Evangelist or Social Media Practitioner.

Tags: advocacy, Brand Evangelist, community aggregation, jamie oliver, ministry of food, social experiment, social media, social media hub, Social Media Practitioner